Type 63 Armoured Personnel Carrier

Last updated: 22 March 2006

Type 63 APC in service with the PLA ground forces (Chinese Internet)

The Type 63 (also known as YW531 in its manufacturer designation) armoured personnel carrier (APC) family, developed and built by North Vehicle Manufacturing Factory located near Beijing, has been in service with the PLA armoured forces for over three decades. The vehicle has been in operations in Southeast Asia during the 1960s/70s Vietnam War and the 1979 Sino-Vietnam border conflict, and in Middle East during the 1980s Iran-Iraq War and 1990/91 Gulf War. The vehicle has been proved to be highly versatile and reliable. A considerable number of the vehicle is still in active service with the PLA today.

The Type 63 is China’s first indigenous tracked APC first fielded in 1964. Unlike most Chinese weapon systems introduced in the same age, the Type 63 was not based on an existing Soviet design. In fact, the vehicle was developed independently without Soviet assistance. The development was completed in 1963 and the vehicle was first fielded in 1964. However, the initial batch of the Type 63 (known as YW531) suffered from serious problems, and the improved formal production variant did not enter service until 1970. The vehicle is also in service with North Vietnam, North Korea, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zaire.

The improved Type 63C (YW531C) was introduced in 1982 for export market. This variant uses a German-designed BF8L413F air-cooled diesel engine to replace the original indigenous liquid-cooled engine. The Type 63C was exported in significant numbers to Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The improved variants in service with the PLA after the 1980s include 531G and 531K.

The PLA has developed a number of variants based on the Type 63, including the YW701 armoured command post and YW750 armoured ambulance. Additionally, the PLA has experimented to marry the vehicle with various artillery systems to provide self-propelled (SP) artillery weapon systems. The first attempt is the Type 70 122mm SP howitzer developed from the towed Type 54-1 122mm howitzer. The design was proved to be not entirely successful and only a small number (~200) was ever built. Another example is the Type 70 19-tube 130mm SP multiple rocket launcher (MRL), which was seen in action during the 1979 Sino-Vietnam border conflict.

Design

	The rear view of the vehicle (Chinese Internet)

The basic variant Type 63 is a typical 1960s design, which is virtually an light armoured box-shape vehicle with a 12.7mm machinegun mounted on top. The vehicle has a welded steel hull, in which the driver sits at the left front with an additional crewman directly behind him, and the commander sits in the right front with the engine behind. A gunner sits in the centre of the vehicle, with the infantryman sitting on fold down seats in the troop compartment. The vehicle has four pair of large road wheels.

The Type 63's thin armour provides little protection against anything larger than a 12.7mm machine gun, and even some 7.62mm rounds can hole the armour. The vehicle has a rectangular, three-sided open-topped shield around the gun, and better vision ports and ventilation. It is fully amphibious by its tracks it is propelled in the water and has a small trim vane on the glacis plate.

Armament

The basic variant Type 63 APC is armed with a Type 59 12.7mm/50-calibre antiaircraft machinegun, with a maximum fire-range of 2,000m. The vehicle carries 1,120 rounds. Later variants also have a 8-tube smoke grenade launcher.

Propulsion

The early variant Type 63 is powered by an indigenous 235kW 6150L 6-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel. The engine was derived from the Soviet T-34 tank's B2-34 engine introduced in the 1930s. The improved Type 63C is fitted with a German-designed BF8L413F V 8-cylinder air-cooled, turbo-charged diesel

Variants

Specifications

Crew: 2
Passenger: 13
Type: Tracked, armoured, amphibious
Weight: 12.8t (A531); 13.2t (B531); 12.6t (YW531C)
Engine: 235kW 6150L 6-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel; or BF8L413F V 8-cylinder air-cooled, turbo-charged diesel
Transmission: Mechanical
Suspension: Torsion-bar
Radio: radio set; intercom
Dimension: Length: 5.476m; Height: 2.580m; Width: 2.978m
Cruising Range: 500km
Speed: Max road 60km/h (YW531) or 65km/h (YW531C); max swim 6km/h
Weapon: 12.7mm (APC variant), 1,120 rounds