Quote:
Originally Posted by DRG
Maybe Kims messing with the West's heads by putting two different turrets on the same hull and sending them out on parade but if the photo in post 111 is indeed a P'okpoong-ho ... what is 117 ?
Don
|
Hulls are definitively not the same.
Round turret tank uses centerline driver.
I bet this is what was referred as "Ch'onma-Ho V upgunned with 125mm gun" in the rumors a few years ago. Clearly however it is not just a Ch'onma-Ho III/IV with bigger gun. At a minimum it was substantial redesign, if not a new vehicle altogether.
This one would be the M-2002/whatever.
Note the driver position.
Why they developed two designs is unclear but even the soviets made a mess with the
T-64/72/80 development.
Maybe the square turret type is a more conservative development focused on improving armor protection, while the round turret type is the more radical design featuring improved firepower, with all the difficulties mastering the 125mm gun and related systems would entail. But it is pure speculation.