Type 88 tank (China)

For the SPAAG version called "Type 80", see ZSU-57-2.
Type 88
Type Main battle tank
Place of origin  People's Republic of China
Service history
In service 1980 – 2005 (China)
Production history
Designer Fang Weixian (方慰先)
Designed 1981 – 1987[1]
Manufacturer First Inner Mongolia Machinery Factory
Specifications
Weight 38-39.5 tonnes
Length 6.325 m
Width 3.372 m
Height 2.29 m
Crew 4
Armor classified
Main
armament
 105 mm Type 83 rifled gun with automatic loader
Secondary
armament
 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun
12.7 mm air-defence machine gun
Engine 12150L-7BV diesel
730 hp (544 kW)
Power/weight 18.5-19 hp/tonne
Transmission Mechanical, planetary
Suspension Torsion bar
Operational
range
 430 km, 600 km with external fuel
Speed 56 km/h

The Type 88 (Chinese: 88式; pinyin: Bābā shì) is a series of second-generation main battle tanks (MBTs) from China. Based on the Type 79 design, the Type 88 entered service with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the 1980s. By 2003 it was estimated that no Type 88 MBTs remained in service with the PLA. The tank was followed by the Type 96 MBT.

History

After the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, relations between China and the Soviet Union gradually worsened, leading to border clashes in 1969. By the 1970s, over 1.5 million troops from both sides were stationed along the Sino-Soviet border. At the time, the best Chinese tanks were copies of Soviet T-54/55 MBTs (also known as the Type 59), hopelessly out-matched by new Soviet designs like the T-72.

The People's Liberation Army requested new tanks that could match the Soviets, which led to the development of Type 69 by 617 Factory (now Inner-Mongolia First Machinery Group Company Ltd[2]), incorporating some technologies from a captured Soviet T-62 tank.[3] However the Type 69 failed to satisfy PLA requirements, and was more of an export success (over 2,000 sold) than domestic use. As a result, new tank development was commenced and a new family of tanks that included many sub-families was the result.

Variants

Type 80

Type 85

Type 85

It is unclear if the different factories were in competition, or jointly developing the new second generation tank. What is known is that China's North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco), most likely in association with 201 Institute (now China North Vehicle Research Institute), unveiled their own version, the Type 85 MBT in 1988. The PLA did not initially accept the Type 85 MBT, and it was further developed for export to Pakistan (Type 85-IIAP and Type 85-III.) This was drastically changed later on when China obtained Soviet T-72 samples in the late 1980s (reportedly from Iran with captured Iraqi samples.) South Africa had discovered along with the Chinese that not only could the western origin 105 mm guns of Type 80 defeat the armor of a T-72 tank but that the main gun of T-72 could also easily defeat the armor of not only the Type 80 but all armor of then-current Chinese tanks as well. Improvement of the current tanks in PLA inventory was needed and this was later further illustrated during the 1991 Gulf War, when the PLA observed that their current (1991-era) tanks were vastly inferior to Western MBTs. Priorities were given to develop a third-generation tank, and as well as improving the existing second-generation design. As a result, Type 85 is a direct development of Type 80, and over 600 are in Chinese service, while an additional 300+ are in Pakistani service.

Also served as a prototype for the Type 88C.

Type 88

In the late 1970s, China's 617 Factory (main contractor), 616 Factory, 477 Factory, and 201 Institute (now China North Vehicle Research Institute) were ordered to develop China's new second-generation tank. The project benefitted from imported Western technologies in the 1980s. The first Type 80 MBT was based on the older Type 79 MBT hull, but equipped with new Chinese-made wheels/tracks, German-designed 730 hp diesel engine, British-designed dual-axis stabilized fire-control with laser range-finder, and NATO-standard 105 mm gun licensed from Austria. The improved version of this tank later entered service in 1988 under the PLA designation of Type 88. The Type 88 tank is unique in that unlike the rest series of Chinese tanks, this series actually includes versions from different families of earlier tanks. Production of Type 88-series MBTs was stopped in 1995. About 400 to 500 Type 88-series tanks are in service with the PLA today. In test its armor was 200 mm vs APFSDS and 300 mm vs HEAT. It has an autoloader which gives it a maximum rate of fire of 13 rounds a minute.

Operators

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Type 88 Main Battle Tank".
  2. ↑ NMGYJ.
  3. ↑ Type 69, Sino Defence.
  4. ↑ http://www.defence.pk/t-85_iiap_mbt.html
  5. ↑ "Pakistan Army".
  6. ↑ John Pike. "Pakistan Army Equipment". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 6 March 2013.

External links