At the recent Tank Biathlon competition at Alabino training grounds in Russia, the Chinese team suffered a rather embarrassing equipment failure when one of their Type-96B (ZTZ-96B) tanks lost a road wheel. The failure forced the Chinese team to withdraw this particular tank and replace it with another, incurring a penalty in the competition. This was the first year that the Chinese team had brought the Type-96B to the Tank Biathlon event. In preview years they had brought the similar, but less advanced Type-96A. The older version of the tank was hampered at previous competitions by it’s 780 hp engine, the newer Type-96B has a more powerful 1200 hp engine. The Wikipedia entry for the Type-96B notes that it features “lighter, more reliable running wheels.” It’s probably fair to say that perhaps these new roadwheels are not quite as reliable as advertised?
