WZ-122 main battle tank

Not to be confused with Type 80.

WZ-122 Main Battle Tank
Type	Main Battle Tank
Place of origin	China
Production history
No. built	Only several prototypes
Specifications
Mass	≤37.5 Tonnes (1970 blueprint)
Length	Unknown
Width	Unknown
Height	Unknown
Crew	4
Armor	Unknown
Main armament	120 mm tank gun
Secondary armament	1 × 12.7 mm AA MG 1 × 7.62 mm MG
Engine	Diesel 650–680 hp (480–510 kW) (in 1970s plan)
Suspension	Hydropneumatic suspension (WZ-122A) torsion-bar (WZ-122B)

The WZ-122 (Chinese: WZ-122主戰坦克) was a main battle tank developed by the People's Republic of China. Its development started in March 1970. After several prototypes were built, the plan was set aside in 1974.

History

After the Zhenbao Island incident (zh:珍寶島事件) in 1969, PRC leaders decided on the necessity to develop new tank models. These new tanks included WZ-132, WZ-121 (Type 69) and WZ-122, development of which commenced in March 1970.

The first prototype designated WZ-122A was finished on 25 September 1970. The tank's cast turret and wheels were of similar design style to Soviet tanks, but also differed to the USSR's tanks in some components such as the suspension. However, this tank was too complex for practical use in China at that time. So, this tank was quickly set aside. In January 1971, another prototype was finished. This prototype used many mature parts, however many issues had been found during the test, which led to its eventual abandonment.