- Yes
- No
History: T-59G(Durjoy) is a modification of Chinese type 59 tank. Currently this tank is known as Medium Tank T-59G Durjoy (Bengali Name:দুর্জয়. ‘Durjoy’ means ‘Unconquerable’ in English). Durjoy MBT is comparable to third generation Chinese MBTs. The tank was upgraded after 2015(Current version) in Bangladesh. The tank was upgraded at Bangladesh Machine tools Factory’s Central workshop with help from NORINCO. Total 174 tanks were made. Between 1990 and 1972 several hundreds of type 59 tanks were bought by Bangladesh army. Since Bangladesh didn’t have enough budget at that time to buy expensive tanks, so at that time cheap Chinese type 59 tanks were the only option. These tanks are still in service but they are gradually getting upgraded.
After 2015(2010 first version) the Durjoy modernisation program started to upgrade old and obsolete type 59 tanks to modern standards. Type 59G Durjoy is heavily inspired from Chinese ZTZ96 tank. This upgradation program was mostly taken to counter T-72 tanks of our neighbouring countries and to lengthen the service life of Type 59. Total 2 variants(Unofficial) were made, one was the Durjoy MK 1(First revealed in 2010,with ZTZ 59G like turret and no turret era) and other one was Durjoy MK 2(Revealed in 2015). Bangladesh has about 300 Type 59 tanks in its inventory and those tank are gradually getting upgraded.
Note :There is a slight confusion about the variants of this tank ,some say that Mk 1 and Mk 2 designations are made up. I also think that Mk 1 and Mk 2 designations are made up. The tank was always known as Durjoy. The version revealed in 2010 and the version revealed in 2017 both probably had same designation T-59G Durjoy
Specifications:
Weight:40 tons.(Source:10th picture, information panel)
Engine:The engine which is used on this Tank is 730 HP 12V150ZLCW engine. Power to weight ratio is 18.25. Transmission could be same as ZTZ 96G since that tank’s engine can generate identical power.355.01.001.20 发动机 12V150 V55-355.01.001.20-Forward_重汽配件网
(Source:Tender)
Crew: The tank has crew of four including (1) Commander, (2) Gunner, (3) Driver, (4) Operator(Loader). (Source:10th picture). Crew placement is most likely same as before.
Protection: Base Hull armor is same as original type 59 but the hull now has Modular composite armor(Claimed by most sources) and ERA on front. Upper frontal plate and lower frontal plate has some composite armor as well because its significantly thicker(longer) than original type 59’s UFP even without ERA. You can clearly see plates of armor has been added on the front part of the hull in the videos given below. Also some kind of composite material can be seen in that gap. Turret has been changed to a new turret(Apparently it looks like that the turret might be the old one with addon composite and ERA armor or maybe the turret is from Poly ZTZ 59G).The turret now has Modular composite and applique armor. The composite armor layout in the turret is probably same as ZTZ 96G’s(Wikipedia suggests that it’s same as ZTZ 96A) turret composite armor layout. The tank also got NBC protection. ERA used on hull may not be same as the ERA used on the turrets cage armor. ERA is 3rd gen Chinese FY-IV ERA(Note: Some sources may claim this tank has Kontakt 5 ERA but that’s wrong, because FY IV ERA has some similarity with kontakt 5 that’s why some sources have misidentified it as Kontakt 5).
Since FY-IV era has different thickness for each part of the tank, the era might look similar to older FY series ERAs. This tank definitely doesn’t use FY-I because that ERA panel is completely smooth but ERA panels on Durjoy have a layer on top of the era panels. That layer is slightly smaller than the base panel.
Spoiler
The tank also has laser warning receivers and the tank has some kind of Laser Suppression System. It also has 81mm smoke grenades and ESS smoke screen. According to the official data the weakest part of this tank is the fuel tank which probably refers to front part of the hull(Probably lower glacis since it doesn’t have any ERA coverage but it does have a new layer of armor) and the most protected part is front of the turret. Originally Type 59 tanks had Glacis front: 190 mm, turret front: 203 mm, others: 20-100 mm Armor. Now the tank has side skirts. After upgrades current armor values are unknown. Information on the ERA blocks:
Spoiler
Possible Armor layout(It’s just my own opinion, I could be wrong. Since FY-4 ERA is thicker but in the pictures we can only see thin ERA blocks used in most parts of the tank and the ERA block which we can see has similar thickness with FY-2 ERA so the tank may not have FY-4 ERA or may not have it all around the tank. Also most sources say the ERA used by this tank is effective against APFSDS rounds and HEAT rounds, which is somewhat similar to FY-2’s characteristics. I think only place where FY-4 is used is sides of the turret and near the back cage armor or maybe some kind of cut down version of FY-4 ERA may have been used. I have also seen in many places that FY-4 actually has different thickness throughout the tank. So there is a High probability that my ERA configuration which is given below is completely wrong and the tank actually only uses FY-4 ERA):
Another Possible ERA, it’s a thinner variant of FY-4 and it looks quite similar to the era block we can see on the tank. This era block has more potential to be the era block which is used on this tank since most sources say that this tank only uses one type of era which is FY-4.(We can only assume the era blocks which are used in this tank, since there’s no official statement about this tank’s era blocks or armor.)
