Type 96

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Type 96
Type 96A

Type 96A
General properties
crew 3 (commander, driver, gunner)
length 10.28 m
width 3.45 m
height 2.30 m
Dimensions 46 tons
Armor and armament
Armor Composite armor
Main armament 1 × 125 mm smoothbore cannon
Secondary armament 1 x 7.62mm coaxial MG;
1 × 12.7 mm machine gun
agility
drive Diesel engine
735 kW (1000 PS)
suspension Torsion bar
Top speed 65 km / h (road)
Power / weight 16.0 kW / t (21.7 PS / t)
Range 450 km, 600 km with external fuel tanks

Type 96 (also known as Type 88C or ZTZ-96 ) is a Chinese main battle tank . It is the end product of the Type 80 family.

History of origin

The Type 96 is basically a further development of the Soviet T-72 . The tub remained almost unchanged. Here only the chassis and the engine were replaced. The shape of the turret was completely revised, but the 125 mm smooth-barreled cannon with the associated loading machine was retained, as was the 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun on the turret roof and the 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. The fire control system and radio system were exchanged for a Chinese model. The Type 96 is basically almost 70% identical to the T-72M1. This also led Chinese military after the Second Gulf War to believe that the main battle tanks they used were outdated compared to Western models. Then the parallel development of the types 96 and 98 began . The Type 96 represents the broad solution for the Chinese mass army, as it is cheaper due to the lower technological demands. The development of the tank began in 1991. According to the Defense Ministry of the People's Republic, 1,500 units were to be in service with the army by 2003 . In 2007 the People's Liberation Army owned around 2,500 Type 96s.

Furnishing

The tank largely follows the Chinese building principles influenced by the Soviets. The ZPT-98 (L / 50) 125 mm smoothbore cannon is operated by an automatic loading mechanism, which means that the loader is no longer necessary and the turret can be made smaller. In addition to further conventional defensive armament in the form of two machine guns , the tank is protected by composite armor. What is striking, however, is the rather weak diesel engine with 730 hp and the moderate speed resulting from it. The Type 96 also has a laser range finder and a fire control system . The extensive equipment of the Type 98 was not achieved, however.

distribution

Distribution of Type 96 and Al-Khalid

The tank was exported to different countries together with the Pakistani main battle tank Al-Khalid , which, like the Type 96, is based on the predecessor model Type 90. The two types of tanks were delivered to Bangladesh , Morocco , Saudi Arabia , Myanmar and Sudan . In Sudan, the Type 96 is produced under license by the state armaments company Military Industry Corporation . Sudan is also the only country that uses the original version of the Type-96.

See also

Web links