WZ 501 Type 86 YW 501 tracked armored IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle

: 03 October 2019

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WZ 501 YW 501 Type 86 tracked armored IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Description

Technical Data

Specifications

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Description

The WZ 501 (YW 501) or Type 86 is a tracked armored infantry fighting vehicle designed and manufactured by the Chinese Defense Company Norinco. The WZ 501 is based on the Russian-made BMP-1 armoured infantry fighting vehicle, the only major differences being slight reductions in weight and maximum road speed. The WZ 501 was seen for the first time during a military parade in Beijing late in 1999. It was estimated that the PLA maintains roughly 1,000 examples of the Type 86 IFV in operation. Most of these vehicles are deployed by armour units stationed in Northern China. The PLA Marine Corps in the southern Guangdong Province is also equipped with the amphibious variant Type 86B. The WZS 501 was also exported to Myanmar, Iran, Iraq and Sri Lanka.

Main Variants

- WZ 503: The two doors in the rear troop compartment are replaced by a single door that opens to the right and the troops sit on individual seats down either side of the hull rather than back-to-back down the center of the vehicle. The WZ 503 is armed with one 12.7mm heavy machine gun.
- WZ 504: anti-tank version with a pod mounted on the roof that contains four Red Arrow 73B wire-guided ATGWs that are raised when required for action, with the sighting system being mounted between the twin launchers. In addition to the four missiles in the ready to launch position, 12 more are carried inside the vehicle for manual reloading.
- WZ 501A: fitted with one-man turret armed with a 25mm cannon and one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.
- WZ 505: ambulance version with a raised rear superstructure which can carry four stretchers, or two stretchers and four seated wounded or eight seated wounded. Specialized equipment includes an air conditioning system, an oxygen system and other medical equipment.
- WZ 506: command post version with additional communications equipment. The WZ 506 is recognizable externally by its four radio antennas.
- Type 86B: amphibious version in service with the Chinese army Marine Corps.
- Type 86G: improved variant, fitted with new one-man turret of the ZLC 2000 airborne combat vehicle. It is armed with a 30-mm cannon and HJ-73 ATGM launcher. Chinese Army is currently replacing the Type 86 with the improved Type 86G.

Technical Data

Armament

The WZ 501 is fitted with one-man turret armed with a 73 mm smoothbore gun with 40 rounds of ammunition and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun with 2,000 rounds. Mounted over the main armament is a launcher for a Red Arrow HJ-73 anti-tank missile with one missile ready to fire with an additional four missiles carried internally for manual reloading. This missile has a maximum range of up to 3 000 m. The turret can rotate on 360° and the main gun has an elevation of +30° and depression of -3°.

Design and protection

The hull of the WZ 501 is made of all-welded steel which provides the crew with protection from small arms fire and shell splinters. The armor provides protection at the front against 12.7mm AP/API rounds. The driver sits at the front of the hull on the left side and has a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the right. The commander is seated behind the driver and has a cupola that can be traversed through a full 360º. In the forward part of the cupola are three-day periscopes. The troop compartment is at the rear with the eight infantrymen seated back-to-back, four down each side of the hull. They enter and leave by two doors in the rear of the hull which has integral fuel tanks (60 liters in the left door and 70 liters in the right) and are hinged on the outside. Each door has a day vision device and the left door has a firing port. Over the top of the hull are four roof hatches, two each side, which are hinged in the centre and can be locked vertically. There are four firing ports in each side of the hull and four heated day periscopes each side of the roof for aiming.

Propulsion

The engine and transmission of the WZ 501 are to the right of the driver's and commander's positions with the steering system at the front of the hull. The air inlet and outlet louvers are at the top of the hull. The torsion bar suspension either side consists of six rubber-tyred roadwheels with the drive sprocket at the front, idler at the rear and three track-return rollers. The first and last roadwheel stations have a hydraulic shock-absorber and the top of the track has a light sheet steel cover, which is normally removed when operating in snow. The track links are of the double-pin type with water scoops between the housings. The WZ 501 is motorized with Type 6V-150 water-cooled diesel developing 293 hp at 2,600 rpm coupled to a manual transmission. The WZ 501 can climb a gradient of 60% and cross a trench of 2 m maximum.

Accessories

The WZ 501 IFV is fully amphibious and is fitted with an NBC system and infra-red night vision equipment for the commander, driver and gunner. In the water, the WZ 501 is propelled by its tracks at a maximum speed of 8 km/h. An infra-red searchlight is mounted on the commander's cupola and controlled from inside the vehicle.

Specifications