North Korean tanks: history and modernity

48
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is known for its responsible attitude towards the release of information. News about the state of the armed forces of this country almost always are only evaluative in nature, and the first information about the new military equipment often appears only a few years after its appearance. In such a situation, any information attracts much attention to the interested public. A few days ago, the South Korean website Jajuminbo.net, known for its loyal attitude towards North Korea, published interesting information. One of the journalists of this site managed to get into the Pyongyang Museum of weapons and military equipment of the Korean People’s Army, opened last spring.



Previously, only a few photos with the general plans of the museum were available to the public. Now, the author of the publication on Jajuminbo.net was able to announce more detailed information on the weapons samples presented at the exposition. Unfortunately, photography at the Museum of Arms and Military Equipment is prohibited, but a Korean journalist was able to remember a number of interesting things. First of all, it is necessary to note the fact that finally the official names of North Korean armored vehicles got into the public domain. Until today, conventions have been used everywhere, which had almost nothing to do with real names. Now it is reliably known that North Korean Tanks are designated according to the year of creation.

It should be recalled that the DPRK uses its own chronology, the so-called. The Juche calendar, whose starting point is Kim Il Sung's birthday. For convenience, we will use the more familiar numbers of the Gregorian calendar used in our country.

The date of commencement of the construction of its own armored vehicles in the DPRK is 1967 year. This figure is noted in the name of the “Light amphibious tank model 1967 of the year”, which is a copy of the Soviet PT-76. Until now, a certain number of such tanks remain in parts of the North Korean armed forces. A year after the start of service of these amphibious tanks, the fleet of North Korean armored vehicles was replenished with another armored vehicle, namely the “Middle tank of the 1968 model of the year” - a slightly modified copy of the Soviet T-55 or the Chinese “Type 59”.

The next update of the equipment of the DPRK armored forces took place in 1976, which affected the name of the new tank accordingly. “Medium tank arr. 1976 of the Year ”was a licensed copy of the Soviet T-62, produced by North Korean enterprises. This fighting machine also received the name Chonma. As indicated on the plate in the museum, one and a half hundred "Tanks of the 1976 model of the year" in the first half of the eighties went to serve in Iran.

Five years later, the Korean People's Army received a new "Light amphibious tank model 1981 of the year." Abroad, this machine is widely known under the names M1985 and PT-85. An interesting fact is that the western symbols of this tank reflect the year in which foreign experts learned about the new Korean development. It is easy to see that the DPRK has successfully concealed its new amphibious tank for almost five years. According to Western intelligence reports, the tank model 81-th year was created based on the modified chassis of the armored personnel carrier VTT-323. In addition, the project used some technical solutions borrowed from the Soviet tank PT-76.

In the early nineties, Korean tank builders modernized the medium tank Chonma arr. 1976 of the year. An armored vehicle named Chonma-2 was put into service in the 1992 year. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of updating a licensed copy of the Soviet T-62 was the increased level of protection. According to the information plate of the museum, the armor of this tank, combined with the applied dynamic protection, can withstand a penetration of a cumulative projectile with armor penetration of about 500 millimeters.

Interesting is the location of the tanks in the corresponding hall of the museum. Ten of the armored vehicles are divided into two groups, standing in two rows. At the same time in the same row placed armored vehicles, created in the past decades, and all five tanks of the second row were designed during the last 10-15 years. Perhaps this arrangement of tanks museum workers tried to demonstrate the latest achievements of the North Korean defense industry. On the other hand, as far as is known from the available photographic materials, in the hall with heavy armored vehicles in all rows, regardless of class, there are five cars each.

Four of the tanks presented in the series with the new machines belong to the Chonma family. So, the main tank Chonma-98, created in 2000, has a combat mass of 38 tons and carries a solid booking. The combined frontal hull and turret packs are said to have a level of protection equivalent to an armor plate with a thickness of 900 millimeters. Other tanks of the family differ from each other in equipment and type of weapons. In addition, their combat weight varies slightly: the Chonma-2014 tank of the 2001 model weighs 38 tons, and the Chonma-215 and Chonma-216 2003 and 2004 respectively 39 tons.

