Mitsubishi Type 60
Notes:
Sometimes referred to as the SU-60, this Japanese vehicle was one of
their first post-World War 2 APC designs, taken into service in 1960, and it
served the JGSDF for over 40 years.
By that time it was retired, it was very old technology and very expensive to
keep in running order. The SU-60 was built until 1972, with 755 being built in
this time. Some time before the
SU-60 was retired, it had already been relegated to reserve and home guard
service. Armor is relatively thin,
but the design is unusual – it looks sort of like a refrigerator on treads, with
a barely-sloped front and square sides and back. Medium and heavy mortar carrier
variants exist, and will be found in Japanese Self-Propelled Artillery.
The driver of
the Type 60 is on the front right hull, and has three vision blocks to his
front. In an unusual design
feature, a bow machinegunner sits to his left; he has his own hatch on the left
front deck and an integral sighting scope for the machinegun.
Between and behind them is the commander’s position; he has a cupola with
all-around vision blocks and a pintle-mounted weapon.
The commander also has a gun shield to the front with an AV of 2.
The relatively small troop compartment at the rear is accessed by two
large hatches in the rear face, and the rear deck has a large 2-piece hatch
opening to the left and right for standing troops.
The two parts of these hatch covers are further hinged in the center,
allowing standing troops to use them for cover. Power is provided by a
Mitsubishi 8 HA 21 WT turbocharged diesel developing 230 horsepower, coupled to
a manual transmission. The hull is
of all-welded steel. Suspension
consists of conventional torsion bars, with three out of the five roadwheels on
each side having shock absorbers.
The Type 60 is not amphibious.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$24,898 |
D, A |
1.5 tons |
11.8 tons |
3+6 |
6 |
Headlights |
Enclosed |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
145/102 |
36/23 |
370 |
120 |
Stnd |
T2 |
HF5
HS3 HR3 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
None |
None |
Type 62 (Bow), M-2HB (C) |
2200x7.62mm, 435x.50 |
Mitsubishi Type 73
Notes:
The Type 73 is a standard sort of APC that resembles a squatter version
of the US M-113 series; in essence, it is basically an updated form of the Type
60 and closely resembles that APC.
Design work began in 1967, and competing designs from Komatsu and Mitsubishi
were tested all stages of the design process, with Mitsubishi finally winning
out. Production continued until the
late 1980s, and since production of the Type 89 and Type 96 IFVs has not
progressed as fast as originally planned, the Type 73 remains in service.
Some 337 Type 73s are still in service with the JGSDF, and will remain in
the inventory for the indefinite future.
Several variants of the Type 73 are produced, including mortar carriers,
an MRL, artillery ammunition carriers, tractors for towed artillery, and even a
mobile weather station.
The layout of
the Type 73 closely follows that of the Type 60 -- the driver sits on the front
right side, and to his left is a position for a bow machinegunner.
To the rear of this gunner is the engine; the Type 60 and Type 73 are
unusual for military armored vehicles in that the engine is in roughly the
center of the vehicle. The
commander’s position is in the same place as that of the Type 60.
All these positions have the same sort of vision arrangement, but the
central driver’s vision block may be replaced with a night vision block. The
commander’s weapon can be aimed and fired from under armor, with the hatch
closed. The passenger compartment
hatch arrangement, both at the rear and on the deck, are the same as on the Type
60. However, the Type 73 adds two
firing ports high on each side, as well as one in the rear.
The Type 73 is larger than the Type 60 and carries more troops.
The Type 73’s armor is of aluminum instead of steel, and heavier than
that of the Type 60. The Type 73
also adds a cluster of three smoke grenade launchers on either side of the front
of the vehicle.
Power for the
Type 73 is provided by a Mitsubishi 4ZF turbocharged diesel engine developing
300 horsepower, coupled to a semiautomatic transmission.
The Type 73 is considerably heavier than the Type 60, so the power
increase is largely soaked up by the increase in weight.
The suspension, though beefed up, is basically the same as that of the
Type 60. The Type 73 adds
amphibious capability, but a lot of preparation is necessary – a trim vane must
be extended at the front, rubber skirts must be fitted to the sides (they tend
to get torn up under normal use, and are not normally fitted), rubber floatation
bags attached to each of the roadwheels (ten in all), and a bilge pump turned
on. This all takes nearly a half an
hour, or ten minutes less if the side skirts are already attached.
