A Guide to PLA Tanks from 1956 to Present (Are They Any Good?)

Thanks to War Thunder for sponsoring this video!
Play it now for FREE using this link: playwt.link/redwrenchfilms24
New players - or those who haven’t played in over 6 months - will get a massive bonus pack that includes multiple premium vehicles, the exclusive “Eagle of Valor” decoration, 100,000 silver lions and 7 days premium account time.
Ever wondered what Chinese tanks were like? What stuff like "ZTZ99A" or "WZ120" actually means? How long has China had tanks? How do you even tell them apart? And, importantly... are they any good? This video aims to answer all these questions and more, taking you on a journey through Chinese tank development and making plenty of stops along the way.
With thanks to Andrea Yu, who helped me immensely during the script writing process.
DISCORD: / discord
PATREON: / redwrenchfilms
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:16 T-54A = Type 59
02:38 Designations 101
04:00 Not REAL Communists...
05:23 Project 121
05:57 Sponsor Message
07:10 Type 69
08:10 Type 62 & 63
09:03 Type 69-II
09:37 Type 59-III & Type 79
10:18 Please? Maybe? Unless?
10:39 Type 80/88 (Boo Hiss)
12:10 Type 85 (Woo!)
13:20 T-72? Somehow?
14:08 Type 96/96A
14:53 Type 98/99/99A
16:52 Type 15(?)
17:25 Honorable Mentions
18:25 Outro
All content is presented in historical context for educational purposes. All footage is owned by its copyright holder and is used in this channel under "fair use".
Music by Epidemic Sound

[@RedWrenchFilms]

Thanks to War Thunder for sponsoring this video! Play it now for FREE using this link: playwt.link/redwrenchfilms24 New players - or those who haven’t played in over 6 months - will get a massive bonus pack that includes multiple premium vehicles, the exclusive “Eagle of Valor” decoration, 100,000 silver lions and 7 days premium account time. Enjoy!

[@germanpanzer38t]

When red wrench gaming???

[@Who_Knows-kp1yq]

Most people who watch your videos have already sold their soul, and physical body to the snail. There is truly no escape from the all-devouring grasps of Gaijin.

[@ADVS.]

sorry bestie i already have top tier china, ZTZ99A is peak gameplay

[@nebula4702]

If z = zed, is a zebra a zed-ebra?

[@peekaboopeekaboo1165]

Nothing "bizarre" about the history of Chinese MBT development .

[@MFitz12]

To be fair, the Type 62 was built for use in the high mountain and jungle regions of the country where larger MBT's could not operate effectively. While now long obsolete, if you look at the geography where they were deployed, the time period and the potential opposition the Type 62 makes total sense AND would cause real problems.

[@23thenicu]

This is exactly why it received a successor in form of Type 15

[@MFitz12]

@@23thenicu - Precisely. Type 59 (ZTZ-59 today) is also still around because in some of the more remote and rugged areas it is just a better tool for the job than the heavier Type 96/99.

[@jerryle379]

Type 62 was pretty shit for jungle and mountain , china already has a perfect light tank for that role aka the type 63-85 amphibious light tank , use the same gun but it also can swim , the tank show it usefulness in Vietnam war and there good reason for why Vietnam only ask for type63-85 and didn't ask for the type 62. Why use type 62 if you have t54/55 and type 59 the terrain that you can use them are the same , but you get worse armour and gun. If place you can't use t54/55 and 59, the type 63-85 performs much better than the type 62 as it is lighter and amphibious meaning it can cross river / stream / lake.

[@MFitz12]

@@jerryle379 - I guess you got it right and the entire PLA got it wrong for 50 years then.🤦‍♂

[@WangGanChang]

​​@@jerryle379type 63 is too long and physically too large (as it needs to float in water) which mean it would often get stuck in steep or tight terrain and need help from engineers to get it out. Which delays maneuver and attract enemy fire. After action report from 79 war give it a extremely poor review relative to type 62, and type 63 is treated as pure amphibious tank afterwards rather than rivines as well. On a flatter terrain perhaps Type 63 would do better, but remember southern china is very hilly as well, terrain that would pass type 62, would not necessarily pass type 59 or type 63 without serious engineering support.

[@Moffydude]

I CAN’T ESCAPE THE SNAIL.

[@krle7970]

Have you prayed today?

[@superburrito9797]

Chinese tanks are pretty fun in war thunder. Its so funny when a Object 292 players shoots at the ZTZ-96A's ufp and doesnt pen 😂

[@TeterPiago123]

The snail is pretty lazy when coming to chinese, ground at least, selective historical aqruacy and faulty models are big problems, especially the breach armor for all the modern ones.

[@superburrito9797]

@@TeterPiago123 My biggest complaint is the lack of chinese ifvs and light tanks in the higher BRs. And honestly i would love to see the Chinese jet trainers in the tech tree. Like the JL-9 and JL-10.

[@TeterPiago123]

@@superburrito9797 ya, that would be great, but because of the lack of open source information on the viechles and different standards (like apsfds pen stats, like its testing standards) it is really up to gaijin to decide on the vichel's shittyness, and usually just make Chinese vichels worse versions of similar russian ones not, despite clear video evidence off improvements (99 and 96's reload rate)

[@eta320]

Oh boy! Finally! A Chinese tank guide for idiots like me!

[@masonicrat]

I like your content Eta

[@THB1945]

HOLY SHIT IT'S ETA

[@radiomanhans]

its eta!!

[@tonytortora3660]

more tank museum content when

[@kv_of_the_ground4453]

IS7 video when?

[@tianhaoju4634]

One of the biggest challenges to Chinese engineers is probably, geography. With exceptions such as the PTZ-89(designed solely to resist the Soviet armor), most tanks will have to consider every possible conditions where China could fight a war: this includes the mountainous border with Vietnam, the Tibetian plateau against India, invasion of Taiwan hence naval landings, possible US invasion of a much diveresed coastal terrains, and lastly to face the Russians on its borders. It is because this we see Chinese tanks having no special traits or raw stats, but meant to operate in most theaters. In regions where MBTs are simply not impossible there are light tanks. This is one of the more interesting tank building schools to look upon, namely how it corporates the ideals from two worlds into a domestic design.