Tank "Sangan" (Seon'gun)


The newest of the tanks presented in the Museum of Arms and Military Equipment of the Korean People’s Army is currently the Seon'gun-915 armored vehicle, created in 2009 year. The declared characteristics of this tank look quite interesting. So, with a combat weight of about 44 tons, the power density is about 27 horsepower per ton of weight. Thus, in the engine compartment of the tank is the engine power 1200 hp This sharply highlights the Seon'gun-915 against the background of the rest of the North Korean armored vehicles. Thanks to such a powerful engine, the tank accelerates on the highway to 70 km / h.

The native armor of the hull and turret of the Seon'gun-915 tank is equivalent to an 900-mm plate. In addition, additional dynamic protection is used, providing a level of protection at the level of 500 millimeters of homogeneous armor steel. The barrel armament of the new tank consists of one 125-mm smooth-bore gun and a CPV anti-aircraft machine gun. In addition, a gun launcher for two Bulsae-3 anti-tank missiles (presumably, an analogue of the Russian Kornet anti-tank missile system) is mounted above the cannon mask, and the Hwa'Seong Chong anti-tank missile launcher (possibly a copy of the Soviet / Russian "Needle"). The Seon'gun-915 tank is allegedly equipped with modern night vision devices, a laser range finder, a digital fire control system, and the like. equipment inherent in modern armored vehicles.

Tank Seon'gun-915 has long been known to specialists and lovers of military equipment, but in most of the materials it carries the symbol Pokpung-ho. Museum staff emphasize that this name has no relation to reality. However, the question of the name of a particular combat vehicle is of almost no interest, especially compared to other aspects of North Korean tank design. Specialists from all over the world are primarily interested in the number of tanks available in the armed forces of the DPRK. According to Jajuminbo.net referring to the Museum of Arms and Military Equipment, from 2005 to 2012, the defense plants of North Korea built 900 tanks of new models. Such figures - if, of course, they are true - can say a lot about the state of the North Korean defense sector.

Unfortunately, the specific information policy of official Pyongyang does not allow to fully analyze both the new or old tanks themselves and the state of the entire Korean People’s Army as a whole. Answers to the most interesting questions remain top secret and are not subject to disclosure even within the country. One of the consequences of this is the inability to verify certain figures stated on the plates in the museum and quoted by the journalist Jajuminbo.net.

And yet, even the available information allows us to draw certain conclusions. Despite the lack of information, a steady impression is created that the DPRK was still able to create a serious main battle tank, the capabilities of which are quite high, although they do not allow competing on equal footing with leading foreign models. As for the other North Korean tanks, created and built before the newest Seon'gun-915, they vividly show the desire of North Korea to have strong and modern armed forces even in the existing economic and political conditions.


On the materials of the sites:
http://jajuminbo.net/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
http://andrei-bt.livejournal.com/
http://globalsecurity.org/
http://armour.ws/
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  1. +7
    12 July 2013 08: 09
    The data, of course, is impressive, but how much is it true? How, for example, the Koreans were able to independently master the combined reservation (the equivalent of 900mm is not weak) and DZ with protection from tandem ammunition? If only with the help of Chinese friends.
    1. +2
      12 July 2013 09: 26
      I’m not sure that even the Chinese have a tandem DZ ... as you know, in the East they like to trick in order to intimidate the enemy even before the battle. wink And as you know, a frightened enemy, half defeated enemy.
      so Bluff, the same effective weapon of the Kimersen. like the tanks themselves ... or maybe even more efficiently. laughing
      1. +3
        12 July 2013 09: 48
        That's how it is. But in due time, that we, Ukraine, sold a bunch of weapons and organized a brain drain around the world. A considerable share of Chinese progress in the military-industrial complex over the past twenty years is also, for the most part, our merit. So it is possible that the technology could get to China from Ukraine, and from there to Korea. Or maybe really nothing but words is behind this.
        1. Akim
          0
          12 July 2013 09: 55
          Quote: Basileus
          . So it’s possible that technology could have come to China from Ukraine,

          The Chinese have a tandem DZ and it is its development. The quality can be judged in different ways, but Pakistan chose to issue a licensed Ukrainian DZ - abandoning the Chinese. So do not trust.
          1. +1
            12 July 2013 10: 04
            Pakistan just has a choice. It is unlikely that the DPRK has it.
            1. Akim
              +2
              12 July 2013 10: 14
              Quote: Basileus
              Pakistan just has a choice. It is unlikely that the DPRK has it.

              Naturally. I’m just saying that if the Chinese DZ is comparable, then it is worse, although it can quite cope against South Korean BOPs and cumulatives.
            2. 0
              12 July 2013 22: 30
              Quote: Basileus
              Pakistan just has a choice. It is unlikely that the DPRK has it.


