CC-58

CC-58
CC-58 tank in the Backlands
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	Empire of Exponent
Service history
In service	1958–present
Used by	Empire of Exponent Blackhelm Confederacy Andamonia Arabona Polarus Jafala Gautenga
Production history
Manufacturer	Sancte Crucis Government Arsenal
Produced	1958–1984
Specifications (CC-58)
Weight	36 tons
Length	9.4 meters
Width	3.3 meters
Height	2.5 meters
Crew	4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader)
Armor	Cast turret 225 mm turret front 150mm turret sides 100mm turret rear 55mm turret roof 160mm 60° hull front
Main armament	120 mm smoothbore gun (40 rounds)
Secondary armament	7.62 mm coaxial general-purpose machine gun (2500 rounds) 12.7 mm antiaircraft heavy machine gun
Engine	Angelbridge 12-cylinder 4-stroke one-chamber 40 liter water-cooled diesel 581 hp (433 kW) at 2,000 rpm
Power/weight	14.5hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Ground clearance	425mm
Fuel capacity	960 liters 1360 liters with two 200-liter extra fuel tanks
Operational range	450kmon road, 650 km with extra fuel tanks) 320 km cross-country, 450 km with extra fuel tanks
Speed	50 kph (road) 40kph (cross country)

The CC-58 main battle tank was produced between 1958 and 1984. It became a standard tank in the Imperial arsenal, and saw action in almost every major Hesperidesian conflict in the later half of the 20th century. Improved variants are still produced for export, and several hundred are retained by Town Guard and reserve units within the Blackhelm Confederacy.

Design

The CC-58 has a typical tank layout: driver's compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the centre and engine compartment in the rear. The four-man crew consists of the commander, driver, gunner and loader. The vehicle has a fully tracked, five-road wheeled chassis with close spaces between the three front road wheels and large gaps separating the third, fourth, and fifth road wheels. The drive sprocket is at the rear and the idler at the front, and there are no track return rollers. The rounded turret, mounted over the third road wheel, is smoothly cast and nearly egg-shaped. The commander's cupola on the left is cast with the turret and not bolted on. The loader's hatch on the right is also located farther forward.

The 120mm smoothbore main gun has a longer and thinner tube than many of the weapons on older model tanks and its bore evacuator is located about two-thirds of the way up the gun tube from the turret. There is also a 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun, and a 12.7-mm antiaircraft machine gun at the loader's hatch position.

A gunner's IR searchlight is mounted on the right above the main gun, and a smaller IR searchlight is mounted on the commander's cupola. The driver's hatch is located in front of the turret on the left side of the flat, low-silhouetted hull.

Armament

The armament consists of a 120mm smoothbore tank gun with a two-axis stabilizer and 7.62mm coaxial general-purpose machine gun mounted on the right of the main gun. The 12.7mm DShK antiaircraft heavy machine gun is mounted on the loader's hatch. It was optional until 1972 when all newly built tanks were fitted with the AA HMG. The tank carries 40 rounds for the main gun (although only 4 are placed in the turret while the rest are stored in the back of the fighting compartment and in the front of the hull, on the right of the driver) and 2500 rounds for the coaxial machine gun. All of the vehicle's armament is mounted in or on the round cast egg-shaped turret. The CC-58 was armed with the one of the world's first smoothbore tank guns, giving it considerably greater muzzle velocity than the other tank guns of its time. It can fire APFSDS-T, HEAT and Frag-HE rounds. The 120mm gun introduced the Empire's first successful kinetic energy penetrator ammunition, albeit with a steel penetrator. A smoothbore gun allowed a significantly better performance (from 10% to 20%) from HEAT ammunition, which was considered the main ammunition type for fighting enemy armour at medium and long ranges. The gun can be elevated or depressed between −4° and +16°. It is reloaded manually and gets automatically reset to +3.5° of elevation after it is fired, which is required for reloading. Empty cartridges are automatically ejected outside the vehicle through a small hatch in the rear of the turret. The gun has range of fire of about 4 km during day conditions and 800 m (with the use of night vision equipment) at night. The two-axis stabilizer allows the CC-58 to aim and fire while moving.

Rear view of a CC-58. Notice the two optional 200 litre drum-type fuel tanks.