[@dominuslogik484]

it also doesn't help that china struggles a great deal in developing new concepts for their vehicles, with their newest tanks being derivative of the T-72 and the Light tanks are largely derivatives of the PT-76. not to mention that their armor configurations are basically identical to Russian Composite armors with heavy ERA that functions the exact same as Russian ERA.

[@JundRaptor]

​@@dominuslogik484 Not necessarily a bad thing though. Saves a lot of money if you can skip the decades of research to copy the best parts of Russian (ERA, autoloader) and Western (transmission, FCS) tanks.

[@ThugShakers4Christ]

​@@dominuslogik484that's because it's hard to think creatively without a soul

[@MasterChiefFloyd]

Bugmen

[@thesovietshark8945]

@@ThugShakers4Christuhh?

[@YongLi-np3wg]

16:59 Type 15 was designed specificly for operations on fhe Tibetan plateau. The motto was "those who can meet me in the battle ground can't beat me, those who can beat me can't meet me on such high altitude".

[@m.streicher8286]

MPF ruining the motto, type15 is still one of my favorites.

[@randomexcessmemories4452]

I don't think people give China enough credit for their tank designs. Sure they took a while to get going, but they have a lot of unique and interesting vehicles, especially when you dive into all the prototypes. Thank you for the general overview, as it can indeed be a difficult subject for the average person to get into.

[@mnd7381]

But all come from mostly Soviet designs. Even the modern Type 99 chassis is influenced by T 72. So not as much credit as you'd give the Russians or Germans.

[@yixianli4651]

​@@mnd7381by the same token, leopard 2 and Abrams are derivatives of kpz70, which then influence the rest of mbts in the west. German leo2, Korean K2, japanese type 90 etc. all use rh120-l44. American M256 gun is no exception. There's nothing wrong with using somebody else's good designs

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Rheinmetall is a german company. And Koreas K2 motor and fire guiding systems are derivatives of the german produced engines and systems. They also try to copy the sensors. But yeah the modern MBT is a co-invention of Britain, France and refining it into what we use since then was germany

[@jansenstardust504]

99 and 99A look very similar, but in fact, apart from the appearance, they have basically been changed all over. China often does this in the design of military equipment, another typical example being the H6 and H6K. Apart from the aerodynamic appearance, the Chinese have replaced everything inside: new engines, new fire control, flight control, and radar. As for why not change the appearance: it's great, why change it?

[@yizhenji5564]

Do you know why people don’t give China its deserved credit for the designs?Because they are too used to think that Chinese are lowlifes

[@ExtrivityALT]

He's alive!!

[@shinchan-F-urmom]

Huh typical westoid propaganda comment Westoid shut up

[@Booz2020]

Kim Jong Un: Please, hold my SOJU 🍶

[@leontam221]

8:15 interesting story: As type 62 used a tunedown type 59 engine. They can actually be swapped. Legend said there were type 62 going full Ferrari when the maintenance crew accidentally install a type 59 engine into it(which has 100 more horsepower)😂

[@yottadrive]

What is the reason why the Type 59 engine was tunedown?

[@kaixcheng]

@@yottadrive light duty transmission and suspension couldn't handle the extra speed.

[@MyownYang]

@@yottadrive tunedown means better duration for both engine and all these transmission parts.

[@leontam221]

@@yottadrive also the chassis is lighter thinner. Can't take the stress.

[@yizhenji5564]

Yep. Due to the similarities of the two tanks, some logistics teams got confused by putting the engine of a ZTZ59 into a ZTQ62 and viceversa

[@user-wl7xz1ok2s]

ZTZ means 装甲 坦克 主战, which translates to English as Armoed Tank Main battle. This designation was formed following the 2012 Central Military Commission document called:中国人民解放军装备命名规定(Regulations on Naming Equipment of the Chinese People's Liberation Army). So, type 59 never had its designation as ZTZ-59. These regulations only hold the place for Q(轻型(qing xing)-light), L(两栖(liang xi)-amphibious), and Z(主战(zhu zhan)-main battle) for tanks. Some times people refer to 59-II as ZTZ-59 II. However, this is impossible due to its development era during the 1990s, when the regulation had not even been published yet, and it may be really confusing because the majority of Chinese just call the tank xx式(type-xx) a form of soviet legacy.

[@_yamcha]

this comment is underrated

[@StarFury2]

A lot of great information, thanks for the comment!

[@Pigpig55]

👍

[@WangGanChang]

Chinese 125mms are actually longer than its Russian counterpart, L/50 vs L/48 in Russia. It also has higher chamber pressure borrowing tech from 120mm gun used in type 89 destroyers. A even longer L/52 gun was used in the early 2000s in some Type 99A models (sometimes refered to Type 99AG), however, it has less bore life and improvements are marginal so it was eventually dropped in later productions. Also there is tons of experimental models 60s and 80s that never being adopted with feature like integrated ATGMs and hydraulics suspension. Similarly, Chinese 105mm are actually L/62 vs L/52 barrel length used in NATO. Though modern variants dial back barrel length to L/52, since its ATGMs are seen as it's primary anti tank weapon rather than chasing max projectiles performance.

[@ivan5595]

The way I see it is that, the 125mm is limited not by barrel length, but by the autoloader designed around it; unless the type 99 has made the autoloader width to fit in longer propellent charge/newer shells

[@asimjabbar8445]

Wow thanks for the insight. You can publish your own detailed videos about the Chinese military tech with that info. Chinese have developed a plethora of cool looking weapon systems that nobody knows about.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

@@asimjabbar8445 Sadly every single of these was „inspired“ by either soviet or some western countries vehicles and published prototypes. Even their 40mm Gatling-IFV

[@yizhenji5564]

As far as I have read, the Chinese 125mm also uses the same production method as the L7 while Russian 125mm guns still use the old 19th century cannons’ method

[@jesuizanmich]

I like that you present the vehicles without overly focussing on the Soviet vehicles they took technologies from. Often I see people present Chinese vehicles as simple copies of their Soviet "counterparts" when in reality they are completely indigenous designs once you go past the T-54A. This has been especially the case recently with the Type 96 and Type 99, which are often just presented as T-72 copies, when in reality, the only similarities appear to be in the autoloader and gun. In fact, you also mention an interesting theme with Chinese tanks, which is that they sometimes are more Western than Soviet: from the use of the L7, earlier adoption of welded turrets, to the technology exchanges with the US and Germany that lead to a more Western style of composite armour and transmission (e.g. unlike the Soviet tanks, Chinese tanks feature Western reverse speeds). It's like an evolution of the T-54A separate to the Soviet T-series that combines indigenous design and Western technologies with reverse-engineered Soviet technologies. One could even follow from the Type 59 through to the Type 96 and argue it is a T-54A modified beyond recognition rather than any exact copy of a Soviet tank.

