In China, the current modification of the 59 tank is also being carried out in an orderly manner.

Among them, the two key models that have been improved are the 59-1 and 59-2.

Among them, the 59-2 model was changed earlier, the biggest feature of this improvement, is the use of 105 mm tank guns, in the army's rearmament, the improvement of artillery is naturally the most important, since there is already a perfect 105 mm tank gun, it is natural to use this tank gun to refit, this is also an effective way to run in small steps.

However, it costs money to change this artillery, after all, the tank gun with advanced technology is not cheap, and due to the limited production capacity of the Second Machine Factory, this tank gun is always in short supply.

In addition, later, the technology of the 105-mm tank gun was applied, the shells of the existing 100-mm rifled guns were improved, and the sliding cartridge belt was put on, and the tail stabilized shell-piercing shells could also be fired, and the performance was improved, which could meet the role of temporarily responding to the threat of the target, in this case, the troops began to carry out a modification without changing the gun, which was later named 59-1.

These are the two most common modifications at present.

The troops are equipped with a large number of 59 tanks, and there is also a huge demand for the improvement of this tank, so not only a machine factory, but now even a tow factory is also pondering a plan to improve the 59 tank, trying to get a piece of the pie through this improvement.

The improvement plan of a tow factory, in fact, is roughly the same as 59-2, and there is not much change, and there are innovations, for example, a layer of composite armor has been added to the front of the car, and a bulldozer has been added in front of the hull.

However, this improvement does not necessarily increase the combat effectiveness by much, and it cannot rise to a real height, and the improvement of the 59 tank in front of you is different.

From the outside, it is very different from the current 59 tank, the bricks in front of the hull, and the wedge-shaped bricks on the side of the most bluffing turret, make the old 59 tank look like it has a feeling of vitality.

"In the 1982 war, in the tank forces of the Israelis, most of the second-generation tanks were draped with this kind of reactive armor, from the perspective of the actual combat effect, it is still good, it can block most of the anti-tank ammunition, our domestic technicians, too, are very powerful, and have developed similar explosive reactive armor, so we thought of using this explosive reactive armor to improve our 59 tank." Qin Zhenhua introduced: "Now, the biggest problem of the 59 tank is protection, as long as the protection is increased, this old tank will also glow with greater vitality, in the case of the hull armor is not moving, add a layer of explosive reactive armor, I think it is the most appropriate." ”

Qin Zhenhua introduced this, and everyone began to ponder.

Not only domestic, there are also a large number of similar T-55 tanks in the world, the improvement of this tank, but also the eight immortals across the sea to show their powers, increase armor protection, with explosive reactive armor, it is really a good idea, but, most of the armor, are directly attached to the outside of the tank's armor, on their own 59 tank, forming a wedge-shaped structure, it is really the first time.

"At the same time, in order not to increase the dead weight of the entire tank too much, with the same engine, behind the turret, we used grille armor." Qin Zhenhua continued.

The first picture is not visible behind the turret, but the second one can be seen, and you can find that the back of the turret in the second picture is very different from before, with layers of steel grilles welded on it, just like a cage.

In fact, the grille armor has been there for a long time, in World War II, in order to prevent weapons such as bazookas, there are tankers who spontaneously carry the wire mattress onto their tanks, so that when this weapon hits, it can be touched in advance, and then the fuse is triggered, although the metal jet of this armor-piercing bullet is very terrible, but it is the same as the nail gun, it has to be attached to the surface to have power, if it is detonated in advance, the attack ability of the metal jet is greatly reduced.

(Some say it's early detonation, some say it's stuck, whatever, it's probably a matter of luck.) ）

In China, there is generally not much attention to the protection ability behind the turret, and if the enemy is shot in the back of the head on the battlefield, it is a fear of running away. However, if you are fighting on terrain such as cities, it is easy to be greeted by weapons such as RPGs at close range, and in this case, grille armor can be useful.

Even the wheeled infantry fighting vehicles that are still on the front line have been equipped with a layer of grilles for follow-up operations, and the enemy on the opposite side will definitely deploy a certain RPG to protect them.

What 105 mm guns, what advanced light spot injection aiming systems, night vision devices, etc., these are not the most outstanding, after all, the outside world can't see anything.

However, if you appear on the parade ground wearing such an explosive reactive armor, it will definitely attract the attention of the whole world.

After all, the ones who can play with this kind of thing now are Israel and the Soviet Union.

The war in 1982 also stimulated the Soviet Union, and the following year, the most famous armor design unit in the Soviet Union, the Soviet Iron and Steel Research Institute, couldn't wait to install the first explosive reactive armor on the T-80B main battle tank for the first time, and last year, as the first line of possible conflict, various types of tanks in the East German troops, such as T-72, T-62M, etc., were all equipped with "contact"-1 explosive reactive armor.

Domestically, the research and development in related aspects is also advancing rapidly, and now there are finished products, although there may still be this kind of problem, but Qin Zhenhua saw the prospect of this explosive reactive armor and decided to use it first in the improvement of the 59 tank.

"This, it seems that we haven't seen Westerners use this kind of explosive reaction armor, can it work?" Looking at the bricks all over his body, someone asked.

"Westerners? Is Israel a Westerner? Qin Zhenhua asked rhetorically.

The first to apply this kind of armor was the Israelis, who have been at war, and those countries in Europe, although they were under great pressure in front of the Soviet Union's armor torrent, but for so many years, they have not seen the Cold War break out into a hot war.

"Besides, the tanks of the Westerners, which are often more than 60 tons, have long made the main armor thick enough." After Qin Zhenhua asked rhetorically, he added.