Type 63 has a typical tank layout: steering compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the center and the engine compartment in the back. Although it is externally similar to PT-76 it has some essential differences from its Soviet equivalent. Instead of a three-man crew on the PT-76, the Type 63 has a four-man crew for better efficiency.
| Type 63 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Amphibious light tank |
| Place of origin |  People's Republic of China |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1963 – present |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Military Engineering Institute (MEI) and the No. 60 Research Institute of Fifth Ministry of Machine Building |
| Designed | 1960 - 1963 |
| Manufacturer | Norinco Factory 615 Shaanxi Weiyang Diesel Engine Plant and Factory 256 Southwest Vehicles Factory |
| Produced | 1963 - ? (ended) |
| Number built | More than 1,550 |
| Specifications (Type 63-I) | |
| Weight | 19.83 tonnes |
| Length | 8.44 m 7.15 m (hull only) |
| Width | 3.2 m |
| Height | 3.122 m (with the AA HMG) 2.522 m (without the AA HMG) |
| Crew | 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver) |
| | |
| Armor | Welded rolled steel 11 mm hull front 14 mm hull upper side 10 mm hull rear 10 mm hull bottom 10 mm hull top |
| Main armament | 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled gun (47 rounds) |
| Secondary armament | 7.62 mm Type 59T coaxial medium machine gun (2,000 rounds) 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun (500 rounds) 7.62 mm Type 59T anti-aircraft medium machine gun (optional) |
| Engine | 12150L-2 12-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel 402 hp (300 kW) at 2,000 rpm |
| Power/weight | 20.3 hp/tonne (15.1 kW/tonne) |
| Transmission | Manual, planetary |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Ground clearance | 400 mm |
| Fuel capacity | 545 liters |
| Operational range | 370 km (road) 340 km (cross country) 120 km (water) |
| Speed | 64+ km/h (road) 30+ km/h (cross country) 12 km/h (water) |
Unlike in the PT-76 where the driver's station is located in the center of the front of the hull, the type 63 has the driver's station located on the left hand side of the front of the hull. The driver has a round hatch with three periscope vision blocks over his station. Gunner and commander have their stations in the left hand side of the turret and the loader has his in the right hand side of the turret. The turret has two hatches. The right turret hatch opens backwards and has a mount for 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun. The left turret hatch opens forwards, has a periscope vision block and can be fitted with the 7.62 mm Type 59T anti-aircraft medium machine gun. There's a dome-shaped ventilator behind the hatches. The tank is wider and higher than PT-76. The Type 63 has a flat, boat-like hull similar to the design of the PT-76, apart from a nearly horizontal glacis plate, higher gradient of the bottom of the bow, different engine grills with three separate vertical slot side air inlets on the Type 63, in contrast to the single large inlet with inset vertical baffle plate on the PT-76. There's also a slight bulge in the center of each side of the hull (hull sides in PT-76 are smooth). Also the tracks are mounted higher and the road-wheels are bigger. The half-egg-shape, cast turret, which is sometimes considered to be a modified Type 62 turret, is actually a modified Type 60 turret. It is placed in the center of the vehicle (unlike in PT-76 which has the turret closer to the front of the vehicle) and has a ventilator dome with a snorkel fitting. Apart from his usual duty of reloading the gun after it has been fired by the gunner, the loader is also responsible for operating the 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun mounted on the turret's roof.
The weapons array consists of the 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled gun, the 7.62 mm Type 59T coaxial medium machine gun and the 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun which is a Chinese copy of Soviet 12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun. Also a 7.62 mm Type 59T anti-aircraft medium machine gun can be additionally fitted to left hand side turret hatch. 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled gun is the same gun as the one fitted in Type 62 light tank and can fire AP, APHE, HE, Frag-HE, HEAT, APFSDF-T and smoke rounds. The gun has maximum range of 12,200 m and maximum aimed range of 1,870 m and has a rate of fire of eight round per minute. The HEAT projectile can penetrate 495 mm of armor at 1,000 m while the APFSDF-T projectile can penetrate 360 mm of armor at 1,000 m. The gun is not stabilized and is aimed via an optical gun sight. It can be elevated or depressed between +22 and -4 degrees. The Type 63 amphibious light tank is characterized by having poor accuracy, given the primitive optical gun sights that the gunner has to use and lack of a gun stabilizer, a fire control system and a night vision equipment. Type 63 amphibious light tanks are also equipped with a man-portable anti-aircraft missile launcher which is fired by a crew member standing in one of the turret hatches. Type 63 cannot fire its main gun while it swims due to the lack of fire control system. The vehicle carries 47 rounds for the 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled gun, 2000 rounds for the 7.62 mm Type 59T medium machine gun(s) and 500 rounds for the 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun.
The hull of the Type 63 is composed of welded rolled steel. The hull is 11 millimeters thick at the front, 14 millimeters thick at the upper sides and 10 millimeters thick at the rear. The top and bottom of the hull are both 10 millimeters thick. This gives it protection against 7.62 mm caliber small arms fire and small artillery shell fragments, but it is not sufficient to protect from either heavy machine gun fire and bigger artillery shell fragments. The tracks aren't protected by any armor and are easily damaged.
The torsion bar suspension consists of six road wheels with the drive sprocket at the rear and the idler at the front. The suspension doesn't have return rollers. The track is composed of metal and is 2.82 meters long. The first limited production variant of Type 63 was powered by the same 6 cylinder 4 stroke in line water cooled diesel engine developing 241 hp (180 kW) at 1800 rpm as the one used in early Type 60 amphibious light tank. The second production run, designated Type 63-I, was given the more powerful 12150L-2 12-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel engine, which developed 402 hp (300 kW) at 2,000 rpm. The more powerful engine gave the Type 63-I a maximum road speed of 64 kilometers per hour and a maximum cross country speed of 30 km/h. The Type 63 can cross 2.9 meter wide trenches and 0.87 meter high vertical obstacles, as well as climb 60° gradients and handle 38° side slopes. The vehicle has a manual, planetary transmission system with five forward gears and one reverse gear. The tank can fitted with additional fuel tanks to increase vehicle's operational range.
Type 63 is amphibious thanks to its flat boat-shaped hull. Preparation for swimming involves switching on the bilge pumps, erecting the trim vane at the front of the vehicle and switching the driver's periscope vision blocks for a swimming periscope vision block that enables the driver to see over the trim vane. The trim-vane improves the vehicle's stability and displacement in water and prevents water from flooding the bow of the tank. When not in use the trim vane is placed in its laying position in the front of the bow over the barrel of the main gun and serves as additional armor. Like the PT-76 it is propelled in the water by two water jets, one in each side of the hull, with the jet exits at the rear of the tank, however it has its entrances located in the front of the vehicle and not in the bottom as in case of PT-76. Unlike the PT-76, Type 63 also uses its moving tracks to swim. The waterjet propulsion system gives it the maximum swimming speed of 12 kilometers per hour and top swimming range of 120 kilometers.
Type 63 is equipped with an A-221A internal telephone and A-220A receive/transmit radio for which it has a radio antenna on the left hand side of the center of the turret. It also has two IR driving lights on the right hand side of the hull and an IR searchlight on the right hand side of the turret.
