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?
Tank and AFV News 