• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Type 89 / PTZ-89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun

China developed a large-caliber anti-tank weapon, the 89-type anti-tank artillery, by combining the technology of the 120 mm smoothbore gun and the 83-type 152 mm self-propelled howitzer chassis. In 1989, the Chinese armed forces were handed over the first batch of 20 self-propelled guns. Soon 80 machines were built, after which their assembly stopped. The Type 89 tank destroyers were distributed among the anti-tank battalions of several tank divisions. Each battalion uses 18 self-propelled guns. After the 1990s, the Type 89 anti-tank artillery was successively equipped with artillery brigades of the three northern armies. Each brigade had an anti-tank battalion, and each battalion was equipped with 18 Type 89 anti-tank guns with a caliber of 120 mm. Many years later, with the continuous improvement and entry of China's Type 96 and Type 99 main battle tanks, the historical role of Type 89 has basically been completed. In general, the 89-type production volume is not large, only equipped with Chinese artillery units.

During the Second World War, several major countries that participated in the war were equipped with artillery that exceeded the calibre of the mainstream tank guns at the time. They became anti-tank self-propelled guns (or tank destroyers), which specialized in hunting and killing the enemy tanks. In the early 1970s and late 1970s, China had twice conducted research and development of a new generation of main tanks. The first was WZ-122, and the second was WZ-1224/1226 with Leopard II technology; and these two bold new tank attempts were accompanied by a core weapon, that is, the development of the 120mm high-pressure smoothbore tank gun. The first priority is to counter the Soviet T-72 and other new tanks. . The early 120mm smoothbore gun system of WZ-122 was developed by China itself. It was limited by the backward design and technology.

The Rhinemetall Rh-120-44 120mm 44-caliber smoothbore gun was undoubtedly the most advanced and powerful tank gun of the same period, and it is the equipment that China dreamed of to suppress Soviet armored forces. In the spring of 1977, the Fifth Ministry of Machinery and a dozen related units launched a preliminary demonstration of the 120mm high-bore pressure smoothbore gun. Although the research and development of the 120mm tank gun and supporting ammunition went smoothly, the development of the WZ-1226 tank was cancelled when it was about to enter the design finalization stage in the late 1970s. For a number of reasons, in the early 1980s, the command of the Chinese armed forces came to the conclusion that the prospects for 125 mm caliber tank guns were very promising. The Chinese military received a Soviet T-72 tank from one of the Middle Eastern countries and studied it carefully. The result of this study was the instruction to copy the this tank.

In order to avoid the painstaking end of the 120mm smoothbore gun that was developed so hard, the 447 factory responsible for production took the initiative to integrate this gun on the Type 321 chassis of the Type 83 152mm self-propelled gun, and launched an anti-tank self-propelled gun. The first prototype was completed in 1984.

The People's Liberation Army's first tracked self-propelled anti-tank gun, mounting a 120mm smooth-bore gun, the 89-type self-propelled anti-tank gun began to be developed in 1967. From the political friction between China and the Soviet Union in the late 1950s, it gradually developed into border armed friction in the northeast and Xinjiang in the 1960s, to the outbreak of the medium-speed Zhenbao Island war in March 1969. Throughout the 1960s, the People’s Liberation Army was forced to respond to the pressure of the Soviet Army’s armored assault operations on China’s "Three Norths" (Northeast, North, and Northwest).

In addition, the research and development projects of a variety of anti-armor weapons including 120mm anti-tank guns have been established. At that time, the main anti-tank weapons equipped by our army, such as 75mm recoilless guns, 85mm cannons, and 56-type rocket launchers, could not effectively penetrate the frontal armor of the Soviet T-62 main battle tank. Undoubtedly, once the Soviet armored torrent in the battle of Zhenbao Island and subsequent large-scale armored raids on China's "Three Norths" area, regardless of political consequences, the Chinese army was equipped with all armored technical weapons and anti-armor firearms, and it would not be able to mechanize and mechanize Soviet armored forces. The infantry carried out an effective counterattack. This situation made the Central Military Commission determined to develop a new type of main battle tank, a variety of caliber anti-tank artillery and anti-tank missile technology.

The low-pressure 120mm anti-tank gun project was established in 1967 (only for the rebound of the artillery, and for the development and integration of vehicles). After the Sino-Soviet Zhenbao Island battle in March 1969, it was considered that the anti-armor capability was insufficient and began Re-research and develop comprehensive efficiency enhancements based on the original plan.

