ZTZ96
| This page is about the Chinese medium tank ZTZ96. For other versions, see ZTZ96 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The ZhuangJia Tanke ZhuZhan 96 (Chinese: ZTZ96式主战坦克; industry code WZ122H) is one of the MBTs in PLAGF service since late 1990s. After the introduction of ZTZ88 by early 1990s, there were plans to fuse the hull of ZTZ88 with the successful turret from Type 85-IIM exported to Pakistan with domestic FCS. The development of such tank went on successfully as the WZ122H in PLAGF service and it has humbly served the PLAGF for almost 3 decades and possibly received upgrades to current standards due to being unable to upgrade from older tanks to the new ZTZ96A in service with ERA packages.
Introduced in Update 1.93 "Shark Attack" as the first Chinese tank in the game not directly based on or modified from a foreign design and one of the first MBT-equivalent tanks in PLAGF service, the ZTZ96 has a more distinctive appearance and introduces several features not seen in previous Chinese medium tanks. The general layout is reminiscent of the Soviet T-72 but features major differences in the design of the turret and hull. The welded turret is flat and angular compared to the dome shape traditionally favoured by the Soviet Union and China. The ZTZ88-derived hull departs from the traditional T-54 chassis with smaller roadwheels, different angles, and larger dimensions. Composite armour is present in the turret cheeks and upper glacis.
Like the T-72, the ZTZ96 features a 125 mm smoothbore cannon with an autoloader. Its shell selection is somewhat limited but the APFSDS and HE shells are excellent and can handle most ground targets. The protection and mobility are average at best, but those familiar with previous Chinese tanks will be used to these faults. ZTZ96 users can enjoy the great firepower and look forward to the succeeding ZTZ96A, a modernized and much-improved variant with thermal sights and ERA protection.
General info
Survivability and armour
The ZTZ96's armour is a significant improvement over previous Chinese tanks like the CM11 and ZTZ59D1 but is not especially competitive for its rank. It has a significant amount of chemical protection in the turret cheeks (~520-530 mm) and upper glacis (~460-480 mm). The turret can resist most HEAT-FS rounds fired by enemy tanks but the hull might be penetrated on occasion by 120 mm HEAT-FS as used by the Leopard 2K and Leopard A1A1 (L/44) for example. Contemporary ATGMs will usually go right through.
Kinetic protection is decent but not spectacular, at about 390 mm for the turret cheeks and 360 mm for the hull depending on what round is used for testing. This is enough to stop early APFSDS rounds like the 105 mm DM23 fired by the Leopard A1A1, but many enemies at its rank can punch through it with their top rounds like 105 mm DM33/Type 93. Due to having a battle rating, the ZTZ96 has some measure of isolation against top-tier guns. Contemporary US tanks like the MBT-70 or XM-1 (GM) will struggle to penetrate its composite armour and surprisingly even the British Challenger 1 series will have some difficulties. Overall, though the ZTZ96 has similarities to the T-72A, its armour protection is worse. The turret is weaker and the hull is comparable if the T-72's add-on armour upgrade is accounted for, slightly better otherwise.
As with other modern MBTs, the gun mantlet is highly susceptible to incoming fire, which can knock out the breech or hurt the crew. The lower glacis is also a weak point and should be hidden from enemy view when possible. However, due to the design of the upper glacis (which more closely resembles the T-54), there is no driver's viewport weak spot that plagues the contemporary T-64/72/80 tanks. This might surprise enemies with weaker rounds who shoot that area out of habit.
The post-penetration survivability leaves much to be desired. The autoloader uses the same layout as the T-72A; a penetrating shot to the lower glacis or hull side has a high likelihood of detonating the ammunition and instantly destroying the tank. Granted, this is slightly less likely to happen than in the T-64/80 since the propellant charges are stacked horizontally instead of vertically. In addition, with 3 only crew members, it is easier to knock out the tank with a good shot, particularly since the driver and gunner are lined up when the turret is facing forwards.
