Main battle tank “Type 59” (WZ-120)
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Main battle tank “Type 59” (WZ-120)
- in the 70s, 500-700 units were produced; The first samples were armed with a 100-mm rifled gun, stabilized in a vertical plane. Its effective firing range was 700-1200 m. Later samples are equipped with a two-plane gun stabilizer capable of measuring the distance to the target at ranges of 300-3000 m with an accuracy of 10 m. It was used on vehicles during the fighting in Vietnam. Armor protection "Type 59" remained at the level of protection of the T-54 tank.
The power plant is a 12-cylinder V-type liquid-cooled diesel engine with a capacity of 520 l / s. at 2000 rpm. The transmission is mechanical, five-speed. The fuel supply (960 liters) is located in three external and three internal tanks. In addition, two 200-liter barrels of fuel are installed at the rear of the hull.
On the basis of the Type 59 tank, a 35-mm twin self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and an ARV were developed. The Chinese industry has created new tracer feathered armor-piercing sabot projectiles (BPS) for 100-mm and 105-mm rifled guns, characterized by increased armor penetration. According to foreign military press reports, the 100-mm BPS has an initial speed of 1480 m / s, 150-mm armor penetration at a distance of 2400 m at an angle of 65 °, and a 105-mm BPS with a uranium alloy core is capable of penetrating 150-mm armor at a distance 2500 m at an angle of 60 °.
The performance characteristics of the main battle tank "Type 59"
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Tank "Type 59" is the most massive in the Chinese fleet of combat vehicles. It is a copy of the Soviet T-54A tank delivered to China in the early 50s. Its serial production began in 1957 at a tank factory in the city of Baotou. Production volumes of the Type 59 main battle tank increased as follows:
