Type 63 ( armoured personnel carrier ) The Type 63 ( industrial designation YW531 ) is a Chinese armoured personnel carrier that entered service in the late 1960s . It was the first armoured vehicle designed in China without Soviet assistance . The design is simple and is comparable to other APCs of its time such as the M113 . Approximately 8 , 000 all types and variants were produced by Norinco , making it the third most widely manufactured AFV in the world . It also equips several armies around the world and has seen action in different conflicts including the Vietnam War , the Sino - Vietnamese War , the Iran – Iraq War , the Gulf War , and infamously , in the crackdown of the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 . Development . In 1958 July , the central government of the People ’ s Republic of China proclaim in a national scientific development strategic plan that call for a tracked armoured personnel carrier that can be ready for mass production in 1960 , in less than two years , and Yong Ding Machinery Factory ( 永定机械厂 ) – later incorporated into the NORINCO group to be responsible for the manufacturing of the new APC and the design work was left to No . 1 Institute of the First Machinery works ( was focusing on tanks design ) and the Fourth faculty of the Harbin Engineering Academy to be under the supervision of the Scientific department of the PLA Armour Corp . , Fifth Department of First Machinery Works and Soviet experts . Description . The hull is made of welded steel , and provides protection against small arms fire . The vehicle carries a maximum of 15 including crew , which depending on the particular configuration may be two or four , the rest of the passengers are infantry who sit in a compartment at the rear of the vehicle . The driver sits in the front left of the hull , and has a single piece hatch , which opens to the left . The driver is provided with two day periscopes which cover the front and right of the vehicle . One of the drivers periscopes can be replaced by a night vision device . The commander sits on the front right of the hull , and has a single piece hatch which opens to the right . The commander hatch has a periscope on the top surface that may be rotated through 360 degrees . Export variants of the vehicle with BF8L engine did away with the commander ' s position in the front right of the hull . Behind the driver , on the left side of the hull is a third crew position , which is provided with a hatch that opens to the left , and like the commander ' s position has a 360 - degree rotating periscope . The engine sits to the right rear of the driver . It has a large intake located in the top of the hull , with an exhaust on the right hand side . The engine is either a Type 6150L 260 hp diesel engine or , on export versions , an 8 - cylinder air - cooled , turbocharged diesel engine KHD BF8L 413F which develops 320 horsepower at 2 , 500 rpm . The engine feeds a manual transmission with five forward gears and one reverse gear . Track is driven at the front by a drive sprocket , and passes over four rubber - typed road wheels , then loops over an idler at the rear , before returning to the front again . No return rollers are fitted , the track rests on the top of the road wheels . Suspension is of the torsion bar type . The vehicle has a fuel capacity of 450 litres , which gives it a road range of around 500 kilometers . A 12 . 7 millimetre calibre machine gun is located in an open mount at the front of a small hatch in the center of the hull which opens into the troop compartment . The gun can traverse through 360 degrees and can be elevated to an angle of 90 degrees . Two roof hatches and a large rear door provide access to the troop compartment . The vehicle is amphibious , a folding trim board stowed at the front of the hull needs to be raised , and the vehicle can then propel itself in the water using its tracks .