PLZ83-130

This page is about the Chinese tank destroyer PLZ83-130. For the regular version, see PLZ83.

PLZ83-130

PLZ83-130

China

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.3	7.3	7.3

Class:

Tank destroyer

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Description

The HuoPao LiuDan ZiXing 83-130was an export solution of PLZ83 SPH once been spotted on 1987's NORINCO export catalogue. Likely before the introduction of Gerald Bull's 155 mm GC-45 in Mainland China production, to further extend the firing range from PL66-152, NORINCO adopted the earlier but with much longer firing range PL59A-130 while retaining most equipment from PLZ83; this attempt was eventually abandoned after NORINCO already developed the more advanced PLZ45 series.

Introduced during Update "Alpha Strike" as a reward for the 2024 Inferno Cannon event, aside from the Pinocchio-like 130 mm PL59 replaced the original 152 mm howitzer, most features are identical to its cousin PLZ83, this time with one of the most powerful APHE, PLAGF 130 mm shell with different fuse (i.e VT) as well as smoke shells, this gives much more flexibility than its cousin while players should be extra careful on their waypoints and be prepared for any incoming hostiles, the 130 mm shell would still deter enemies with its fearsome penetration.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull15 / 15 / 15

Turret30 / 15 / 10

Crew5 people

Visibility94 %

PLZ83-130 retained identical layout and overall design from its base model, PLZ83 with a 4-men turret, only the main cannon changed into a 130 mm howitzer; this also means most features, namely the protection is totally identical between each other. The design of PLZ83-130 is somewhat similar to a later vehicle both in tech tree and reality which also shares the same WZ321 chassis - PTZ89, while the former uses a rifled howitzer, the latter uses domestic 120 mm smoothbore cannon. In most cases, enemy would have to deploy higher caliber autocannons to handle PLZ83-130 from some distance without using ATGMs or main cannons; while the frontal protection is somewhat sufficient, be extra careful on enemies coming from the flanks as they can gun down the turret crew with ease, sometimes even detonating the 130 mm ammunition at the rear side of turret and inside the hull, leading to a total-destruction of the vehicle and its crew.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB61 / 10 km/h

RB and SB57 / 9 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight30.0 t

Engine power

AB992 hp

RB and SB520 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB33.1 hp/t

RB and SB17.3 hp/t

As a prototype vehicle modified from a PLZ83, the 130 mm howitzer variant didn't upgrade its mobility; for better logistics and reliable powerplant, it retained the same 12V150L engine from Type 59 while having planetary transmission. It does have sufficient speed to follow the main forces with its 57 km/h speed but do remember never, even try to over-extend; the -7 km/h reverse speed will make players think twice before risking the vehicle.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	61	10	30	739	992	24.63	33.07
Realistic	57	9		460	520	15.33	17.33

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB5 297 → 6 552

RB5 446 → 6 736

SB8 857 → 10 956

Total cost of modifications77 000

129 600

Talisman cost2 000

Crew training78 000

Experts270 000

Aces1 100

Research Aces670 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 210 / 240 %

190 / 190 / 190 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 4 000 Cost: 6 500 155 Suspension Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 300 170 Brake System Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 300 170 Filters Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 100 190 Transmission Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 500 Engine Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 500	Improved Parts Research: 2 600 Cost: 6 500 155 Improved FPE Research: 2 900 Cost: 7 300 170 Crew Replenishment Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 100 190	Horizontal Drive Research: 4 000 Cost: 6 500 155 130mm_ussr_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 4 000 Cost: 6 500 155 Adjustment of Fire Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 300 170 Elevation Mechanism Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 100 190 130mm_ussr_HE_VT_ammo_pack Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 100 190

Armaments

Main armament

130 mm PL59A Gai сannon

Ammunition38 rounds

First-order26 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

15.5 → 11.9 s

Vertical guidance-5° / 65°

130 mm PL59A Gai					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	38	-5°/+65°	±180°	-	8.8	12.2	14.8	16.4	17.4	15.47	13.68	12.61	11.90
Realistic					5.9	7.0	8.5	9.4	10.0

The original 152 mm howitzer was replaced by a 130 mm PL59A while retaining identical hydraulic recoil absorbers from PLZ83, as well as the mechanical assisted loader for the howitzer; although sharing identical travel limits and and turret traverse speed, the gun itself has much better muzzle velocity than most howitzers at its tier, tied with NATO 155 mm howitzers with OE F3 shell.