From 1972 to 1978, the 120mm anti-tank gun made great breakthroughs in the development of artillery barrels, high chamber pressure, and anti-tank ammunition. The original plan was to match the 120mm caliber anti-tank gun to the 122 project "three-liquid" tank. However, the "Great Leap Forward" type of research and development has a high technical starting point, and the overall reliability cannot meet the needs of the PLA in an actual combat environment.

After the 122 series "three-liquid" tank prototype was cancelled, the 120mm anti-tank gun was a "cannon without vehicle" state. Even if the 120mm anti-tank gun is technically calibrated and finalized, it may be abolished by the overall project. Immediately, the research and development project team successfully "integrated" the 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun into another Type 321 universal crawler vehicle (the Type 83 152mm self-propelled howitzer vehicle). In the end, the high-pressure 120mm anti-tank gun with a muzzle velocity of nearly 1800m/s was finalized in 1990, and mass production began and became the standard armored technical weapon of the People's Liberation Army.

The Ministry of Weaponry finally determined that the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun adopts the Type 321 vehicle, which is equipped with the more advanced "two-way stable" sighting system at the same time, and introduces "firepower first", "mobile second" and "protection third". Technical and tactical strategies, mass production and equipment of the army's armored units and main battle tanks for coordinated operations began.

The Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun gloriously participated in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1999. It used to play the role of carrying on the armored technical weapons of the People's Liberation Army (effectively making up for the poor performance and insufficient number of Type 59, Type 69, Type 79 and Type 80 main battle tanks) before the latest Type 96 and Type 99 main battle tanks were put into service. The Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun has been gradually retired from active equipment since 2008.

Although the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun was gradually withdrawn from the PLA's equipment system, during its 20 years of service, the improvement of its technical and tactical performance has never stopped. This also provides the best verification and practical foundation for the development, service, and technical and tactical expansion of all subsequent wheeled vehicle-mounted guns.

The People's Liberation Army's armored forces have begun to phase out their tank destroyers, as they now rely on weapons that are more powerful and effective, such as anti-tank missiles and attack helicopters. In November 2015 PLA Daily, the Chinese military's flagship newspaper, published a photo showing a line of 18 self-propelled guns traveling out of a military base of the PLA Shenyang Military Command's 39th Group Army. A ceremony was held by the army's artillery regiment on Nov 3 to mark the guns' withdrawal after 24 years in active service, according to the newspaper.

Though PLA Daily did not identify the weapon, military experts said it was the Type-89 tank destroyer and that it is being replaced with missiles and helicopters. "It was brought into service by the PLA around the early 1990s to close the loopholes in the PLA's anti-tank capability that existed in the 1970s and 1980s," he said. "Thanks to the past 20 years of modernization, our armored forces have acquired a large number of advanced tanks equipped with large-caliber, powerful guns, which means specialized tank destroyers such as the Type-89 will no longer be needed," he said.

The PLA had been gradually replacing tank destroyers with HJ-10 anti-tank missiles and WZ-10 and WZ-19 attack helicopters at the group army level, according to reports. "Anti-tank missiles and helicopters represent the trend of anti-tank warfare. They can form a three-dimensional anti-tank firepower network," Wang said. China displayed HJ-10 missiles, and WZ-10 and WZ-19 attack helicopters at the 03 September 2015 parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Xing Li'nan, a military commentator for China.com, suggested the PLA could export the retired Type-89 tank destroyers to other nations, especially developing countries, after upgrading their armor and engines.

Type 89 / PTZ-89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun - Design

Based on the guiding ideology of China's homeland defense operations from 1970 to 1980, as a defensive anti-tank armored technical weapon, mass production, self-weight and mobility are strictly limited. It is necessary to balance the parameters under the R&D thinking of "Firepower No. 1", "Mobile No. 2" and "Protection No. 3". It must be limited to reasonable weight and volume to increase the power of the artillery.

The Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun is equipped with a 120mm caliber anti-tank gun, which uses high chamber pressure, high initial velocity and shelling to stabilize the armor-piercing single, and uses the speed to "stun" the Soviet repair T-72 series main battle tank. This is also the last traditional counter-attack method used by the People's Liberation Army to resist the Soviet "armor torrent".

The lack of technologically advanced and reliable main battle tanks made the People’s Liberation Army lack the confidence to fight the Soviet army head-on before the late 1990s. Until the Type 96 and Type 99 series of main battle tanks entered service, the armored units of the People's Liberation Army completely possessed absolute superiority over Russian armored technology weapons.

