Ch'onma-ho

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Ch'onma-ho
Ch'onma-ho in North Korea's 60th Anniversary Parade
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	North Korea
Specifications
Length	6.63 m (21.8 ft)
Width	3.52 m (11.5 ft)
Height	2.4 m (7.9 ft)
Crew	3
Primary armament	125 mm tank gun
Secondary armament	12.7 mm machine gun, 7.62 mm PKMT machine gun in coaxial mount
Engine	diesel
Suspension	torsion-bar

The Ch'onma-ho (Chosŏn'gŭl: 천마호; Hanja: 天馬虎), which means "flying horse tiger" or Pegasus, main battle tank is North Korea's secretive indigenous tank design. The original Ch'onma-ho is based on the Soviet T-62 medium tank. There are at least five different operational versions of the Ch'onma-ho. Since its inception, the Ch'onma-ho has been upgraded various times to bring the tank to modern standards. Not much is known about it, and its most recent public appearance was the 60th Anniversary Parade held in Pyongyang, North Korea, on 25 April, 1992, celebrating the 60th anniversary of North Korea's ruling party. The Ch'onma-ho is the epitome of juche, or self reliance, and the spearhead of North Korea's armour corps.

[edit] A History of North Korea's Armour

After the cease-fire of the Korean War in 1953 North Korea found itself in need of much more modern equipment. During the war North Korea had been sold T-34s by the Soviet Union to combat American Sherman tanks and M26 Pershings. According to a report to the United States Congress in 2000 the North Korean military had more or less 2,000 tanks garrisoned along the demilitarized zone alone.^[1] This means that between the years 1954 and 2000 the North Koreans were able to stockpile over 2,000 tanks, including Soviet T-55s and T-62s and Chinese Type 59s and Type 62s. However, according to those who have visited North Korea, you can see abandoned military vehicles along side the road, possibly due to the lack of fuel. A North Korean general who defected to South Korea also said that due to a lack of fuel military exercises are limited.^[2] It is also possible that many of the older vehicles used by the North Korean People's Army are not well mantained and have suffered from years of use. This still remains true even assuming good maintenance, and the North Korean army would not be the only military experiencing this. Between 1939 and 1953 much of Spain's armour fell into disrepair due to its age, and the same could be true for the North Korean military.

A conceptual drawing of the Ch'onma-ho, with several upgrades, including the light explosive reactive armour and 125mm gun.

Although not much is known about the North Korean military after the Korean War, it is known that they have many different types of tanks. These include the Type 59 and Type 62, as well as the T-54, T-62 and the T-72. The T-54 was probably sold to North Korea between 1960 and 1970, while the T-62 was reportedly sold in the mid 1980s. The T-72s was sold in the early 1990s. It's known that the North Koreans still use vintage Second World War T-34s and dispose of two types of amphibious tanks, the Soviet PT-85 and the PT-76.^[3] Up to 3,800 tanks are coupled with at least 12,000 self-propelled artillery pieces and thousands of other towed artillery pieces of unknown type and number.^[4] The North Koreans also have at least nine different types of armoured personnel carriers, including the BMP-1.

Given this information, the Ch'onma-ho is likely to be deployed to the elite spearheads of North Korea's sole armor corps, while other armour is relegated to a secondary role in this corps or to North Korea's four mechanized corps. It's very likely that the Ch'onma-ho would lead the initial attempts to breakthrough South Korean defences and exploit the gap in order to surround and destroy South Korea's military potential. To underscore North Korea's concept of combined arms and the importance of armour, and therefore the importance of the Ch'onma-ho, North Korea's sole armour corps is directly grouped with two mechanized corps and a single artillery corps.^[5] However, this forms the second echelon of North Korea's deployment to the DMZ, with the first echelon composed of four infantry corps^[6], and the rest in strategic reserve. This may also play a part in a defensive strategy, as the North Korean army is arrayed in depth, and the armour might be strategically placed to both provide offensive power and a second echelon composed of mobile defences to plug a South Korean breakthrough along the DMZ.^[7]

The Ch'onma-ho is a product of North Korea's drive towards juche, or self-reliance, and is the epitome of North Korean production which includes several indigenous self-propelled artillery pieces. The idea of juche comes from a North Korean sentiment of abandonment by their allies, China and Soviet Union/Russia.^[8] This accounts for their drive towards overproduction and for recent North Korean nuclear developments, as well as the production of long-range missiles which provide North Korea with its longer range striking power. This all manifests itself within the 'triangle' of North Korean military development - armour, artillery and missiles. In fact, this seems reminiscent from Soviet military theory, including the application of overwhelming artillery support and the use of large amounts of armour to create a breakthrough after the initial artillery disruption. In that sense North Korean military strategy is very mobile, and the large amounts of tanks underscores this. The Ch'onma-ho could be an attempted counter to the South Korean K1A1 and any M1 Abrams tank, a drive to modernize their ability to complete this strategy under a worse case scenario of a war on the Korean peninsula.

