Image Source: Photo: twitter.com/AnnQuann
On February 17, 1979, the war between China and Vietnam began. As part of the two hundred thousandth PLA group that invaded the SRV, there were approximately five hundred tanks. Basically - light Type 62, optimized for action in mountainous terrain.
These combat vehicles have good maneuverability, they passed where the heavier Type 59 could not pass. However, the "sixty-second" had relatively primitive aiming and observation devices, besides they had relatively weak armor - no more than 50 mm in the thickest parts of the towers. Poor manufacturing quality was also cited as a disadvantage, which negatively affected reliability.
The regular units of the Chinese were opposed by not the best formations, armed mainly with outdated weapons, such as T-34-85 tanks. The most combat-ready units with Soviet and captured American weapons at that time were fighting against the formations of the half-soldiers in Cambodia.
Nevertheless, the Vietnamese managed to inflict significant losses on the enemy, tanks and other armored vehicles were knocked out by weapons tested in the war with the US army. We are talking about rocket-propelled anti-tank grenade launchers RPG-2 and RPG-7. The VNA fighters especially appreciated the latter. With their help, it was possible to hit the enemy at a distance of more than three hundred meters.
It was reported that, according to Vietnamese data, China lost more than 400 Type 62 tanks and Type 63 armored personnel carriers in total. Perhaps the data is somewhat overstated, but not by much. It is believed that most of this equipment was destroyed by Soviet-made RPGs.
Lev Romanov
