Hello WOTers!
As we all know, the C-series tanks in the game, especially the high-level tanks, are quite "magical", and nine times out of ten they are the products of the alternate world created by later generations of artists in combination with "historical imagination". It just so happened that a new X-class special heavy tank BZ-72-1 was launched in this auction, so let's take this opportunity to talk about how this tank was created?
According to historical accounts, the development of the BZ-72-1 began in the late 60s, and in addition to equipping the tank with rocket boosters that could help the tank overcome difficult terrain, it was also considered to equip it with an automatic loader. Although it is still similar in appearance to Soviet tanks, there are already quite a few original designs. This is really the case with the BZ-72-1, because it combines many elements of the 1226 test car, Type 80, and 62 modifications, the British "Chief", the Soviet T-80 series, the T-10 and even the 120 project "ram", so let's take a look at them one by one!
Body
"Chieftain" + T-10
▲ The BZ-72-1 has a folded head and an exhaust port at the rear
Similar to the VII-class BZ-58 and IX BZ-68 heavy tanks, the body of the BZ-72-1 is also magically changed from the "Chieftain", but the two sides of the rear are hollowed out to install rocket thrusters, and the design inspiration may come from the "Chieftain" that the mainland got from the Middle East through special channels in the 80s. The special armor configuration on the bow of the hull is likely a reference to one of the chieftains' armor configurations (similar to Project 430/432), with the cockpit as the center, and the armor plates on both sides form two symmetrical chamfered lines. Judging from the layout of the engine air intakes, the BZ-72-1 borrows from the T-10 here, but arranges the two exhaust ports at the rear, similar to the T-64/T-80 series.
▲ One of the chieftain's nose armor configuration schemes
▲ The chief parked in the No. 4 courtyard of Huaishuling
Walking mechanism and side skirts
T-80 + 80 type
▲ Comparison of the shape of the T-80 (top/left) and T-54 (right) load wheels
The traveling mechanism of BZ-72-1 adopts 7 pairs of small-diameter load-bearing wheels and 3 pairs of carrier pulleys, and the layout of the load-bearing wheels is 1-23-45-67, and it seems that a pair of load-bearing wheels are shoehorned into the T-80 after the induction wheels, reflecting the possible layout scheme after elongating the car body. The look of the load-bearing wheels is somewhat like a mash-up of the T-80 and T-54, with 10 stiffeners on the hub, but a small hole is dug in every other groove. The style of the side skirts is basically the same as that of the 80-1 tank, with 3 transverse stiffeners added to each skirt (which can also be seen on the 90-II tank of the foreign trade type).
▲ The side skirts of the 80-1 prototype and the 90-II tank
turret
1226 test vehicle + T-55M6 + 292 project
▲ T-55M6 (middle) and 292 project (bottom)
The BZ-72-1's turret aft compartment was particularly interesting, with two rectangular hatches, one on the left and one on the right, on either side of the aft compartment, which could potentially serve as a loading port. This is reminiscent of the T-640M6 launched by the Omsk Plant in the 90s on the basis of the research and development results of the 55 Project "Black Hawk", which changed the wheel disc ammunition rack in the hull of the Soviet Russian tank, and arranged the automatic loader and ammunition in the tail compartment, which can improve the safety in the event of fire or being hit. However, on the BZ-72-1, the shape of this tail compartment and the connection to the turret were very similar to the Project 152.4 (based on the T-80BV) with the 292 rifled gun of the 80 mm LP-80.
▲ The 1226 test car is also the prototype of the 116-F3 in the game
If the tail compartment is not taken into account, the turret shape of the BZ-72-1 is basically the same as that of the 1226 test vehicle. In order to ensure the depression angle of the large-caliber main gun, a bulge was reserved at the roof of the turret, for which the location of the exhaust fan was also adjusted. This solution has also been applied to the 640 project. It is worth noting that on the 1224 test vehicle, known as China's "Leopard 2", it was planned to equip a Western-style turret tail compartment with an automatic loader with a capacity of 17 rounds, but it was abandoned due to the failure of the development of the automatic loader; to some extent, the turret form of the BZ-72-1 can be regarded as a new attempt to use an automatic loader in a hemispherical cast turret.
Anti-aircraft machine gun anti-shield
62 Kai
▲ Comparison between BZ-72-1 and WZ-114 "Tiger Talon" high aircraft
Based on the experience of the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, from November 1980, some of the Type 62 light tanks in service were returned to the factory for refitting, and about 33 improvement projects were made, and the result was 62 reforms. One of the important contents is to install anti-aircraft machine gun protection towers to solve the problem of excessive casualty rate when loaders shoot in the open, and about 200 vehicles have been modified, and then they have been withdrawn. The WZ-114's "Tiger Claw" style completely reproduces this design, while on the BZ-72-1, only the frontal shield is retained, which is crooked, just like the "Hero Tank" No. 704 that was converted into a monument.
▲ 62 changes that appeared in Zhu Rihe's military exercise
▲ Hero Tank No. 704
artillery
Project 120 "Striker"
The gun of the BZ-72-1 is called 130-mm 62-130T, which may refer to the 1958 task of developing a 130-mm cannon with a range of 40 km, and its self-propelled gun version was also included in the "four guns and one instrument" project of the Kazakh military industry. As we all know, these projects were all discontinued around 1961, so this "Type 62" can only be a fiction of wishful thinking. The shape of this gun in the game is obviously a reference to the 120 Project 152.4mm M-69 smoothbore gun, but the muzzle brake has more lateral expansion holes, and the reduction in recoil will be more obvious.
▲ Comparison of the guns of the BZ-72-1 (top) and Project 120 (bottom).
The above is the editor's research on the "car-making source" of the BZ-72-1 tank, which should be a brick throw! What do you think about this? Welcome to leave your views in the comment area!