[@AllMightyKingBowser]

Exactly the reason I like Chinese tanks more than Soviet/Russian tanks. Now if only they could figure out a way of getting rid of the carousel auto loading mechanism, Chinese ZTZ99s would be perfect.

[@Drownedinblood]

I think people oversimplify because they can't really see Chinese having their own philosophy. The reality is China needs many types of vehicles for the different terrain, especially since they view themselves fighting defensive war, rather than offensive. I can't imagine an Abrams or something like that fighting other western style MBT's in altitudes like the Himalayas or them doing too hot in jungles. Japan actually has a similar issue, where they deploy their Type 16's down south while have heavier Type 90's and Type 10's up north because they don't need to get island hopped as much.

[@92HazelMocha]

It's the conflation of "copying" with reverse-engineering. China looks around at all these other technologies and concepts all over the world, figures out how and why they work, then decide how to best incorporate it into their own indigenous designs and improve upon them. It's how they went from having 3rd rate military equipment to being arguably the best equipped military in the the world in less than 4 decades.

[@garethjones4742]

​@Drownedinblood to be fair we Australians use the Abraham's. They're not entirely useless in jungle environs but they're just too big tbh. But that was an issue with our leooards too

[@teslashark]

99 uses the suspension of T-72 while 96 is basically a scaled down T-54 suspension jointly developed with Romania.

[@akriegguardsman]

A Chinese KZbinr said that china also got their hands on a T-80 after the collapse of the USSR that motivated a more better Type 99 in the prototype phase

[@WangGanChang]

Chinese did not T-80s, but Russia did bring T-80Us to China during 90s for marketing, some say a small batch of T-80Us are purchased, but there is. I confirmation and no T-80s have ever seen in PLA colors. Also Pakistan operate T-80UDs and co-develops MBT2000, so there would lots of crossover.

[@akriegguardsman]

@@WangGanChang it could have been independently purchased from corrupt officers and was probably never put into service They might also have borrowed it

[@mosesracal6758]

@@akriegguardsman For the MBT2000, it was a technology transfer so it isnt a stretch that China didnt necessarily have to buy the tank itself but only its technical data especially as the powerpack used in the MBT2000 is from the T80U iirc.

[@AntieCathyria]

This is a notorious myth around China military fans. There is no evidence that T-80 was sold to China, except a picture that some Chinese generals and engineers checking a T-80. And that picture was showing Russia wanted sold T-80 to China in 1990s, in Russia. And China just did not buy it. So not only Chinese did not buy T-80, but T-80 never came to China for sell.

[@LTW76]

China also obtained the early German Leopard 2 tank

[@hytalefanboi7471]

When the world needed him the most, he returned

[@prizrakovzhuang5424]

WZ stand for Wujibu Zhuangjiacheliang(五机部装甲车辆), which means Fifth Mechanical Department Armored Vehicles.

[@Error-5478]

Oh god he got a war thunder sponsor. The game is fun but don't get sucked into it. The devs are highly predatory and the only thing they want is your money, not to make a fun game.

[@sirbachelorboredmen1314]

Woah, predatory towards JUST the money, right?

[@StarFury2]

If there's an advertisement for something, avoid it.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

@@StarFury2if its „free to play“ avoid it. Atleast only NOT if it became free to play after years or by accident because the marketing flopped. Just the game not having been played as free to play in the first Place

[@Drownedinblood]

And now just like that we see even T-55's are useful because of their ability to kinda be artillery pieces. It seems like China keeps trying to find ways to get rid of the 59 inventory, craziest thing I seen them to was try to turn them into drone tanks.

[@leontam221]

More crazy things like swapping a type 96 turret on it😂

[@Drownedinblood]

@@leontam221 the bengali one?

[@leontam221]

@@Drownedinblood Tanzanian one

[@treyebillups8602]

They should sell the T-55s on the civilian market with the weapons removed or made inoperable. Imagine driving around a tank with a modern SUV’s internals

[@mcmitonet8032]

Love the video!!! no stupid biased oppions, just pure truely technical stuffs and details!!!!!!

[@sambretoothmcgoon3020]

He’s back

[@aidanpysher2764]

Imagine you're a US Navy Carrier Strike Group and a single T-59 approaches you at mach 2.

[@leopard1419]

Wait a minute😂

[@404dne]

actually ztz stands for armoured tank main battle basically mbt

[@keepower]

Very well put together

[@NorthKoreaBall38]

I love this content man, easily one of if not my favorite channels on KZbin.

[@magnetiteberet69]

Can I lick it?

[@milanmilan2]

Really excellent research...I myself have been looking into PLA anti-air PGZ types and artillery PLZ types as they are also fascinating as their tank ZTZ types. Well done on this video.

[@ivanflores-ramirez8105]

The thing about tanks is we don’t know how effective they’re going to be until they tested under battlefield conditions this also applies to the Chinese variance

[@hewhoplugwalks]

Well, we already know how the Type 59 and it's variants perform, since they've plenty of combat in the Middle East. As for the more modern stuff, like the Type 96 and 99 or their exports like the MBT 2000 and VT-4, you're absolutely correct in saying that they're unproven.

[@mnd7381]

​@@hewhoplugwalks since it's Africa, I'd ask what type of combat? Only fighting against rebels or against proper tank regiments and Artillery and modern anti tanks?

