M1985 SPAA

[ChieftainWarrior]

Would you like to see this in-game?

• Yes
• No

Where would you like to see this?

• North Korea sub-tree in China
• United Korea tree
• Other
• I said no

M1985 SPAA

Unknown official name

Brief History
North Korea has a surprisingly long history of tank and AFV production, with some of their most recent developments being very interesting. During the Korean War, and for a couple decades after, North Korea relied on Soviet hand-me-downs, namely T-34s and their derivatives, T-55s, etc. In the 70s, the DPRK started development of their first MBTs based on their copy of the T-62 (Ch’ŏnma), which have continually been upgraded to this day.

To support MBTs and the rest of their armed forces, North Korea experimented with a number of SPAAs, starting with primitive trucks with machine guns placed on top (like the Soviet GAZ SPAAs), but reaching fully functional indigenous SPAAs beginning in the 70s. There are popular claims online that North Korea received 250 ZSU-57-2 turrets from the Soviet Union, which they then mounted on Type 59 hulls, but this is unsubstantiated and little more than a rumour. However, despite the ZSU-57-2 likely never setting foot in North Korea, North Korean engineers developed their own version – named M1985 in the West.

Characteristics
The M1985 mounts dual S-68A 57mm autocannons on the chassis of the Soviet ZSU-23-4, which North Korea did import (at least a couple vehicles). The guns are the exact same as the ZSU-57-2, and would fire the same shells, at the same rate.

The turret is very rudimentary in appearance, essentially being a giant box surrounding the guns. Armour probably remains the same or similar to the ZSU-57-2, being very thin. The biggest difference although, is a complete lack of gun depression, being limited to 0 or even +1° of elevation.

The turret seems to be split into an upper and lower section, the former potentially being able to be lowered. This could give the vehicle more gun depression but would expose the crew even further. However, no images have ever been found of this, so it’s purely speculative.

The hull of the M1985 is a copy of the ZSU-23-4’s, although there are a few minor differences. There is different side stowage, different tracks, and potentially a slightly altered upper-front plate angle. However, none of this matters in game, as the hull is already weakly armoured, and won’t stop much above machine guns.

Conclusion
This vehicle would be a great mid-tier indigenous SPAA for a North Korean sub-tree. It would have identical gun performance and similar mobility to the ZSU-57-2 at 7.0, but with a complete lack of gun depression in combination with a higher gun placement, I think it’s anti-tank capabilities will be much more limited, so I think 6.7 would be best.

Specifications
Armament

• Dual S-68 57mm
  • BR-281SP APCBC
    • 151mm at 10m, 1000/s
  • OR-281U HE
    • 17mm at 10m, 1000/s
  • BR-281U APCBC
    • 151mm at 10m, 1000m/s

Armour

• Hull
  • Front
    • 9mm
  • Sides
    • 9mm
  • Rear
    • 9mm
• Turret
  • Front
    • Unknown, ~15mm
  • Sides
    • Unknown, ~15mm
  • Rear
    • Unknown, ~15mm

Mobility

• Speed
  • 50km/h
• Weight
  • Unknown, greater than 19t (ZSU-23-4 weight)
• Engine power
  • 280hp

Images

Spoiler

Sources

Spoiler

M1985 Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun - Tank Encyclopedia
A Visual Guide To North Korea’s Fighting Vehicles - Oryx
The Armed Forces of North Korea: On the Path of Songun – Stijn Mitzer, Joost Oliemans

[JamesPond1200-psn]

Probably their worst-designed vehicle, but still one which must be included. +1

[warner7]

0 depression is trash,but still +1

[Teh0]

Most positive vehicle. Gun never depress.

[DMYEugen]

What are the chances NK had access to DKY-1 or 3UO8? I say this simply because the M1985 has been seen with MANPADs before and I think that having a high and low BR version of the M1985 would be pretty neat, with the former having access to MANPADs and HE-VT.

[PlayedStatue626-live]

+1 certainly an interesting vehicle

[ChieftainWarrior]

Your guess is as good as mine. We don’t know what ammunition they might use. 3UO8 is much more modern than DKY-1, which was produced in the 80s iirc. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had DKY-1, but I would be if they had 3UO8. Importantly though, Gaijin favours balancing over strict historical accuracy, and as long as a weapon could theoretically fire certain ammunition, it’s fair game.

As a side note, just because it’s interesting, they do produce their own version of the 57mm, with S-68A cannons (and new muzzlebrake) in an S-60 gun mount.

[DMYEugen]

Guess we’ll just have to see what Gaijin goes with. I’m certain that a good 50%~ of NK vehicle stats are going to be either assumptions or made up so I hope the liberties they do take make the tree more interesting. For example, if they decide to give NK APCs access to Chinese 14.5mm APDS rounds, the tree could gain access to a whole slew of pseudo-IFVs fitted with MANPADs.

[lucas1013]

Can it fire a HEVT shell