WZ-111 heavy tank

WZ-111 Heavy Tank
WZ-111 at the Tank Museum, Beijing
Type	heavy tank
Place of origin	PRC
Specifications
Mass	44-46 tonnes
Length	10.625 m (with gun)
Width	3.3 m
Height	2.497 m
Crew	4 (commander, loader, gunner, driver)
Armor	80-200 mm
Main armament	122 mm "Y174" tank gun
Secondary armament	1 x 12.7 mm machine gun 1 x 7.62 mm machine gun
Engine	12-cylinder supercharged diesel 750 HP (390 kw)
Power/weight	12.5 kw/t
Suspension	torsion bar

The WZ-111 heavy tank (Chinese: WZ-111重型坦克) was a heavy tank that was developed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) throughout the 1960s but was eventually cancelled in 1966 due to many mechanical problems stuck with the design.

History

It featured a 750 hp supercharged diesel engine and the torsion bar suspension was made up by 7 road wheels and 4 return rollers. The inducer laid in front with both drive sprockets in the rear. This type of tank used many Soviet heavy tank design elements.

The first prototype, which lacked the intended turret but was fitted with a steel weight (to simulate the actual mass of the turret during testing), was sent for trials from 1964 onwards. Because of many technological problems associated with the prototype that surfaced during testing, it was set aside in 1966 and the project regarding the WZ-111 was later shelved. A WZ-111 tank hull is now displayed at the Tank Museum near Beijing.

See also

• WZ-132
• Type 69