Mobility

The CC-58 uses torsion bar suspension. It has five pairs of rubber-tired roadwheels, a drive sprocket at the rear and idler at the front on each side, with no return rollers. The first and last roadwheels each have a hydraulic shock absorber. The tank is powered by the Angelbridge 12-cylinder 4-stroke one-chamber 38.88 litre water-cooled diesel engine developing 581hp at 2,000rpm. Because the CC-58 weighs more than most older model tanks, it is less maneuverable. The CC-58 also has three external diesel fuel tanks on the right fender and a single auxiliary oil tank on the left fender. The tank carries 960 litres of fuel in its internal and external fuel tanks. Two optional 200-litre drum-type fuel tanks can be fitted on the rear of the vehicle for an increased operational range.

Equipment

A CC-58 laying a smokescreen.

CC-58 tanks have the ability to create a smokescreen by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust system. The tank also has an unditching beam mounted at the rear of the hull, and it can be fitted with a thin snorkel for operational usage and a large diameter snorkel for training. The thin snorkel can be disassembled and carried in the back of the turret when not used. The commander's cupola is located on the left of the top of the turret. The loader has a single piece hatch located on the right side of the turret and further back than the commander's cupola. The loader's hatch has a periscope vision block that can be used to view the areas in front of and behind the vehicle. The commander's copula has four periscopes, two are located in the hatch cover while the other two are located in the forward part of the cupola. The driver has a single piece hatch located on the left front of the vehicle, directly in front of the left side of the turret. The gunner, has a specialized sight which has x4 or x7 magnification. It is mounted coaxially with an optic rangefinder. The gunner has two periscope vision blocks, one of which is used in conjunction with the main searchlight mounted coaxially on the right side of the main armament. There are two other smaller searchlights. One of these is used by the commander and is mounted on his cupola. The tank has two headlights on the right front of the vehicle, one of which is infrared while the other one is white. Curved hand rails around the turret allow easier entry for the commander, the gunner, and the loader. They also help the infantry to mount and dismount the tank while performing a tank desant. The tank has a box-shaped radiation detector/actuator mounted on the right hand side of the turret, behind the compressed air tanks. While the CC-58 did not feature an automatic loader, it had a unique "ejection port" built into the back of the turret, which would open as the main gun recoiled, ejecting spent shell casings outside. This was considered advantageous since the spent casings would otherwise clutter the floor of the tank and fill the interior with noxious burnt-propellant fumes.

Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection

The CC-58 has a comprehensive nuclear, biological, and chemical protection system. The inside of both hull and turret is lined with a synthetic fabric made of a boron compound, meant to reduce the penetrating radiation from neutron bomb explosions. The crew is also supplied clean air via an extensive air filter system. Finally, slight over-pressure prevents entry of contamination via bearings and joints.

Limitations

The CC-58 did have some limitations: a cramped crew compartment, crude gun control equipment (on most early models), limited depression of the main gun and vulnerable fuel and ammunition storage areas. Additionally, opening the ejection port under NBC (nuclear, biological, or chemical) conditions would expose the crew to contamination.

Each time the gun is fired, the tube must go into détente for cartridge ejection; the power traverse of the turret is inoperable during ejection and reloading operations. Since manual elevation and traverse are rather slow and not effective for tracking a moving target, rapid fire and second-hit capabilities are limited. The CC-58's practical rate of fire is limited to 4 rounds per minute, which falls behind the capabilities of of some other, smaller gun equipped tanks of the same era.

It takes 20 seconds for the CC-58's turret to rotate through a full 360° , which is slightly longer than some other other tanks. The turret also cannot be traversed with the driver's hatch open. Although the tank commander may override the gunner and traverse the turret, he cannot fire the main gun from his position. He is unable to override the gunner in elevation of the main gun, causing target acquisition problems.

The CC-58's gun more is accurate than that of the M60A1 within 1500 meters, but less accurate at greater ranges.

To fire the 12.7mm antiaircraft heavy machine gun, the loader must be partially exposed, making him vulnerable to suppressive fire, and he must leave his main gun loading duties unattended.

Service History

Andamonia

The bulk of Andamonian armoured units were equipped with the CC-58 tanks at the onset of the War of the Eastern Velar. These tanks, technologically 20 years out of date, were overwhelmed by more modern Trellinese aircraft and ground defenses despite their initial numerical superiority during their offensive in eastern Txekrikar.

Empire of Exponent

Blackhelm Confederacy

The CC-58, along with the later Pythagrian made XM-1, is now mostly used by Confederate reserve units for a possible secondary mobilization while some are kept in storage. The active duty and primary mobilization units mainly use the XM-2 MBT.