WZ111: China's last heavy tank

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introduce:

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WZ111 is the last heavy tank developed in China, only the hull part of the tank was built, the turret was not built, but the design of this tank has been preserved and can be searched on the Internet

Historical development process:

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On October 19, 1960, the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense issued a design task book for the WZ111 heavy tank, and in the same year, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Armored Forces also supplemented the issues related to the development of heavy tanks. In May 1963, the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense re-issued the “WZ-111 Heavy Tank Design Technical Task Book”, and on June 10, 1964, the Armored Forces Research Institute also issued the “WZ-111 Heavy Tank Research Task Book (Tactical and Technical Performance Requirements) First Draft”, which surpassed the Soviet IS-3 tank and the American M103 tank in terms of performance, and was close to the Soviet-made T-10M tank.On the whole, the WZ111 heavy tank was developed with extensive reference to the technology of the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank and the T-10 heavy tank, and the overall layout was relatively close. But in accordance with the requirements of the military, some improvements were made to weapons and equipment, on-board equipment, etc. As a result of this combination of borrowing and innovation, the WZ111 heavy tank is somewhere between the IS-3 heavy tank and the T-10 heavy tank.In 1965, the only prototype of the WZ111 heavy tank was built, but due to the failure of the turret to be completed, a pyramid dummy turret of the same quality was used. At this time, the relevant state departments decided not to develop heavy tanks in accordance with the development trend that the main battle tank was about to replace heavy tanks and medium tanks, and the WZ111 heavy tank project was officially endedCurrently, the only WZ111 heavy tank is in the collection of the China Tank Museum.

Fire equipment and fire control systems:

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Fire equipment:
In terms of firepower, the WZ111 uses a 122mm Y174 tank gun, which outperforms the IS-3 heavy tank with 32 rounds of ammunition,Secondary armament is a 1959 12.7mm tank anti-aircraft machine gun and a 1959 7.62mm tank parallel machine gun.
Fire control system:
Active infrared night vision sights, infrared sights, rangefinders and other very advanced equipment of that time. The rangefinder with electron-optical changer can accurately distance the target at a distance of 1000 meters, ensuring the first hit rate.

Armor protection:

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In terms of armor, the hull of the car is made of welded rolled steel plates, the front is an “arrow nose” similar to IS3 and T10M, the thickest armor on the front of the hull is 130mm, the side of the hull is 80mm, the back of the hull is 60mm similar to T10M, and the tilt angle of the head of the hull is 25 °, and the head is 36 °.The planned turret had a thickness of 200mm in the front, 80mm in the rear and 25mm in the top, with two outlets.

dynamical system:

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The engine, located at the rear of the fuel tank, is a turbocharged 12150L-SC 12-cylinder diesel engine with a total power of 730 hp and a 49-ton fuselage with a thrust-to-weight ratio of 14.8.
In terms of suspension, the WZ111 heavy tank is similar to the IS series tanks, with independent torsion bar springs, consisting of bundled torsion bar springs, balance elbows, balance elbow limiters and sway rod shock absorbers. The induction wheels are in the front and the driving wheels are in the rear, 7 pairs of small-diameter load-bearing wheels of 550 mm, one more pair than the IS-3, while there are 4 pairs of towing wheels above. The gearbox also uses a planetary gearbox with a 3K mechanism, similar to the Stalin tank, with 8 forward gears and 2 reverse gears

Ancillary Equipment:

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High and low hydraulic presses, automatic loaders, one-way stabilizers, active infrared night vision sights, infrared sights, rangefinders and other very advanced equipment at that time.

Prototype photos and design drawings:

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IMG_3518
IMG_3520
IMG_3517


IMG_3521

supplement:

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According to the information found, the WZ111 turret was equipped with a 122 mm gun numbered Y174, which may be a tank modification of the Type 60 field gun (and it itself was also copied from the Soviet D-74 battle defense gun), and the overall design scheme also included an automatic loader, night vision and an electronic rangefinder, and was also equipped with a commander’s command system (as if the commander exceeded the ability to control the main gun) At the same time, a 130 mm caliber gun was also planned, This may be due to the slow pace of Y174 production and the need for a stopgap measure


【Drawing of the WZ111 armament with a 130 mm gun】

In-game:

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There are only a few heavy tanks in the game, such as the IS2, and if this tank is added, it will undoubtedly enrich the Chinese technology tree, and I think the WZ111 tank has a weight of 8.0-8.3, which is about the same as the T10M tank, so I am looking forward to the addition of this tank

parameter:

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Size: 10.6 x 3.3 x 2.5 m
Empty vehicle full weight / combat weight: 44/46 tons
Crew: 4 (Driver, Commander, Gunner, Loader & Communicator)
Power: 12150L-SC 12-cylinder supercharged diesel engine (730 hp)
Thrust-to-weight ratio: 14.8
Suspension: Torsion bar suspension
Armor: 60mm at the thinnest and 200mm at the thick
firepower:
1.Y174 122mm tank gun【32 bombs in reserve】/Unknown model 130-mm gun in the plan
2.Type 59 7.62mm tank side-by-side machine gun
3.Type 54 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun
Ancillary Equipment:
High and low hydraulic press, chain ammunition loser, one-way stabilizer, active infrared night vision sight, infrared viewer, electronic rangefinder, commander command system (the commander exceeds the ability to control the main gun)

Engine Data Literature:

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Sources:

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WZ111重型坦克 - 火器百科
111重型坦克 - 维基百科,自由的百科全书
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/90803808
艰辛的重坦之路!天朝第一辆,最后一辆,也是唯一一辆重型坦克———WZ-111 - 哔哩哔哩
无奈的项目,WZ-111重型坦克 - 哔哩哔哩
https://www.163.com/dy/article/FJ96986S0518KLAP.html

Citations:[1]张保中.12150L增压柴油机研究[J].兵工学报(坦克装甲车与发动机分册),1987(02):1-7. DOI:10.16599/j.cnki.1009-4687.1987.02.001.
https://wap.cnki.net/touch/web/Journal/Article/BGTK198702000.html

10 Likes

It would be nice if there were actual photos of the turret. Until we get those (or more detailed blueprints), it can’t be added.

image
image
gun

4 Likes

So it’s an IS-3 i’d guess
or maybe IS-2/IS-3 hybrid is more accurate

Thank you man +1

More comparable to the T-10A than the IS-3 and especially IS-2

2 Likes

I completely forgot about that thing :D

Chinese T-10A! I love it, +1

+1 as a “Dreams Do Come True” event vehicle.

1 Like

Or, IDK, as a Call of the Dragon event vehicle… instead of a random Russian MBT

8 Likes

I don’t think this thing even has a turret or one was ever produced, I could be wrong.

China got only 2 tech tree heavy tank, lets make it three. Must be in tech tree so I can actually use it.

2 Likes

Link for those who want to see what was discussed in the old forum:

Old forum link: WZ-111 Heavy Tank (PLA) - Passed for Consideration - War Thunder - Official Forum

1 Like

+1 as a “Dreams Do Come True” event vehicle.

1 Like

Suggestion passed to the developers for consideration.

1 Like