JJCh-1
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
The JJCh-1 (formal designation: 1호 장갑 정찰차 / 一號鐵甲偵察車, Il-ho janggab jŏngchalcha, "No.1 Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle;" short designation 장정차-1, Jangjŏngcha-il) is a 4×4 wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle designed in Menghe. It is derived from the BSCh-4 wheeled APC, but has a shorter hull and a two-person turret. It also serves as the basis for a number of specialist support vehicles, including the Y12B2 tank destroyer and the Y35B2 anti-air vehicle.
Development
Originally, the Menghean People's Army planned to use the BSCh-4 armored personnel carrier as a reconnaissance vehicle at the battalion level and above, citing its good mobility and its ability to carry a team of reconnaissance infantry. The BSCh-4, however, proved ill-suited to the reconnaissance role. The "G" variant left the gunner exposed to enemy fire and contaminants in the environment, and the "N" variant's machine gun turret had extremely poor visibility to the sides and rear. The vehicle's light armament, consisting of a single 12.7mm GCh-75 heavy machine gun, was only sufficient to deal with light vehicles.
In response, the Army called for the development of an armored reconnaissance car. The new vehicle would have to be fully sealed against CBRN contaminants, armed with a weapon capable of penetrating 15mm RHA at 1,000 meters, and fitted with good all-around vision equipment. One of the competing prototypes, a shortened BSCh-4 with a two-person turret, was accepted for service in 1978 and entered production the following year.
Description
The JJCh-1 is built on a shortened BSCh-4 body, cut down to reduce the size of the troop compartment. It has the same engine, suspension, and driver's equipment, which simplifies production, maintenance, and training. Only the driveshaft connection to the axles differs, as the driveshaft descends at a steeper angle.
The most visible difference with the BSCh-4 is the installation of a two-man turret on the vehicle. This turret is armed with a 23mm autocannon, the same type used in the DGP-23-2 anti-air gun, and is fed from a belt containing a mix of armor-piercing and high-explosive ammunition. The gunner sits on the left side of the turret, offset to the rear, and the commander sits on the right side. The turret ring has an internal diameter of 1,350mm, making it very cramped for both turret crew. Visibility is mediocre: the gunner has a vision port on the left, the commander has a vision port to the right and a periscope behind. The commander's cupola, however, can rotate through 360 degrees and has two outward-angled periscopes and a variable-magnification optic forward, allowing the commander to focus good visibility on a particular area. The vehicle also has a total of three active IR spotlights: one mounted co-axially to the gun, one mounted on the commander's cupola, and one mounted on the co-driver's cupola, which can focus on a second area or illuminate the road ahead for the driver.
On the turret rear, there are two launch points for YDCh-10 anti-tank missiles. These are MCLOS missiles, and they are controlled by the gunner. Derived from the 9M14 Malyutka, the YDCh-10 is ineffective at ranges of less than 500 meters but has a maximum range of 3,000 meters. This allows the JJCh-1 to engage armored vehicles which the 23mm gun cannot penetrate. Because the ATGMs can be damaged by branches and shrapnel while exposed on their mounts, and because the right-hand one blocks the commander's rear periscope, they are typically stored inside the hull outside of combat and loaded onto their launch rails by the passengers, who have roof hatches for this purpose. Four missiles are stored in each vehicle in total, and the time to load and ready a missile is no more than 50 seconds.
Though the shorter hull and smaller turret reduce the size of the passenger compartment, they do not eliminate it entirely. There is still space inside the vehicle for four dismounts, all of them seated between the engine and the turret. The dismounts exit through clamshell doors identical to the ones on the BSCh-4, and also have firing ports based on those of the BSCh-4N. A typical dismount crew consists of a fireteam leader, a rifleman with a disposable anti-tank weapon, a marksman, and a marksman's assistant.
Variants
Reconnaissance vehicles
- JJCh-1G - Original variant with YDCh-10 ATGMs and optical equipment only.
- JJCh-1N - Improved variant with YDCh-14 ATGM in a remotely aimed launch tube on the turret roof. Introduced in 1986.
- JJCh-1D - Improved variant with a battlefield surveillance radar on the rear of the turret, improved optics, and no ATGMs. Introduced in 2002.
Special-purpose vehicles
- Y12B2 - Missile-based tank destroyer. Armed with a retractable launcher for four YDCh-12 ATGMs, with eight more missile tubes stored inside the hull. Crew: 4 (driver, gunner, loader 1, loader 2).
- Y35B2 - Missile-based anti-air vehicle. Armed with four launch boxes for the YDG-35 missile, a Menghean licensed derivative of the 9M37 missile. The missile is infrared-guided, meaning the vehicle does not have to emit radar signals, but the launcher is fitted with a ranging radar to verify that the target is within engagement distance. Crew: 3 (driver, commander, gunner).
