Type 63 anti-aircraft gun

Type 63
A Type 63 on display at the US Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
Type Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin China
Specifications
Weight 32 tonnes (35.2 tons)
Length 6.432 m (21 ft 1 in)
Width 2.99 m (9 ft 10 in)
Height 2.99 m (9 ft 10 in)
Crew 6
Armor 18-45 mm (0.7-1.8 in)
Main
armament
 twin Type 63 37 mm (1.45 in) anti-aircraft autocannons[1]
Engine 12-cylinder turbocharged diesel
580 hp (432 kW)
Power/weight 18.1 hp/tonne (13.5 kW/tonne)
Suspension Christie
Operational
range
 300 km (190 mi)[1]
Speed Road: 55 km/h (34 mph)

The Type 63 is a Chinese self-propelled anti-aircraft gun[2][3] based on the Type 58 medium tank (itself a Chinese copy of the Soviet T-34/85).

Description

The Type 63 retains the hull from the Type 58 but the turret was replaced by an open-top box turret armed with twin Type 63 37mm anti-aircraft guns.[1][3] The guns were loaded manually with 5-round clips. While the Type 63 was on par with contemporary anti-aircraft systems, such as the M42 Duster, due to the lack of hydraulic elevation systems, the guns had to be elevated manually. Because of this, the Type 63 was ineffective against fast moving, low flying aircraft, and while it proved somewhat effective in the ground support anti-armour role, it was ineffective against then-modern main battle tank armour of the Vietnam War.[2]

Construction

The modification was made by bolting a steel plate over the opening in the hull for the turret with 27 bolts.[4] The plate was reinforced with a vertical steel beam welded to the hull floor and the bottom of the roof plate.[4] A twin 37mm Type 63 anti aircraft gun was removed from its 4 wheeled carriage and it's traversing gearbox was bolted to the middle of the steel plate.[4] A turret was made from welded sheet metal and bolted to the floor of the anti aircraft gun mount.[4] The only ammunition stowage was two metal bins, one located on each side of the outside of the hull.[4] A travel lock made from channel iron is located on the engine deck of the tank.[4]

Service history

The Type 63 was supplied to the NVA by China during the Vietnam War. The NVA were supplied with several examples of the tank from China and used them during the Vietnam War, but only a small number were available due to the lack of adequate anti-aircraft equipment.[3] It remained in service with the post-war People's Army of Vietnam, as well as the PLA, with the last numbers being retired in 1990.[5][2] One example was captured by the 4th Infantry Regiment[4] of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the 1972 Easter Offensive.[1]

The vehicle was turned over to the American military. It was shipped to Bayonne, New Jersey in the Summer of 1975.[4] From there it was shipped to Aberdeen Proving Ground where it was evaluated.[4] It was placed on display at Aberdeen Proving Ground where it remained until the early 2010s when it was transferred to the Air Defence Artillery Museum in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Uncertainty over Origin

There is disagreement over the nature of the tank. While many sources claim it is of Chinese manufacture, it may be a single Vietnamese improvised vehicle.[6] It was crudely made, with basic materials[4] which is common of improvised fighting vehicles. No information on the vehicle exists in Chinese military archives[6]. Only one vehicle is know to exist[7], captured by the 4th ARVN Infantry Regiment During the 1972 Easter Offensive. This vehicle did have the number "045" painted on the at least left and probably both sides of the turret, which suggests there may be more, but no other vehicles are currently known. Similar Vietnamese SPAAGs exist, including a T-34 hull with a 57mm Anti Aircraft gun mounted in turret with a similar design, also missing the hull machinegun.

Many articles claim the armament is a Type 63 AA gun, but it may be a Type 65 as the Type 63 AA gun is not mentioned outside of references to this vehicle, and both guns are Chinese Twin 37mm AA guns. This could be due to the limited information on Chinese military equipment available in the US during the Cold War.

Operators

Map with former Type 63 operators in red

Former operators

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 North Vietnamese Armor
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Norinco Type 63 SPAAG from Military Factory
  3. 1 2 3 Type 63 Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun System from Federation of American Scientists
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Steuard, James (1979). "A Communist Chinese AA Tank". AVF-G2 A Magazine For Military Vehicle Enthusiasts. 14 No.2: 14–16.
  5. 1 2 /Dougherty, p.158.
  6. 1 2 The complete encyclopedia of modern military weapons. Bishop, Chris. Toronto, Ont.: Prospero Books. 1999. ISBN 1552678539. OCLC 320372467.
  7. ↑ "Trade Registers". armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2018-07-09.

Bibliography

  • Hogg, Ian (2000). Twentieth-Century Artillery. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. ISBN 1-58663-299-X
  • Dougherty, Martin J. (2007). The World's Worst Weapons. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-905704-36-1
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