While hull penetrations tend to be fatal, this is not necessarily the case for turret penetrations. It is possible to empty the turret of spare ammunition by taking fewer rounds (22 + 1 for a full autoloader carousel and one in the gun). If an enemy shoots a turret cheek, usually only one crew member will perish. This will give the player time either to retaliate or to retreat. With duplicate fire controls, the commander can take control of the cannon and fire it when the gunner is down. The autoloader ensures that the gun is loaded during this time.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
- Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet, commander cupola)
- Rubber-fabric screens (side skirts)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 20 mm (69°) Outer UFP 100 mm (67°) Inner UFP 60 mm (51°) LFP |
50 mm | 45 mm (52°) Top 45 mm (15°) Bottom |
20-30 mm |
| Turret | 220 mm Turret front 310 mm Gun mantlet |
50-80 mm | 20 mm | 30 mm |
| Cupola | 30 mm (cylindrical) | 30 mm (spherical) | ||
| Composite armour | Front (Slope angle) |
|---|---|
| Hull | Upper glacis: 350 mm Kinetic 480 mm Chemical |
| Turret | Turret front: 400 mm Kinetic 520 mm Chemical |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels, tracks, and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
- Belly armour is 20 mm thick.
- Side skirts are 8 mm thick.
- Mudguards and storage boxes are 4 mm thick.
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 | 64 | 10 | 41 | 1,131 | 1,393 | 27.59 | 33.98 |
| Realistic | 58 | 9 | 646 | 730 | 15.76 | 17.8 | |
The mobility of the ZTZ96 is not particularly impressive. It uses the same engine and transmission as the ZTZ88A/B but weighs 2.5 tons more from the composite armour and heavier gun. It has 17.8 hp/ton when fully upgraded compared to the T-72A's 19.02 hp/ton. The reverse speed of -9 km/h is slow but better than the agonizing 4 km/h of the Soviet T-64/72. Do not count on being able to retreat from danger rapidly. In general the ZTZ96 will be among the last to arrive on the battlefield. However, the tank is still quite manoeuvrable and agile in its hull traverse, allowing it to weave through dense forests and urban areas with relative ease and react quickly to threats.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
The ZTZ96 makes up for its drawbacks in protection and mobility with a superb gun. The 125 mm Type 88C smoothbore gun is capable of firing APFSDS, HE and HEAT-FS ammunition. Although the ZTZ96 uses a similar autoloader system to the T-72s with 7.1 second reload rate, which is already on the long side for its rank. The turret rotation speed is noticeably improved over the T-72, topping out at 30 degrees/sec like the Type 90.
| 125 mm Type 88C | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Autoloader |
| Arcade | 40 | -6°/+14° | ±180° | Two-plane | 28.6 | 39.5 | 48.0 | 53.1 | 56.5 | 7.10 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | |||||
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 | ||
| DTP-125 | HEATFS | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 |
| DTB-125 | HE | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
| 125-I | APFSDS | 466 | 464 | 458 | 450 | 442 | 434 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| DTP-125 | HEATFS | 905 | 18 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2.62 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| DTB-125 | HE | 850 | 23 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 5.46 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| 125-I | APFSDS | 1,730 | 4.02 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
The DTP-125 HEATFS round is nothing particularly special. It has the same penetration as the standard NATO 120 mm HEATFS (e.g. 120 mm DM12) and the same ballistics as the Soviet 3BK12M used by the T-72A or T-64A. As a stock round, it is alright. It contains above average explosive mass for a 120/125 mm HEATFS shell, enough to trigger pressure damage against light targets and sometimes even against MBTs if hit right at the turret ring. The penetration can dispatch targets with steel or spaced armour, which are still somewhat common at the ZTZ96's battle rating. However it falls short against targets with ERA or composite armour. For example, the XM-1 (GM)'s turret front can resist DTP-125. Soviet tanks tend to be tough nuts to crack outside of the T-64A, as their turrets are immune and their hulls are at least quite resistant if not outright immune as well.
The DTB-125 HE round is of the Soviet-style, packing a whopping 5.46 kg of TNT equivalent that can deal devastating damage if aimed correctly, either through detonating ammo racks or triggering overpressure damage. Light tanks can typically be shot anywhere and the resulting overpressure damage will wipe out their crew. Against MBTs, the best targets are typically the turret ring, hull roof, or turret roof. The Leopard I, AMX-30, OF-40, and Type 74 have thin hull side armour and a HE round there is usually a guaranteed knockout if one takes care to avoid hitting the tracks or side skirts. The HE round has essentially the same unimpressive ballistics as the HEATFS round and is easiest to use at closer ranges, but practice and/or use of the laser rangefinder can make it viable at medium to long range, particularly against static enemies.
