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History[]

The Type 59 (Chinese: 59式; pinyin: Wǔjiǔ shì; industrial designation: WZ-120) main battle tank is a Chinese-produced version of the Soviet T-54A tank, the earliest model of the ubiquitous T-54/55 series. The first vehicles were produced in 1958 and it was accepted into service in 1959, with serial production beginning in 1963. Approximately 9,500 of the tanks were produced by the time production ended in 1980 with approximately 5,500 serving with the Chinese armed forces. The tank formed the backbone of the Chinese People's Liberation Army until early 2000's (decade) with an estimated 5,000 of the later Type 59-I and Type 59-II variants in service in 2002. The Type 59 was modified several times during its service with the replacement of the 100 mm Type 59 rifled gun with an 105 mm rifled gun. It was also the basis of several later Chinese tank designs, including the Type 69 and Type 79 main battle tanks.

The Type 59 MBT is also known as WZ-120 by its manufacturer. Over 10,000 were produced between 1959 and mid 1980s,. This tank gained worldwide infamy after the "Tank Man" incident in 1989. The Type 59, and its successor, the Type 69, were widely exported, with thousands sold overseas. Today an estimated 5,000 Type 59 MBTs remain in PLA inventory, but its being supplemented by the more capable Type 96 and Type 99 MBTs.

Usage[]

The Type 59 is the starter tank for new players in any of the countries in Asia, and may be one of the first tanks that all new players purchase. The Type 59 can either be very effective or ok depending on how players upgrade and use it. Many players who choose to not fully upgrade their Type 59 will find that it will sponge any oncoming damage well making it one of the most competitive and dangerous tanks at low level . The damage of the gun is relatively high, 92. Also, the turret rotation speed is high, just like other Chinese MBT's. Accuracy is very good, but distance between an opponent vehicle does clearly have influence at the accuracy. Even at stock level, this tank might kill tanks in 3 or 4 shots. With your high damage, excellent accuracy, and fast turret rotation it is easy to snapshot an opponent first before the enemy get their shot in. However that are positive specifications, the speed is quite low and with lack of HEAT and HE engaging thin armored targets will take more time as AP rounds don't do as much damage. A problem which faces many other vehicles is over leveling your vehicle, the Type 59 once past the level 20 range (low level) can easily become canon fodder if the player chooses to have maximum or near maximum upgrades tanks such as the M60 Patton, Type 82, and T-64 can easily destroy Type 59's as their armor and protection becomes mitigated by higher caliber guns, the gun itself wont make much of an impact as most tanks in mid-level are usually lightly armored.

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Tanktastic 2.0 Type 59.

Pros and Cons[]

Type59 7

Pros:[]

  • Armor can sponge rounds well depending on how players choose to upgrade their tank and what level it is in
  • Pinpoint Accuracy
  • Very fast turret rotation speed.

Cons:[]

  • no spaced armor
  • Low alpha damage, DPM is seriously lacking
  • Cannot use high explosive or HEAT ammo
  • Speed is quite slow
  • Highly vulnerable at mid-level

Trivia[]

  • The Type 59 and Type 62 are very visually similar however players will notice that the Type 62 has a tan mantlet cover while the Type 59's is black also both tanks have slightly different textures on the surface of the vehicle which is barely noticeable in battle.
  • In real life the Type 59 is a copy of the T-54 but in-game it has better statistics than the T-54.
  • Recently the Type 59 has been heavily buffed in an unannounced balance change where vehicles had their damage decrease and armored as well as other protective upgrades buffed the Type 59 being one of them. Many players on the receiving end of a Type 59 player in low levels have trouble dealing with the Type 59 as its armor absorbs damage as well as the guns having too little damage to do any harm.

Navigation[]

Vehicles in Tanktastic
Tank Categories
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NATO
USA M26 Pershing - M41 Walker Bulldog - M42 Duster - M44 - M48 Patton - M56 Scorpion - T92 Light - T95E6 Medium - M50 Ontos - M60 Patton - MBT-70 - M103 - M109 Paladin - M551 Sheridan - M1 Abrams - M1A2 Abrams Tusk II - M2 Bradley - M270 MLRS - M8 AGS - Stingray - M1128 Stryker MGS
Germany Spahpanzer SP I.C. - Kanonenjagdpanzer - Flakpanzer Gepard - Marder 1A1 - Puma IFV - Raketenjagdpanzer 2 - VT 1 - Leopard 1 - Leopard 2 - PzH 2000
United Kingdom FV101 Scorpion - FV102 Striker - Centurion - FV214 Conqueror - Challenger 1 - Challenger 2 - FV4201 Chieftain - FV4101 Charioteer - FV510 Warrior IFV
France AMX-13 - AMX-30 - AMX-32 - AMX-40 - AMX-56 Leclerc - ARL-44 - AMX-10RC - AMX-13 F3 AM - AMX-50B - ERC 90 Sagaie
Italy C1 Ariete
Poland PL-01 Concept
Sweden Ikv 91 - Strv 74 - CV 90120t - Strv 103
Warsaw Pact
USSR ZSU-23-4 Shilka - PT-76 - ASU-85 - SU-152 Taran - BMP-3 - BRM-1K - IS-3 - IS-4 - T-10 - Object 279 - T-54 - T-62 - T-64 - T-72 - T-80 - TOS-1 Buratino - 2S1 Gvozdika - 2S14 Zhalo-S (BTR-70)  - 2S23 Nona-SVK - 2S3 Akatsiya - 2S31 Vena - 9P139 Grad-1 - ASU-57 - IS-7 - IT-1 - ZSU-57-2 Sparka - Object 490A
Russia 2S25 Sprut-SD - BMPT Terminator - T-90 - T-90MS - Object 640 Black Eagle - 2S19 Msta-S - T-14 Armata (Object 148)
Ukraine T-84 BM Oplot - BTR-4 Bucephalus
Romania TR-85 Bizonul
Asia
China Type 59 - Type 62 - Type 69-II - Type 79 - Type 83 - Type 83 MLRS - Type 85 - Jaguar MBT - PTZ-89 - Type 99 - PLZ-05
Japan Type 60 - Type 61 - Type 74 - Type 74 ACS - Type 89 IFV - Type 90 Kyu-maru - Type 10 Hitomaru
Israel Sherman M-51 - Magach - Merkava - Pereh Missile Carrier
South Korea K1 88 - K2 Black Panther - K9 Thunder
North Korea Type 82 (PT-85 Sinhung)
India Arjun
Iran Zulfiqar
Pakistan Al-Khalid (MBT-2000)
WWII Tanks
Nazi Germany Panzer II - Panzer III - Panzer IV - Panther - Tiger I - Tiger II - Maus
Soviet Union BT-2 - BT-7 - T-28 - KV-1 - T-34/85 - IS
Air Support
NATO A-10 Warthog - A4M Skyhawk - Bell AH-1 Cobra - F4 Phantom II - UH-1C Hog
Warsaw Pact Mi-24 Hind - Mi-8 Hip - Sukhoi Su-7 - Sukhoi Su-17 - Sukhoi Su-25
Unreleased Vehicles
NATO

Germany: Leopard 2A7+

United Kingdom: Challenger 2 TES

Sweden: Grkpbv 90120

Warsaw Pact

USSR: BMP-1

Russia: T-15 Armata (Object 149)

Asia

Israel: MAR-290 Eshel ha-Yarden MLRS

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