Type 74 MBT - Armament
The main gun is a licensed 51 caliber 105mm rifle L7A1 from Royal Ordnance (currently BAE Systems) in the UK, and is licensed by Japan Steel Works in Japan. The L7 can be said to be the standard gun of the second generation tanks in the West. This gun is a reliable tank gun that is also used for the American M60 tank and the German Leopard 1. A thermal sleeve is attached to the gun barrel to prevent the barrel itself from distorting due to the heat generated during shooting.
The fire control device, which was researched and developed at the same time as the Type 74 tank, consisted of a laser rangefinder, an analog ballistic calculator, a gun stabilizer, etc., and included a sighting periscope, direct sighting glasses, a direction indicator, and an elevation sight. An indirect sight consisting of a tool is also equipped. It is possible to keep aiming at the target even while running with the gun stabilization device with a 2-axis gyro, and it is also possible to shoot while marching.
The fire control system was equipped with the latest technology at the time, such as an analog type ballistic calculator linked to a laser rangefinder using a ruby laser, and boasted extremely high accuracy for the time. In particular, it was the first conventional tank in the world to be equipped with a laser rangefinder, which is now used as a matter of course. It can measure distances from 300 to 3000m with an accuracy of ±10m, and the measurement data is automatically sent to the ballistic calculator. The transmitter/receiver of the laser rangefinder is mounted in the same location as the vehicle commander's sighting periscope.
The Type 74 is equipped with an active infrared night vision device for night-time combat, and one platoon is equipped with infrared and white floodlights. This infrared and white floodlight can be used as a normal light if you apply a filter and only infrared rays if you do not apply a filter. Normally, only infrared rays are emitted, and objects illuminated by infrared night vision can be seen. This floodlight is powerful enough to read a book 1500m away with a xenon lamp, but if the other party also has an infrared night vision device, this position will be revealed, so it seems that it is not very useful as a night vision device at present. Therefore, it is equipped with a passive infrared night vision device that does not reveal its position on Type 90 tanks and Type 89 armored fighting vehicles. By the way, this powerful floodlight caught the attention of the 1991 eruption of Mt. Unzen Fugendake, and a disaster dispatch was carried out to monitor pyroclastic flows at night.
There is a commander's cupola with 5 vision blocks on the top right of the turret, and a J3 sighting periscope (8x or 1x) for the commander in front. In front of it is the gunner's J2 sighting periscope (8x or 1x), and to the right of the gun mantlet is the gunner's J1 direct sight (8x daytime, 9.6x night). Other observation devices include an M6 periscope for the loader on the left side of the top of the turret, and a JM17 periscope for the driver on the left front of the hull. As a lighting device, one headlight and direction indicator are installed on each of the front left and right sides of the vehicle body, and one or two projectors for the driver's infrared night vision device are also provided. There is a warning siren on the right side of the vehicle body, and next to it is a control headlight that lights up when the night vision device is not used during light control, but this is considerably darker than the headlight.
The effective range is about 3km, depending on the type of ammunition. The ammunition originally used - British L28A1 APDS and M393 HEP ammunition was produced under license, along with Type 75 HEP-T ammunition, but in 1984 the more powerful M735 APFSDS was added, and now domestically produced APFSDS and HEAT-MP are used.
For shells, in addition to the Type 75 105mm TKG high-explosive bullet (HEP) , the Type 91 105mm multi-purpose anti-tank (HEAT) with improved penetration power and the 105mm TKG wing-stabilized armor-piercing bullet (APFSDS) are mainly used. It has been. It has been treated to be able to compete with tanks from the 3rd generation onwards with composite armor.
The APFSDS currently in operation uses Type 93 fin-stabilized armor-piercing ammunition with an ammunition barrel. This ammunition was developed by Daikin Industries, and has an initial velocity of 1,501m/s, and is estimated to be able to penetrate a homogeneously rolled steel plate of about 414mm at a firing distance of 2km, which is roughly equivalent to a second-generation tank. It is a level that can penetrate the frontal armor. By the way, the armor penetration of the L28A1 105mm APDS bullet that was used at the beginning of its introduction is about 240mm under the same conditions, and the M735 105mmAPFSDS introduced in 1984 is about 318mm, and the attack power has greatly improved compared to the beginning.
As the HEAT ammunition, Komatsu Seisakusho's Type 91 multi-purpose anti-tank high-explosive ammunition is used, with an initial velocity of 1150m/s and an armor penetration of approximately 360-425mm, which is about the same as the US military's 105mm HEAT ammunition M456.
In addition, the Type 74 tank uses a forced cooling system with a blower to cool the gun barrel, enabling continuous shooting of 20 to 25 shots at 2 to 3 second intervals for more than 3 minutes at a rate of 700 shots per minute. The barrel is equipped with a detachable thermal sleeve, which prevents the barrel from distorting due to the heat of shooting and lowering the shooting accuracy. The thermal sleeve of type 74 has a double structure of aluminum alloy, and the heat pipe is passed through it to make the heat distribution even.
The main gun elevation/depression angle was +9 degrees to -6 degrees, but combined with the attitude control of the hydraulic suspension system, it increased to +15 degrees to -12 degrees, making it the world's largest main gun depression angle for a tank at the time. The turret rotation and elevation/depression movements are electric rather than hydraulic, which was the mainstream at the time, and there is little risk of being hit.
On the left side of the main gun, a Type 74 vehicle-mounted 7.62mm machine gun is mounted as a coaxial machine gun. In the center of the top of the turret is a 12.7mm heavy machine gun M2 that can also be used for anti-aircraft fire as a self-defense weapon. The 74-type 7.62mm machine gun is based on the 62-type 7.62mm machine gun and has been mounted on a vehicle. , and the reliability is greatly improved. The firing rate can be switched between 1000 rounds per minute and 700 rounds per minute, and is also used in Type 90 and Type 10 tanks.
In addition, the vehicles are equipped with triple smoke grenade launchers for self-defense on both sides of the rear turret. There are two 74-type 60mm smoke grenade launchers on the side of the turret, and six spare ammunition are installed in the car. The smoke bomb uses yellow phosphorus, and it is possible to instantly set up a smoke screen, and when all bullets are fired, it is possible to configure a smoke screen area in a range of about 100m in front of the vehicle for about 10 minutes.
Self-defense weapons for crew members included two 11.4mm submachine guns (M3 grease guns) and 150 rounds of ammunition, one Type 64 rifle with 200 rounds of ammunition, one 21.5mm signal pistol with 10 rounds of ammunition, and eight hand grenades.
In addition, the number of vehicles equipped with wideband multi-purpose radios in recent years is increasing. There is also a vehicle equipped with a floodlight on the left side of the turret, which emits infrared and white light, and can be used for night battles with an active infrared device.
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