The 125-I APFSDS shell is a Tier 3 modification and the ZTZ96's only choice of kinetic ammunition. It can be considered the Chinese counterpart to the Soviet 3BM42 "Mango" round, having slightly better penetration and muzzle velocity in exchange for a lower projectile mass. For its battle rating, 125-I performs very well, offering 466 mm of flat penetration at point-blank and dropping only to 434 mm at 2 km. Its angled performance of 269 mm at 60 degrees is comparable to Western long-rod sabot rounds such as DM33. Almost all of the ZTZ96's enemies can be dispatched easily with a center mass shot to the hull. The high muzzle velocity makes it easy to use at long range even without using the laser rangefinder.
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
Ammo part |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
7th rack empty |
8th rack empty |
9th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Projectiles Propellants |
40 (+0) 39 (+1) |
38 (+2) 38 (+2) |
37 (+3) 37 (+3) |
35 (+5) 31 (+9) |
32 (+8) 27 (+13) |
29 (+11) 23 (+17) |
24 (+16) 39 (+1) |
23 (+17) N/A |
39 (+1) N/A |
No |
Notes:
- The 9th projectile rack and the 7th propellant rack are a mechanized first stage ammo rack. The mechanized nature indicates the tank has a fixed reload as it uses an autoloader to reload the main gun, as such the main gun cannot be reloaded when the ammo rack is empty.
- It takes around 25s per shell to reload the first stage ammo rack. Additionally, there is a 10s interval between the gun is fully loaded and the crew starts to reload the first stage ammo rack.
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm QJC88A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 600 (150) | 600 | -6°/+85° | ±180° |
| 7.62 mm Type 86 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,500 (250) | 700 | - | - |
Usage in battles
Like preceding Chinese MBTs, the ZTZ96 is not suited for rapid assaults due to its substandard mobility and should be played conservatively. Let speedier teammates charge first into combat while you cover them and move to good overwatch positions. Situational awareness is key since faster opponents may arrive earlier and the tank lacks thermal sights. The gun handling is a bit better than contemporary Soviet MBTs but it still has a slow vertical traverse speed. The ZTZ96's composite armour is not amazing but still enough to shrug off some incoming fire, and staying close to cover is helpful. Try to hide the lower glacis since that is the ZTZ96's most dangerous weak spot. The ZTZ96's extra two degrees of gun depression compared to previous PRC tanks are helpful for peeking over small hills. Be on the lookout for flankers since the ZTZ96 has weaker side armour than Soviet tanks and 25-30 mm IFV autocannons can penetrate it.
Before the APFSDS is unlocked, the only ammunition options are the stock HEAT-FS and HE. Neither of these ammo types is particularly good for sniping due to their mediocre muzzle velocities, so it is best to stay at close to medium range. Once the APFSDS is unlocked, it should be effective against the majority of the tanks seen at the ZTZ96's rank and is well suited for the ZTZ96's recommended laid-back playstyle. It is still a good idea to take some HE shells due to their utility and instant-knockout capability. Light vehicles can often be sent back to the hangar with a single hit, and even heavy MBTs with strong composite armour are still vulnerable to well-placed HE shells.
The ZTZ96 has duplicate fire control, meaning that the commander can take control of the cannon and fire in the event the gunner is knocked out, enhancing the tank's capabilities to return fire in heat of battle, even after a successful penetration on the gunner side. Do note that the commander's sight, while fairly steady, is not stabilized, so try not to drive quickly when using the override.
Assault mode
For players grinding the APFSDS in assault mode, it is recommended to bring full ammo, with around half HEAT and half HE. As the countdown goes at the start of the match, quickly find a spot where you will not get shot from every direction and stay there until you run out of ammo or die. The HEAT is great at knocking out with a single shot weakly-armoured Cold War tanks that spawn at the early stages of the match, while the HE is capable of killing those heavily protected top tier MBT who spawn later. Given that you do not have APFSDS, therefore, lacking the ability to knock out some AI frontally, you will have to rely on assists to get scores. Firing HEAT / HE at tracks, roof-mounted MG, turret ring, cannon barrel, etc can at least immobile / disarm the AI, granting you an assist. The 7.1 second reload will be quite slow when facing a huge wave of AI so you must aim each shot carefully, but other times it is generally fast enough. The ZTZ96's armour can take quite some beating but is also prone to ammo rack explosion, or penetrating shots from the lower front plate and gun mantlet. Note that the ZTZ96 can be easily destroyed by rockets/bombs from AI planes too so it will be great to have a teammate with helicopter/SPAA covering the team.
