New Type98/99 MBT thread

SteelBird

Colonel
Can someone explain why the Chinese still use rubber/cloth to cover the gun root? Can't they produce something fixed like western tanks?
dr4K30f.jpg
 

Sunbud

Junior Member
Registered Member
Well, I read sometime ago that upcoming APFSDS 120mm NATO ammunition in testing can penetrate like 790mm of RHA. Take the accuracy of that figure with a grain of salt, as I'm just recalling from a while ago. So, if the 1000+mm RHA protection is true for APFSDS rather than HEAT, then the 99A is doing quite well for frontal turret protection when it comes to crew survivability. However, I am still concerned about the hull armour (especially the already thin sides, since PLA doesn't like side skirt applique armour) in conjunction with the carousel auto-loader. No doubt that whilst the turret maybe safe, any hull hit may easily result in casualties or even catastrophic detonation.
 
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Deleted member 13312

Guest
I did say that that 1000mm effective armor really only applies to HEAT, due to the nature of composite armor it is particularly effective against those kind of projectiles. I just can't see the 99A in that kind of weight class to have that much effective armor against kinetic projectiles.
 

Sunbud

Junior Member
Registered Member
I did say that that 1000mm effective armor really only applies to HEAT, due to the nature of composite armor it is particularly effective against those kind of projectiles. I just can't see the 99A in that kind of weight class to have that much effective armor against kinetic projectiles.

Although the tank commander does clearly state that both AP and HEAT protection is in excess of 1000mm.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Generally in armor you are better protected against one than the other. Both don't over lap in protection unless it really is 1000mm of RHA in which case.... That SOB would be heavy.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Can someone explain why the Chinese still use rubber/cloth to cover the gun root? Can't they produce something fixed like western tanks?
dr4K30f.jpg
It's a mantel cover. It keeps debris out of the turret allowing for the tanks gun to traverse with out debris. Some western tanks like the M60 also used fabric covers.
The mantel is attached to the gun directly. Back in world war 2 and post war tanks it was the thickest armor on in the tank but as gun stabilizers and fire control systems moved more and more the norm that weight became a problem. So they reduced the weight and size of the opening shrinking the mantel. Now for an Abrams a armored mantel is not an issue as the turret is very large and sits with a lot of space to elevate and depress. On Russian tanks and Chinese tanks they sacrifice size and range of elevation. So a large fixed mentlet gets in the way.
Besides it's a relivtivly small target.
 

Sunbud

Junior Member
Registered Member
The statement the tank commander makes is vague, but example 1050mm Vs AP and 1800mm vs HEAT is still valid as both AP and HEAT protection is in excess of 1000mm.
 

mzyw

Junior Member
It's a mantel cover. It keeps debris out of the turret allowing for the tanks gun to traverse with out debris. Some western tanks like the M60 also used fabric covers.
The mantel is attached to the gun directly. Back in world war 2 and post war tanks it was the thickest armor on in the tank but as gun stabilizers and fire control systems moved more and more the norm that weight became a problem. So they reduced the weight and size of the opening shrinking the mantel. Now for an Abrams a armored mantel is not an issue as the turret is very large and sits with a lot of space to elevate and depress. On Russian tanks and Chinese tanks they sacrifice size and range of elevation. So a large fixed mentlet gets in the way.
Besides it's a relivtivly small target.

I have my reservation about this if you look at the newest T 90M class the upper part is covered by metal piece
 
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