Type 63 Amphibious Tank The Type 63 Amphibious Tank was the first Chinese amphibious battle tank , created in 1963 , the type 63 was based in the Russian Amphibious PT - 76 Description . The Type 63 was China ’ s first amphibious tank developed from the Russian PT - 76 , but with a modified turret . The tank was designed for the ground forces to operate in the water regions and rice paddy fields in southern China , which are difficult for conventional main battle tanks . Later the tank was also adopted by the PLA Marine Corps for the amphibious assault operation . The tank has been gradually phased out since the late 1990s and replaced by the more capable Type 63A . A small number may still be operational for training purpose . Programme . China obtained some PT - 76 amphibious tanks from the USSR in the mid - 1950s . In October 1958 , the PLA decided to develop an indigenous amphibious tank based on the PT - 76 design . The development programme was carried out by 201 Institute and 615 Factory . A prototype known as WZ221 was built and tested in 1959 , but the design suffered from a number of problems including engine overheating . A revised design received extensive testing in 1961 / 62 . The amphibious tank was finally approved for design finalisation in April 1963 , and was officially designated Type 63 . The tank entered the PLA service in the mid - 1960s , but improvements on the design continued throughout the late 1960s and the 1970s . The Type 63 amphibious tank was intended for inland river - crossing operations and amphibious landing in the costal regions . The tank can support the infantry in the attack or engage lightly armoured vehicles and fortifications , and can also be used for reconnaissance and patrol roles . The tank took part in a number of conflicts , including the Sri Lanka civil war , the 1960s / 70s Vietnam War ( used by the North Vietnamese Army ) , and the 1979 Sino - Vietnam border conflict ( used by the PLA ) . During these conflicts , the Type 63 showed great mobility in terrains that are difficult for the heavy tanks , but its thin armour has caused heavy losses and casualties . The PLA introduced the improved Type 63G in the mid - 1990s for amphibious assault operations in the sea . The hull of the tank was enhanced for long - distance swimming from the amphibious ships to the shore . The original 86mm rifled gun was replaced by a more powerful 105mm rifled gun capable of firing the fin - stabilised discarding sabot ( APFSDS ) rounds . The tank was also added with laser rangefinder and a primitive fire - control for better firing accuracy . Based on the Type 63G design , a more radically modified variant known as Type 63A was introduced in the late 1990s . Other variants included Type 77 - I / II amphibious APC , Type 76 amphibious armour recovery vehicle , and a 122 mm self - propelled howitzer . Design . The Type 63 has a flat , boat - like hull similar to the design of the PT - 76 , apart from a nearly horizontal glacis plate and different engine grills . There are three separate vertical slot side inlets on the Type 63 , in contrast to the single large inlet with inset vertical baffle plates on the PT - 76 . The turret has a ventilator dome with a snorkel fitting . The suspension has six road wheels and no return rollers . A half - egg - shape turret is mounted over the middle of the hull , with the powerpack compartment in the rear . Instead of a three - man crew on the PT - 76 , the Type 63 has a four - man crew for better efficiency . The tank is powered by a liquid cooled 400 hp 12150L2 diesel , giving the tank a maximum road speed of 36 km and 12 km in water . The basic variant Type 63 is fitted with a Type 62 - 85TC rifled 85mm gun that can fire AP , APHE , HE , and HEAT rounds , with a firing speed of 8 rounds / min . The gun is not stabilised and is aimed via an optical gun sight . Secondary weapons include a coaxial 7 . 62mm machine gun and a 12 . 7mm air - defence machine gun . The later variant Type 63 - I is fitted with a 105mm rifled gun similar to those fitted on the Type 59II / 69 and Type 80 . The gun can fire armour piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot ( APFSDS ) as well as other standard ammunitions . The tank is also fitted with a primitive light spot fire - control with night vision channel and laser rangefinder input . Type 63A . The Type 63A ( also known as ZTS63A ) is an modernised upgraded version of the Type 63 , specially designed for maritime amphibious warfare . Unlike the original Type 63 / PT - 76 , which was mainly intended for river - crossing operations at inland rivers and lakes , the Type 63A could be launched from amphibious warfare ships 5 ~ 7 km offshore and travel shore at a high speed . The tank was also equipped with computerised fire - control to enable accurate firing both on land and water . Before the mid - 1990s , the PLA mainly relied on the ageing Type 63 amphibious tank developed in the early 1960s as the primary assault weapon in its amphibious troops . However , with its low swimming speed and weak firepower , the Type 63 was incapable of modern maritime amphibious assault operations . The PLA demanded a replacement for the Type 63 in the early 1990s , resulting in the introduction of the Type 63A in 1997 . It was reported that over 300 examples of the Type 63A had been delivered to the PLA by 2000 . The Type 63A is a lightly armoured amphibious tank with a flat , boat - like hull . The suspension has six road wheels and lead / return rollers . A redesigned welded turret is mounted over the middle of the hull , with the powerpack compartment in the rear . The Type 63A adds two extra floating tanks ( on front , one rear ) to the original Type 63 hull to increase the stability of the vehicle in the water . There are three water inlets on either side of the hull . The vehicle is driven by two large water jets at rear when travelling in water . Compared to the Type 63 , the Type 63A featured five major improvements : To achieve better sea travelling performance and speed , the Type 63A was given a more powerful 580 hp diesel engine , giving a power / weight ratio of 26 . 4 hp / tonne . This together with an redesigned water jet has given the tank a maximum swimming speed of 28 km / h ( compared to 12 km / h of the Type 63 ) . By introducing an enlarged welded turret to replace the original “ half - egg ” shape turret , the designer was able to replace the original 85mm gun with a dual - way stabilised 105mm rifled gun derived from the main gun of the Type 59D and Type 88 main battle tanks ( MBT ) , but with reduced recoil for firing when swimming . The tank gun can fire armour piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot ( APFSDS ) , high explosive ( HE ) , and high - explosive anti - tank ( HEAT ) ammunitions , with 45 rounds carried inside the vehicle . The APFSDS round could penetrate 650mm steel armour or destroy a reinforced concrete bunker a distance of 2 , 000m . Despite the introduction of an FCS , the tank is still unable to fire accurately while travelling in the sea due to the effect the sea wave . To overcome this problem , the Type 63A was added with the ability to fire the laser - beam guidance ATGM . The PRC has developed a 105mm gun - launched ATGM based on the Russian 9M117 Bastion technology . The missile has a maximum firing range of 4 , 000 ~ 5 , 000m , with a single hit probability of over 90 % against static targets . As well as being used for anti - armour warfare , the missile can also be used to engage low - flying helicopters . The FCS includes a digital fire - control computer , integrated commander sight with laser rangefinder input , and light spot or image - stabilised gunner sight with passive night vision . The standard night vision is an image intensifier . Alternatively the gunner sight can be fitted with a thermal imager night vision with a maximum range of 2 , 100m . The tank is also equipped with the satellite positioning ( GPS / GLONASS ) system so that it can locate the correct landing position easily in all - weather , day / night conditions .