PLZ83
Contents
Description
The HuoPao LiuDan ZiXing 83 (PLZ83式152毫米自行加榴炮) is the very first SPH of PLAGF from 1980s as the key equipment of army mechanization. Due to the lag on development of general purpose tracked platform and the demand of replacement SPHs to the fleet of WWII Soviet tank destroyers, PLAGF has already attempted to modify ZSD63 into the Type 70-I SPH with an obsolete 122 mm WWII era howitzer, at almost non-existent protection and reliability. Soon after the approval of economic reform and military modernization in 1978, PLAGF issued the mission to vehicle factories for a domestic 152 mm SPH; thanks to the joint efforts of the three factories involved, the prototype was soon built in 1980 and two more were produced in 1981 with the new WZ321 tracked platform specifically for heavy guns. The vehicle, now named Type 83 (PLZ83 after 1987) was certified on November 1983 and was publicly shown in the 35th National Day parade. With new guided 152 mm shells and integration to PLAGF's data link in 21st century, both PLZ83 and PLZ83A are still one of the cornerstone of PLAGF artillery corps until more advanced 155 mm PLC181 and PLZ05 series replace the remaining 152 mm caliber artillery, both the towed guns and SPH.
Introduced in Update "Kings of Battle" as the first domestic SPH of the Chinese ground tech tree, players will see similarities on PLZ83 with 2S3M as both of them were based on the very same D-20 (PL66) 152 mm howitzer; although having devastating caliber, due to the lack of more powerful 152 mm shells for last-ditch direct fire, players will have to exercise extra caution on utilize the howitzer - always aim for the most unprotected part of enemy vehicles to achieve one-hit kills as it might not have the chance to reload again and finish off the target.
General info
Survivability and armour
If players have already acquired the PTZ89 further down the line at Tier VI, they will soon spot the similarities between PLZ83 and PTZ89 - they are both based on the WZ321 tracked platform developed in the 1980s. Although it is not as protected as its Soviet counterpart, 2S3M, PLZ83 still has sufficient protection to stop .50 caliber up front at point-blank range (aside from the LFP); for a SPH this is certainly a good news as enemies have to utilize their autocannons or larger caliber cannons to destroy the vehicle, although it is wise to avoid the frontline at all as this will vastly increase its risk of being destroyed. As a SPH, PLZ83 has a relatively high profile to house its 152 mm howitzer, meaning that it will gives itself away quickly without camouflage bushes or indestructible covers; so be sure to hide the vehicle from the sight of enemy vehicles. Being hit on the chassis or the turret can brings completely different outcome - while the chassis could sometimes survive oncoming shots thanks to the engine block or the driver, it is a nightmare having 26 rounds in the turret behind the 3 turret crews, any penetrated shots from APCBC with explosive filler can set the turret into Shenzhou spacecrafts and flies tens of meters away from where it once was.
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
For maximum compatibility (and also due to the limit of technology) to Chinese tracked vehicles, all vehicles based on the WZ321 tracked chassis used identical 12V150L engine from Type 59 and a revised planetary transmission for its workload, PLZ83 is no exception; thus the mobility of the vehicle feels like lighter Type 59 and shares identical speeds at different gear, so be sure not to over-extent as it doesn't have sufficient reverse to retreat to cover.
| 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 | _,___ | 992 | __.__ | 33.07 |
| Realistic | 57 | 9 | _,___ | 520 | __.__ | 17.33 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Main armament
The PL66 152 mm howitzer has already proved its devastating firepower against enemies; but to accommodate such a huge 152 mm howitzer onto the WZ321 chassis, Chinese engineers revised the hydraulic recoil absorbers design and placed them under the barrel, as well as an assisted mechanical loader (the proposed autoloader was flawed and eventually ditched); tied with 2S3M in terms of gun traverse speed and slower than M109 series in different tech trees, so plan ahead and turn the turret accordingly for any situations.
| 152 mm PL66 Gai | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 30 | -5°/+65° | ±180° | - | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||||||||
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 | ||
| DDB1/PL66 | HE | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49 |
| DDB1/PL66 (VT) | HE-VT | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| DDB1/PL66 | HE | 655 | 43.56 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 5.86 | 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) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| DDB1/PL66 (VT) | HE-VT | 655 | 43.56 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 300 | 3 | 5.86 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |
DDB1/PL66, Stock - as mentioned before, the DDB1 shell is identical to the OF-540 used in Soviet Army since 1940s on the ISU-152 and 2S3M; although the caliber sound fearsome and it does extensive damage to enemy targets once hit, due to the insufficient explosive filler on DDB1 (the 3OF25 has almost twice TNTe), players have to always aim weak spots i.e. optics, top of vehicle etc. to achieve one-hit kill. If the gun on enemy vehicle survived the hit and being operational, chances are this is the death sentence to PLZ83.