[@hewhoplugwalks]

@@mnd7381 Mostly against insurgents and antiquated armor and light vehicles, which they've proven rather useful in that role.

[@ODST_Parker]

War Thunder finally prompted me to study Chinese armored vehicles, and it's the only reason why I know anything about them. From purchases, to domestic production, to derivative designs, and finally to the heavily inspired unique vehicles that we know today. Truly, a fascinating history to look into, and now China is my second priority nation in War Thunder thanks to how much I came to enjoy it, and playing their vehicles. A side note on the designations. These actually changed in the sub-designations like "-II" and "A" at some point in the 1980s, so going through the history of tank variants is very inconsistent. For instance, there's the Type 63. Then there's the Type 63-II, with minor improvements like a laser rangefinder. More recently, after the revision, there's the Type 63A (or ZTS63A), which is a completely reworked design with a new hull and turret, new gun, etc. The new designations don't have the roman numerals for the same modifications anymore, just a letter for major variations. Same for more modern versions of older tanks like the Type 59. There's the Type 59A, Type 59-IIA, and then there's the Type 59D1, Type 59G, etc. It's all very confusing unless you know the details of what variant came when, and why it was designated as such. There's also the Type 99A, which technically is a largely different tank from the Type 99, but was going to be named the Type 10, which would conflict with Japan's MBT of the same name. So, probably for political reasons, it was decided to call it the Type 99A instead.

[@mr.ballstone1914]

Awesome video! I think I’d be really cool to see more of these types of videos with different nations, instead of focusing on a singular design.

[@julmdamaslefttoe3559]

Type 62G id love to see in Warthunder.

[@plussum3255]

Okay that photo at 10:25 goes pretty hard damn.

[@ezezcompany]

The reason for having three different designations, if I remember correctly, is not that confusing - the WZ one comes from the designing institute to mark the set of blueprints; the ZTZ one comes from the manufacturing factory to mark the production project; the Type one comes from the army to mark the in service equipment. As such, an in service tank must have all WZ, ZTZ and Type designations, a prototype tank must have WZ and ZTZ designations but not a Type designation, and a designing tank on blueprints has a WZ designation only.

[@scottjurrjens8954]

We should sign an international treaty on tank designation simplicity.

[@Timkunchan]

I think that Osprey Productions makes really nice books covering development and variations of tanks (I have PDFs of T-10M, T-54, T-55, T-72 and T-80.) but I'd love to get some books covering Chinese equipment with good photographs of the vehicles and paintjobs. This country is my main in warthunder, I really like the tree. Nice job

[@ps1_hagrid_gaming517]

Another great video ❤

[@kasl8946]

Good to see u back Subscribed 👍

[@kevinm3586]

11:37 Driver praying the commander doesn't rotate the turret left.

[@knightnight1894]

nice summary, you did a very good home-work

[@tongwu2311]

The meaning of WZ is different in different periods in China. But it is generally believed that it means "Armored Vehicle of the Fifth Mechanical Department", "W" means "5", referring to the Fifth Mechanical Department; "Z" means "Armored Vehicle".

[@AdmiralJT]

Its officially a good Friday now!

[@paolotrinchieri3465]

amazing video! I go crazy for such types of video ;)

[@JohnSmith-se9yl]

Good job! The video was a great rundown of the major Chinese tanks...

[@-qsprey7881]

As the largest country in the application and production of drones, the view that tanks are useless in modern warfare is very popular in Chinese civilian military forums. I even think that the Chinese military agrees with this statement, so the Chinese Navy launches new ships every year, the Air Force is constantly producing the latest aircraft and advanced drones, and the People's Liberation Army ground force can only display: Hey bro, look ！this is the new combat shoe we issued this year, it is so damn cool! The tank is considered a necessary unit in Pla but does not need to emphasize performance. Its existence is only to force the enemy to use heavy firepower to fight, rather than using the tank itself to win the war. So 99a has been unchanged for almost 20 years, while Leopard 2 is going to be a7v. It's not completely same, at least the tank crew's shoes must be new frame.

[@RedWrenchFilms]

The view that tanks are useless in modern warfare is an incredibly uneducated take. China especially has been very focused on tank development, and the Type 99A has only been in service for around 13 years and has been changed a lot even in that timeframe.

[@zhu_zi4533]

This is very wrong, because without heavy armored vehicles, infantry and light vehicles will become even more desperate under the massive drones and long-range strikes, thus losing their already poor breakthrough capabilities and falling into complete trench warfare. At least for now, no one has anything to replace this armored vehicle, and it is normal for fierce battles to produce a large number of casualties and losses.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

Source: some dude who told me in a youtube video

[@EndlessNine9999]

Enter: the mighty TURTLE TANK

[@TTD-sf2ge]

8:32 this is a type-62 captured by the Vietnamese during the border conflict in 1979, one of the first combat deployment of this tank by the Chinese. Before this, it was actually deployed by the Vietnamese to fight in the mountainous

[@0bserver416]

Thanks! Now I know where to hit which tanks. 👍

[@gansior4744]

ZTQ-15 does look awesome. Dont know about its capabilities, but it definietly gets points for how it looks. Very cool light tank. Way better than 2S25

[@profesercreeper]

Most likely more armored than the 2S25 but it only has a 105 compared to a 125. Also don’t know how much more armored it is and if it can shrug off infantry based anti tank weapons.

[@AllMightyKingBowser]

For real, that ZTQ15 and the new M10 Booker, alongside with the German Boxer compete hand to hand for best looking light tank in the world. (whatever the US army says, that Booker is definitely a light tank, they don't fool anyone lol)

[@Brigadium75]

​@@AllMightyKingBowser >Built a light tank >Look inside >Weights 40tons

[@92HazelMocha]

​​@@profesercreeperIt's significantly more armored than the 2s25. It sports FY-5 ERA which is incredibly effective against shaped charges even tandem ones, and severely decreases the penetration of sabot. When paired with the GL-5 hard kill APS (which can intercept and degrade sabot) it might even be able to shrug off older APFSDS rounds from certain frontal angles.