Enemies worth noting:
- Leopard 2 A5: this is the most protected Leopard you will see in an assault, usually in Mozdok and Fulda. When facing it frontally or with slight angles, load HE and aim for its turret ring where the crosshair is green. It is very likely to destroy it instantly. When facing its side, load HEAT and aim for its central hull. Don't expect to block any of its shells as its APFSDS can easily go through the ZTZ96's frontal armour, or the AI can just target your weak spots.
- M1A2: you will see it mostly in Fulda and Ardennes. When facing it frontally or with slight angles, load HEAT and aim for its turret ring where the crosshair is green. It is very likely to destroy it instantly. HE might not work here since it cannot effectively hurt the turret crew. But HE works great when aiming at the M1's turret roof. Items like the MG and the optics will all detonate the HE, causing the downward shrapnel to kill all the crew. When facing its side, load HEAT and aim for its central hull.
- Challenger 2F: you will see it mostly in Sands of Sinai. It is one of the toughest AI to destroy, especially when there are waves of them. When facing it frontally or with slight angles, load HE and aim for the hull side above the tracks where the crosshair is green. It is very likely to detonate random ammo inside. When facing its side, still load HE and aim for its central hull for an ammo detonation. The Challenger 2F's sides are covered with ERA blocks thus HEAT will get absorbed.
- Type 16, Centauro ROMOR, Radkamfwagen 90: Despite being armed with 105 mm guns, these tanks get access to DM33 rounds that can penetrate your turret cheeks within 400 m. In addition, their high speed means that it is incredibly easy to get flanked by them, frequently resulting in side-shots. This is only made worse by the weakened side armour of the ZTZ96 compared to its Soviet counterparts, resulting in light autocannon easily being able to penetrate the ZTZ 96's side armour from afar.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful gun with access to high-penetrating APFSDS
- 3BM42 counterpart when T-72A/T-72M1 only have 3BM22
- Autoloader reloads the cannon even when putting out fires or replacing crew members
- Most powerful HE shell of any tech tree MBT, can cripple or outright destroy enemies with a good shot
- First Chinese tank equipped with composite armour in both turret and hull, resistant to early APFSDS rounds
- Relatively-faster turret rotation speed compared to contemporary Soviet tanks
- Enjoys commander takeover of cannon, which helps to fight back in the heat of battle
Cons:
- Mobility is below average at its rank
- Sub-par armour compared to other tanks
- Autoloader carousel is a giant ammo rack and can be disabled by shrapnel
- No thermal sights, a disadvantage against other thermal-equipping tanks
- Only 3 crew members makes it easily destroyed
- No ATGM capability, unlike the T-64B and T-72B
History
The People's Liberation Army relied on the Type 59 as its primary main battle tank for most of the Cold War. While cheap, reliable, and quite upgradeable, its design began to shows its age over the decades. The Type 69 series differed little from the Type 59 in terms of appearance and was not used in quantity by the PLA. After relations with the Western world improved in the late 1970s, foreign technology was purchased and used to upgrade the PLA's stock of existing tanks. However, there was only so much that could be done to bring the Type 59 up to a competitive level and more efforts were devoted to domestic tank development.
The new Type 80/88 tank family retained the general appearance of the Type 59 but had a heavily redesigned chassis, featuring a new suspension, a licensed German engine, and other to improve the mobility and driving experience. The turret retained the cast dome design but a 105 mm gun and a much more sophisticated fire control system were installed. They represented a step forward in Chinese tank design, but work still remained to catch up to contemporary standards of firepower and protection in an era where the Leopard 2, M1 Abrams, and T-80 were already entering service.
As with other PRC tank models, development continued for a long time and a large number of variants were made. The Type 85 branch featured welded turrets; the initial Type 85-1 "Storm" and Type 85-II were intended for export, but no orders were placed from the PLA or export customers. A more radical development was the Type 85-IIM, which featured a welded turret equipped with an autoloaded 125mm gun derived from the T-72. It also featured composite armour. This variant was exported to Pakistan under the designation of Type 85-IIAP as an initial counter to Indian T-72s, supplemented not long after by the more capable MBT2000/"Al-Khalid".
