Takom 2054 Iraqi Tank Type 69 II

The Type 69 is a modern Chinese MBT. Its first prototypes were built around 1965, but the car did not go into production until 1982. The tank is powered by a single 580hp diesel engine. The basic version of the tank is armed with a 100 mm tank gun and two 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm machine guns.

The Type 69, along with the very similar Type 79 tank, were developed to complement and partially replace the Type 59, which in turn was the de facto licensed version of the T-54A. Both tanks (Type 69 and Type 79) were the first Main Battle Tanks developed by the PRC. Compared to the Type 59, the new cars had slightly changed dimensions, a new engine ensuring better driving dynamics, richer electronic equipment and a laser marker. Probably several hundred Type 69 tanks were sold by the PRC in the 1980s to Iraq, where some of them received a 105mm cannon or a 125mm cannon with an autoloader and reactive armor on the front of the vehicle. The Iraqi Type 69 tank took part in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and in both the Persian Gulf Wars (1990-1991 and 2003), when they were easily eliminated from combat by the American M1 Abrams.