Tankopedia
Late Cold WarMBTMain Battle TankRomania

TR-85

In service 1986 - In service

Romania's own development of the T-55 line, with six road wheels, a German-derived diesel and distinctive side skirts - the most heavily rebuilt T-55 derivative of the Warsaw Pact.

Built byUzina Mecanica Bucuresti

TR-85
Romanian TR-85 tanks during Combined Resolve II — 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Development history

Romania under Ceausescu pursued military self-sufficiency and would not simply buy Soviet tanks. The TR-77 and then the TR-85 reworked the T-55 lineage far more thoroughly than the designation suggests: a lengthened hull on six road wheels, a new suspension, a licensed German-pattern diesel rather than a Soviet V12, Romanian fire control and heavy skirting over the running gear. About 600 were built from 1986. After 1989 Romania modernised part of the fleet to TR-85M1 "Bizonul" standard with a computerised fire-control system, thermal imaging, composite armour and NATO-compatible communications, and those vehicles remain the Romanian army's main tank.

Variants

One canonical record, 2 recorded variants.

  1. TR-85

    1986

    Base version with the lengthened six-wheel hull and 100 mm A308 gun.

  2. TR-85M1 Bizonul

    1999

    Composite armour, computerised fire control, thermal imaging and NATO communications.

Notable actions

  • Cold War service (Warsaw Pact)