Spoiler
As you can see the ERA used on this tank have similar rivets. So its likely that FY-4E is used on this tank.
Main Gun: Main gun is a 125mm smooth bore gun. The gun is fully stabilized and gunner sight is also stabilized as well. The Gun is 2A46 125mm cannon or most likely it’s Chinese variant which is ZPT98(Higher probability) .https://wiki.warthunder.com/ZPT98_(125_mm) or maybe Type 88C.
It probably uses the same gun as MBT-2000. In official documents the gun’s name is BA321C. I’m not sure what’s the actual name of BA321C.
The gun can shoot Chinese APFSDS and HEAT-fs, HE-fs. It can carry 28 rounds.(Source: Information panel). The tank uses 2 piece ammo. First stage ammo stowage has been added in the turret bustle. The APFSDS round(125-IIM) used by this tank can penetrate 550mm of RHA at 2km(Source for gun range:10th picture). The gun uses semi auto loader, similar to what is found in many SPHs.(Check the third picture).
**Fire Control system:**This tank uses the same fire control system as MBT-2000(Most likely). Since this tank uses the same gun(Most likely) there is some possibility that it might have used the same fire control system. Most sources have confirmed that the tank has computerized fire control system with thermal imaging.
Secondary Armaments: 12.7mm Machine gun and 7.62mm coax machine gun.12.7 mm machine gun is W85(600 rounds) and coaxial one is type 86 coax machine gun(3000 rounds). (Source: Information panel).The coaxial machine gun is currently replaced with a licensed copy of type 86, but the new gun(BD-14) uses nato caliber 7.62×51mm instead of soviet 7.62×54mm.ODIN - OE Data Integration NetworkChinese_Main_Battle_Tank(MBT)
Others: The tank has independent commander(No CITV can be seen in the pictures) and gunner sights. It has 2nd or maybe 3rd gen thermal sight and laser designator It has XDZ-1 SATCOM and VRC-2000L radio systems for communication and its range is 30km. Previously used steel tracks are now replaced with new rubber padded tracks. The tank now has modern laser range finder. Optics/Sights are probably same as ZTZ 96 or MBT 2000. Officially it was stated that the tank has computerized fire control system with thermal sights, nothing more than that was confirmed officially or at least its not available on the internet.
Max Speed: On paved road it can operate at max speed of 49.8 km/h and on dirt it can operate at max speed of 35 km/h.(Source: Information panel, 2024 one)
Pictures:
Spoiler
(Probably the interior↑.Commander)
Assisted loader loading the shell:
(Extremely rare picture of top view of the tank)
Early version of durjoy without turret era and with ZTZ 96G(It might be ZTZ 59G’s turret) turret:
Pictures were taken in 2011.
Current version of durjoy without ERA:
T-59G durjoy firing:
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information on the tank(For translation you can ask me):
Spoiler
1.Tank’s name:T-59 G Durjoy
2.Came to Bangladesh:1972
3.Upgradation started:2015
4.Manufacturer country:China
5.Weight:40 tons
6.Number of crew:4.A)Commander,B)Driver,C)Gunner,D)Operator(Which is probably radio operator)
7.Max speed:
A)On road:49 Km/h,B)On dirt road:33 Km/h.
8.Fording depth: 1400mm.
9.Main sections according to structure:A)Hull,B)Turret,C)Suspension.
10.Main sections according to their operation:A)Driving compartment,
B)Engine compartment,
C)Fighting compartment.
11.Weapons: A)One 125mm main gun, B)One 7.62mm gun, C)One 12.7mm anti air gun.
12.Ammunition: A)For main gun:28 rounds, B)For 7.62mm gun:3000 rounds, C)For 12.7mm gun:800 rounds.
13.Effective range of target destroying capability: A) 125mm gun:Targets that are 2000m away.
B)7.62mm gun:Targets that are 1000m away.
C)12.7mm gun Targets that are 1600m away.
14.Thickest part of the tank:Turret front.
15.Weakest part of the tank:Fuel tank(which is probably located in lower glacis part of the tank or they might have referred this to the external fuel tank)
16.Tanks turning ability:360°
17.Gun’s turning ability:360°
18.(Missing)
19.(Missing)
20.Radio system:VRC 2000L
21.Communication range:30km
Information panel from 2024 Military Hardware display:
One of the apfsds round of this tank:
125II-M
This tank most likely uses the same rounds as the MBT-2000.
Also this post is probably the most detailed post that you will ever find on this tank.
I have written every bit of information available on this tank. I dont think there is anymore information left or at least not on the internet. Since most sources dont have much details about this tank I had to do some personal research
Videos with real sound:
Frontal spaced/composite armor:
Originally posted in the old forum.