              Do you think the DPRK buys technology from China - then why is the new tank on the parade "dressed" in DZ as in "rags" in the photo? China is not selling them much.
    2. 0
      12 July 2013 22: 28
      Quote: Basileus
      The data, of course, is impressive, but how much is it true?


      Did you pay attention to the photo "Sangan" (Seon'gun) - it seems to me alone that the remote control is incomplete and a very large space is open?
  2. +5
    12 July 2013 08: 51
    Cosmetic changes for the T-62 - this is not exactly a new tank. And so wherever you spit all the crafts based on Russian technology. They would steal the T-90 (there is no money to buy) and a new Korean tank would appear on which, according to the assurances of local specialists, there would be an incredible amount of millimeters of armor.
    1. gas
      gas
      +2
      12 July 2013 09: 54
      Once the T-90 was mentioned, isn't this tank a deep modernization of the T-72? It is commendable that they are at least trying to improve.
      1. The comment was deleted.
    2. 0
      12 July 2013 14: 54
      Most likely it’s not T 62 but T-72
  3. Alex96
    0
    12 July 2013 09: 32
    Let's see what they do.
  4. +12
    12 July 2013 09: 35
    Let him just "poke his nose"!
    1. 0
      12 July 2013 14: 48
      Day 11
      Greetings Denis! Are you bent again? :))))
      1. +1
        12 July 2013 15: 16
        Hi, Volodya, it is very interesting to watch the reaction of members of the forum :-).
        1. 0
          13 July 2013 02: 04
          Day 11
          Have a conscience ... Sinister ... :))))) and do not gurgle on the members of the forum ..... do not shoot the pianist, he plays as he can ... now! .... I’ll kill and kill! :)))) ... and you ... will kill me and ... do not eat ..... to hell I gave you such an inedible ....
          1. +2
            13 July 2013 02: 42
            Quote: smile
            to hell I gave you such an inedible ....

            On a scarecrow wassat Scare Liberasts at night laughing
            1. 0
              13 July 2013 03: 14
              Ruslan67 (3)
              In principle .... it’s good! I’m afraid only my scarecrow can not only frighten, but also give a damn about the bully ... especially if the scarecrow is on a stick ... :))))) but I do not agree to appeal to the scarecrow. ..specially, if on a stick ... here! .... there are sticking teeth, scuffed skin ... it's all good ... but I strongly disagree with drying .... I saw such ... there is nothing to envy !
              1. +2
                13 July 2013 03: 22
                Quote: smile
                ..but I strongly disagree with drying.

                Do not want do not! then paint wassat
                1. 0
                  13 July 2013 18: 46
                  Ruslan67
                  Yeah ... figs get rid of you .... okay, paint! ... anyway, paint, I agree or not ... :)))
  5. -5
    12 July 2013 09: 50
    When you see photographs of North Koreans, it seems that these tanks get them from their stomachs!
  6. +1
    12 July 2013 09: 52
    They have dosihpor in service with the BTR-40.
    1. gas
      gas
      +8
      12 July 2013 09: 54
      Why is he worse than Hammer?))
      1. Akim
        +3
        12 July 2013 10: 01
        Quote: gaz
        Why is he worse than Hammer?))

        The most elementary - he does not want to go uphill, especially in the heat. There is much more, but this APC is not without a reserve of modernization.
        1. Son
          Son
          +2
          12 July 2013 10: 54
          Off-topic ... I wanted myself to buy one for a summer residence ... I did not find it, in Ukraine ...
          1. Akim
            +1
            12 July 2013 11: 04
            Quote: Son
            I wanted to buy one for a summer house.

            If you just hang out in front of people and scare cops ... In addition, you need to register as agricultural machinery (that is, you can’t go along the general category roads). BTR-40 and BRDM-1 horseradish machines for farming are also a very big problem with spare parts for the GAZ-51, and especially for the GAZ-63 (these are donors).
            1. Son
              Son
              0
              12 July 2013 12: 56
              In the district. Gums ... Forest, sand -s ... For excursions and souls ...
              Oh, I didn’t think about spare parts ...
              1. Akim
                +2
                12 July 2013 13: 18
                Quote: Son
                Forest, sand - with ... For excursions and souls ...

