Type 90

Type 90

Type 74 (F)

Type 90 (B)

Type 90

Type 74 (F)

Type 90 (B)

Japan

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.3	11.3	11.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:300 000

Purchase:830 000

Description

The Type 90 is a Rank VII Japanese medium tank with a battle rating of 11.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X".

General info

Survivability and armour

The Type 90, although similar in design to the Leopard 2A4, does not boast the same superb survivability. Due to the three man crew, it is in your best interests to avoid getting hit if at all. Since there are more weak spots than areas that are protected, you only need to keep in mind that the sides of the frontal turret will block most shots if angled at 10 degrees. The turret ring is very vulnerable, susceptible to penetration by 30mm AP or APDS rounds and gives way to both commander and gunner.

Mobility

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and maneuverability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.

Armaments

Main armament

120 mm Type 90 L/44
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
42			-7°/+10°	±180°	Two-plane
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	28.6	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	17.9	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
JM33	APFSDS	540	530	520	500	480	460
JM12A1	HEATFS	650	650	650	650	650	650

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
JM33	APFSDS	1,640	4.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	78°	80°	81°
JM12A1	HEATFS	1,140	13.5	0.0	0.1	1,640	°	65°	72°	75°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Recommendations	Visual discrepancy
42	XX (X+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	(+)	Hull empty:  (18)	no

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,000 (200)				577	-8°/+40°	±120°

7.62 mm Type 74
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
4,500 (250)				500	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

In realistic battles, the Type 90 continues the traditional Japanese roles of fire support, sniping, and flanking. You can use this vehicle to rush down the center of the map with its speed allowing it to quickly engage and disengage enemies, negating the downsides of the subpar armor by simply not being hit. With a five second reload time for the cannon, and a high-penetration round, it should only take 5-15 seconds to finish of an enemy tank. Through utilizing the terrain by using suspension to hide the chassis when peeking, and angling armor in a way to force enemies to hit your armored turret, the Type 90 can be a very powerful glass cannon in a battle.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation mechanism	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	JM33	Laser rangefinder

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Really good composite armour
• Best APFSDS shell in the entire game, able to penetrate all tanks from far range
• 5 second autoloader and best reload speed combined with the best shell in the perfect turret
• Great mobility
• Great acceleration for both forward and reverse speed
• A bit smaller than the Leopard 2A4, giving it a lower profile

Cons:

• Lacks composite armour on lower front armour plate, plus combined with the presence of shells in the front of the tank, a direct hit will quickly take it out
• Hydropneumatic suspension adjustment takes time and requires the tank to be stationary
• Lower general survivability than the Leopard 2A4 due to the crew of 3; one good hit and the tank is out

History

Development of the Type 90 began almost immediately after the introduction of the Type 74 into service, with the Japanese High Command already looking for a superior replacement. A central aspect of the new machine would have to be the ability to take on and defeat the new Soviet T-72 main battle tank. With that in mind, Japanese engineers began working on a prototype design, which would see completion in 1980. Two prototypes of this initial design were built, tested and improved upon between 1980 - 1986.

Testing resumed in 1986 with a second batch of four prototype vehicles, featuring a number of improvements over the initial two. The most significant change included the replacement of a Japanese-made 120mm smoothbore gun with the established Rheinmetall 120 L/44, most notably used by the M1A1 Abrams and Leopard 2 at the time. The decision to change the gun from a domestic one to a licence-built alternative most likely came as a measure to reduce production costs. However, unlike the MBTs of western armies, the designers of the Type 90 opted to equip the tank with an autoloading mechanism, making it the only production vehicle that did so in combination with the Rh 120 cannon. Further testing and army trials of these prototypes was conducted during the late 80s before the Japanese army formally introduced the tank into service in 1990 as the Type 90. Production of the Type 90 began in 1990 and continued until 2009, with 341 vehicles made.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins and camouflages for the Type 90 from live.warthunder.com.

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

• [Devblog] Type 90: The Lightweight Heavy Hitter