Type 73 CPV is a
command post carrier variant of the Type 73, similar in form and function to the
US M-577. It has a raised hull to
allow standing (or at least crouching) inside.
The Type 73 CPV has two long-range, two medium-range, and one short-range
radio; one of the long-range radios is data-capable.
Other equipment includes a ruggedized laptop computer, map boards, office
and plotting supplies (including a folding table and three folding chairs), and
a hand-held thermal imager, image intensifier, and laser rangefinder.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
Type 73 |
$43,582 |
D, A |
2 tons |
13.3 tons |
3+9 |
8 |
Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
Type 73 CPV |
$206,892 |
D, A |
1.15 tons |
15 tons |
3+5 |
10 |
Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
Type 73 |
163/114 |
40/26/4 |
450 |
159 |
Stnd |
T2 |
HF6
HS4 HR4 |
Type 73 CPV |
145/101 |
36/23/4 |
450 |
178 |
Stnd |
T2 |
HF6
HS4 HR4 |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
Type 73/CPV |
None |
None |
Type 62 (Bow), M-2HB (C) |
2700x7.62mm, 525x.50 |
Mitsubishi Type 89
Notes:
The Japanese began design of the Type 89 IFV in 1980, and the first
prototypes began testing in 1984, with the testing period continuing until 1986.
However, the need for such a vehicle and the cost have been cited as
reasons not to produce the Type 89 from the beginning, and it was not
type-classified until 1989. The
initial requirement for the Type 89 was stated at 300 vehicles, but as of 1999,
only 58 had been built, and since then, only 1-3 have been built per year, and
the Japanese have less than 80 in service currently.
(This had led to large amounts of the Type 73 APC being retained in
service.) The numbers of the Type
89 in service will probably never reach the 300 initially requested by the
JGDSF.
The Type 89 is
of a design that is now common – a welded steel hull, with a highly-sloped
glacis plate and moderately-sloped sides, with armored track skirts.
The driver is on the right front, with the engine to his right.
The driver has three vision blocks to the front, one of which can be
replaced with a night vision block; he also has an unusual feature – a periscope
in the hatch cover which can be rotated by hand. The passengers are mostly in
the rear, but one is just to the rear of the driver, with a hatch of his own and
vision blocks that allow him to see to the front of the vehicle.
He also has a firing port that allows him to fire his weapon to the right
side of the vehicle. The remaining
six troops are in the rear and ingress and egress for them (and the soldier
behind the driver) are through two large doors in the rear face. Two more firing
ports are on the right side, three are in the left side, and one is in the right
rear door. There is a medium-sized
hatch in the troop compartment’s roof, used primarily for reloading of the ATGM
launchers. The troops have an NBC
overpressure system with a collective NBC backup.
The turret is in
the center of the vehicle, offset to the left.
The commander is on the right side of the turret, with a cupola that has
all-around vision blocks and night vision scopes, as well as a day telescopic
scope. The gunner, on the left, has
a hatch with two vision blocks that cover the front and left of the turret.
The gunner has excellent night vision equipment, and his gunnery is
helped by a ballistic computer and laser rangefinder, as well as full
stabilization. The main gun in most
Type 89s is an Oerlikon KDE autocannon, but late-production vehicles have a
license-built version of that weapon, the L-90.
A coaxial machinegun is provided and on each side of the turret is a
launcher for a Type 89 Jyu-MAT ATGM.
Under the front of each missile launcher is a cluster of three smoke
grenade launchers.
The Type 89 has
a 600-horsepower 6 SY 31 WA turbocharged diesel engine that gives the vehicle
excellent range and agility, but not good range.
The transmission is fully automatic and the driver’s position has a
conventional steering yoke, gas pedal, and brake pedal. There are six roadwheels
as well as three return rollers, and the suspension is by torsion bar with three
shock absorbers on each side.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$191,826 |
D, A |
1.2 tons |
27 tons |
3+7 |
12 |
Passive IR (D, G, C), Image
Intensification (G, C), Thermal Imaging (G, C) |
Shielded |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
141/101 |
35/23 |
620 |
306 |
Trtd |
T4 |
TF13
TS6 TR4
HF24 HS12
HR6 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
+3 |
Good |
35mm Oerlikon KDE, Type 74, 2xJyu-MAT
ATGM Launchers |
320x35mm, 3540x7.62mm, 6xJyu-MAT ATGM |