                Now the army is starting another sale. Of course, nothing valuable for the individual was left (Goats, Bobiki, Tablets (Loafs) were dismantled long ago). But if you're lucky, you can buy a cone "GAZ-66 with a kung. Why are these armored personnel carriers. Eats more, the axle load is large. If you get stuck, you can't do without a tractor. He even does the current repairs - a whole procedure. Buy such a GAZon! Of course it's better for relaxation. UAZ -452 "Tablet". Unpretentious, enough place to rest Even on Oleshkovsky sands pulls confidently. And it's not a pity to kill him. There are a lot of spare parts and they are cheap. And if that leaf spring in any MTX digest.
          2. 0
            12 July 2013 21: 36
            Quote: Son
            I wanted to buy one for myself to give ...
            Then the fuel tanker to him, gluttonous
            Quote: Son
            I did not find it in Ukraine ..
            If you search, then GAZ-63 can be found, about the 66 and there is no talk, if you need cross
            Is it worth it for nothing to carry armor or "graters" with neighbors? laughing
    2. +1
      12 July 2013 09: 57
      It seems so to you that an old man, and every North Korean will tell you that they are equipped with mine protection and KAZ)
      Well, on the other hand - why not stand? Around the world, not only the T-55, T-34 can be found, but the BTR-40 at about the same time.
    3. Lee
      Lee
      -1
      12 July 2013 11: 45
      Quote: Den 11
      They have dosihpor in service with the BTR-40.

      Judging by the photo, these are RCB reconnaissance vehicles.
    4. black_eagle
      +3
      12 July 2013 14: 54
      Well, our armies basically refused the concept of using this class of vehicles, and then, as the niche turned out to be empty, they started to catch up urgently, and is there a big difference in appearance from the BTR-40
      1. 0
        12 July 2013 22: 34
        Quote: black_eagle
        and is there a big difference in appearance from the BTR-40


        The form is almost the same, but the filling is completely different - armor, survivability, mobility and so on at the modern level. The BTR-40, with all the pluses, had the main minus - a weak engine - which was one of the main reasons why it was removed from service (although I read that we had it in the Armed Forces almost before 91).
    5. 0
      12 July 2013 14: 56
      If the country is in blockade and there are no resources, it’s worth wondering how they still have it on the go ...
      1. +1
        12 July 2013 21: 46
        Quote: T80UM1
        If the country is in blockade and there are no resources, it’s worth wondering how they still have it on the go ...
        China will throw ore, and they collected transporters
        Moreover, there is a strong unification with GAZ-51 and 63
        with the help of the USSR, a copy of the GAZ-51A - "Seungri-58"
        on the picture
  7. nepopadun
    +3
    12 July 2013 10: 02
    And the Koreans are great
  8. +8
    12 July 2013 10: 12
    Sorry, that is not the topic --- Well, a very good poster!
    1. maxvet
      0
      12 July 2013 17: 28
      And did such posters really hang in public places? what
      1. 0
        12 July 2013 19: 34
        So far !!!
      2. -1
        12 July 2013 22: 35
        Quote: Den 11
        Sorry, that is not the topic --- Well, a very good poster!


        I do not understand - on the poster with a grenade in my mouth who?
        1. +1
          12 July 2013 22: 47
          Generally clickable! But these are amers during the Korean War. Ask your dad to earn credibility! (Need to be explained?)
          1. 0
            20 July 2013 23: 15
            Quote: Den 11
            (No need to explain?)