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
BR-482B	APCBC	313	309	294	276	260	244
PL59A-130 HE	HE	37	36	36	36	36	36
Type 59 HE-VT	HE-VT	36	36	36	36	36	36

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
BR-482B	APCBC	900	33.4	1.2	19	177.1	48°	63°	71°
PL59A-130 HE	HE	930	33.4	0.3	0.1	3,410	79°	80°	81°

Proximity-fused shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Arming distance (m)	Trigger radius (m)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
									0%	50%	100%
Type 59 HE-VT	HE-VT	930	33.4	0.3	0.1	300	3	3,290	79°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
Type 59-1 Smoke	935	33.47	16	5	25	272

If the most suitable word for PLZ83 is "inflexible", the -130 variant is the antonym in this case; thanks to the introduction of ammunitions for its Soviet cousin, M-46 and changing fuse for different purpose, this enables PL83-130 with much higher flexibility.

BR-482B; Stock - PLAGF also acquired the schematics for the BR-482B from the introduction of 130 mm M-46 howitzer; thanks to the compatibility to Soviet Army heavy tanks like the infamous IS-7 for its 130 mm S-70 which is also based on naval 130 mm B-13, this turns the PLZ83-130 into a railgun-like howitzer with the second highest penetration for full-caliber kinetic shot just behind the monstrous Object 279 with higher velocity. A penetrated 130 mm shell with 313 mm penetration at point-blank range can certainly demolish even the heaviest targets around its tier.

Type 59 HE; Stock - The other stock shell for the vehicle, aka 3OF33 in Soviet service; although the caliber hindered the penetration of the shell much less than its 152 mm cousin, it is sill extremely lethal to light vehicles when the BR-482B will certainly over-penetrates the target, it is always a good idea to bring some HE-frag just in case.

Type 59-1 Smoke; Tier I - A feature that sets aside the PL59A-130 from other 122 mm or 152 mm guns is the existence of smoke shells; while the vehicle itself lacks smoke grenades or ESS for self concealment, the shell will certainly helps the team by blinding enemy line of sight or laying covering smoke for friendly heading for vantage points.

Type 59 HE-VT; Tier III - The VT variant of Type 59 HE replaced its fuse with MD81 radio fuse for improvised anti-aircraft and infantry suppression operations (for maximum shrapnel radius), the ballistic performance is totally identical to its HE variant but players might take some time to adapt the shell velocity of this one, do remember to change back to APHE or conventional HE before engaging any ground targets.

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
38	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

12.7 mm Type 54 machine gun

Ammunition600 rounds

Belt capacity50 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

Vertical guidance-6° / 85°

Horizontal guidance-161° / 156°

12.7 mm Type 54
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	600 (50)	600	-6°/+85°	-161°/+156°

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Even more onboard ammunition than PLZ83 at up to 38 shells
• Sufficient mobility ensured by Type 59 equivalent powerplant
• Relative fast gun vertical traverse
• More flexible ammunition options than PLZ83 with APHE and smoke shells
• Higher gun depression than early Cold-War SPHs
• Rather straight ballistics equivalent to GC-45 155 mm howitzer-equivalents (i.e VIDAR, Type 99 SP)

Cons:

• Insufficient explosive mass to handle heavy targets
• Protection only rated up to HMG caliber gun
• Insufficient reverse speed
• Huge profile with high likelihood of detonation once penetrated
• Slow turret traverse speed

History

The information on the development for PLZ83-130 is rather sparse due to its only appearance on NORINCO's 1987 export catalogue; by 1980s, NORINCO and PLAGF seek for a solution to vastly upgrade the artillery combat capability. Thanks to the exile of Gerald Bull who developed the new 155 mm GC-45 howitzer due to some of his artillery projects, his invention would be eventually introduced into PLAGF service and later manufactured by NORINCO; meanwhile, to further enhance the firing range of PLZ83, NORINCO installed the infamous 130 mm PL59A-130 which has already proved its capabilities in cross-strait artillery wars and Sino-Vietnamese conflicts on the PLZ83 platform. Likely due to the eventual introduction of PLZ45, a very successful artillery product of NORINCO with hundreds of orders from Middle Eastern countries and updated requirements from PLAGF, the export solution was eventually ditched with no orders placed by foreign customers.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the PLZ83-130 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

China tank destroyers
PLA
Gun vehicles	PLZ83 · PLZ83-130 · PTZ89
Missile vehicles	AFT09
ROC
Missile vehicles	CM25
USA
Gun vehicles	␗M8 HMC · LVT(A)(4) (ZiS-2) · ␗M10 GMC · ␗M36 GMC
Missile vehicles	␗M113A1 (TOW)
USSR
Gun vehicles	␗SU-76M · ␗ISU-152 · ␗ISU-122 · ␗SU-100