The Chinese Type 80, sometimes referred to as the Type 88. A Type 59 ( basically a T-54 ) mated with a suspension copied from US M48A3 tanks captured during the Vietnam War and a NATO compatible 105mm gun. Nice tank! I believe it was made for export, and that they actually managed to sell a few, though not many. But I have no idea who bought them.
got this from ....http://www.army-guide.com/eng/product.phpprodID=128 hope it help Designation: Type 80 Manufactured by: NORINCO China North Industries Corp. Type: Armoured Vehicles Name: Main battle tank Specifications Property Value Crew 4 Weight, kg 38000 Length, mm 9328 Width, mm 3354 Height, mm 2290 Track, mm 2700 Max. road speed, km/h 55 Cross-country cruising range, km 430 Vertical obstance, mm 800 Trench, mm 2700 Depth of fording, without preparation, mm 1400 Fording depth, mm 5 Gradient, % 60 AA gun caliber, mm 12.7 Auxiliary gun calibre, mm 7.62 Main weapon caliber, mm 105 Ammunition of the main gun, pcs. 44 Ammunition of AA gun, pcs. 500 Ammunition of the auxiliary gun, pcs. 2250 Elevation, degree 18 Depression, degree -4.5 Planes of gun stabilization 2 Has folowing part: Part Amount APFSDS-T 105 (Projectile) 1 Type 80 Quantities: Country Quantity CHINA 500 MYANMAR 200 Total: 700
Interesting. Thanks. I had to look up Myanmar though, it's still known as Burma in my part of the world. They only have about 200 tanks according to my lexicon, so it seems their whole tank fleet is made up by the Type 80.
since they are broke they probably got them on credit ' the tanks are of the cheapo type but it should be enought to keep the peasants respectful :roll:
dont know a thing about chinese tanks... but i heard of the type 99 being called 'the beast from the east' anyone know how this tank compares to lepoards 'n' abrams's?
Nope , they havn't yet fought each other the best thing about the "99"is it's ammo M711 125mm APFSDS developped in israel for the smoothbore .
That's the problem with books - they rarely update as fast as the real world - and would be far too expensive to buy if they did. http://www.sinodefence.com/army/tank/type99.asp
as a matter of interest, I notice the crew is only three. Driver and commander/gunner in the turret. Do people think that a 3 man crew will have much poorer observation and anti infantry attack power when compared to a 4 or 5 man crew? As it is on a 3 man crew the driver is only looking forward, the gunner probably doesn't get out of the turret much or away from the gun, which leaves the commander with his head out doing all the observation, map reading, radio etc. If he was sniped how effective would the tank be then? would it be effectivly blind and out of contact? FNG
Well, typically the 4th crew member is the loader, who AFAIK never even gets near a vision port. In a 3-man crew he is simply replaced by an autoloader (the LeClerc is the only major Western MBT with autoloader that I know of, but it is pretty common in Russian & Chinese forces). I would say that a 3-man crew had the same effectiveness as a 4-man crew.
Im Western armies there's a resistance to dropping toa three man crew. Simply because the crew of a tank don't just fight it, they maintain it. A fourth man reduces individual workloads when in the field and spreads the burden when crew are trying to get some kip - "better" spacing of watch duty. Dropping to a three man crew has the possibility of reducing overall height (since loaders must be stood for maximum effectiveness in shifting heavy rounds), but won't reduce internal volume by much since and auto loader takes up about the same amount of space as a man. IIRC Ogorkiewicz (Technology of Tanks), Hilmes (Main Battle Tanks) and a Brassey's volume dicuss this at some length and conclude (authors' opinion only - but informed opinion since Hilmes was on the design team for Leo I & II, and Ogorkiewicz is a "world-reknowned authority") that it's unlikely for a while in Western armies.
You're not related to my ex-wife are you? Every time I built a model tank she complained that she couldn't find anything marked on the instructions about where they kept their sandwiches. I finally scratchbuilt an AMX-10RC with open driver's hatch and the driver had a jam sandwich in his hand, just to keep her happy. (I know, the French wouldn't lower themselves to eating jam sandwiches, but it was the easiest item of food to make!)
How much dog food is kept in the tank for the crew? Is it true that the Abrams have a coca cola and hershy bar vending machine inside them for the crew to use? FNG
thanks for the link on the Type 99 oli but it doesnt mention where the Chinese crews keep their sandwiches