Soviet T-62. The Ch'onma-ho is a direct copy of the T-62 with several upgrades.

[edit] Production history

There might be two versions of the Ch'onma-ho 1: the copy of the Syrian T-62 in the late 1970s, and an original copy exported by the Soviet Union which may be the T-62D.^[9] The Ch'onma-ho is not related to the Chinese Type 62. Despite its relation to the T-62, the original version of the Ch'onma-ho had thinner armour and was consequently lighter.^[10] This version of the tank has two distinctive bolts on the bottom portion of the upper glacis plate. The Ch'onma-ho I name was also given (at least by the West and South Korean white papers) to the imported T-62, which was later slightly upgraded to the IM version. Although no dates are available, the Ch'onma-ho I was later upgraded to the II version with a laser rangefinder above the mantlet.^[11] According to online sources this Ch'onma-ho was upgraded once again, probably in the mid-1980s, with a 'boom shield'. The Ch'onma-ho III might have also seen an armour upgrade with the addition of full-hull skirting and a new thermal shroud for the original 115 mm main gun.^[12]

The most modern Ch'onma-ho tanks seem to be the IV and V versions. The Ch'onma-ho IV is fitted with what resemble EDZ light explosive reactive armour bricks. Judging by photographs, these are mounted specifically on the turret side, with at least eight bricks per side. The Ch'onma-ho IV is reported to be upgraded with new side-mounted grenade launchers.^[13] The latest version is the Ch'onma-ho V, with the original 115 mm gun possibly replaced by a Russian 125 mm main gun, and an autoloader replacing the fourth crew member. According to some sources North Korea received several T-72s after 1992, as well as a single T-90S main battle tank in August 2001.^[14] If this information is correct, the Ch'onma-ho may be upgraded to the standards of either the T-72 or the T-90S.

A recent Morozov upgrade of the T-62. Modern T-62 upgrades can offer extensive insights on possibly upgrades for the Ch'onma-ho. Morozov

Around 90% of the Ch'onma-ho is indigenously produced.^[15] There is evidence, for example, that North Korea has purchased entire engines, or engine components, from Slovakia.^[16] Furthermore, it's thought that ceramic components, possibly for an upgraded armour scheme, are from foreign sources, as well as fire control components.^[17] It's not clear how much is indigenously produced in regards to the different variants of the Ch'onma-ho. The figure of 90% could have changed considerably between the original Ch'onma-ho I and the Ch'onma-ho V, although it should be kept into consideration that many of the major features are probably purchased from abroad - especially for the upgrades of the tanks. It's not clear how much North Korea can afford on producing on its own, or how much it can afford to import for that matter. It's thought that North Korea is considerably low on resources, especially money, and this belief has been perpetuated after North Korea's nuclear test incidents in 2006.^[18] It's possible that Russia is supplying North Korea with several components for North Korea's tank projects which include the Ch'onma-ho and quite possibly the M-2002, although no hard evidence can support this claim.

According to available information the North Koreans are developing a new main battle tank at the Ryu Kyong-su tank plant in Shinghung, with prototype performance trials in 2002.^[19] This news arrived simultaneously with Kim Jong-il's trip to Russia in 2001, where he visited the Omsk TransMash tank plant which produces the T-80U tank. This new tank may be a further improvement of the Ch'onma-ho, or a new tank altogether. According to given information, this tank could be equal or superior to either the T-72, T-90, or T-80. This new tank has been called the M-2002 and some believe it's an upgrade for North Korea's T-72s, or designed from the Russian T-90 as some sources believe.^[20] The news concerning North Korea's future main battle tank has certainly driven South Korea to look for outlets for their own national tank programs, including the future South Korean Main Battle Tank, the K2.

[edit] Drawing parallels

An example of BDD 'brow' armour on a German T-55.

Possible upgrades of the Ch'onma-ho could be similar to recent Ukrainian and Russian upgrades of their T-62s. Given the little public knowledge on the Ch'onma-ho, tracing foreign upgrade kits for the T-62 is one of the few ways to predict what the latest version of the Ch'onma-ho can look like, or what future variants will look like. With the news of several T-72s being sold to North Korea by Russia and at least one T-90, it becomes more of a possibility that the Ch'onma-ho will follow an upgrade plan that will look similar to Russia's upgrade of the T-62. The T-62M was a Soviet T-62 upgrade program which began in 1983 and included an improved fire control system, a new externally-mounted laser rangefinder, a larger 620 horsepower engine and an improved suspension system. The turret was also further armoured through the addition of BDD 'brow' appliqué armour, adding roughly 120 mm worth of rolled homogeneous armour equivalent (RHAe) against kinetic energy threats. This new armour configuration is credited with stopping all NATO and U.S. 105 mm armour piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot weapons.^[21] The Russian T-62 has also been upgraded since then with Kontakt explosive reactive armour, or EDZ, which is a visible upgrade on the Ch'onma-ho IV. Finally, the Russians also ugpraded the T-62 far enough to allow it to fire the 9K116-1 main gun launched anti-tank missile on the T-62M, although the T-62M1 is not capable of this. The Russian AT-12, as designated by NATO, can penetrate up to 550 mm of rolled homogenous armour at a range of up to 4,000 meters.^[22] The Russians announced a further upgrade which will include a new 120 mm gun, a 690 horsepower engine and the addition of Kontakt-5 heavy explosive reactive armour.