[@Postoronniy]

2S25, despite being functionally similar to a light tank, is technically classified as a self-propelled anti-tank gun (hence its GRAU designator for self-propelled artillery - 2S), and a battery of them forms part of an anti-tank battalion in the artillery regiment of an airborne division.

[@Hosenfuhrer]

7:27 Nice

[@robinbrowne5419]

As a history buff and a tank enthusiast, this is an interesting video. Thank you :-)

[@Real_Claudy_Focan]

14:49 That's a Type-96B

[@jonisukanen9431]

Finland next?

[@maxtermind5110]

Speaking of the T-10, could you do a video on it and maybe the IS-7?

[@juusolatva]

this is relevant to my interests

[@nuhuhhhhhhhhhh]

this channel is gold

[@barnykirashi]

by the start of the video, you really got to make me play China in WT. Then it was also the sponsor. Nice.

[@michaelhowell2326]

The Gulf War didn't prove the obsolescence of the tank. It just proved that old one couldn't keep up with modern ones. Just like muzzle loaders aren't obsolete, they just can't compete with an M-4.

[@saltzkruber732]

Thats what he said

[@michaelhowell2326]

That may have been what he meant but that isn't what he said.

[@RedWrenchFilms]

Is that not what “obsolete” means? Doesn’t mean unusable, just means it has been surpassed technologically.

[@michaelhowell2326]

@@RedWrenchFilms please forgive me if I misunderstood what you said. I thoughts that you said that bc tanks were killed by tanks that meant the tank concept was completely obsolete. I will just have to rewatch it. It was good video regardless of whether or not I misunderstood that part.

[@RedWrenchFilms]

@@michaelhowell2326 Ah, it’s probably my fault. I meant “tanks” as in models or designs, not tanks as a concept. Many countries in the Cold War tried to load up on ex-soviet equipment thinking that more tanks = better, but the gulf war showed that technology had advanced enough that even 100 T-54s would struggle against 5 M1 Abrams for example.

[@brianmays4366]

Tbh when you have 6500 tanks who is going to argue?

[@ims3312]

But the DJI T40, which is priced at $10,000, can carry 50kg and may be equipped with an anti-tank launcher and four 10kg armor-piercing shells. 10,000 dollars vs 10 million dollars, is the tank still useful? Of course, I ignored the anti-drone weapons.

[@user-co6vr9es9n]

@@ims3312 但无人机无法占领一个地区，每一种武器都有合适的用法

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

@@ims3312 There are easy solutions still in development making your argument null. 1: dedicated antidrone turret and counter drones operator like in the neo leopard prototype 2: automated anti drone turret 3: lazers(in a decade widescale deployed) 4: electronic jammer development and widescale usage, which has proven more and more succesful by russian forces 5: autonomous hunter drones

[@nickscake]

i like the type 62 so much its my favorite tank for some reason. anyways great video bro!!

[@IM_8685]

yeah kinda my fav too but since I just researched it in warthunder who knows I might hate it.....

[@cyberarchitect9280]

If you stop the video at 0:02 that's just beautiful XD

[@Xeemix]

The 125mm cannon on the type96 is a upscaled smoothbore L7!

[@yuckjeondae_90]

Correction: ZTZ stands for Armored, Tank, Main Battle (Zhuangjia, Tanke, Zhuzhan)

[@persian_tankman]

Nice Video.❤

[@jrapcdaikari]

My Dad and I had a conversation once, and it was about a possible war between the Philippines (my country) and China. I said: "Dad, they have tanks, our army doesn't have Main Battle Tanks." My dad replied, "Ah it's okay, they're all made in China anyway! Low Quality!" "Dad... those aren't Tupperware... THOSE ARE STILL TANKS"

[@TinyBlitz8]

The Philippines doesn’t even produce almost anything and yet they have the biggest bark and no bite American owned puppies. For a country that almost produces close to nothing and solely relies on importation you better worry about staple food such as rice because when you have a war with China we are pretty sure your soldiers are gonna die of hunger first before they face these Chinese main battle tanks, also don’t forget that in case of a real war your country might not even have enough bullets to fight.

[@NewChinesefirst]

你们总是用不到好的中国产品的原因不是中国生产不好东西，而是你们是穷人只能买便宜的中国产品，中国贵的产品你们买不起😂

[@gerdlunau8411]

I've been a tank commander with a T-55A in the East German army in the mid 1980 and I am married to a Filipina. Besides the somewhat arrogant remarks below (We purchased a mid-sized remote-controlled perfectly working DIY scale airplane kid with an electric propeller drive for my eldest about 7 years back, made in the Philippines, besides here and there I found some electronics Made in the Philippines - besides being there a few time myself, I know that your country is economically not as bad as suggested) I can tell you this: 1.) The Philippines by its geographical nature is a non-tank area by many means: thousands of islands with difficult and often muddy terrain will not allow to apply large tank forces - they simply will sink in and get stuck in the rice paddies and slide off at the many stark slopes; logistics to support such a tank fighting force will be a nightmare - the often very small cross country roads are very very tricky to support manoeuvring tank units with their huge needs of ammo and fresh water and fuel and food and heavy maintenance crews with all their repair and supply trucks carrying spare parts. On top tanks are fighting vehicles for rather longer fighting distances like in WW2 in the vast plains of Russia and the Ukraine or the North African deserts. You can go back to the Vietnam war and you will realize so very few tanks were used during this actually gigantic conflict throughout those years. Simply, because Vietnam is a no-tank area! And because the Philippines are a island nation, try to imagination a military island-hoping with hundreds of tanks on on ferry vessels, it will simply not work. 2.) A Chinese full-scale maritime invasion will be a military nightmare and the military leader of the PR China knows it. Until today I believe the Chinese army has a much more defensive role than the West always argues within their propaganda while the Chinese love to rattle the sabres by their propaganda more than they actually can really support in reality. A pure theoretically invasion would rely heavily rather on maritime and air force plus thousand of foot soldiers afterwards, facing the same logistic problems as described above - they might also face new problems like tropical diseases which they are unadopted (like me a white guys being really prone to malaria, while so many locals are quite immune). 3.) The Chinese also know that if they invade they might face soon very stiff resistance within the population, as it was in WW2 with the brutal Japanese occupation and all the other military conflicts after WW2 which never provided any real winner except for Vietnam. Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Yemen etc. were all full military conflicts with the top-modern US-forces involved. All conflicts were lost in the end because the local population never approved of it or even supported it. The Chinese leadership is a good observers. If you do not have the support of the locals en mass, which would be the case most likely, you are going to lose the battle. 4.) Within these comment sections there are a lot of people writing stuff they have no real-life connection with but keep braging about things and "facts" they are convinced of only by themselves. Ignore them. 5.) The best way to avoid war is a good foreign policy and it is the cheaper option. Your country should connect with this big neighbour of yours, so whenever you have the next election of the Philippine government or the president you as a Filipino should check on their ideas on foreign relations as well. You can watch just here in Europe what happens if lousy foreign policy over many (also by the West) decades will in the end create: a senseless war without winners (Ukraine / Russia). 6.) If Asia stays peaceful the next decades, the next century will be all yours. I am absolutely convinced (I lived in Asia for 10 years, and came back to Europe and the difference in educational thriving is so big and the West so arrogant and ignorant - you guys within ASEAN, BRICS etc. must be consequently the winner). Europe (and part of the USA) became so lazy and self-centred if it comes down to education, while so many Asian countries are heavily into it. Recommendation of mine; stay away from any EXTREMIST religious people - they are against education and enlightenment. Last side note; my eldest (double citizenship - of course!) became a professional airplane mechanic, working here in Dresden along with other professional airplane mechanics - lots of them from the Philippines! Pease! from Dresden / Germany

