WZ551

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Type 92/WZ551 IFV
Chinese wheeled APC (2008).jpg
A WZ551 APC
Type Infantry fighting vehicle
Armored personnel carrier
Place of origin  People's Republic of China
Service history
In service 1995-present
Production history
Designer Jiang Hong [WZ551B] at NORINCO Vehicle Research Institute; institute 201 (中国北方车辆研究所 China Vehicles Research Institute) and Institute 202
Manufacturer Norinco, at Factory 256 (西南车辆制造厂Southwest Vehicles Factories)
Specifications
Weight 12.5 tonnes
Length 6.63 m
Width 2.80 m
Height 2.80 m
Crew 3 + 9 passengers
Armor Welded steel
Main
armament		 25 mm autocannon
Secondary
armament		 12.7 mm heavy machine gun[1]
7.62 mm coaxial machine gun
Engine 8-cylinder, turbo-charged, air-cooled diesel
320 hp
Suspension Independent wheel
Operational
range		 800 km
Speed 85 km/h

The WZ551 is a Chinese wheeled armored personnel carrier. It is actually consisted of two families of vehicles with official designations in the People's Liberation Army as Type 90 and Type 92. Roughly 600 WZ551s are in service with the PLA, where they are used by light mechanized infantry units. WZ551s have been exported to Algeria, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

Contents

[edit] Design

Produced by Norinco, the WZ551 first appeared in 1984, but the Chinese military were not satisfied with its performance, and the design had to be modified. Modification is mostly concentrated on improving the chassis. The improved WZ551A entered service in 1995 as the Type 92 IFV and Type 92A APC.

The structure is based on a Chinese 6x6 truck which is a copy of the German Mercedes-Benz 2060. It has a crew of three men, and is fully amphibious, being driven in the water by shrouded propellers.

The IFV version is equipped with a 25 mm cannon and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun in a closed turret and it can carry 9 passengers. The APC version has only a 12.7 mm machine gun but can carry 11 passengers. Additional versions include anti-tank missile, command, self-propelled artillery, air defense and armored recovery vehicles.

[edit] Type 90

Type 90 first appeared on the National Day of the People's Republic of China parade in 1984, and it is the basic version of WZ551. During its service, it was discovered that the vehicle was underpowered and the cross country capability at high altitude terrain was not sufficient enough to meet the requirement. As a result, the planned 4 x 4 and 8 x 8 variants were canceled, and resources were concentrate on the improvement effort. However, the planned export version designated as ZSL-90 (also the industrial designation) was continued, and the vehicle was used as chassis for a variety weaponry platforms, such as command vehicle, ATGW carrier, self-propelled AAA, and ambulance.

The most distinct visual difference between Type 90 and its successor Type 92 is that for Type 90, the distance between the first pair and the second pair of wheels is greater than the distance between the second pair and the third pair of wheels, while for Type 92, the distance is the same for all. Despite being used as a common chassis for many different platforms, the total number of vehicles of all types entering Chinese service is small due to its inherent problem, and with the exception of the basic APC version, no other versions of ZSL-90 is known to be exported due to the same reason.

This vehicle shares many similarities and is nearly identical outwardly with Finnish Patria XA-180 APC that predates WZ551 with eleven years. There isn't, however, any evidence proving that Chinese Military has copied any designs from Finnish Defense Forces, nor have there been any accusations made.

[edit] NGV-1

NGV-1 is the successor of Type 90. It was discovered that the cross country mobility was not the only thing that needed to be improved for WZ551, fire power was also in need for improvement. The original Chinese manually operated 25-mm gun initially mounted on WZ551 proved to be incapable of penetrating the armor plate of most of Soviet armored vehicles, and a more power small caliber gun that was able to defeat Soviet armor was needed, and China turned to west for help because its own technologies and industrial capabilities back in the 1980s could not fill the need in the required time.

A deal was made with French firm GIAT to incorporate a GIAT 25-mm autocannon as the primary weapon for WZ551 and the work on the redesign of WZ551 begun in China even before the French gun was delivered. Due to the urgent need to meet the schedule, the GIAT 25-mm autocannon was airlifted to China, as opposed to delivery via cargo ships, the usual practice at the time. The development was completed and received state certification in October 1988, and the new vehicle was named as NGV-1, with N for Norinco, G for GIAT and V for vehicle. The remotely operated 25-mm autocannon was eventually reverse engineered in China after France withdrew from the program after 1989, and used to upgrade Type 92, another development of WZ551.

