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Light tank
Type 62 light tank is a light tank originating in China. It was built by 674 Factory (Harbin First Machinery Building Group Ltd). Reported operators include Bangladesh, Cambodia, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand.
ChinaLight tank
China
1961 – 2013 (China)
See Operators
Laotian Civil War Cambodian Civil War Uganda–Tanzania War Sino-Vietnamese War Second Sudanese Civil War First Congo War Second Congo War Kivu conflict Sudanese civil war (2023–present)
674 Factory (Harbin First Machinery Building Group Ltd)
1963–1989
about 1,500
See Variants
21 tonnes
7.9 m overall 5.6 m hull only
2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
2.3 m
4
12.5 mm (roof and belly) to 50 mm turret (turret)
85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled main gun (47 rounds)
7.62 mm Type 59T coaxial medium machine gun 7.62 mm Type 59T bow mounted medium machine gun 2,000 7.62 machine gun rounds 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun (1,250 rounds)
12150L-3 V-12 liquid-cooled diesel 430 hp (321 kW) at 1,800 rpm
20.5 hp/tonne (15.3 kW/tonne)
torsion bar
500 km
60 km/h (37 mph) on road 35 km/h (22 mph) cross country
Bangladesh – 36 ordered in 1984 from China and delivered in 1985. 8 in service as of 2020.
Cambodia – 30, including 20, ordered in 1977 from China and delivered in 1978.
Congo-Brazzaville – ~14 delivered in 1971, Currently 10 are in service.
Congo-Kinshasa – 30, from Zaire
Myanmar – GLS-131 mine clearance variant
Sudan – 70 ordered in 1970 from China and delivered between 1971 and 1973.
Tanzania – 66, including 30, ordered in 1969 from China and delivered between 1970 and 1972.
Thailand – 30
Albania – 35 received in 1970
China – More than 1,499 produced. 800 in service as of 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2003. 400 modernized in service as of 2005. Retired in early 2013, replaced by ZTQ-15 .
Mali – 18 ordered in 1980 from PRC and delivered in 1981. None in service in 2011.
Myanmar – 105 Type-62 tanks
North Korea – 50 ordered in 1971 from China and delivered between 1971 and 1972. They remained in service as of 1985 and 1990. There were none known to be in service as of 1995.
Vietnam – Captured from the Khmer Rouge
Zaire – 70 delivered in 1975–1976.
The Norinco Type 62 ( Chinese : 62式 ; pinyin : Liù'èr shì ) is a Chinese light tank developed in the early 1960s, based on the Chinese Type 59 with a reduced main gun calibre, lighter armour and a smaller suite of electronics and other equipment to help reduce weight.
The Norinco Type 62 ( Chinese : 62式 ; pinyin : Liù'èr shì ) is a Chinese light tank developed in the early 1960s, based on the Chinese Type 59 with a reduced main gun calibre, lighter armour and a smaller suite of electronics and other equipment to help reduce weight. Bearing in mind that the Chinese Type 59 is essentially the Soviet T-54 (introduced 1947), its reduction the Type 62 with its 85 mm cannon and wedgy little turret is clearly reminiscent of the hull-predecessor of the T-54 which is T-44 -85 (introduced 1944), which turret and gun are from the T-34 -85 (introduced 1943). The Type 62 is retired from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Forces, but is still in use with other nations. It had recently been upgraded to modern standards and to provide the PLA with a dedicated light tank. It is also known under its industrial designation, WZ-131 .
After an unsuccessful attempt at fitting the Type 62 light tank with the turret from the Type 63A amphibious light tank , a new turret with a 105 mm gun was designed and fitted on the Type 62. This new variant was designated Type 62G.
The Type 62 light tank was designed to be a downscaled Type 59 main battle tank, armed with a smaller 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled main gun and with a much simpler gunner sight and thinner armour in order to reduce overall weight.
The centre vision block may be removed and replaced with a low-light periscope with a 50 m vision range.
Apart from his usual duty of reloading the gun after it has been fired by the gunner, the loader is also responsible for operating the 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun mounted on the turret's roof.
Primary armament consists of 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled main gun with fume extractor almost at the end of the barrel.
The gun has maximum range of 12,200 m and maximum aimed range of 1,870 m and has a rate of fire of 3 to 5 rounds per minute.
As a secondary armament the Type 62 light tank was given the 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun (Chinese copy of Soviet 12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun) mounted on a rotatable mount on top of the loader's hatch on the right hand side of the roof of the turret and two 7.62 mm Type 59T medium machine guns, one mounted coaxially with the main gun and the other one mounted at the bow of the tank.
Also a 7.62 mm Type 59T anti-aircraft medium machine gun can be additionally fitted to left hand side turret hatch.
