K1 Type 88
Encyclopedia : K : K1 : K1T : K1 Type 88
| |
| K1 type 88 | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 4 |
| Length | 7.48 m |
| Width | 3.60 m |
| Height | 2.25 m |
| Weight | 52 tonnes |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | composite |
| Main armament | 105 mm gun |
| Secondary armament | 12.7 mm antiaircraft machine gun, 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | 12-cyl. water-cooled diesel MTU 871 Ka-501 1200 hp (890 kW) |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Road speed | 65 km/h |
| Power/weight | 23 hp/tonne |
| Range | 500 km |
It is a fifty-two ton tank with a 105 mm main gun, sophisticated fire control system and composite armour. It looks like a shrunken version of the US Army's M1 Abrams tank, with the appropriate nickname of "Baby Abrams" used by the American troops stationed in South Korea, but the fire control system is similar to the German Leopard tank's. The powerplant is a German MTU diesel engine that is produced under license in Korea. The top road speed is approximately 70 km/h.
Some time after the K1 first went into production, it has been confirmed through defectors from North Korea who crossed the border into China that the North Korean Army personnel show extreme fear towards the tank since the K1 outclasses all of the tanks that the North Koreans have in their inventory. This led the North Koreans to upgrade their T-62 in hopes of creating an effective countermeasure against the K1. Despite the effort, the North Koreans have not came up with an effective means of countering the K1 threat, and gave the K1 and the K1A1 battle tanks the nickname of "Monster Tank" (괴물전차).
The K1A1 is similar to its predecessor, with the exception of a larger M-256 120 mm main gun (the US licensed product of German Rheinmetall 120 mm smoothbore gun) with vastly improved penetration power. The new version also includes an improved fire-control system featuring thermal image KGPS (Korean Gunner's Primary Sight), KCPS (Korean Commander's Panoramic Sight), and a new 32-bit ballistic computer along with improved survivablity for the engine. The FCS gives the tank a 90% or greater chance of hitting its target while on the move, with the highest score it achieved topped off at 98%. The improved armor is roughly equivalent to that of M1A1 without its depleted uranium plating inserts.
The K1A1 can easily be distinguished from the K1 by the shape of the gun, location of the co-axial machinegun, the shape of the commander's panoramic sight, and the overall angular shape of the turret. (K1A1 has more curved surfaces than K1) The 120 mm smoothbore gun of K1A1 is thicker than the K1's 105 mm rifled gun and has a thicker thermal sleeve third of the way from the base of the gun. The co-axial machinegun on K1A1 is located at a much higher point compared to the K1. K1A1 also features somewhat cone-shaped day/night KGPS compared to day-only sight of K1 that has plain, tube-like appearance to it.
The tank can "sit" and "stand", as well as "kneel", through the usage of its extensive suspension system that allows each of the road wheels, or "bogies", to be adjusted in height. "Sitting" gives the tank lower profile and offer better handling over roads. "Standing" allows the tank to have better maneuverability over rough terrain. "Kneeling" increases the amount of angle that the tank's gun barrel can elevate and depress, which allows the tank to fire its main gun downhill--something that very few tanks, if there are any others at all, can do--and give it better ability to engage low-flying aircraft. Their mobility allows them to climb slopes as steep as 60 degrees. The suspension system is not completely without its own flaws, as it reportedly breaks down often from extremely intensive usage.
The K1 and K1A1 use two M60 Machine guns, one pintle mounted M60D, and one co-axial M60E2. It also uses the K-6 machine gun on a pintle mount, a M2 Browning .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun licence produced by Daewoo.
The future of Type 88
The Type 88 series will remain in service with the ROK Army well into the future, as the ROK Army is in the process of disposing of the older American M47, M48 and M60 battle tanks and slowly replace them with the newer K1A1 and the upcoming XK2.
The ROK Army plans to field approximately 1000 to 1500 K1A1 MBTs in the future as reserves once the XK2 project reaches its peak.
External links
- [Type 88 K1 Main Battle Tank] at GlobalSecurity.org
- [K1A1 Main Battle Tank] at GlobalSecurity.org
- [Photos] at GlobalSecurity.org
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.