130 - War Thunder Wiki (2024)

This page is about the Chinese tank destroyer PLZ83-130. For the regular version, see PLZ83.

Description

The HuoPao LiuDan ZiXing 83-130was an export solution of PLZ83 SPH once spotted on 1987's NORINCO export catalogue. Likely before the introduction of Gerald Bull's 155 mm GC-45 in Mainland China production, to further extend the firing range from PL66-152, NORINCO adopted the earlier but with much longer firing range PL59A-130 while retaining most equipment from PLZ83; this attempt was eventually abandoned after NORINCO already developed the more advanced PLZ45 series.

Introduced during Update "Alpha Strike" as a reward for the 2024 "Inferno Cannon" event, aside from the Pinocchio-like 130 mm PL59 replaced the original 152 mm howitzer, most features are identical to its cousin PLZ83, this time with one of the most powerful APHE, PLAGF 130 mm shell with different fuse (i.e VT) as well as smoke shells, this gives much more flexibility than its cousin while players should be extra careful on their waypoints and be prepared for any incoming hostiles, the 130 mm shell would still deter enemies with its fearsome penetration.

General info

Survivability and armour

PLZ83-130 retained identical layout and overall design from its base model, PLZ83 with a 4-men turret, only the main cannon changed into a 130 mm howitzer; this also means most features, namely the protection is totally identical between each other. The design of PLZ83-130 is somewhat similar to a later vehicle both in tech tree and reality which also shares the same WZ321 chassis - PTZ89, while the former uses a rifled howitzer, the latter uses domestic 120 mm smoothbore cannon. In most cases, enemy would have to deploy higher calibre autocannons to handle PLZ83-130 from some distance without using ATGMs or main cannons; while the frontal protection is somewhat sufficient, be extra careful on enemies coming from the flanks as they can gun down the turret crew with ease, sometimes even detonating the 130 mm ammunition at the rear side of turret and inside the hull, leading to a total destruction of the vehicle and its crew.

Armour type:

Notes:

Mobility

As a prototype vehicle modified from a PLZ83, the 130 mm howitzer variant didn't upgrade its mobility; for better logistics and reliable powerplant, it retained the same 12V150L engine from Type 59 while having planetary transmission. It does have sufficient speed to follow the main forces with its 57 km/h speed but do remember never, even try to over-extend; the -7 km/h reverse speed will make players think twice before risking the vehicle.

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

The original 152 mm howitzer was replaced by a 130 mm PL59A while retaining identical hydraulic recoil absorbers from the PLZ83, as well as the mechanical assisted loader for the howitzer; although sharing identical travel limits and and turret traverse speed, the gun itself has much better muzzle velocity than most howitzers at its tier, tied with NATO 155 mm howitzers with OE F3 shell.

Ammunition

If the most suitable word for PLZ83 is "inflexible", the -130 variant is the antonym in this case; thanks to the introduction of ammunition for its Soviet cousin, M-46 and changing fuse for different purpose, this enables PL83-130 with much higher flexibility.

BR-482B; Stock - PLAGF also acquired the schematics for the BR-482B from the introduction of 130 mm M-46 howitzer; thanks to the compatibility to Soviet Army heavy tanks like the infamous IS-7 for its 130 mm S-70 which is also based on naval 130 mm B-13, this turns the PLZ83-130 into a railgun-like howitzer with the second highest penetration for full-calibre kinetic shot just behind the monstrous Object 279 with higher velocity. A penetrated 130 mm shell with 313 mm penetration at point-blank range can certainly demolish even the heaviest targets around its tier.

Type 59 HE; Stock - The other stock shell for the vehicle, aka 3OF33 in Soviet service; although the calibre hindered the penetration of the shell much less than its 152 mm cousin, it is sill extremely lethal to light vehicles when the BR-482B will certainly over-penetrates the target, it is always a good idea to bring some HE-frag just in case.

Type 59-1 Smoke; Tier I - A feature that sets aside the PL59A-130 from other 122 mm or 152 mm guns is the existence of smoke shells; while the vehicle itself lacks smoke grenades or ESS for self concealment, the shell will certainly helps the team by blinding enemy line of sight or laying covering smoke for friendly heading for vantage points.

Type 59 HE-VT; Tier III - The VT variant of Type 59 HE replaced its fuse with MD81 radio fuse for improvised anti-aircraft and infantry suppression operations (for maximum shrapnel radius), the ballistic performance is totally identical to its HE variant but players might take some time to adapt the shell velocity of this one, do remember to change back to APHE or conventional HE before engaging any ground targets.

Ammo racks

Machine guns

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Large ammo count of 38 shells, more than the PLZ83
• Sufficient mobility ensured by Type 59 equivalent powerplant
• Relative fast gun vertical traverse
• More flexible ammunition options than PLZ83 with APHE and smoke shells
• Higher gun depression than early Cold-War SPHs
• Rather straight ballistics equivalent to GC-45 155 mm howitzer-equivalents (i.e VIDAR, Type 99 SPH)

Cons:

• Insufficient explosive mass to handle heavy targets
• Protection only rated up to HMG calibre gun
• Insufficient reverse speed
• Huge profile with high likelihood of detonation once penetrated
• Slow turret traverse speed

History

The information on the development for PLZ83-130 is rather sparse due to its only appearance on NORINCO's 1987 export catalogue; by 1980s, NORINCO and PLAGF seeked for a solution to vastly upgrade the artillery combat capability. Thanks to the exile of Gerald Bull who developed the new 155 mm GC-45 howitzer due to some of his artillery projects, his invention would be eventually introduced into PLAGF service and later manufactured by NORINCO; meanwhile, to further enhance the firing range of PLZ83, NORINCO installed the infamous 130 mm PL59A-130 which has already proved its capabilities in cross-strait artillery wars and Sino-Vietnamese conflicts on the PLZ83 platform. Likely due to the eventual introduction of PLZ45, a very successful artillery product of NORINCO with hundreds of orders from Middle Eastern countries and updated requirements from PLAGF, the export solution was eventually ditched with no orders placed by foreign customers.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the PLZ83-130 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.