ZTZ88B
Contents
Description
The ZhuangJia Tanke ZhuZhan 88B(Chinese: ZTZ88B式主战坦克; industry code WZ122E) is one of the WZ122 family of MBT and the first mass-produced variant of the ZTZ80/88 series. The WZ122 series has to trace back to Object 122 (or by its code 122) when Chinese engineers joined a campaign to develop new armored vehicles for PLAGF during late-1960s to early-1970s; although the program was canceled after route changes, one of its prototypes, WZ1225 made it into PLAGF evaluation and later designated as the new PLAGF 2nd generation MBT, thus retained its industry code: WZ122. The tank was first manufactured as the ZTZ80-I for evaluation, as the 3rd generation MBT (Project 784; later renamed WZ123 and ZTZ99) was still in development and the need for new MBTs before the new tanks completed their development, ZTZ80-I fused the hull of ZTZ85 and the turret of ZTZ80-I later joined PLAGF as the ZTZ88B and was first shown during 50th National Day Parade.
Introduced in Update "La Royale" as one of the Chinese MBT line-up, the design recalls many similarities to its successor, ZTZ88A with a longer 105 mm cannon; which oddly comes behind ZTZ88B alphabetically. For players who suffered from the rather slow turret traverse speed and top speed of previous ZTZ59/69 series, ZTZ88B now enjoys better gun laying system and equipped with commander override for the gun, as well as experimental applique armor for extra protection against both kinetic and chemical shells; along side with a new 730 hp engine for better mobility in both direction, ZTZ88B makes a good training vehicle to later PLAGF MBTs.
General info
Survivability and armour
If players see this tank from afar, they might find a tank that looks exactly like another T-54/55 or Type 59/69 family; but once they fired upon the target or get closer, they will find some significant differences. First, their shot might not penetrate the UFP of ZTZ88B thanks to the (experimental) applique armor and main armor at 68° (versus 60° on T-54 series); secondly, it has 6 road wheels and intergraded FCS channel (daytime, night, LRF) on the left side of turret. The applique armor might not have the best protection against chemical shells versus its Soviet counterparts (T-62M-1 or T-55AM series), however, some short-rod APFSDS even at higher caliber at its tier could score nothing on the UFP (which could provide at most 360 mm RHA equivalent).
But it was also ZTZ88B which marked the reduced side armor of PLAGF tanks: instead of the 80 mm on previous tanks, it has reduced to 60 mm; this gives more chance to autocannons with even APHE shell to penetrate the sides with ease; although the skirt could migrate some penetration, in most cases, any flanking autocannons will have no problem tearing down ZTZ88B. Sometimes angling might help, but do not expect it could literary immune to them.
Another flaw goes to the turret with full CHA armor; while it retained the oval shape turret of Warsaw Pact/ early Chinese designs, at its tier where APFSDS and HEAT are commonplace, they will have no problem penetrating the turret from any angle, causing fatal damages to the crew or turret compartment and effectively disabling ZTZ88B for their own good. So be extra careful on where the turret should turn - sometimes slight angling could bounce some oncoming shots and leaving chances to return-fire. Do remember the crew of 4 and tank's compartments are tightly packed near the center-mass of the tank, chances are the crew will either be knocked-out by penetrated shots and its shrapnel, or by fuel/ammunition detonation onboard.
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
Thanks to the development efforts of Chinese engineers, ZTZ88 series shared the same NORINCO 12V150ZLC engine with 730 hp output; although it is nowhere close to NATO counterparts, it was already a vast improvement to Soviet tanks at its BR, giving it more flexibility on assaults as this could push the tank at up to 57 km/h while having faster acceleration. While the transmission has been upgraded to a planetary gear one, the gear ratio for reverse/first gear is not very satisficing and only gives around 9 km/h reverse speed; in case for a retreat, this could be a major problem as enemy tanks will have no problem chasing ZTZ88B.
| 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 | 38.5 | _,___ | 1,393 | __.__ | 36.18 |
| Realistic | 58 | 9 | _,___ | 730 | __.__ | 18.96 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
ZTZ88B retained the same caliber yet different named gun to previous ZTZ59D1; although it is named a 88B-105T, the ballistic performance is totally identical on both guns while the major differences go to the turret traverse speed and reload rate. While ZTZ59 series suffered from a slow, hand-cranked like turret and ZTZ69 is slight better, ZTZ88B introduced hydraulic drive for the turret and finally boost its rotation speed to at least 12°/s - a welcomed improvement but still lags behind most NATO tanks of its tier; while the reload rate is at below 10 seconds, not as quickly as NATO tanks with spacious turret, the ammunition by themselves are still sufficient to take down most enemies it might face, but be extra careful on later Soviet MBTs with autoloaders and composite armor. Also it's better to plan ahead and turn the turret to expected points where enemies will show up- ZTZ88B doesn't have the reaction time for a sudden attack.
| 105 mm 88B-105T | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 45 | -4°/+18° | ±180° | Two-plane | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| 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 | ||
| Type-83 HEAT | HEATFS | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| Type-83 HESH | HESH | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 |
| Type-83 APDS | APFSDS | 337 | 335 | 330 | 322 | 314 | 306 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| Type-83 HEAT | HEATFS | 1,174 | 11 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1.27 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| Type-83 HESH | HESH | 732 | 11.2 | 0.1 | 4 | 4.31 | 73° | 77° | 80° | |||
| Type-83 APDS | APFSDS | 1,455 | 4.2 | - | - | - | 78° | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
Like most Chinese tanks before late 1990s, it retained the Type 54 (DShK) by the commander hatch while the co-axial MG was replaced by Type 86 (PKT); while the ammo pool on the Type 54 is rather low, its caliber can certainly cause some problems for low-flying helicopters or lightly-armored targets.
| 12.7 mm Type 54 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 500 (50) | 600 | -5°/+60° | ±180° |
| 7.62 mm Type 86 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,500 (250) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
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).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Improved gun handling and reload rate to previous tanks
- Commander override leaves the opportunity for a revenge shot on enemies
- Vastly improved mobility to T-54/55 series
- Composite applique armor for extra protection
- Accurate licensed L7 gun
Cons:
- The turret has no ERA protection, unlike ZTZ59D1
- Fixed 8x gunner optics channel, embarrassing at both short and long range engagements
- Tightly packed interior and crew layout
- Lacks TVD for faster target acquisition
- Relatively slow reverse rate to NATO counterparts
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
- Object 122MT "MC" - The nominal ancestor of WZ122 series MBT
- ZTZ88A (WZ122G) - ZTZ88 with longer ZPL94 cannon
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| 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 |
