Fanghua, which is being shown recently, turned the corner when the Liu Feng motorcade was ambushed. So what was the actual performance of this tank on the battlefield that year? Is it as brave as in the movie?
Photo 1: In the movie Youth, the tank became a great savior.
Recently, the blockbuster Youth is being shown. The war scene is only six minutes. It is about the ambush of the motorcade of the first hero Liu Feng. At a critical juncture, a tank came to help in time. First, the tank shelled, then the vehicle-mounted machine gun, and finally turned the tide. Let's not talk about how the tank can be called for help so quickly. What type is this tank? What was the actual performance on the battlefield that year?
Judging from the shape of this tank in the film, it should be a Type 62 light tank.
Type 62 light tank was developed in 1958 and finalized in 1962, so it is called "1962 light tank" for short. The military equipment model is WZ 13 1 light tank. 1969 put into production and began to equip the troops. 1989 discontinued, with a total output of about 1500 vehicles. Because the total combat weight is only 2 1 ton, it is light and flexible, especially under high temperature conditions, and the continuous driving ability and passing capacity in the water network farmland are excellent, which is very suitable for the southern terrain. Therefore, it is mainly equipped with southern troops and becomes the main equipment of armored forces stationed in the south. About 450 vehicles were aided and exported to third world countries, of which 200 were large vehicles for Vietnam.
Type 62 is actually an abbreviated version of Type 59 medium tank, but the action part is very different from Type 59 medium tank. The track pattern is herringbone, not I-shaped type 59, especially the track plate with double inducers, which clamps the bearing wheel of a single rim between two teeth, while type 59 is a single inducer, which is stuck in the middle of the bearing wheel of a double rim. This is the biggest difference between the two. Type 62 adopts 1 430 HP diesel engine, with a maximum highway speed of 60 kilometers per hour and a maximum highway journey of 450 kilometers. Armed with 1 85mm tank gun, 1 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun and 2 7.62mm parallel machine guns. But the protective performance is weak. The thickest turret front armor is only 45 mm, and the front armor of the car body is 35 mm, which can not only resist the direct attack of artillery above 100 mm, but also the 40 mm rocket launcher. The frontal armor can only resist 7.62 mm machine guns and shell fragments.
Figure 2: Type 62 light tank
For the tanks appearing in the film, some people questioned why the anti-aircraft machine gun had no shield, so it was operated without cover. Isn't it a living target? And why is there no laser rangefinder on the tank turret?
The question is correct. The early Type 62 anti-aircraft machine guns had no shields and no remote control stations for weapons. Therefore, the loader responsible for the construction of anti-aircraft machine guns (Type 62 is a four-person vehicle group, consisting of the conductor, gunner, driver and loader) suffered great casualties in actual combat. In addition, the Type 62 fire control system is really simple, and there is no laser rangefinder. These two problems were prominent in the war of that year. So 1979 has been greatly improved. The main improvements are: adding anti-aircraft machine gun protection tower and laser range finder, adding fence shielding around the turret to improve the protection performance, adding shielding skirts on both sides of the car body, adding protective covers to the headlights and adding new safety doors. The improved version is a 62-type modification. In addition, on the basis of Type 62 chassis, variant vehicles such as tank tractor, military bulldozer and rocket minesweeper have been developed.
Figure 3: The anti-aircraft gun shield was added after the later improvement.
At the end of 1990s, it was completely improved and replaced with105mm tank guns; A new fire control system and low-light-level sight device were installed, and a vertical stabilizer was also installed. The turret was changed from casting to welding, and composite armor was installed on the front of the turret. The engine power is increased to 520 horsepower; Play a new radio station. After these improvements, the Type 62 has been greatly improved in firepower, fire control, protection, maneuverability and communication, and the prototype test has also been well received by the army, but it has not been finalized and mass-produced for various reasons.
In the final analysis, the weak protection ability of Type 6 light tank is a serious problem, which is difficult to eradicate. The maneuverability is not as good as the new wheeled armored fighting vehicle, the firepower advantage is not prominent enough, and the battlefield positioning is vague. Therefore, it is difficult to play a role in modern wars, and it is not surprising that Type 62 has been eliminated by the times. At present, Type 62 has been completely retired and replaced by a new generation of light tanks.
In the 1979 war, the PLA dispatched three kinds of tanks, namely, 59 medium tanks, 62 light tanks and 63 amphibious vehicles. Of the six tank regiments participating in the war, four regiments were all equipped with Type 62 light tanks, totaling 320, accounting for two-thirds of the 500 tanks participating in the war, which was almost the most typical in that war.
Of the 500 tanks participating in the war, 609 were damaged, and each tank participating in the war was damaged at least once on average. 533 vehicles recovered their combat capability through emergency repairs in the field, and the remaining 76 tanks could not be repaired in the field, of which 32 were evacuated for repairs and 44 tanks were completely destroyed and abandoned after disposal.
The tank troops participating in the war were destroyed and injured enemy tanks 17 armored vehicles. There are 108 guns, 56 cars,10/0 destroyed bunkers and 9 artillery positions. * * * Two battalions, three companies, two tanks, 12 people won the title of British model.
Figure 4: Type 62 tank destroyed by the Vietnamese army in the war.
