The T-55 was the main battle tank for armoured units of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. In addition, T-55s were involved in many of the world's armed conflicts during the late 20th century. The T-54/55 series eventually became one of the most-produced tank in military history. Estimated production numbers for the series range from 86,000 to 100,000. A T-55 tank appears in the 1995 James Bond film, GoldenEye.
History[]
After being framed for the murder of Russian Defence Minister Dmitri Mishkin by General Ourumov, soldiers chase the fleeing James Bond into a munitions-filled courtyard. In an attempt to pursue Ourumov and the captive Natalya Simonova 007 steals a Russian T-55 tank and chases after the General's car, destroying much of St. Petersburg in the process. After evading the Russian authorities, Bond finally tracks the pair to a train yard where Ourumov and Natalya board Alec Trevelyan's Soviet Missile Train. Unable to stop them, 007 intercepts the train further down the tracks at the mouth of a tunnel and uses the tank to derail the train; destroying the T-55 in the process.
Behind the Scenes[]
The largest stunt sequence in the film was the tank chase, which took around six weeks to film, partly on location in St. Petersburg and partly at Leavesden Film Studios in Hertfordshire, England.[1] A Russian T-54/55 tank, on loan from the East England Military Museum, was modified with the addition of fake explosive reactive armour panels.[2] To avoid destroying the pavement on the city streets of St. Petersburg, the steel off-road tracks of the T-54/55 were replaced with the rubber-shoed tracks from a British Chieftain tank.[3] The T-55 Tank used in the film is now on permanent display at Old Buckenham Airport where the East England Military Museum is based.[4]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Interview – Steve Street (Part 1). MI6-HQ.com (26 August 2003). Retrieved on 11 December 2006.
- ↑ Garth Pearce (31 October 1995). The Making of GoldenEye. Boxtree. ISBN 978-1-85283-484-5.
- ↑ Martin Campbell, Michael G. Wilson. GoldenEye audio commentary. MGM Home Entertainment.
- ↑ Diss Express Article on the permanent display of the Goldeneye T55 Tank, 20 October 2013
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