[@Drownedinblood]

This is so....my god...please don't get into a war with China...

[@snowlee-ml7rr]

​@@gerdlunau8411 China has no intention of coveting Philippine territory. You had read too many Western media reports that seriously demonize China.But if he Philippines has gone too far on the islands in the South China Sea, the most China can do is launch air strikes on the Philippines，but not to occupy the Philippines. If you look at the real history of the Philippines, you will find that more than two hundred years ago, the Philippines asked to join China and become part of China, but the require was rejected by the Chinese emperor.

[@Kabutoes]

The PLA donated t55-54 and type 59s to north Vietnam and used them during the Easter Offensive. They fared well against American M41 bulldog tanks, but against the m48 Patton tanks, it was not favorable for them.

[@FMKeb]

Can we have video on the British Heavy Tank projects after the Is-3 was shown in Berlin Victory Parade? (40 ton Centurion, Coaernarvon, Cheiftain, and Conqueror.)

[@theoriginalcornisgood2.0]

I think the Jaguar MBT would be something interesting to mention next time as it did have some impact on Chinese tank development from the Americans till certain square you know what incident

[@yoshineitor]

Very informative video, videos on Chinese tanks are scarce and even information in general is hard to get.

[@HarveyAndToddTheWraith]

I hate it so much when I see War Thunder sponsor because I'm active player and I can't get that beautiful decoration "Eagle of Valor" 😂

[@dofusquentin]

man you've made me want to grind YET ANOTHER nation in war thunder come on man

[@RandomZFella]

Pretty Nice Vehicles, I Wonder When The Modernisation Of The Type 99A Will Happen

[@justanotherperson7774]

0:24 why do I see a blank screen?

[@cybernetic_crocodile8462]

Because there is nothing to see here, citizen. Continue watching and don't worry about it.

[@jw1731]

"Anyone with a quantum of common sense will perceive this: if our valiant armored force drove on, could this scoundrel have stopped their advance? The pictures captured in this video, contrary to the narrative certain western outlets seek to present, are the perfect proof that our troops exercised the highest degree of tolerance and restraint." -- CCTV report

[@mnd7381]

+5 social credits comrade, now continue!

[@cybernetic_crocodile8462]

Would you make the video about some of the armoured vechicle programs of Poland, for example Goryl, BWP-2000 or Anders?

[@aezmarvettan9294]

Good video. But you forgot the type 96b.

[@josephthomas8318]

You got a like and a sub at "confusing designation alarm"

[@liquidh5226]

2:37 The music 😂

[@team3am149]

ZTZ actually stands for "ZhuZhanTanke" (Main Battle Tank), basically Chinese for MBT.

[@RedWrenchFilms]

ZZT?

[@team3am149]

@@RedWrenchFilms I have no idea why the Western nomenclature is organized that way, but in Chinese, the numbers come first. So it would be "99-Shi ZhuZhanTanKe" or "99-Type MBT".

[@jonseilim4321]

装甲，坦克，主战。Armoured, Tank, Main Battle - ZTZ. You're correct that the last part refers to Main Battle Tank

[@pieterjanbv9654]

Hope you will make this kind of video on other countries aswell

[@RedWrenchFilms]

I’ll see if people enjoy it!! Haha

[@mnd7381]

​@@RedWrenchFilms we do! Different top contending countries' military equipments and their history!

[@mnd7381]

4:05 they're producing copies from that long, hence that's why they're good in it nowadays even more.

[@xvbd6067]

what about the VT 4?

[@CheckChannelDescriptionForTag]

It's a semi downgrade export of Type 99A

[@xvbd6067]

@@CheckChannelDescriptionForTag and yet is virtually identical and has active protection system, I am still confused about the two

[@CheckChannelDescriptionForTag]

@@xvbd6067 i think it had reduced armour and inferior optics, hence semi downgraded

[@xvbd6067]

@@CheckChannelDescriptionForTag well i guess an older composite armor and inferior optics is possible but still, i think an APS mell compensate for that, if it works that is

[@wz111official4]

​@@CheckChannelDescriptionForTagVT4 is actually the improvement of mbt2000, it's amor design is different. I think it's disign is better than 99a, especially the course angle protection.

