Type 80
In service 1988 - In reserve
Based onType 69 (derived from)
The first Chinese tank to leave the T-54 lineage behind, with six road wheels, torsion-bar suspension, a turbocharged engine and Western-derived fire control.
Built byNorinco Factory 617, Baotou
Photograph pending. No clearly licensed photograph of this vehicle was found.
Development history
Every Chinese tank until the 1980s traced back to the T-54; the Type 80 finally broke with it. The hull adopted six road wheels on torsion bars instead of five on Christie-style springs, the engine was turbocharged, and the fire-control system drew on Western technology available to China during its brief 1980s opening to NATO suppliers, including a stabilised sight and a ballistic computer. Around 500 were built from 1988 for the PLA ground forces. The design mattered less for its own numbers than as the ancestor of the Type 85, Type 88 and Type 96 families that followed, and of the Al-Khalid developed with Pakistan.
Variants
One canonical record, 3 recorded variants.
Type 80
1988Base version with the 105 mm gun and new six-wheel torsion-bar hull.
Type 85-II
1990Welded turret with composite armour, developed from the Type 80 for export and the PLA.
Type 88
1991Chinese service version with improved fire control and armour.
Notable actions
- Cold War service (People's Liberation Army)