ZTZ88B
| This page is about the Chinese medium tank ZTZ88B. For the other version, see ZTZ88A. |
Contents
Description
The ZhuangJia Tanke ZhuZhan 88B (Chinese: ZTZ88B式主战坦克; industry code WZ122E) belongs to the WZ122 family of MBTs and is the first mass-produced variant of the ZTZ80/88 series. The WZ122 series traces back to the Object 122, which emerged after Chinese engineers embarked on a campaign to develop new armoured vehicles for the PLAGF in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Although the program was canceled after direction changes, one of its prototypes, WZ1225, made it to PLAGF evaluation and was later designated as the PLAGF's new 2nd generation MBT, retaining its industry code WZ122. The tank was first manufactured as the ZTZ80-I for evaluation, and with a need for new MBTs and the 3rd generation MBT (Project 784; later renamed WZ123 and ZTZ99) still being in development, the a fusion of the hull of the ZTZ85 and the turret of the ZTZ80-I later joined the PLAGF as the ZTZ88B and was first shown during 50th National Day Parade.
Introduced in Update "La Royale", the design shares many similarities with its successor, ZTZ88A, with a longer 105 mm cannon. For players who struggled with the rather slow turret traverse speed and top speed of the previous ZTZ59/69 series, the ZTZ88B now enjoys a better gun laying system and is equipped with commander override for the gun, as well as experimental applique armour for extra protection against both kinetic and chemical shells. Alongside a new 730 hp engine for better mobility in both directions, the ZTZ88B makes a good training vehicle for later PLAGF MBTs.
General info
Survivability and armour
When viewed from a distance, players may mistake the ZTZ88B for another tank in the T-54/55 or Type 59/69 family due to its similar appearance. However, upon firing on or approaching the target, they will notice several significant differences. Firstly, their shots may fail to penetrate the UFP of the ZTZ88B, thanks to its applique armour and the main armour angled at 68° (compared to 60° on the T-54 series). Secondly, the ZTZ88B features 6 road wheels and an integrated FCS channel (for daytime, night, and laser rangefinding) on the left side of the turret. While the applique armour may not provide the best protection against chemical shells compared to its Soviet counterparts (such as the T-62M-1 or T-55AM series), even some short-rod APFSDS shells at higher calibres might fail to penetrate the UFP, which offers up to 360 mm RHA equivalent protection.
However, the ZTZ88B also marks a reduction in side armour for PLAGF tanks. Instead of the 80 mm found on previous tanks, the side armour has been reduced to 60 mm. This makes it more vulnerable to autocannons, which can easily penetrate the sides even with APHE shells. Although the skirt armour may mitigate some of the penetration, in most cases, flanking autocannons will have no trouble dealing with the ZTZ88B. While angling the tank might provide some protection, it should not be relied upon as a foolproof defense.
Another weakness lies in the turret, which features full CHA armour. Despite retaining the oval-shaped turret reminiscent of Warsaw Pact and early Chinese designs, at its tier where APFSDS and HEAT shells are common, they will have no trouble penetrating the turret from any angle, causing fatal damage to the crew or turret compartment and effectively disabling the ZTZ88B. Therefore, caution must be exercised when deciding the direction to turn the turret. Sometimes slight angling might help deflect some incoming shots, allowing for a chance to return fire. It is important to remember that the crew of 4 and the tank's compartments are tightly packed near the center of mass. As a result, the crew is susceptible to being knocked out by penetrating shots and their shrapnel or by fuel or ammunition detonation.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 100 + 20 mm (68°) Upper 80 m (51°) Lower |
60 mm Top 50 mm Bottom |
45 mm (4°) | 30 mm |
| Turret | 200 - 300 mm Turret front (Volumetric) 70 - 400 mm Gun mantlet (Volumetric) |
100 - 200 mm (Volumetric) | 60 - 70 mm (Volumetric) | 30 mm |
| Cupola | 80 mm | 80 mm | 80 mm | 30 mm |
| Composite Armour | Frontal Effective Protection |
|---|---|
| Hull | 100 mm Kinetic / 100 mm Chemical |
Notes:
Mobility
The ZTZ88 series shares the same NORINCO 12V150ZLC engine with 730 hp output. Although it is not comparable to NATO counterparts, it is a vast improvement over Soviet tanks at its BR, giving the tank more flexibility on assaults as it can push the tank to up to 57 km/h while having faster acceleration. While the transmission has been upgraded to a planetary gear system, the gear ratio for reverse/first gear is not very satisfactory and only gives around 9 km/h reverse speed. In the event of a retreat, this limitation could pose a major problem, as enemy tanks will have no trouble pursuing the 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
The ZTZ88B retains the same calibre gun as the previous ZTZ59D1, although it is designated as the 88B-105T. Despite the different name, the ballistic performance of both guns is identical. The main differences lie in the turret traverse speed and reload rate: while the ZTZ59 series suffers from a slow, hand-cranked turret, and the ZTZ69 improves upon this to some extent, the ZTZ88B introduces a hydraulic drive for the turret, significantly increasing its rotation speed to at least 12°/s. While this improvement is welcomed, it still lags behind most NATO tanks of its tier. The reload rate is below 10 seconds, which is not as quick as NATO tanks with spacious turrets. Nevertheless, the ammunition available is still sufficient to take down most encountered enemies. However, caution should be exercised when facing later Soviet MBTs equipped with autoloaders and composite armour. It is advisable to plan ahead and position the turret in anticipation of enemies since the ZTZ88B lacks the reaction time for sudden attacks.
| 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 the late 1990s, the ZTZ88B equips the Type 54 (DShK) by the commander hatch while the coaxial MG was replaced by Type 86 (PKT). While the ammo pool on the Type 54 is rather low, its calibre can certainly cause some problems for low-flying helicopters or lightly armoured targets.
| 12.7 mm Type 54 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 500 (50) | 600 | -4°/+82° | ±180° |
| 7.62 mm Type 86 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,500 (250) | 700 | - | - |
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 armour 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 |