            I think that it is not necessary to be rude.
  9. +2
    12 July 2013 10: 21
    I was especially pleased with the "Speakers for giving valuable instructions to the infantry (4 units)" Yes, and you can drive the music on the halt laughing
  10. Son
    Son
    0
    12 July 2013 10: 31
    I looked at the comparative table of the armies and armaments of the DPRK - South Korea, they are rather weak against the southerners ...
    1. +3
      12 July 2013 10: 36
      In the barrel artillery they have no equal!
      1. Son
        Son
        0
        12 July 2013 10: 52
        Yes, yes ... But, at a distance of 35-50 km from the contact line, how long will it be enough ..?
  11. +1
    12 July 2013 12: 00
    I'm interested in: where do the Koreans take so much metal? Do not buy the same. I look: everything is fine with metallurgy ...
    1. +5
      12 July 2013 12: 10
      In the DPRK is not only rich deposits of iron ore, but also a developed mining industry, thanks to which it fully satisfies the need of metallurgy for raw materials with its own resources. Iron ore is found everywhere in the country, its reserves reach several billion tons. The largest deposit of iron ore is the Musan Mining Association. After it, the scale of development significantly expanded on it; all technical processes — extraction, haulage and enrichment — were mechanized and automated. The concentration power increased tenfold compared with the period before release. Every year it produces several million tons of concentrate. Deposits of magnetic iron ore are also found in Toxon and Hochon in the province of South Hamgen, in Tokhen in the province of North Pyongyang. Eunyur, Cheren and Thethan of Southern Hwanhe Province, Chondong (Kecheon County) of South Pyongyang Province have deposits of benign limonite and hematite. Sand and earth iron on the west coast also have prospects. And there are rich reserves of non-ferrous metals. The Kondoksky mining complex is one of the largest modern non-ferrous metal bases in Korea.
      1. 0
        12 July 2013 14: 57
        yeah, only there is no fuel, and arable land ...
        1. 0
          12 July 2013 15: 26
          Maybe there is no oil, but there are hands and an ax in the hands of the working people
        2. 0
          12 July 2013 15: 28
          Gas-generating propulsion always help out!
        3. 0
          12 July 2013 15: 51
          In principle, there is also enough arable land (enough to feed 25 million). They have a problem in their "free" hands. But the situation is getting better - the peasants were allowed to SELL part of the grown crop on their own plot!
      2. +2
        12 July 2013 18: 02
        Not ! Well of course many thanks to Den !! In the 80s-90s, I settled on iron ore deposits in the Abakan area. It turns out there are people. who went further ... well ... Less from them - for happiness. They know what they are doing ... By the way, it is possible that the devices that control the supply of primary ore to KKD - our invention ...
    2. +1
      12 July 2013 18: 11
      Yeah ... Everything with metallurgy is bad ... All the tanks are paper mache, the planes are the same, the ships are made of wood. And why am I very foolishly interested?
  12. +3
    12 July 2013 19: 01
    In fact, Koreans inspire respect from me - people in a rather difficult situation, practically in the blockade, manage to live and, at the very least, develop science and technology.
    1. 0
      12 July 2013 22: 37
      But what prevents them from carrying out reforms, as in China?
  13. +1
    12 July 2013 20: 46
    if Korea sowing with an ax and pitchfork managed to make an atomic bomb, imagine if they unite, they will plug both Yap and Dummies
    1. +2
      12 July 2013 21: 00
      And I'm talking about the same thing! United Korea is a terrible dream for the Yapov. Imagine literate SKs and working as SK robots (and having nuclear weapons). Tryndets to everyone! Here the Chinese will shiver
  14. +1
    12 July 2013 21: 16
    DPRK is still TIN! No hearty meal, no extra pleasures. To plow and to plow. And then there is no money to buy something military from the corrupt warriors of the CIS. How to spin - it is not clear :))
    1. +2
      12 July 2013 21: 29
      They have a goal to which they stick like a bulldozer! We have selected this goal, or rather exchanged it for a beautiful wrapper
  15. 0
    12 July 2013 22: 17
    I want to visit this museum.
    but if Kim Jong-un wants to hang out again and begins to threaten the United States, Japan and South Korea, or their nuclear missile accidentally falls on their neighbors, and the United States attacks them for this, then these tanks will help the Koreans a little, they will be destroyed from the air. Moreover, the ancient MiG-17th, 19th, 21st and 23rd are still in service with the North Korean Air Force.
    1. 0
      12 July 2013 22: 24
      Old man, believe me, NATO planes can knock out part of the enterprises, but they (S-Koreans) will be able to very thin out those who want it!
    2. Akim
      0
      12 July 2013 22: 29
      Quote: 0255
      In the North Korean Air Force, the ancient MiG-17th, 19th, 21st and 23rd are still in service.

      MiG-21,23 are good fighters and can compete with fighters of 4 generations on equal terms. True, after modernization (which Pyongyang clearly did not do).
  16. bubble82009
    0
    12 July 2013 23: 49
    Yes, sorry for the characteristics are not given on this technique. self-propelled guns in the picture are made according to the principle of invented cunning
  17. 0
    13 July 2013 14: 23
    try to guess who not to unite Korea. winked
  18. 0
    24 August 2013 18: 19
    Koreans are "serious" guys, the tank is not BG, but the formulation of the combat mission continues ...

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