DDB1/PL66 (VT), Tier III - the researchable DDB1/PL66 (VT) is totally identical to its stock counterpart plus the MD81 radio fuse; while this enables the gun as a huge anti-aircraft cannon, the shell should only be considered if enemy aircraft is coming straight at PLZ83 without any maneuvers considering for the 3 m trigger radius of the MD81 fuse and its relatively high trajectory. Do remember to switch back to the stock DDB1/PL66 before hitting ground targets as the trigger radius will very unlikely to do any damage on armored 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
PLZ83 is armed with later QJC88A 12.7x108 mm machine gun on the commander side (right from the vehicle's PoV) of the turret, it has larger ammo pool than Soviet DShK/Chinese Type 54 HMG at 100 rounds per ammo box. QJC88A still has sufficient firepower to gun down light vehicles or oncoming aircrafts if it is set ablaze or have its pilot knocked out.
| 12.7 mm QJC88A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| ___ (___) | ___ | __° | __° | |
Usage in battles
As the very first enclosed SPH of PLAGF, PLZ83 does have some flaws since its introduction, but with careful planning and only fire when players are certain for a knock-out or fatal blow to enemy vehicles, PLZ83 can still play like its counterparts at its tier with extra caution.
A key to use SPH is never taking it as a frontline vehicle - SPH is designed to strike enemies from the rear, direct fire is only for last-ditch options against oncoming enemy vehicles. This rule also applies to PLZ83, to make situation worse, there were no 152 mm HEAT shell for extreme penetration; the HE shell is also an early WWII make, making it less efficient to its Soviet counterpart or NATO M109 series. Players will need to be extra careful on where should they hit enemies and when to fire the shot, due to the relatively light explosive content, kills that can be achieved by 3OF25 would not be the case for DDB1/PL66; it has to aim for weak spots with likelihood of overpressure i.e. optics, hatches, tops or bottom of vehicles, although players can knock out the barrel of enemy vehicles with its sheer caliber, it is always better to take out enemies with one shot to eliminate any chance of a fight back - a luxury for any manually-loaded SPH as they take at least 15 seconds to reload; chances are the shell did nothing devastating on enemy vehicles. Enemy vehicles will have no problem penetrating the vehicle from all distance with their main cannon, if their shots land on the turret front, the last thing players can hear is the huge explosion caused by the detonation of at most 26 shells in the turret; bringing less shells can migrate slightly, but unless players are well used to the ballistics and where to hit, it is always better to bring more spares for follow-up shots but no more than 18 shots for maximum safety (bringing only 16 shells clear out the right side of turret and hull).
To utilize the maximum efficiency of PLZ83, it will be a good idea to be the second-line fire support vehicle for the team as over extending the vehicle can end its career soon; as HE shells won't be affect by the range, any well-calculated shots on the weak spots can certainly finish off enemies with relative ease albeit it would be long shot (literary) at longer ranges. Due to the lack of HEAT shells, taking it as a turreted ISU-152 is not really a good idea; sneaking up at corners in urban maps can sometimes achieve great results as long as players are ready for any oncoming vehicles and turn the turret beforehand, at close distance without any ballistic drop, who shot and damages the enemy first wins the game. In case of any flying objects on the skies or light vehicles behind terrain/cover, PLZ83 still has VT shell for this mission; just be sure to bring a mix of both conventional HE and HE-VT shells for flexibility.
Overall, although there are major flaws in terms of firepower without more powerful HE shells, PLZ83 gives the chance to blast enemy players with its huge shell while maintaining sufficient efficiency; wait for chance to delivery fatal blow.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Slightly more generous ammo pool for the gun (albeit vastly less than 2S3M)
- Sufficient power/weight ratio thanks to T-54/Type 59 equivalent powerplant
- Devastating 152 mm shell with options for VT fuse
- Turret without fire-arc limits
- Relatively fast gun vertical traverse (tied with higher tier Bkan 1C)
- Somewhat good depression than its counterparts (-3° for M109 series and -4° for 2S3M)
Cons:
- Inferior explosive mass for both shells and lacks HEAT/APHEBC shell
- HMG rated protection, anything larger can cause extensive damage to the vehicle
- Rather slow reverse speed
- Long reload time even with mechanized assist loader
- Huge turret with likelihood of detonation once penetrated
- Slow gun horizontal traverse (almost a degree slower than M109 series)
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
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
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| China tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| PLA | |
| Gun vehicles | PLZ83 · 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 |
