Type 77 Amphibious Armoured Carrier | Ground Forces

The Type 77 is the tracked amphibious armoured personnel/artillery carrier vehicle developed in the 1970s on the basis of the Type 63 amphibious tank. The vehicle was designed to carry infantry soldiers and artillery guns in the river regions where the mobility of heavier tracked armour vehicles is limited. The vehicle was widely deployed by the PLA Marine Corps as a primary combat support vehicle, but is now being gradually retired from active service.

Development of the Type 77 amphibious armoured personnel carrier began in April 1965, but the vehicle did not receive its design certificate until 1977. The Type 77-1 artillery carrier entered PLA service in the late 1970s in small numbers. The PLA began to develop an improved variant known as Type 77-2 armoured personnel carrier in 1978 and the vehicle received its design certificate in 1980. Around 200~300 Type 77 armoured carriers were being deployed by the PLA, mainly in the Marine Corps.

The Type 77 is based on the hull design of the Type 63 amphibious tank. The vehicle is generally similar to the Russian BTR-50 in terms of layout and purposes, though the two vehicles have little in common in their designs. Being fully amphibious, the armoured carrier has a two-man crew including a driver and a commander. Infantry passengers ride/dismount the vehicle through the roof and side hatches. A trim vane is mounted at the front of the hull for fording. The vehicle has no fire-fighting or NBC protection equipment.

The Type 77-1 has a single-piece driver's right-hinged hatch cover and three forward-facing periscopes, a single circular commander's hatch cover that opens to the rear and three forward observation periscopes, three hatches on the roof of the troop compartment for troop, cargo and artillery respectively, and a single forward-hinged door on the right side. Armour protection against 7.62mm calibre weapon systems is provided all round. There are four firing ports in the vehicle hull, two on each side of the vehicle.

One of the primary missions for the Type 77-1 is to carry a 85mm towed anti-tank cannon or a 120mm towed howitzer in the battlefield. The artillery is disassembled into several pieces when carried on the roof of the troop compartment. Hydraulic winch and ramps are provided on the vehicle to load/unload the artillery. The bench seat kits in the middle of the troop compartment can be folded down and stowed when not in use to make space for artillery pieces and artillery rounds.

The Type 77-2 is a dedicated amphibious personnel carrier, with all winches and ramps removed. It has a slightly higher troop compartment. Shooting ports on the right side of the hull are replaced by a larger forward-hinged hatch for riding/dismounting troops and stretchers.

Main armament on the Type 77 is a roof-mounted 12.7mm antiaircraft machine gun (AAMG) with a basic load of 500 rounds. The machine gun is operated by the vehicle commander, who has no protection while firing the gun.

The Type 77 is powered by a 12150L-2 4-stroke, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled diesel engine with a standard power of 298kW (400hp). The fuel capacity is 416l. The vehicle has 5 forward and 1 reverse gears, with mechanical gear box and torsion bar suspensions. Two water jets at the rear are used for propelling and turning in the water.

Crew: 2
Passenger: 20 infantry troops, or a 85mm anti-tank cannon plus 8 artillery crew, or a 120mm howitzer plus 8 artillery crew, or 3 stretchers, or 3 tonnes of cargo
Type: Tracked, armoured, full amphibious capability
Weight: 18.7 tonnes
Engine: 400hp 12150L-2 4-stroke, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled diesel
Transmission: Mechanical
Suspension: Torsion bar
Communications: Radio and intercom
Dimension: Length: 7.15m; Height: 3.20m; Width: 2.16m
Cruising Range: 340~370km
Speed: Max road 36km/h; max off-road N/A; max swim 11~12km/h
Weapon: 12.7mm AAMG with 500 rounds