[@jonseilim4321]

This is a personal guide to tank lineages from the People's Republic, generations do not reflect the Soviets' or States' nomenclature 1st Generation: Type 59 and her derivatives. - T59, T59-I, T59A, T59-II, T59-IIA, WZ-120C/T59D1, WZ-120D/T59D, T59G, Jaguar. Derived from the licence-produced Soviet Type 55A. - WZ-131/T62, T62-I, T62G. Amphibious tank derived from Type 59. - WZ-121/T69, T69-I, T69-II (T69-QM, T69-QM1, T69-QM2, T-69IIG), T69-IIA (T30), T69-IIB/C, WZ-121D/T69-III (T79), T79-II. Improved lineage derived from the Type 59 after the Sino-Soviet Split. 2nd Generation: Type 80 and her derivatives. - WZ-122, WZ-122-1, WZ-122-2, WZ-123-3/T80, T80-I (T88), T80-II (T85-II). T85, T85-I, T85-II, T85-IIA/T85-IIAP/T85-IIM (T88C), T85UG, and T85-III. T88, T88B, T88A, and T85-III/T88C (ZTZ-96). - T90-II, P1, P2, P3, P4, T90-IIA, T90-IIM/MBT-2000/Al-Khalid I/VT-1, VT-1A, Al-Khalid II, T90-III, MBT-3000/VT-4, VT-4A1. Export only model. - ZTZ-96, ZTZ-96A/VT-2, ZTZ-96A1, ZTZ-96B/VT-2B. 3rd Generation: Type 99 and her derivatives. - WZ-123, ZTZ-98, ZTZ-98G, ZTZ-99/VT-3, ZTZ-99A. - ZTQ-15, VT-5, VT-5U, VT-5BD. In the older naming convention, 'WZ' refers to experimental models and ranges from 120-123, 'T' is my shorthand for 'Type' i.e. 'Type 59-II', generally roman numerals were used for alterations, before transitioning to sequential alphabetical letters. In the present naming convention, 'ZTZ' refers to 'Zhuangjia Tanke Zhongxing' or 'Armoured [vehicle], Tank, Medium' (these were retroactively assigned to older models, i.e. 'ZTZ-88'); 'ZTQ' is 'Armoured, Tank, Light'; 'ZTS' is 'Armoured, Tank, Amphibious', 'VT' designates export tanks. Do let me know if there are any I've missed or mistaken!

[@Argentvs]

This video reminds me a lot of a publication I did collecting everything I could find and resuming it. I published a short version on Quora and Imgur. Main article of mine is Tanques Chinos, del T-54 al Type 99 in the Zona Militar Forum, from some years ago. I also did American Armor, del T20 al M60. Which I never finished, only left out the 60. Someday I'll finish it and start Soviet armor, from the Bt-5 to T-62.

[@jonseilim4321]

感谢分享！ 您博客是最全面的之一

[@Argentvs]

@@jonseilim4321 can't translate on the cellphone app. Don't know what you say.

[@jonseilim4321]

@@Argentvs said gracias for sharing, your blog is one of the most comprehensive I've seen!

[@JeanLucsNerdBrain]

The Type 96 literally looks like a T-72 built with western collaboration which it is! combines the best of both worlds looks wise. i would love to see the variations of the Type 96 and T-72 directly compared.

[@gorgeollion4310]

There is a thing called "Dogmeat general tank", it was the first tank china ever made.

[@Shadowless_Kick]

Why did that tank get such a funny nickname?

[@syysyy3526]

​@@Shadowless_Kick "dogmeat general" is the nickname of Zhang Zongchang, a warlord of Republic of China (A.K.A Taiwan). He gave the order to build this first domestic tank and formed the most efficient armored troop during the Warlord Era. btw, since this tank is just a prototype, so it does not have an official registration code nor a name.

[@gorgeollion4310]

@@Shadowless_Kick you should read his poetry, it's truly amazing. And his history in general, it's just too good, I wish we had more people like him.

[@syysyy3526]

@@gorgeollion4310 are you sure about that? Btw, you come from the province Shandong or not?

[@gorgeollion4310]

@@syysyy3526 I'm not Chinese

[@mihaidavid359]

7:25 NICE!

[@MichaelDavis-mk4me]

I wish you talked a bit more about the modern Chinese MBTs and how they compare to other modern designs, maybe for another video. Is the auto loader safer than Russian MBTs, or will the turret fly off as soon as something hits it hard? Does it have comparable armor to modern MBTs, etc. I'm not sure if we have much information though, that's why we usually don't hear much about Chinese vehicles in general.

[@RedWrenchFilms]

Yeah exactly Michael - I honestly just do not know their capabilities or how they compare. We can guess, obviously! But that’s not very entertaining or informative. Who knows how capable their guns/armour/ERA/APS are..? It’s all classified for every modern tanking nation unfortunately!

[@rgriffinRETIRED_SHEEPDOG]

Very interesting

[@THB1945]

Do you play War Thunder Dear Red Wrench ?

[@hiphip4808]

No way he doesn’t

[@RedWrenchFilms]

I do!

[@hiphip4808]

@@RedWrenchFilms Knew it

[@craneliu290]

As a Chinese, with some military knowledge. that I can tell you that ZTZ stands for”Zhuangjia-Tanke-Zhuzhan/装甲-坦克-主战/armored-tank-mainbattle.similar case like PTL02,炮兵-突击-轮式/paobing-tu ji -lun shi/artillery-assault-wheeled. It’s a bit weird but thats exactly official naming rule, I still don’t get why armored and artillery are both can be putted in first place, also how “tank” and “assault” are a same kind of word that both putted in 2nd place. It is confusing.

[@yor-cd7rt]

Amazing video, a solid research with good information however, the main cause of the Sino-Soviet conflict was the oppressions on industrial and economic support to the PRC and intention to deploy nuclear weapons from USSR in the border area, this was also one of the triggers for the border conflict in 1969

[@csanadpaksa]

Great video! Japanese tanks next? They have quite cool cold war tanks.

[@mathewweeks9069]

Your awesome be safe out there

[@adisura9904]

The Chinese may be a bit clumsy but they ain't entirely dysfunctional. Never underestimate an opponent. Would love to see you cover some systems from India Subscribed from India

[@dominuslogik484]

I have always been curious why India doesn't use more indigenous weapons systems and still is largely using imported weapons from Russia. Surely with such a massive population in the working age brackets available and such a large economy India could be an arms exporter rather than Importing. though I will give credit that it seems India is moving away from its heavy reliance on the Russian federation for weapons which would prove problematic if a conflict with either China or Pakistan ever occurred.

