Type 59

Also known as Type 59 MBT, WZ120, Type 59 Medium Tank, Type 59 tank, WZ-120

1958 main battle tank built by China

Key facts

Type: Main battle tank
Place of origin: China
In service: 1959–present
Manufacturer: First Inner Mongolia Machinery Factory , Norinco
Produced: 1958–1985
Number span no built: 9,500
Mass: 36 tonnes (35 long tons; 40 short tons)
Length: 6.04 metres (19.8 ft) (hull)
Width: 3.27 metres (10.7 ft)
Height: 2.59 metres (8 ft 6 in)
Armor: 20–203 mm
Main armament: 100 mm rifled gun
Secondary armament: 2 x Type 59T 7.62 mm machine gun, Type 54 12.7 mm air-defence machine gun
Engine: Model 12150L V-12 liquid-cooled diesel, 520 hp (390 kW)
Power weight: 14.44 hp/tonne
Suspension: torsion bar
Operational range: 450 km, 600 km with external tanks
Maximum speed of vehicle or missile span: 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Mass: 36
Image: Type 59 tank in Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution 20180219.jpg
Height: 2350
Width: 3270

Show 5 more facts

service entry: 1959-01-01
Commons gallery: Type 59 tanks
Commons category: Type 59 tanks
total produced: 6000
ride height: 425

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Article

T-62

The Type 59 (Chinese: 59式; pinyin: Wǔ jiǔ shì; industrial designation: WZ-120) is a Chinese version of the Soviet T-54A main battle tank, an early model of the ubiquitous T-54/55 series. The first vehicles were produced in 1958 and were accepted into service in 1959, with serial production beginning in 1963. Over 9,500 of the tanks were produced by the time production ended in 1985 with approximately 5,500 serving with the Chinese armed forces. The tank formed the backbone of the People's Liberation Army's armoured units until the early 2000s, with an estimated 5,000 of the later Type 59-I and Type 59-II variants in service in 2002.