WZ504

     Notes:  This is a scout/antitank vehicle based on the Type 86 armored personnel carrier chassis.  In this role, a pod containing four HJ73 ATGM launchers is mounted in the vehicle, and raised into position before firing.  The vehicle also comes with two ground launchers for the missiles to be deployed away from the vehicle if necessary.  Being a variant of the Type 86, the WZ504 has a 298-horsepower diesel engine coupled to a manual transmission, and with a torsion bar suspension.  The rear ramp/door is retained, as are the Type 86’s four firing ports in each side and one in the rear door.  However, the front ports on each side are reachable only by the commander and gunner.  There is a smaller hatch on the rear of the roof, used by the scouts or sometimes used in reloading the missile launcher.

WZ551 Antitank Vehicle

     Notes:  This is a version of the standard Type 90 wheeled armored personnel carrier, with a one-man ATGM turret.  The turret carries 4 Red Arrow 8 tubes. The WZ551 Antitank Vehicle chassis is a smaller 4x4 version of the Type 90 chassis.  The Chinese are using this vehicle; is has also been obtained by Bosnia.  The vehicle has a BF8L413F turbocharged diesel engine of 320 horsepower coupled to a manual transmission, with independent wheel suspension. The hatch layout is the same as the ZPT-90 version of the APC, with the rear roof hatch being used to reload the missile launcher tubes.  The WZ551 AT Vehicle retains the three firing ports on each side and the one in the rear door, including the front firing ports’ ability to take a 7.62mm machinegun.

YW531 Anti-Tank Vehicle

     Notes:  This is an anti-tank vehicle based on the chassis of the Type 63 armored personnel carrier.  A turret with four Red Arrow 8 ATGM launchers is fitted to the roof of the vehicle, and there is a reloading hatch to the rear of this turret.   Based on early versions of the Type 63 APC, it does not have firing ports or vision blocks in its sides, but the driver does not have night vision.  The YW531 AT Vehicle was used by Vietnam as well as China, and is retained in reserves by those countries.  The YW531 AT Vehicle participated in the final fall of South Vietnam in 1975 as well as the putting down of uprisings in China in the 1960s. The engine is a Type 6150L 260-horsepower diesel, making the YW531 AT Vehicle a bit underpowered, and the transmission is manual and difficult to change gears.  Four rubber-tired roadwheels are found on each side; they are large, and no return rollers are used.

YW534 Anti-Tank Vehicle

     Notes:  This is the same idea as the YW531 anti-tank vehicle above, but based on the Type 89 APC chassis.  This vehicle has a raised superstructure so that more ammunition may be carried.  This vehicle actually went into production before the YW531 AT vehicle (in 1988) and is much more common than that vehicle.  The YW534 AT Vehicle’s engine is German-designed and license-built, a BF8L413F 320-horsepower turbocharged diesel.  The YW534 AT Vehicle can be equipped with external fuel tanks for long-range operations in addition to its internal fuel; these are mounted at the rear.  The YW534 AT Vehicle is amphibious with a minimum of preparation – a trim vane must be erected at the front of the vehicle. The roadwheels of the YW534 AT Vehicle have an uneven distribution, with a gap between the third and fourth roadwheels (of the five roadwheels present). Behind the launcher is a large hatch for missile reloading; the rear door of the Type 89 is retained. The four vision blocks on the right side and three to the left, and the side three firing ports and one in the rear door are retained.