[@adisura9904]

@@dominuslogik484 so the issue is that after Independence India went for a more socialist form of governence, leading to closer ties with the then USSR. Initially india during WW2 had some manufacturing industry, it was very small and wasn't taken care of by the then British Crown, in terms of both funds and policy. The idea was to not let india modernise and have the ability to out manufacture the isle, and obviously to make sure technology doesn't fall in our hands. Colonial times were interesting lol. Anyways. All that background to let you know that India had a very small manufacturing capacity post WW2 and Independence. So the govt took control of all industry under the infamous License Raj leading to sluggish if not a total paralysis in any form of innovation. Post WW2 India was majorly a western equipped force with Shermans, Willis jeeps with recoil-less guns, spitfires and the rest of the band. But through the 50s and 60s we started acquiring more soviet systems as distance between the west and India grew. This led to a balancing act by India between the west and the soviet. Note: India was a founding member of the Non-Align Movement. So technology transfers were limited and no real manufacturing could be done with existing systems. Although Jugaad (Frugal/cheap innovations) led to some interesting mix of western and eastern tech. Even today indian systems often have a variety of western and eastern systems. It should also be noted that we did have better relations with the French and the Israelis compared to the Brits and Americans. Another important thing to note is that due to the license Raj it was very difficult for anyone to setup anything in the country. Hell even Indians couldn't really set up a business due to stringent laws and beurocratic red tape and yes corruption. By the 80s some licensed manufacturing was being done in India, like the Mig21s. Small less important sub systems were also being made in India although at a lower level. Most of the manufacturing was less intellectually leaning and more fire and brimstone like lol. I should point out like I did earlier that Indian systems tend to be on avg better than it's russian counterparts. For example our sukhoi 30 mki with israeli and french avionics were so good that Russia ended up copying the upgrades to the now well known Su27M if I'm not wrong. The Mig21 India is phasing out rn is a highly potent aircraft even today, after it was upgraded to the Indian standard called the Mig 21 Bison . It is perhaps the only Mig that ever shot down an F16 (this feat is highly contested by the Pakistanis and I could go on about the details but this is already too long) An Infamous project called the Arjun MBT suffered from multiple challenges such as lack of technological know how, over estimation of the current manufacturing capabilities, poor planning, unclear goals, constantly changing qualitative requirements led to massive delays. So it's not like the Indian govt should be given any quarter on this topic as well. We did try to make our systems, for example the HAL ajeet was a licenced copy of the Holland Gnat, which helped HAL later manufacture Asia's first supersonic jet, atleast on paper as the engines it was supposed to get were denied due to sanction from the Americans. This led to a bad taste for the govt. It did not want to provide funds it did not have, and there was no political will to establish a military manufacturing industry as such. A Very limited vision our leaders had i must confess. Interestingly this jet I am referring to was designed by the famous german aviation legend Kurt Tank. The aircraft was called the HAL HF 24 Marut. But now the current govt is focusing more on creating and expanding the industry. There are problems even today, but ig we are atleast walking in the right direction. Might look pretty gloomy and non serious for a nation wanting to be seen as a major power, but our missile programs are really good. And other industries are also coming up. The LCA tejas took it's time. But it helped India establish a manufacturing base. People don't often understand that India and many other countries our on the whims and fancies of western nations and have been so for a long time. So any diplomatic disagreement can lead to sanctions and cancellation of deals. Which often did happen. But I guess those are just optics. Although I should say that now it is alot harder for the west to do that on account of India being a major growing economy. Cheers I hope that somewhat gave you an idea of what and why.

[@blackwoof9520]

WZ means wujibu+zhuangjiache （五机部+装甲车），fifth mechanical department+armoured vehicle，that's why WZ is similar to OBJ that reffer to a prototype

[@joanfayoscastells9926]

Great vid. Also what about a video on tanks created to fight in high altitude (ie the TAM, the chinese type 15 or whatever the indians have cooked)

[@Real_Claudy_Focan]

7:27 NICE

[@siroyiryuu]

Roughly accurate, but still very concise. During the manufacturing of tanks, the Chinese people went through a huge process of overcoming hardships, which seemed too easy.

[@itsareed6583]

10:24 I am not “somewhat” enjoying myself, I am fully enjoying quality content.

[@RedWrenchFilms]

Very kind :)

[@testiclegaming1250]

Im pretty sure that people realised that tanks could be Obsolete, like that one soviet tank commander when he realised that his BT7, could not infact take out a Tiger

[@Brigadium75]

Live Testicle Gaming Reaction

[@tomhenry897]

Yet still use them 79 years later

[@ohnoes3084]

@@tomhenry897 he meants individual tank designs not tanks as a concept

[@buscadiamantes1232]

the WZ141 seems like it has almost no gun elevation for it's low velocity shells lmao

[@JemRau]

You did not bother including VT-4

[@RedWrenchFilms]

I did not.

[@verden2323]

Can we have South American tank guide next? I mean they have pretty goofy tanks like a M3 Stuart with a 90mm gun

[@mahdimunna9302]

Bro you forgot about type69iig

[@John-pk4jm]

A lot of misinformation, but still a pretty good try. For example, the parade vehicle of the WZ123 project is not called "type 98", but called "project 9910 demonstration vehicle" for WZ123.

[@John-pk4jm]

one more thing, you missed the whole project122, Including "Campaign 2-4" and "Campaign 784".I think this is the most interesting part of the history of MBT development in China.

[@RedWrenchFilms]

Hi John - I really struggled to find any concrete information on Type 98/9910 designations. I do say right after that that many consider the “Type 98” to simply be the first batch of Type 99s (or similar) so hope that goes some way to showing there is a little bit of uncertainty. As for the other campaigns I just felt that they weren’t necessary for such a basic and surface level video - maybe I’ll touch on them in more detail later.