PTZ89

PTZ89

CM25

PTL02

PTZ89

CM25

PTL02

China

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.7	8.7

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:94 000

Purchase:520 000

Show in game

Description

The HuoPao Tanke ZiXing 89 is a rank VI Chinese tank destroyer with a battle rating of 8.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "New Power".

The PTZ89 is a purpose-built tank destroyer armed with a formidable 120 mm smoothbore gun, somewhat similar in layout and concept to the infamous Soviet Object 120. It is remarkable for having entered service in 1989; by then, the era of the main battle tank was well underway and gun-armed tank destroyers were out of fashion. This conundrum exists in War Thunder as well, where the PTZ89 faces agile and well-armed tanks like the Leopard A1A1 while not being speedy or well-protected itself. Still, if the PTZ89 does one thing well, it's firepower. The marvelous cannon easily penetrates almost anything it meets and the assisted loader allows several targets to be destroyed in quick succession. This vehicle is all about its gun and a skilled gunner can make good use of it for sniping and ambushes.

General info

Survivability and armour

The PTZ89 is built on the chassis of the Type 83 self-propelled howitzer and its overall protection is disappointing. The hull has enough armour to shrug off heavy machine guns from the front but the sides are only 15 mm thick. The large and bulbous turret is even more vulnerable, the sloped turret face only being 22 mm thick. Never trust the armour of the PTZ89, vehicles armed with autocannons will easily shred it and it can be gunned down by the ubiquitous M2 Browning from the sides. Any aircraft equipped with cannons or heavy machine guns can destroy it from above.

The thin armour ironically makes subcaliber rounds produce less spalling upon penetrating the tank, but the internal layout can still lead to fatal results. The three crew members are lined up on the left side of the tank (right side from an attacker's perspective) and well-aimed shots might knock all of them out, putting the vehicle out of commission. That said, the turret seating is rather high and there is a chance that a shot knocking out the driver might pass underneath the turret crew. The turret bustle also houses many rounds of ammunition without blowout racks and penetrating shots to the turret front or rear can set them off.

The PTZ89 is vulnerable to hull break from chemical rounds like HEAT-FS but not kinetic rounds like APFSDS. Be extra careful to avoid artillery, ATGMs, bombs, and rockets when possible.

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	10 + 10 mm (71°) Upper glacis 35 mm (1-66°) Transmission housing 15 mm (20°) Mine plow attachment plate	15 mm	10 (9°) mm	10 mm
Turret	22 mm (30°) Turret front 30 mm (32°) Gun mask 40 mm (9-36°) Gun mantlet	18 mm (14°)	18 mm	15 mm (79-89°)
Cupola	15 mm	15 mm	15 mm	15 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm of structural steel, tracks are 15 mm thick,
• Engine radiator grilles are 5 mm of RHA.
• Internal firewall around the engine/transmission compartment, 5 mm RHA thick.
• Slat armour on turret sides, 10 mm of structural steel.
• Skirts and storage boxes above tracks are 4 mm of structural steel.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	60	9	30	739	992	24.63	33.07
Realistic	56	8		460	520	15.33	17.33

Armaments

Main armament

Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.

120 mm PTZ89					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	30	-5°/+18°	±180°	Two-plane	13.2	__._	__._	__._	__._	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00
Realistic					8.9	__._	__._	__._	__._

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
DYW1	APFSDS	443	442	436	429	422	416
DYS120	HE	30	30	30	30	30	30

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%
DYW1	APFSDS	1,740	4.45	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
DYS120	HE	900	19.5	0	0.1	2,490	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

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

Machine guns

12.7 mm QJC88A
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	500 (150)	700	-5°/+60°	±180°

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).

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine	Smoke grenade	Laser rangefinder	NVD

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent APFSDS round with very high velocity, great penetration and flat trajectory; comes with the vehicle as stock ammo
• Five-second reload thanks to the assisted loader
• Two-plane stabilizer giving it advantage in shoot-n-scoot tactic or sudden close encounters
• Roof-mounted 12.7 mm heavy machine gun can effectively damage low flying helicopters, lightly armoured vehicles or even aircraft
• Two salvos of smoke grenades can provide protective cover (to some extent) twice for the player
• Nice top speed

Cons:

• Very poor all-round armour making it extremely vulnerable to rockets, bombs or even .50 calibre rounds, let alone APFSDS and missiles
• Mediocre mobility
• Slow reverse speed of only 7-8 kph can put the player in a fatal situation
• Below average turret rotation speed
• Bad gun depression of only -5 degrees, limiting its terrain adaptation for different maps
• Humongous tank, increasing the chance of being spotted and hit
• Can be hull broken by chemical munitions

History

During the 1970s, new tanks like the T-64 and T-72 were entering service in the Soviet Union, and with tensions between China and the Soviet Union still being tense, China needed a gun capable of defeating these tanks. The problem was, their primary tank was still the Type 59, a Chinese version of the T-54 tank, still armed with a 100 mm rifled gun. During this period, China tried to turn to Rheinmetall for their new 120 mm L/44 smoothbore gun, but this was rejected. The Chinese decided to develop their own gun, using technology and knowledge from the T-62 they had captured at Zhenbao Island.

In 1979, three versions of the gun were completed, with an estimated 1,000 APFSDS rounds fired. In February of that year, gun design 82-2 penetrated 204 mm on a 68 degree armour at a speed of 1,646 m/s. In 1981, the basic design was completed, with gun design 82-14 being chosen for the new 120 mm smoothbore gun. This could fire an APFSDS projectile at 1,700 m/s, penetrating 204 mm of armor at a 68 degree angle.

Following this, the gun was put in a turret on the Type 321 utility tracked chassis that would be used on other vehicles such as the PHZ-89 or PGZ-09. The vehicle would be demonstrated in 1985 in Nankou, Beijing, with more tests being conducted until late 1988, when it finally began initial production. It first entered service in 1989, and by the time it was retired, around 100 had been produced. Having served its purpose and with the rise of new Chinese MBTs such as the ZTZ99 (with more capable guns), it retired in November 2015, when the 39th Army Group held an official retirement ceremony for the vehicle.

Devblog

In the late 1970’s, Chinese engineers began developing a new combat vehicle which would be capable of defeating some of the most commonly used second generation main battle tanks, such as the Soviet T-62 and T-72, among others. The basic design would be that of a turreted, lightly armoured yet mobile tank destroyer.

Development work was slow and dragged itself through the first half of the 1980’s for various reasons, including lack of funding. However, by the late 1980’s, the project picked up pace again and several prototypes and pre-production vehicles were built for testing and evaluation.

Following a successful testing phase, the PTZ-89, as it became known, was approved for production in early 1990, with small-scale production commencing and the first vehicles reaching units in 1991. With the end of the Cold War, however, the need for a vehicle such as the PTZ-89 diminished, leading to an early production stop in the late 1990s.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the PTZ89 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

PTZ89 - A Chinese Wild Ride - Napalmratte

Images

• PTZ-89 Devblog Images
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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

• [Devblog] PTZ-89: Hungry Dragon

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