First, the cylindrical thing under the body of the Type 59 and Type 69 tank anti-aircraft machine guns is an integral part of the gun frame, called a balancing machine. Since the anti-aircraft machine guns equipped on Type 59 and Type 69 tanks are modified from the Type 54 anti-aircraft machine guns, the gun body is extremely heavy. At the same time, because the tank anti-aircraft machine guns are limited by the diameter of the tank's roof, they cannot be mounted like ordinary machine guns. It is not close to the center of gravity of the gun body, but very close to the tail of the gun body. Therefore, the gun body is heavy in the front and light in the rear, and the center of gravity is seriously unbalanced. Normal operation is very laborious and the movement is extremely inflexible. The balancing machine is connected to the machine gun's height mechanism through worms and other components. When the shooter operates the height mechanism, the balancing machine generates a reverse force on the gun body, offsetting part of the gravity of the gun body, making the shooter's operating movements more flexible. The anti-aircraft machine guns equipped with Type 96 and Type 99 tanks are modified from the W85 anti-aircraft machine gun. Due to the new design and manufacturing process, the weight has been greatly reduced, and the shooter no longer needs a balance machine to operate it lightly, so the balance machine has been cancelled. . As for the difference between the machine guns, I have already mentioned it. One is modified from the Type 54, and the other is modified from the Type 85.
Second, our country’s tanks do not use remote-controlled machine guns, which are mainly of little significance. The anti-aircraft machine guns equipped on tanks have greatly reduced their defensive effectiveness against modern fighters and are basically used to attack enemy light armor. Targets and tanks are used for self-defense. Since it is difficult to ensure balanced operation of tanks moving at high speed, it is difficult to ensure shooting accuracy using remote-controlled machine guns, and the use of sighting equipment for observation in the vehicle is subject to great restrictions. Therefore, the use of remote-controlled machine guns not only has an ineffective attack effect, but also takes up valuable space in the car, which is not worth the gain. Tanks in most countries rarely use remote-controlled machine guns. However, when conducting urban combat and anti-urban guerrilla warfare, considering that most enemy firepower comes from high-rise buildings, it is not only easy to hit the top of the armored vehicle with weak protection, but also easy to kill the exposed turret. Therefore, remote-controlled weapon stations are installed and used on improved tanks or lightly armored vehicles.
Thirdly, my country's early machine guns such as the Type 59 tanks were also equipped with front machine guns, which were fixed on the front of the vehicle body and operated by the driver. Because the front machine guns were fixed, the shooting direction was consistent with the direction of the tank. It cannot shoot movable, so it is also called a directional machine gun. The front machine gun of the tank during World War II was operated by the co-pilot and radio operator and was mounted on a spherical gun mount, so it could shoot flexibly left, right, up and down. After World War II, tanks eliminated the co-pilot, and the front machine gun was operated by the driver. Since the driver had to drive the tank in combat, it was impossible to flexibly operate the machine gun. Therefore, the front machine gun in the early post-war period was fixed, and later it was simply used. The heading machine gun was cancelled. The tank's parallel machine gun is used by the gunner. Because the gun mount is fixed in the same axis as the main gun, it is also called a coaxial machine gun. Therefore, a set of sighting equipment is used with the main gun.
Fourth, the optical sighting device on the anti-aircraft machine gun of our tank is also found in foreign countries. However, the one in our country is fixed. Most of the foreign troops install it separately. They are installed when in use and put away when not in use. In the car.