PTZ89
Contents
Description
The HuoPao Tanke ZiXing 89 is a rank VI Chinese tank destroyer
with a battle rating of 9.0 (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 marvellous 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.
| 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
Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.
| 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 | _,___ | 992 | __.__ | 33.07 |
| Realistic | 56 | 8 | _,___ | 520 | __.__ | 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 | 1740 | 4.45 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
| DYS120 | HE | 900 | 19.5 | N/A | 0.1 | 2.49 | 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
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
| 12.7 mm QJC88A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| 500 (150) | 700 | __° | __° | |
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
Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".
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
- Humungous tank, increasing the chance of being spotted and hit
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.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
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
| 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 |