The Type 85-IIM was later procured for domestic use, with some changes, as the Type 88C or Type 96/ZTZ96, spurred by the poor performance of the Iraqi Army's Type 79 tanks (which featured comparable protection to the 80/88) in the Gulf War. As can be expected, this was further developed into the Type 96A and 96B variants. The 96A introduced applique "arrowhead" armour on the front turret face with provisions for ERA, improving protection significantly, and the electronics were improved to a standard approaching the top-line Type 99 tank, including a gunner's thermal sight and FCS upgrades. The 96A has participated in Tank Biathlons, where it scored well in gunnery but was let down by its underpowered engine. The ultimate 96B variant appeared in 2016 and features comprehensive upgrades to mobility with a much more powerful 1130 hp engine and a modern transmission. Finally, an export variant called the VT-2 has been showcased by Norinco, generally similar to the Type 96A.
At present the Type 96 series can be considered a backbone of the PLA's tank forces, featuring good protection and firepower with a relatively low weight and cost, comparable in role to the Russian T-72B3. Elite units are issued the more advanced and heavier Type 99, but cost and terrain reasons have limited its deployment. While tanks under the Type 96 designation have not been directly exported and the VT-2 is only known to have attracted interest for evaluation, the Type 85-IIM it was developed from has been a modest export success. Pakistan's Type 85-IIAPs have received domestic upgrades and other -IIM customers include Uganda and Sudan. Sudan's units have reportedly destroyed several South Sudanese T-72s in some of the few known combat uses of the greater Type 85/88 family.
Devblog
Work on the ZTZ96 began in the early 1990s, as new Chinese MBT with larger 125mm smoothbore cannon supported by an autoloading mechanism and new composite armour protection. The first prototype was built in May 1991 and underwent successful testing until January of the following year. Having received the official designation ZTZ85-IIAP, production of the vehicle commenced, with the Pakistani army receiving its first units shortly afterwards.
Several years later, the decision was made to adopt the ZTZ85-IIAP for domestic use as a stopgap measure to equip the PLA with a capable combat vehicle. In 1996, the vehicles destined for PLA use were formally redesignated into ZTZ96 and production of the type began in 1998.
Media
- Skins
- Images
- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
External links
- [Development] ZTZ96: Top-Tier Chinese
- [Wikipedia] Type 96 tank
- [Tanks Encyclopedia] Norinco Type 96 MBT
| Norinco (China North Industries Corporation) | |
|---|---|
| Light AFV/IFV | |
| WZ501 | ZBD86¹ |
| WZ131 | ▂Type 62 · Type 62 |
| WZ211 | Type 63 · ZTS63 |
| WZ502 | ZBD04A |
| MBT | |
| WZ120 | Type 59¹ · ZTZ59A · ZTZ59D1 |
| WZ121 | Type 69 |
| WZ122 | ZTZ88B · ZTZ88A · ZTZ96 · ZTZ96A · ZTZ96A (P) |
| WZ123 | ZTZ99-II · ZTZ99-III |
| WZ1001 | WZ1001(E) LCT · ZTZ99A |
| Tank Destroyers | AFT09 · PTL02 · PTZ89 · ZLT11 |
| SPH | PLZ83 |
| SPAA | ZSD63/PG87² · PGZ09 · PGZ04A |
| Export | |
| WZ121 | Type 69-IIa · T-69 II G |
| MBT2000 | MBT-2000 · Al-Khalid-I |
| MBT3000 | VT4A1 |
| Other | WMA301 · WZ305 |
| ¹ License production / Reverse engineered · ² Field modifications | |
| China medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| ZTZ59 | Type 59 · ZTZ59A · ZTZ59D1 |
| ZTZ69 | Type 69 · Type 69-IIa |
| ZTZ88/96 | ZTZ88A · ZTZ88B |
| ZTZ96 · ZTZ96A · ZTZ96A (P) | |
| ZTZ99 | ZTZ99-II · ZTZ99-III |
| ZTZ99A | ZTZ99A · WZ1001(E) LCT |
| Export series | MBT-2000 · VT4A1 |
| ROC | CM11 |
| Other | Т-34-85 Gai · Object 122MT "MC" |
| Bangladesh | T-69 II G |
| Japan | ␗Chi-Ha · ␗Chi-Ha Kai |
| Pakistan | Al-Khalid-I |
| USA | ␗M4A4 · ␗M4A4 (1st PTG) · ␗M4A1 (75) W · ␗M48A1 · ␗M60A3 TTS |
| USSR | ␗T-34 (1943) · ␗Т-34-85 (S-53) · T-34-85 No.215 · Т-62 №545 |
