Vijayanta
The Vijayanta (en: "Victorious") was a main battle tank built in India based on a licensed design of the Vickers Mk.1. The Vijayanta was the first indigenous tank of the Indian Army.
| Vijayanta | |
|---|---|
Vijayanta MBT on static display in Bhopal | |
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom/India |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1965–present |
| Used by | India |
| Wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 2019 India–Pakistan standoff |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Vickers-Armstrongs (Initial Production) Heavy Vehicles Factory (Indian Production) |
| Produced | 1963 (Vickers Mk.1 prototype) 1965–1986 (Vijayanta production) |
| No. built | 2,200 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 39,000 kg (43 short tons) |
| Length | 9.788 m (32.11 ft) |
| Width | 3.168 m (10.39 ft) |
| Height | 2.711 m (8.89 ft) |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armour | 80 mm (3.1 in) steel (hull and turret front) 30 mm (1.2 in) steel (side hull) |
Main armament | 1 x 105 mm L7A2 (44 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 1 x 12.7 mm MG (ranging gun) (1000 rounds) 1 x 12.7 mm MG (pintle mount) (2000 rounds) 1 x 7.62 mm MG(Co-Ax) (500 rounds) |
| Engine | Leyland L60 Diesel 535 bhp (399 kW) |
| Transmission | David Brown Ltd. (formerly Self-Changing Gears Ltd.) TN12 semi-automatic gearbox |
| Suspension | Torsion bar |
Operational range | 530 km (330 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 50 km/h (31 mph) |
The prototype was completed in 1963 and the tank entered service on December 29, 1965. The first 90 vehicles were built by Vickers in the UK. Production continued at the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi until 1983 with 2,200 being built.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.