[edit] Type 92

The redesigned ZSL-92 or Type 92 solved the problems of its predecessor Type 90 and was first revealed to the public in 1986, and entered Chinese service on larger scale than its predecessor. Just like Type 90, Type 92 is also used as a common chassis for many different weaponry platforms, such as command vehicle, ATGW carrier, self-propelled AAA, and ambulance. Additionally, the canceled 4 x 4 and 8 x 8 versions were realized in Type 92 program. The industrial designation VN2A is also used for the export version of Type 92, following earlier practice. The chassis of Type 92 comes in three variations:

  • the 4X4 APC looks like the VAB, used mostly by the Chinese police, but also used as self propelled SAM chassis.
  • the 6X6 APC or MICV. This was the baseline and also the first of the series.
  • the 8x8 variant

[edit] 105 mm Assault Gun

In 2001 a self propelled assault gun based on the WZ-551 was disclosed.[2]

[edit] 120 mm Self Propelled Mortar

In 2001 a self propelled mortar based on the WZ-551 was disclosed.[3]

[edit] 122 mm Self Propelled Howitzer

This was based on a lengthened chassis.[4]

[edit] WMZ-551B

This was an upgraded amphibious armored personnel carrier with improved firepower, maneuverability, and reliability.[5]

[edit] Comparison with contemporary vehicles

Below is a comparison between some modern IFVs including the Type-92:

Comparison with some modern IFVs
Fahd 280-30[6][7] BTR-3U [8] VBCI[9] LAV-25[10] Type-92 IFV[11] BTR-90[10][12] VBM Freccia[13]
Country of Origin  Egypt  Ukraine  France  Canada  China  Russia  Italy
Weight 12.5 t (13.8 short tons) 16.4 t (18.1 short tons) 26 t (29 short tons) 12.8 t (14.1 short tons) 12.5 t (13.8 short tons) 20.9 t (23.0 short tons) 26 t (29 short tons)
Primary armament 30 mm (1.2 in) 2A42 automatic cannon 30 mm (1.2 in) dual-feed cannon 25 mm NATO dual-feed cannon 25 mm NATO M242 chain gun 25 mm (0.98 in) Autocannon 30 mm (1.2 in) 2A42 automatic cannon 25 mm (0.98 in) Oerlikon KBA
Secondary armament 7.62 mm (0.300 in) FN MAG machine gun 7.62 mm (0.300 in) coaxial machine gun 7.62 mm (0.300 in) coaxial machine gun 2 x 7.62 mm (0.300 in) M240 machine gun 7.62 mm (0.300 in) coaxial machine gun 7.62 mm (0.300 in) PKT machine gun
grenade launcher		 7.62 mm (0.300 in) coaxial machine gun
Missile armament (Range) AT-5 Spandrel (70-4,000 meters) AT-5 Spandrel (70-4,000 meters) - - - AT-5 Spandrel (70-4,000 meters) Spike LR (200-4000 meters)
Road range 700 km (430 mi) 600 km (370 mi) 750 km (470 mi) 660 km (410 mi) 800 km (500 mi) 800 km (500 mi) 800 km (500 mi)
Maximum on-road speed 100 km/h (62 mph) 85 km/h (53 mph) 100 km/h (62 mph) 100 km/h (62 mph) 85 km/h (53 mph) 100 km/h (62 mph) 110 km/h (68 mph)
Maximum capacity 3 crew + 7 passengers 3 crew + 6 passengers 2 crew + 9 passengers 3 crew + 6 passengers 3 crew + 9 passengers 3 crew + 9 passengers 3 crew + 8 passengers

[edit] Operators

Sri Lanka Army WZ551.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.sinodefence.com/army/armour/zsl92specifications.asp
  2. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/wz-551.htm
  3. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/wz-551.htm
  4. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/wz-551.htm
  5. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/wz-551.htm
  6. ^ "FAHD armoured vehicle". Arab Organization for Industrialization. http://www.aoi.com.eg/aoi_eng/milit_new/vehicle/fahd.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-27. [dead link]
  7. ^ "FAHD". Kader factory. http://www.aoi.com.eg/aoi_arab/aoi/kader/English/index_eng.html. Retrieved 2009-01-27. [dead link]
  8. ^ "BTR-3U Armoured Personnel Carrier". KMDB. http://www.morozov.com.ua/eng/body/btr3u.php?menu=m1.php. Retrieved 2009-01-27. 
  9. ^ "VBCI Wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle, France". SPG Media Limited, army-technology. http://www.army-technology.com/projects/vbci/specs.html. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
  10. ^ a b "BTR-90 (GAZ 5923) specifications". globalsecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/btr-90-specs.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
  11. ^ "ZSL92 Wheeled Armoured Vehicle". SinoDefence. http://www.sinodefence.com/army/armour/zsl92.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
  12. ^ "BTR-90". Modern Armored Vehicles. On War. http://www.onwar.com/weapons/afv/data/rusapcbtr90.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
  13. ^ "VBM Freccia". military-today.com. http://www.military-today.com/apc/vbm_freccia.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-04. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: WZ551
Modern wheeled infantry fighting vehicles and personnel carriers
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