The Type 89 self-propelled anti-tank gun is matched with a 12150L diesel engine (which can output 383kW). This "star" engine of the People's Liberation Army Armored Forces eliminated the main drive shaft and longitudinal reducer due to the power front. In order to be accommodated in the compact power compartment, the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun assembly plant made major changes to the air intake components and cooling water channels of the 12150L diesel engine. This type 321 general-purpose tracked vehicle has been in service with the Type 83 152mm self-propelled howitzer for 5 years. Both reliability and reliability in high altitude and frigid regions have been recognized by the frontline combat forces.

The front of the Type 89 self-propelled anti-tank gun vehicle is the power cabin, and the rear is the combat cabin. The turret is capable of 360-degree steering and shooting in all directions. The rear part of the Type 89 self-propelled anti-tank gun vehicle is a combat compartment, and a horizontal opening door is set. The rear combat compartment of the Type 89 self-propelled anti-tank gun is convenient for the crew to complete the loading and launching of the shells in a standing position, and has more storage space for the ammunition. Compared with the same period, the People’s Liberation Army equipped with Soviet-style 59-type and 69-type main battle tanks, a narrow battle space in the vehicle, and the "people-oriented" ergonomic setting of the 89-type self-propelled anti-tank gun) equipment is similar.

The 89-type 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun carrier has a driving wheel at the front and an inducer at the back. It is composed of 6 pairs of road wheels and 3 sets of support wheels. The 6 pairs of road wheels breakthrough move completely got rid of the nightmare of "5 pairs of road wheels" that has plagued our People's Liberation Army armored soldiers for 30 years.

The Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun originally participated in the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October 1989. In order to protect the ground of Tiananmen Square, it was replaced with rubber buffer blocks for imported tracks. Because the material of the domestically matched manganese steel track rubber buffer block can not better reduce the damage to the asphalt streets.

The first and sixth pairs of road wheels of the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun are equipped with independent shock absorbers, and all road wheels adopt torsion bar spring semi-independent suspension. The suspension of the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun vehicle running mechanism is different from that of the American and Soviet armored weapons. The built-in shock absorber and toggle-type shock absorber are not as effective in filtering road bumps as the external shock-absorbing sleeve directly acts on the torsion bar spring (toggle arm). But this kind of suspension and damping setting has better protection performance.

The Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun is equipped with 4 crew members as standard. The driver is set at the front end, and the commander, gunner and loader are all in the "large" turret and combat compartment of the vehicle. The turret of the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun is fully armored and welded, which is completely different from the Soviet-style cast turret used by the Type 59, Type 69, Type 79, and Type 80 main battle tanks previously equipped by the People's Liberation Army.

As a non-offensive weapon, the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun has a direct firing range of 2000m, an effective range of 3000m, a muzzle velocity of 1725m/s, an armor penetration thickness of 550mm. It can fire an armor-piercing projectile weighing 7.33kg(high chamber pressure) at a muzzle velocity of 1725m/s, in order to reduce the large recoil generated during launch ( To improve the stability of the body when the gun is launched at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock), the muzzle is equipped with 6 sets of "pepper bottle" type brakes (yellow arrows) with openings. A characteristic feature of the main armament of the Type 89 ACS was the “tank” pickup angles. Due to the specifics of the tasks performed, namely the attacks of the enemy’s armored vehicles, the Chinese tank destroyer can direct weapon at any angle in the horizontal plane, and the angles of elevation and decline are limited and range from -8 ° to + 18 °.

When the 120mm anti-tank gun was approved in 1967, the chamber pressure was set to 430Mpa. By the mid-1970s, the 120mm anti-tank gun project entered the second phase, and the chamber pressure increased by 25%. Considering the requirements of the 120mm anti-tank gun to "go on the car", it is necessary to balance the weight of the gun, the volume of the shell, and the performance of armor penetration. The high gun chamber pressure is bound to increase the thickness of the barrel (self-weight) and the volume of the ammunition charge. If there is no suitable vehicle, its mobility and protection will be affected, and it will even directly change the technical and tactical strategy of the self-propelled anti-tank gun system.

In the end, the 120mm anti-tank gun adopted hydraulic self-tightening technology. According to the yield strength of the material, the pressure curve of the barrel, the strength design of the barrel, the strength check and the safety factor, and many other factors are reasonably balanced. Finally, the self-tightening pressure of the 120mm gun is nearly 900Mpa, and the length of the self-tightening section is about 3000mm. During self-tightening, there is a certain machining allowance for the bore diameter and outer diameter. At the same time, the processing requirements for the chamber part are also determined. Round actual combat shooting calibration and audit finalization.

The Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun that was put into service in batches has been used by many end customers, and the experience and deficiencies in the use of beams have been reported to the R&D and production units. By 1994, the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun gradually eliminated the "pepper bottle" brake on the muzzle. The muzzle brake was removed, and part of the lost artillery power was "recovered".

There are 3 sets of storage racks composed of steel grilles on both sides of the turret, which can be used to store rucksacks, machine gun ammunition and other equipment, and can also protect against RPG (bazooka) attacks (hollow armor piercing singles). The turret of the Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun occupies almost half the size of the vehicle's length. "Large size, large space", the artillery has a longer retreat buffer stroke when firing, and the technical actions of crew command and launch are smoother (indirectly improve combat effectiveness).

Unlike other self-propelled guns created in the eighties, the Chinese Type 89 was not equipped with a fire control system. For aiming the guns, the combat vehicle was equipped with a combined gunner's periscope sight with day and night channels. The gunner's sight was also equipped with a laser rangefinder. The self-propelled commander has a day sight. In addition, an auxiliary telescopic sight was mounted in front of the tower. As far as is known, no other systems characteristic of modern ACS have been used. Moreover, as part of the equipment of the tank destroyer Type 89, there is even no weapon stabilizer. In this regard, self-propelled guns can not fire on the go. The gun has a two-way stabilization system and is linked to an automatic loader. The sighting system has a two-way mechanical metering sight and a laser rangefinder. The relatively complete fire control system with ballistic computer and other fire control systems surpassed the sight of Type 59 and Type 69 main battle tanks.

The Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun was developed in the 1960s, finalized and 1990s. After the second modification of the technical calibration in the 1970s, its combat targets are the T-62 and T-72 series main battle tanks equipped by the Soviet Red Army. The Type 89 self-propelled anti-tank gun can easily deal with the BTR-7080 series wheeled infantry fighting vehicle. The T-72 series of main battle tanks are equipped with explosive reactive armor and 125mm caliber tank guns that can launch artillery-launched missiles. These technical features can easily penetrate the Type 59, Type 69, Type 79 and Type 80 equipped by our army at the same time.

The Type 89 120mm self-propelled anti-tank gun, although its protective power is somewhat lower than that of the Type 96 and Type 99 PLA's cutting-edge tanks, but on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which occupies a geographical advantage, the upgraded artillery sighting system compares favorably with the Soviet-style "monkey" equipped by the Indian army - T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks have greater advantages. For the Indian army, the "Arjun" main battle tank, which "has not been sharpened for 30 years," has a huge advantage.

The Type 89 120mm self-propelled tank gun is suitable for use on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an altitude of 3000-5000 meters, with the support of the Air Force, combined with Type 00 light tanks, 6- and 8-round tank assault guns, and cross-border the Indian Army, which is not dominant in firepower for assault operations.

The Type 89 anti-tank artillery had two special skills. One was a fast fire rate, which can fire 8 shells per minute, and 22 armor-piercing shells can be fired in three minutes. If 18 guns are fired together, they can fire 400 armor-piercing shells in three minutes, which can be destroyed. A tank regiment. Another skill is strong armor penetration. Due to the use of high chamber pressure technology, the gun has a huge muzzle kinetic energy more than one-third of the western caliber tank guns in the same period. Using armor-piercing shells, it can effectively penetrate 150 mm armor from 3000 meters away, and penetrate any main battle tank in the 90s in the world at a distance of 2500 meters, including the US M1A1 or M1A2 main battle tanks at that time. Because of its powerful firepower, similar to the Ferdinand heavy tank destroyer built in Germany in World War II, it is called the "Oriental Ferdinand" by military fans.

The biggest reason why the Type 89 would be retired is the mobility factor. In the current era, the fire support role of the destroyer tank is still indispensable, especially as the main firepower platform for the rapid reaction force. The best example is the Type 02 wheeled assault gun. Although the Type 02 gun is only 100 mm, it is not as powerful as the Type 89, and its armor is weak, but because the Type 02 has excellent road maneuverability, it can run and fight, which is convenient The rapid deployment and air transportation thousands of miles away makes it more common in the PLA’s artillery units. In contrast, as a tracked chariot, the Type 89 is only suitable for short-distance deployment in the wild and conducts ambush operations, and cannot meet the needs of contemporary diversified operations.