WZ554 23mm SPAAG
The WZ554 is a Chinese prototype anti-aircraft vehicle, armed with two 23mm cannons in a turret on the chassis of the WZ551. It is a rather obscure vehicle, built in small numbers and seldom pictured.
The WZ551 was first shown in prototype form in 1986 by Norinco. Initially called Type 90, many at the time noted it looked similar to the French VAB, but further inspection revealed that although it is similar in appearance, it has different overall dimensions, weight and many other aspects. Built as a wheeled IFV, it has been exported to over 20 countries, but primarily serves in the People's Liberation Army. One of the notable aspects of the WZ551 is its adaptability to different roles. Several production variants and a number of prototypes have been made, with versions armed with 120mm gun mortars, ATGM launchers, 100mm smoothbore guns, 105mm rifled guns, and many more.
The WZ554 was built off the original Type 90 chassis in the 1980s, before it was modified to become the Type 92, or WZ551. During this time, Sino-American relations were warming, and analysis of foreign equipment revealed that it often relied on the principle of high mobility, and high firepower. As such, a vehicle able to suit this role was needed, which would lead to the WZ551.
One variant built in small numbers was the WZ554, a 6x6 vehicle equipped with the Type 85 23mm cannons, a copy of the Soviet ZSU-23-2 system. The WZ554 twin-tube 23mm wheeled self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was developed in the early 1990s. The gun is mainly suitable for attacking low-altitude targets with an altitude below 1500m, a slant distance within 2500m, and a flight speed of 50m/s~350m/s, including fighter jets, attack aircraft, armed helicopters and paratroopers, etc. It can also be used to attack within a distance of 2000m Ground fixed targets and lightly armored targets.
The turret of the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is an open turret. The firepower system is modified on the basis of a towed 23mm anti-aircraft gun. The raceway diameter of the turret raceway is 1320mm. The photoelectric fire control and artillery drive system adopts the domestic self-contained JM831 product, but some improvements have been made . The system consists of optical sight, joystick and route parameter setting box, artillery advance angle computer, prism servo system, rough sight, artillery hydraulic drive system and power supply, etc.
There is a gunner's seat on the turret basket, and the gunner is responsible for manipulating the photoelectric fire control device, capturing and tracking dynamic targets, launching the gun and communicating with the commander. The captain's seat is behind the right door of the vehicle, and there is a captain's control panel and a radio station beside the seat. The feeding method of the gun is a box-type ammunition feeding method. There are 6 ammunition boxes placed on the chassis, and the ammunition boxes can be taken out from the movable window 1 on the rear top deck. The pills and belts used in the battle can be thrown out of the vehicle directly.
The chassis of this self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is a 6×6 wheeled armored vehicle chassis, the engine is placed at the rear, and the power room is separated from other parts of the car body by a partition. In addition to the engine, there are main clutches, transmission boxes, transmission shafts and lubricating and cooling equipment in the power room. system. On the right side of the power room, there is a channel connecting the combat room, and at the end of the channel there is a rear doorThe car body is fully enclosed and made of armor plates, which has a certain protective ability.
The self-propelled anti-aircraft gun chassis adopts a load-carrying bridge and a non-independent suspension of the transverse axis. The front suspension is composed of semi-elliptical leaf springs arranged longitudinally and a cylindrical shock absorber, and the middle and rear suspensions are composed of coil springs ( Each side is longitudinally arranged in double rows) and is composed of barrel shock absorbers, upper thrust rods, and lower thrust rods. The coil spring assembly acts as an elastic connection between the vehicle body and the transverse axis . Play a guiding role. The bearing bridge is basically the same as the "Iron Horse" (Mercedes-Benz) car bridge, with only partial modifications, good interchangeability and versatility, and with inter-axle and inter-wheel differential locks, so the off-road performance of the whole vehicle is high , better smoothness.
The transmission on the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun chassis is a ZF5S-111GP transmission with 9 forward gears and 1 reverse gear . The power is transmitted from the transmission output to the transfer case through the drive shaft, and the transfer case is composed of a driving cylindrical helical gear and a planetary differential. The sun gear and the ring gear of the differential are respectively connected to the input shafts of the front axle and the middle axle. The main clutch is single plate dry type GF420KR. The power output interface for traveling on water is reserved on the transmission case. The steering system is steering wheel, hydraulic power assist, and front axle steering. The brake system is a dual-pipeline air brake.
The self-propelled anti-aircraft gun has an in-vehicle power station, which is mainly composed of a T25S-12 generator and a power station control box. The generator is driven by a power take-off of the transmission via the drive shaft.
The in-vehicle communication device consists of an 889 radio station, an 803 in-vehicle intercom and a tank cap with a chest switch.
uring the day, the driver can use the K19-GT combat vehicle observation mirror to drive with the window closed, and at night, use the active infrared night vision device to observe. Observation windows are provided above the two occupant seats next to the left door and above the captain's seat next to the right door, and the occupants can observe the outside through the bulletproof glass of the observation windows.
The chassis of the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun adopts the non-independent suspension of the load-carrying bridge and the coil spring plus the shock absorber, which is a bold attempt. The height of the car body is increased, and the protection and sealing of the open turret are also poor.
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