couldnt find a topic about this little rat so i decided to make one
As far as i know, there are two variants of this vehicle: the first and the second prototype:
The first version had a flat turret with one 105mm recoilless rifle either side of the turret with the second version having two different turrets. One had a sloped turret with slab sides, with the 105mm recoilless rifles in tandem and the ATGM rails on the gun barrels, in a cradle in the right side of the turret. The other had an enclosed turret that was wedge shaped all around, similar to the British Scorpion tracked reconnaissance vehicle, the HJ -73 ATGM rails on either side of the turret, with a gun cradle towards the centre of the turret. The missile rails appear to be mounted co-axially with the gun cradle.
The first prototype featured a TZ2120A (or is it WZ2120A?) rotary gasoline engine built by the Tianjin Motor Factory, capable of producing 176 hp / 132 kW. (need more info!)
The second prototype had a different engine - Deutz F6L413F, providing 189 hp / 141 kW.
Both prototypes use the same guns and ATGM’s - the Type 75 recoilless rifle and HJ73 MCLOS ATGM.
According to sinorecords, the first prototype had a Type 77 12.7 mm HMG mounted on top of the turret, while the second prototype featured a different machinegun - Type 56.
Apparently, the second prototype also had modern hydro-pneumatic suspension system implemented allowing the tank to raise and lower its suspension from 170 mm / 6.70 in to 400 mm / 15.75 in. The benefit of this suspension system was that it was able to adjust its height to suit the terrain type, as well as being able to increase or decrease its gun elevation and depression angles, allowing the tank to fire over a ridge without exposing its hull.
Looking for more info! I cant navigate the Chinese side of the web, so i am asking anyone who can for assistance! Specifically, the engine of the first prototype is a mystery - i only found mentions of it, with no concrete information (no datasheets, nothing).
The armor values are also murky, ive found no useful info on that.
