Type 65 (37 mm)

Description

The Type 65 (65式37毫米双管高射炮) is a twin 37 mm anti-aircraft gun in PLA service since 1965, mounted on various platforms such as towed guns, destroyers, frigates, gunboats as well as modified tank chassis.

Based on the previous V-11 37 mm gun licensed from the Soviet Union, the Type 65 improves some of the flaws from its predecessor while retaining similar firepower with sufficient penetration to cause serious damage to armoured targets showing their sides.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Phòng không T-34
• ▂Phòng không T-34

General info

The general specification of Type 65 is equal to Soviet Navy's V-11 or 37 mm 61-K in Red Army service, sharing the same ammunition as its predecessors.

Available ammunition

• Default: AP-T · HEFI-T*
• UO-167: HEFI-T*
• BR-167: AP-T
• BR-167P: HVAP-T

Comparison with analogues

• 37 mm 61-K: This is the base design of the Type 65, sharing the same traits in terms of ballistics. The Type 65 is a dual-mount by default, thus having double the firepower compared to the 61-K, but this comes at the cost of some accuracy due to the greater recoil of both guns firing.
• 40 mm Bofors: Its Western counterpart, while both have similar calibre and damage against aircraft and ground vehicles, the Type 65 has better penetration and rate of fire, while the Bofors has better accuracy when upgraded.
• 37 mm FlaK43: Its German counterpart, while the Type 65 has better penetration, the FlaK43 has better rate of fire, making it better against incoming aircraft.

Usage in battles

Thanks to its ancestry of 61-K, Type 65 shares the same ammunition as the former, including the infamous BR-167P HVAP shell; the overall anti-armour capability is satisfying thanks to its whopping 87 mm penetration at point-blank range, making even the Tiger I a viable target; and its traverse speed is good (60°/sec when aced), making it a responsive gun against aerial targets. However, just like many AA guns at its rank, it has very little protection so do keep it out of the sight of any enemies - those with 12.7 mm HMGs and above can shatter it with ease.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The highest horizontal traverse speed at its rank
• High-penetration HVAP than helps tearing targets showing their sides
• Sufficient ammo pool

Cons:

• Very little protection
• High recoil

History

In 1955, Mainland China received the license of Soviet V-11 37 mm gun (as Type 55) for domestic production; while this gun proved effective against the Nationalist navy during the first Strait Crisis and conflicts with South Vietnamese forces, there were some flaws that needed revision. In 1965, the new Type 65 37 mm gun was certificated for service with redesigned ammo funnel for quicker firing rate and ammo storage.

While some of the guns were installed on the already obsolete T-34 chassis and provided to the Viet Cong as an SPAAG, or used as towed and shipborne guns, this gun was also involved in the infamous Yangjiaping armed struggle session (杨家坪武斗) where universities in Chongqing acquired some Type 65s and used them for long-range gunfights. Since the abundance of Type 65 in PLAGF service, there were also some improvements including electric-trigger system and FCS to improve its accuracy, as well as overall reliability against aerial targets. PLAN then opted to use the Type 76 (H/PJ-76) as their new CIWS weapon onboard with better FCS and new ammunition.

Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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