The tank carriers 47 rounds for the 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled main gun, 2,000 rounds for the two Type 59T medium machine guns and 1,250 rounds for 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun.
The Type 62 light tank uses the torsion bar suspension which consists of five road wheels on each side with a prominent gap between the first and second road wheel and an even space between second, third, fourth and fifth road wheel. The road wheels are smaller and lighter than those from the Type 59 main battle tank. The track is driven by a drive sprocket at the rear, with an idler at the front. There are no return rollers. In effort to reduce the overall weight of the tank the original 12150L 12-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel engine from Type 59 main battle tank was powered down from 523 hp (390 kW) to 430 hp (321 kW). This modified version of the 12150L engine weighs considerably less and was designated 12150L-3. This new engine gave the Type 62 a maximum road speed of 60 km/h, maximum cross country speed of 35 km/h, maximum road operational range of 500 km and power-to-weight ratio of 20.5 hp/tonne (15.3 kW/tonne). The tank can cross 0.8 m high vertical obstacles, 2.85 m trenches, 30° side slopes and ford 1.4 m deep water obstacles (5 m when equipped with a snorkel).
The Type 62 light tank is protected by steel armour. The front armour on the turret is 50 mm thick while armour thickness on the hull armour varies from 15 mm to 35 mm. The armour of the Type 62 is so thin that any light anti-tank weapon (like hand-held rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers) can perforate the frontal plate.
400 Type 62 light tanks had been upgraded to Type 62-I and Type 62G standard. The upgrading to Type 62-I standard started in 1979 and upgrading to Type 62G standard started in 2000. It is unknown exactly how many Type 62 light tanks were upgraded or what units operate the upgraded variants but in January 2005 CCTV showed two Type 62G light tanks belonging to an artillery regiment, Guangzhou MR and the tanks are serving as the recon company of this regiment. The Type 62 tank was retired from Chinese service in early 2013. The Type 15 light tank is considered as the effective successor to the Type 62 light tank.
It features 33 different improvements including an external double lens laser range finder mounted above the mantlet of the 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled main gun for better firing accuracy and a shield for the 12.7 mm Type 54 anti-aircraft heavy machine gun.
Type 62G (G stands for Gai – "Improved") – Most recent Type 62 light tank upgrade with improved armour layout and original cast turret replaced by a new welded flat-plate turret which also incorporates an improved armour layout as well as four smoke grenade dischargers on each side of the turret.
It is armed with a more powerful low-recoil PLZ-98 105 mm rifled main gun with fume extractor in centre of barrel, vertical stabilization system, modern fire-control system, and night vision equipment.
Type 70 – Rebuild Type 62 and like the Type 62-I it is fitted with an external double lens laser range finder mounted above the mantlet of the 85 mm Type 62-85TC rifled main gun but without the shield around the AA HMG.
GSL 110B – An armored mine clearing variant equipped with a 24-tube 252mm demining charge launcher.
Type 62 Improvised SPG – A Type 62 fitted with a new turret mounting a 105 mm OTO Melara Mod. 56 howitzer . Twenty-two were converted, serving for some time before they were likely decommissioned and scrapped after 2010.
Type 62 Improvised IFV – A Type 62 with the main gun replaced by an autocannon. Not much information is available, and the claims for the main armament vary, but is likely a 37 mm autocannon from the 61-K family.
Type 62 Improvised APC – A Type 62 with the main gun removed. From available photographs, only the roof-mounted 12.7 mm machine gun and hull mounted 7.62 mm machine gun were preserved with no additional weapons. Claims on the troop capacity vary, ranging between 5 and 10 soldiers. Fourteen were converted and serviced until likely being scrapped after 2010.
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
True scale
Sourced dimensions beside a 1.75 m human reference.
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Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sept 2026 | 4 people | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
Type 62 light tank equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
BangladeshArmy exact named equipment holdings: Type-62. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLES / LT TK. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
CambodiaReported count for Type 62-I. Service scope: Royal Cambodian Army; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): number: 50. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Explicitly named source subset; this is not a whole-family total and does not cover other listed designs. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. 2025 cited reference period. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Democratic Republic of the CongoReported count for Type 62. Service scope: Land Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): quantity: 30. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2024), not the article revision. 2024 cited reference period. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
Mali
Myanmar
Republic of the CongoReported count for Type 62. Service scope: Army equipment; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): quantity: 10. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2021), not the article revision. 2021 cited publication year. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
SudanReported count for Type-62. Country-wide list; no individual service specified. 1 distinct quantity component(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Explicit source inventory scope: active; no other stock status or total inferred. Count column(s): in service: 70. Origin: China. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. The components do not establish one inventory census date; the stored date is the retrieved source snapshot.
TanzaniaArmy exact named equipment holdings: Type-62. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLES / LT TK. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
ThailandBangladesh, Cambodia, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand
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