- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #157
I want to make a suggestion for an interesting Chinese light tank, the 132 with 76mm
first of all, the tank’s name is 132轻型坦克. it can be translated by 132 light tanks but read as 132 Qīngxíng tǎnkè. it was not called WZ132 or object 132. it would be a huge mistake to give the wrong name which can lead to confusion with either a Russian tank or another Chinese tank.
the history of the 132 light tank started back in 1958 when China ordered the development of a new “modern” light tank. the concept was initially to create a tank weighting 16 for the sothern region of China. a downscalled version of the Type 59. the first concept been the 59-16 who might had been build but the information are making. a second concept who was officially named 131 light tank was build in 1959, this tank had issue with the engine who was too strong and the 85mm with autoloader. it was fallow by a refined design which was called the 132.
initially designed with an auto-loader and rangefinder, hydraulic transmission, and hydropneumatic suspension those features were dropped on the way due to technical issues. some been issue during the testing on the 131 light tanks, and others have been production issues. finally, the tank was designed much simpler with mechanical transmission and suspension, and a cast turret sometimes with a coincidence rangefinder and a vertical stabilizer. otherwise just a simple rudimentary tank. still, the tank offered decent mobility performance. the main issue was the armament which was a 76mm based on the Type 54 gun which was in turn a Chinese copy of the Soviet Zis-3 or based on the D-56T. it is unclear what was the exact gun name, some state it be the 60式76坦克炮 or 60-76T坦克炮 which could both translate as the Type 60 76mm tank gun. built by Factory 674 the tank was tested in Changxindian Tank School in Beijing. the tank featured a downgraded version of the Type 58’s engine which was reduced to 414 hp. the tank performed so well a production of 28 additional tanks were ordered for the National Parade of 1960. it was the same year the 132 light tank started his endurance test. the purpose was to test the reliability of the mechanic. the tank shows a few issues on that matter but nothing out of the ordinary. the autoloader were dropped at the same time as the gun couldn’t fire normally. The parade was finally cancelled and the 132 project was finally reformed. notably on the firepower. the 76mm was just too weak and the ammunition was hard to supply. with the withdrawal of the Type 54 and Zis-3 guns from the services, there was not going to be any more ammunition produced. ultimately the 132 were used as training vehicles and not tanks in full military service. the adoption of the Type 62 light tank which was a further refined tank based on the 132. Type 62 was more basic, cheaper and more effective than the 132.
Firepower
while the gun might seem impressive. it is not as good as it looks. it’s mostly due to the proportion of the tank which makes the gun look so high. the gun is called 60式76毫米坦克炮 and was designed by Factory 247. at the time it was regarded as a success. the gun was not completely finalized before 1962 and was the first domestic design made by China. this gun happens to be rather weak, which is one of the reasons they finally decided to go with the 85mm. the performance of the gun is unknown. the gun is either a derivative of the Soviet D-56TS or the Chinese Type 54 (which is a Chinese copy of the Zis-3). both guns have relatively the same performance. one of the features that led to the cancellation of this gun was the incapacity to have modern ammunition or to produce it. it could mean the BK-354M HEAT-FS was not available. the 132 was initially designed to have an autoloader, but this autoloader was not working. it was just not loading the round after shooting the one in the breech. the autoloader was removed and the tanks were successfully tested with manual loading. a decent feature of this tank is the vertical stabilizer. this shall give this tank a pretty welcome offensive ability. another is the Coincidence rangefinder visible on the turret. this allows the tank to be more effective in the longer range… if you think the rounds are strong enough to penetrate a target far enough to need the rangefinder. the elevation of the gun is unknown, but the -4 to + 22 of the 211 amphibious tank sounds like a good guess to me. the turret was intended to have hydraulic power. but it was also dropped. without it the rotation would be around 10°/sec. with it, it would be around 24°/sec. it’s up to Gaijin to decide if they want to give it or not. i would suggest giving it as it had it at some point and the model 1960 which is going to be suggested too didn’t have it. 26 rounds are carried in the tank. 24 are on the side of the hull next to the driver while 2 are in the turret. if there is so little ammunition carried, it was surely because it was intended to have an autoloader which was removed. still, even with 26 rounds, most players will be capable of playing a whole battle with ease. they will just need to watch their ammunition. the turret also features a coaxial machine gun. A roof-mounted 14.5mm heavy machine gun could be mounted, but it is not present in any photo even if the pintle is there.
Mobility
the tank’s weight of the model of 1959 is unknown. Thanks to the bad archiving of the time, it might be never known. but the model of 1973 is known to be 22.5 tonnes with a heavier and more powerful 100mm gun. the model of 1959 was controlled at a weight somewhere between 18 and 20 tonnes. for some reason the weight is vague, so I guess we should give it the middleweight of 19 tonnes until it’s specified more accurately. the engine is a 12150L一7 providing 309 kw or 414 hp. this is enough to power the tank to a speed of up to 65 km/h. it is to assume the transmission and gearbox are already the same as the Type 62.
Protection
the tank is a precursor/prototype of the Type 62. As such, it is almost certain it had the same armour level. this gives the tank a pretty decent protection level for a light tank. capable of taking a hit of some weaker gun, it allows it to have a versatile role and act as a medium tank if the situation allows it. this version should fall in a BR significantly lower than the Type 62 due to the weak armament. it allows us to assume it will face early 75mm with medium velocity. tank such as the T-34-76 and M4 medium tank would not always be capable of penetrating it in every situation. The chassis has 35mm of armour well sloped which makes it capable of taking a direct hit. the turret has approximately 50mm which is also fairly thick. The low profile cupola makes it have less weakness. The advantage stops there as the crew is rather small, with 3 men for this specific version and the side armour is only 25mm.
Sources
- https://m.fx361.com/news/2018/0130/2801367.html
- https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/62式轻型坦克
- 中系轻坦科普及怒斥两辆九十级敷衍YY车_坦克世界_17173.com中国游戏门户站
- 中国WZ132轻型坦克研制失败始末及经验教训(图)_新浪军事_新浪网
- 我军最重要的坦克，曾被五位元帅视察过，却始终无缘阅兵 -6parkbbs.com
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