Author: Hong Photo Kursk
Recently, an American netizen posted several photos on social media, showing that he accidentally took a strange tank while driving by the Cadillac Gage Textron factory in , Louisiana!
This tank has the unique "five pairs of wheels" of Chinese Type 59 tanks, but its turret adopts a wedge-shaped armor structure, full of Western colors. Next to this tank is another Type 59 tank without artillery.
How did the Chinese Type 59 tank arrive at the American arsenal? What model is that unique tank that has been rusty and full of traces of time? The post quickly flowed to China, and many elderly military fans were extremely excited because this was the "Java" main battle tank jointly developed by the two countries during the honeymoon between China and the United States in the late 1980s. It can even be regarded as the originator of many magical "five pairs of wheels" today!
Picture: The Chinese Type 59 tank photographed by an American netizen in the arsenal and the "Java" main battle tank developed jointly by Sino-US.
In the 1980s, it was still at the peak of Cold War , and there was a honeymoon period in China and the West.
The famous American arsenal Cadillac Gage company was found, hoping to cooperate with China to improve the T-54/55/59 medium tank and build a tank for foreign trade exports. With the help of China Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation, , the Luoyang No. 704 mobilization production line with the Type 59 tank production line was found.
The two sides hit it off and began the development of a new main battle tank, which was named "Jaguar"!
Picture: After the Zhenbao Island conflict, the Type 59 tank mobilization production line established by my country in Luoyang No. 1 Tractor Factory.
US companies have shown considerable sincerity and are willing to train Chinese technicians for free in the design and modification stages, provide China with some necessary equipment and testing instruments for free in the production stage, and are even willing to pay a considerable deposit to China.
Both sides also agreed that after the tank design and development are completed, the 704 production line will be mass-produced, and the US sends personnel to participate, mainly considering that the production line in China is ready-made and the labor cost is relatively cheap. The sales of
are solely under the responsibility of Cadillac Gage, and the profits are distributed according to the investment ratio of both parties. It is estimated that China's early investment will be recovered within a year (selling 40 to 70 tanks), and Cadillac Gage's company can also avoid many political risks. At the same time, the cooperation between the 704th Mobilization Production Line and Cadillac Gage Company can make the tank production line with sharply reduced production tasks come back to life, and can also upgrade the production line with the help of US funds and technology, improve the tank design and manufacturing level, and reserve production capacity and technical strength for wartime.
Picture: The "String" light tank equipped by the Thai Army is also a product of Cadillac Gage.
This new tank was first named the T-59M "Java".
T-59 is the code name of our Type 59 tank by Western countries, and M represents an improved type. According to the discussion between the two parties, in order to meet the needs of different buyers in the international market, the T-59M main battle tank will be divided into three levels, namely minor modification, medium modification and major modification. Later, the major reform plan TA-1 and the central reform plan TA-2 were concentrated on the development. Both solutions of
will use a turret designed by Sino-US cooperation, and install a L7A3 type 105mm rifled gun produced by the Royal Arsenal of the UK. It will be combined with the fire control system of Marconi, , the low light night vision/night vision device of the US Optoelectronics, etc., which greatly improves the accuracy of laser distance measurement , and the night vision/night vision capability can reach 1200 to 1500 meters, with a good day and night first hit rate. Cadillac Gage's famous turret electric/hydraulic drive mechanism and bidirectional stabilizer will also be installed on the turret.
Picture: The major modification plan of "Jaguar" TA-1 was designed and manufactured in the United States.
Then, a British Royal Arsenal's 105mm rifled gun with thermal sheath was installed on the turret. The external anti-shield that Americans liked was used between the artillery and the turret, instead of the built-in anti-shield of the Soviet-style anti-shield like , the biggest appearance feature is that the canvas cover is not visible on the outside.
, and TA-2 tank is a mid-range solution. It will use the 59-2A medium-sized tank chassis as the basis. The VTA-903 four-stroke diesel engine of Cummins, the US has been installed without much change in appearance. It has a rated power of 550 horsepower, which is an improvement over the 530 horsepower domestic engine of the Type 59 medium-sized tank. In addition, it uses a domestic mechanical gearbox, with 5 forward gears and 1 reverse gear. The control system is a domestic hydraulic power-assisted operation.
Picture: The "Jaguar" TA-2 mid-renovation chassis located in the first tractor factory in Luoyang.
According to predictions, China and the United States believe that the TA-1 main battle tank designed in this design will be better than tanks such as T-62 and M60A1, and will be evenly matched with the early models of M60A3, T-72, "Mekava" 1 and other main battle tanks. Even the TA-2 main battle tank solution can greatly improve the performance of the Type 59 tank or T-54/55 tank.
In November 1988, at the second Beijing International Defense Exhibition, the news that China and the United States cooperated to develop main battle tanks once shocked the world, and the domineering name "Jaguar" was also set at that time.
Chinese technicians arrived in Warren City, USA in June of that year and joined the trial production of the "Jaguar" TA-1 main battle tank prototype. Technical personnel from China and the United States worked together to cut the chassis of the Type 59 tank for a length to install the traditional integrated power components. After the installation, this set of devices still showed a situation similar to the "String" tank that stands out from the body, which has also become one of the appearance symbols of the "Java" main battle tank.
picture: The prototype car of the "Jaguar" TA-1 major modification plan.
In addition, an integral armor shell is covered on the body of the Type 59 medium tank. The front of the body adopts a large inclination design, with a good bulletproof shape, and the side of the body is vertical armor and rubber skirt, forming a certain degree of intermittent armor structure with the body armor of the Type 59 medium tank itself. The hollow part of the body leaves room for the future filling of the composite armor components.
At the same time, the modification of the turret is also underway. A new turret with a wedge-shaped armored shell makes its debut. It sweeps the 59 medium-sized tank hemispherical turret with an old-fashioned feeling and has a strong modern atmosphere.
Then, a British Royal Arsenal's 105mm rifled gun with thermal sheath was installed on the turret. The external anti-shield that Americans liked was used between the artillery and the turret, instead of the built-in anti-shield of the Soviet-style type like the Type 59 medium tank. The biggest appearance feature is that the canvas cover is not visible on the outside.
Picture: Another prototype car with the major modification plan of "Jaguar" TA-1.
In this way, the world's first "magic-modified" tank with "seeing from a distance to scare people, and looking at five pairs of heavy wheels in close distance" was completed.
According to records, this "Java" TA-1 main battle tank prototype was completed at the end of 1988. After preliminary tests were conducted in Nevada, USA, it arrived in China for comprehensive testing the following year, and then shipped to the United States again.
, and the 704th mobilization production line uses the Cummins engine provided by the United States to successfully produce a "Jaguar" TA-2 main battle tank chassis based on the 59-2A medium tank chassis, and try to install additional armor or composite armor on it. Just wait for the TA-1 to be finalized and the turret is installed.
After that, due to well-known reasons, Sino-US relations have changed, and the "Jaguar" project has also been interrupted. According to the agreement at that time, all tank equipment in the United States belongs to the US company, while the tank equipment in China belongs to the Chinese factory. Even if the project is interrupted, both sides will not suffer much losses. But the interruption of the Jaguar project has caused both units to decline.
Fortunately, the improvement ideas of Chinese and American designers for the Type 59 tank became a reality after the 21st century. The "five-pair" magic-modified tanks modified by my country appeared in the international market and won a large number of orders!
Picture: The magical modification of "five pairs of wheels" has become a best-selling product in the international market.