The Ukrainians also offer a modernization package for the T-62. The Morozov Design Bureau (KMDB) in Kharkiv offers one of the most powerful upgrades, including the exchange of the original 580 horsepower engine for a larger 700 horsepower engine. The T-62 Morozov upgrade includes new appliqué steel plates and integrated explosive reactive armour along the front upper glacis and forward turret area, as well as both the addition of steel side skirts and explosive reactive armour to the side of the hull. This increases armour protection against kinetic energy threats by approximately 1.8 times and against chemical energy threats by in between 2.5 and 3 times. This armour can be assembled and disassembled in less than one hour and armour protection can be furthered increase within twenty days by a six man team. One of the most interesting upgrades has been the exchange of the original 115 mm gun for a 120 mm gun which has increased engagement range by 1.7 times. It has allowed an increase in accuracy, as well as the capability of fighting during the night.^[23] This modernization program can also include a 125 mm gun, as opposed to the 120 mm gun. Both can fire Ukrainian-produced anti-tank guided missiles.

The T-72: several of these were sold to the North Koreans in the early 90s. The latest, or future, Ch'onma-hos might have upgrades based on this tank.

These upgrade programs offer an example of what one could expect from the Ch'onma-ho. Certainly, the South Korean White Papers have reported a North Korean Ch'onma-ho variant with a larger gun, which has been confirmed at 125 mm. The inclusion of light reactive armour tiles on the side turret also underscores influence from Russia, and maybe Ukraine. However, until there is more detailed knowledge on the North Korean Ch'onma-ho main battle tank nothing else concerning their upgrade programs can be confirmed. Nevertheless, the parallels exist.

[edit] Deployment history

It is unknown which units of the Korean People's Army might be outfitted with the Ch'onma-ho. It is clear that the Ch'onma-ho is a general replacement for previously employed tanks, including the T-62, T-34 and Type 59 medium tanks.^[24] It is very possible that the Ch'onma-ho will equip the spearhead and elite of North Korea's armoured forces. They are apparently deployed in sufficient numbers to be strategically significant. There might be as many as 800 T-62s in the North Korean army^[25], of which any number could be one of the five Ch'onma-ho variants.

[edit] Models

• Ch'onma-ho I - Copy of the T-62
• Ch'onma-ho II - Imported T-62
• Ch'onma-ho IM - Improved T-62
• Ch'onma-ho II - Upgrade of the Ch'onma-ho I with an external laser rangefinder
• Ch'onma-ho III - Upgrade fitted with new turret 'boom shield'
• Ch'onma-ho IV - New version with explosive reactive armour bricks, more turret storage volume and grenade launchers
• Ch'onma-ho V - Upgrade of the Ch'onma-ho II incorporating other upgrades to date, as well as a new 125mm gun and autoloader

[edit] Variants

• Ch'onma-ho ARV - Armoured recovery vehicle with a casemate superstructure
• Ch'onma-ho Command - Command variant of the tank with a fake main gun
• Juche-Po - Self-propelled artillery gun on a modified Ch'onma-ho chassis. The Juche-Po is an improvement over the Tok-Ch'on artillery piece, which was mounted on a ATS-59 chassis. There are at least four M1991 versions of the Juche-Po, each mounting a different gun; the D-30 122mm, D-74 122 mm, the M-46 130 mm and the ML-20 152 mm howitzer. A fifth M1992 version is armed with the SM-4-1 130mm howitzer. These artillery pieces can be identified by their six road wheels, as compared to the Tok-Ch'on's five, and a prominent recoil cylinder which protrudes from the turret. Another major difference is the fact that the Juche-Po has a fully encased rounded turret, as opposed to the older open-topped self-propelled artillery pieces used previously.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Bermudez Jr., Joseph S. (2001-03-14). The Armed Forces of North Korea. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1860644864.
• Hetherington, Jay A., North Korea: Through the Looking Glass.
• Hodge, Homer T., "North Korea's Military Strategy", Hodge: 2003.
• Isenberg, David, North Korea rolls out new tank, Asian Times.
• Macintyre, Donald Kim's War Machine, TIME Asia.
• Warford, James (1998). "The Ch'onma-ho Main Battle Tank: A Look at the Present and Future of North Korea's 'Flying Horse'" in Armor, September 1, 2005. Fort Knox, KY: US Army Armor Center. ISSN 0004-2420.
• Armor: July 8, 2002
• 2000 Report to Congress: Military Situation on the Korean Peninsula
• Ch'onma-ho main battle tank at Jedsite (paid membership required)
• Kharkiv Modernization of T-62 tank webpage
• North Korean Military Capabilities

[edit] See also

• List of tanks