There is no doubt that the weak protective performance of Type 62 armor is completely exposed, not to mention the artillery above 100 mm, even the 40 mm rocket launcher can easily penetrate Type 62 armor-sadly, most of the 40 rocket launchers used by the Vietnamese army are provided by China, and there are even records showing that the Vietnamese army used Soviet-made 14.5 mm heavy machine guns to penetrate Type 62 at a distance of 300 meters!
There is only one tank regiment in the direction of Yunnan, which is the independent tank regiment of Kunming Military Region-the direction of Yunnan is also described in the movie Fanghua. The regiment was originally the Fourth Independent Tank Regiment of Beijing Military Region, and was transferred to Kunming Military Region on 1975. In February, it was renamed the Independent Tank Regiment of Kunming Military Region. 1979 When participating in the war, the whole regiment was equipped with 102 Type 62 light tank, 12 Type 63 armored transport vehicle, 4 tractors and 7 1 other motor vehicles. Because there is only one tank regiment in the direction of Yunnan, it should be split and used. 1 Battalion belongs to 14 Army, Battalion 2 and Battalion 3 belong to 13 Army, and Battalion 3 and Company 7 belong to 1 1 Army.
During the war, the whole regiment * * * took part in the 1 1 battle, which overcame the unfavorable terrain of steep mountains, dense grass and narrow roads in northern Vietnam, strongly supported the infantry fighting, and played a great role in capturing Guliu, Baosheng, Laojie, Tang Tang, Sabah, Meng Kang and Fengtu, and destroyed 96 Vietnamese bunkers. During the battle, 30 tanks were damaged, of which 9 were scrapped, and shells 1 14 1 were consumed, with more than 280,000 bullets and 87 tons of various fuels.
After the war, 42 units and 965 officers and men received meritorious service awards. Among them, 1 Battalion 3 Company 3 1 1 Driver He was awarded the honorary title of "Heroic Tanker" by the Central Military Commission, and 3rd Battalion 9 Company 2 Platoon won the first class merit.
Figure 5: Type 62 light tank in the war.
Speaking of the tank battle in this war, the most famous one is of course the East Stream Interception. Type 62 is also equipped with a handle for infantry to grasp when carrying infantry on the turret, also known as "tank cavalry". It is also in this kind of interspersed battle that the infantry carried on the tank tied themselves to the handle of the tank turret with a backpack belt in order not to be left behind by the high-speed tank. As a result, they were ambushed by the Vietnamese army on the way. There are too many infantry in tanks (each tank carries more than 20 infantry), which affects the observation and development of firepower, and the infantry has no time at all. Since then, the story of people being tied to tanks with backpacks has been widely circulated, which shows that the PLA at that time did not know how to cooperate with tanks and lacked tracked armored personnel carriers that could keep up with tank propulsion, but this was the only time and it will never happen again. Moreover, the later tanks will never install any infantry handles on the turret.
Figure 6: Type 62 tanks and infantry.
Figure 7: Please note that the infantry hand on the tank is grasping the "infantry handle".
Back to the East Stream Interception War, in the direction of Guangxi, in order to complete the task of capturing Gaoping as soon as possible, the 42nd Army decided that 126 Division would take charge of occupying Dongxi, open the passage leading to Highway 4, and then 124 Division would make a quick assault on Gaoping along Highway 4 through Dongxi at the fastest speed. At that time, the order given to 126 division was to take things in three hours. Therefore, the 42nd Army incorporated the 43rd Army Tank Regiment (less than 3 battalions) equipped with Type 59 medium tanks into the126th Division. 126 division has jurisdiction over 376 regiments, 43 army tank regiments (lacking 3 battalions) and 2 battalions of 42 army tank regiments (equipped with Type 62 light tanks). All the infantry were loaded with tanks, making full use of the high-speed performance of tanks and rushing to the east stream at full speed.
1February 27, 979, at 7: 00 in the morning, the interspersed detachment braved the morning fog and smoke. On the way, I overcame the difficulties of complicated terrain and being ambushed by Vietnamese troops, and arrived at Dongxi at 9: 55 a.m. five minutes in advance. The speed of the interspersed detachment was completely beyond the expectation of the Vietnamese army. When the PLA tanks with sharp knives rushed into Dongxi, the local people thought it was a Vietnamese tank and waved. The bus from Gaoping to Dongxi also runs as usual. It was not until the tanks of the People's Liberation Army were bombed indiscriminately that Dongxi panicked and fled everywhere. In the afternoon 15, the 378th regiment of 126 Division also rushed to Dongxi and immediately attacked Gaoping Development. Due to the rapid conquest of Dongxi by interspersed troops, the railway west of Gaoping was cut off and the circuitous task was completed, which created a very favorable situation for encircling the Vietnamese army. However, the protagonist of Dongxi Interception War is Type 59, and only 1 tank battalion in the interception team is equipped with Type 62, and it is not a striker, but only a supporting role.
Speaking of movies reflecting the tank battle in this war, in the 1980s, there were two classic movies, Real 008 and Snake Valley Raiders. However, it should be noted that Iron Clothes 008 appeared in the 59-year film, while the 62-year film was Snake Valley's strategy. Interested friends can go and have a look.