Chonma-ho

The Ch'ŏnma (Chosŏn'gŭl: 천마; Hanja: 天馬 meaning 'Pegasus'), often inaccurately referred to as Chonma-Ho, is one of North Korea's secretive indigenous main battle tank designs. The tank is also known by the name of 천리마 전차 (千里馬 or the "Chollima Tank"). The Ch'ŏnma is based on the Soviet T-62. There are at least seven different operational versions of the Ch'ŏnma. Since its inception, the Ch'ŏnma has undergone several extensive upgrades. Little public information is available about this tank, and its most recent public appearance was the 70th Anniversary Parade held in Pyongyang, North Korea, on 9 September 2018, celebrating the 70th anniversary of North Korea's foundation.

Ch'ŏnma
Ch'ŏnma-92 during the Korean People's Army 60th Anniversary Military Parade in 1992
TypeMain battle tank
Place of originNorth Korea
Service history
WarsEthiopian Civil War
Iran-Iraq War
Production history
DesignerSecond Machine Industry Bureau
DesignedBefore 1980
Produced1971
No. builtMore than 1,200
Specifications
Mass37 tonnes (base Ch'ŏnma)
LengthHull length: 6.63 m (21.8 ft)
Width3.52 m (11.5 ft)
Height2.4 m (7.9 ft)
Crew4

ArmorCast turret, spaced armor, explosive reactive armour
Main
armament
115 mm U-5TS smoothbore gun
Secondary
armament
KPV 14.5 mm heavy machine gun, 7.62 mm machine gun in coaxial mount
EngineDiesel
580 hp (430 kW) (base Ch'ŏnma) 750 hp (560 kW) (Ch'ŏnma-92 onwards)
Power/weight15.67 hp/ton (base Ch'ŏnma) ~18.75 hp/ton (Ch'ŏnma-92 onwards)
SuspensionTorsion-bar
Operational
range
450 km
Maximum speed 50 km/h
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