CCN-72
| CCN-72 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Amphibious Light tank |
| Place of origin | Empire of Exponent |
| Service history | |
| In service | 6 August 1972 – present |
| Production history | |
| Designer | N. Fullofaudes and J. Saloninus |
| Designed | 1969–1972 |
| Manufacturer | Sacrament Tractor Factory |
| Produced | 1972-present |
| Specifications (CCN-72) | |
| Weight | 14.6 tonnes |
| Length | 7.63 m; 25 ft (gun forward) 6.91 m; 22.7 ft (hull) |
| Width | 3.15 m (10.3 ft) |
| Height | 2.325 m (7.6 ft) |
| Crew | 3 (driver, commander/gunner,loader) |
| Armour | RHAe: 25 mm (turret front) 20 mm (turret sides) 13 mm (turret rear) 8 mm (turret top) 14mm (hull sides) 7 mm (hull rear) |
Main armament | 76.2 mm rifled tank gun (40 rds.) or KA10 50mm cannon |
Secondary armament | 7.62 mm coax machine gun (1,000 rds.). |
| Engine | GMDE-88/M V6 turbodiesel engine 380 hhp |
| Suspension | torsion-bar |
| Ground clearance | 370 mm (14.6 in) |
| Fuel capacity | 250 l (66 gal) |
Operational range | 370–400 km (230–249 mi), 480–510 km (298–317 mi) with external fuel |
| Speed | 70-80 km/h on road, 10.2 km/h (6.3 mph) swimming |
The CCN-72 is a Blackhelm Confederate amphibious light tank that was introduced in the early 1970s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Empire of Exponent and the other East Astyrian Treaty Alliance armed forces.
The tank's full name is Swimming Tank–72, Currus Cataphractus Natans. The 72 designates the year that the vehicle entered service.
Development
Due to the many rivers and jungles of Hesperidesia, the concept of light tanks was central to Imperial Exponential military planning, where they were to be used in reconnaissance units. The requirements stated that the vehicle should be able to cross water obstacles with little preparation. The vehicle was successful because it had a simple design, good navigational traits and a good cross country capability. At the time, its water-jet design was innovative.
A prototype was built at a plant outside of Sacrament in 1970, and the tank was officially adopted on 6 August 1972 with the designation CCN-72. Production started at the Redemption Tractor Factory. The tank was subsequently modified. In 2019, the main gun was replaced with an Ionician-made KA10 50mm cannon, modernized fire control and communications equipment, and a GMDE-88/M 380 horsepower V6 turbodiesel engine.
Design
The CCN-72 has a typical tank layout: the steering compartment at the front, the combat compartment in the center and the engine compartment at the back. The tank has a three-man crew, with the commander also acting as the radio operator and gunner. This reduces his effectiveness as an observer. The commander and loader stations are located inside the turret, the commander sits on the left side of the main gun and the loader sits on the right. They have a large oval shaped double hatch, which opens forwards on top of the turret. The driver sits in the center of the front of the hull and has a one piece hatch that opens to the right, with three vision blocks and periscopes located beneath the main gun at the top of the sloping glacis plate. Under the driver's seat, there is an emergency hatch that can be used by all crew members. At night, the center periscope is swapped for a night vision device which gives the driver clear vision up to 60 meters.
Armament
The modern version of the CCN-72's main armament consists of a KA10 50mm cannon, which has an effective range of approximately 4,000 meters and a rate of fire of between 100 and 300 per minute, depending on the ammunituon used. The CCN-72 carries 300 rounds for its gun. A typical ammunition load consists of 240 x AP, 40 x airburst, and 20 x proximity rounds . The gun is mounted in an oval dish-type circular truncated cone turret with flat, sloping sides which is mounted over the second, third, and fourth pair of road wheels. All CCN-72s have a fume extractor for the main gun at the rear of the turret.
Older models utilize a 76.2 mm rifled tank gun amd typically carry 40 rounds of HE, HVAP, and FRAG munitions.
The 7.62 mm coaxial medium machine gun comes with 1,000 rounds. This weapon has a maximum effective range of 1,000 meters in daylight while the vehicle is stationary, 400 to 500 meters in daylight while the vehicle is on the move and 600 meters at night. Maximum range is 1,500 meters. It can be fired in 2 to 10 round bursts and has a practical rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute and a cyclic rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute.
The commander/gunner has a cupola on the left side of the double hatch. The cupola has an observation device and two day periscopes and can be rotated 360 degrees by hand. The commander also has a 4X optical sight mounted to the left of the main armament and a sight/rangefinder. The loader has an additional observation device mounted on the turret's roof in front of the hatch.
Countermeasures
The armor of the CCN-72 consists of homogeneous, cold-rolled, welded steel. Its turret has 20 mm at 35° at the front, 16 mm at 35° at the sides, 11 mm at 33° at the rear and 8 mm at 0° on top of the turret. The hull is made up of: 10 mm at 80° at the upper front, 13 mm at 80° at the lower front, 14 mm at 0° at the sides, 7 mm at 0° in the rear and 5 mm at 0° underneath. This gives it protection against 7.62 mm small arms fire and small artillery shell fragments. It does not protect it against 12.7 mm or .50-caliber heavy machine gun fire or larger shell fragments.
Mobility
Land
The torsion bar suspension consists of six evenly spaced large rubber-tired road wheels with the drive sprocket at the rear and the idler at the front. The road wheels are hollow to minimize weight. These hollow road wheels increase the tank's buoyancy by 30%. There are no track-return rollers. The first and last road wheels have a hydraulic shock absorber and the steel tracks have 96 links each when new, each link has a single pin. There is a small, thin, horizontal skirt over each track. The original model utilized a straight 6-cylinder, 4-stroke water-cooled diesel engine was developed under the designation "V-6" by halving the "V-12"-engine from the CC-58. It develops 240 hp (179 kW) at 1,800 rpm which gives it a road speed of 44 km/h and a range of 370 km to 400 km. The newest variants make use of a more powerful GMDE-88/M V6 turbodiesel engine, which can generate up to 380 hp and is significantly more fuel efficient. The new engine also nearly doubled the CCN-72's speed, allowing it to develop a road speed of between 70 and 80 km/h in ideal condition. The vehicle can cross 1.1 m high vertical obstacles and 2.8 m wide trenches and climb 52° gradients. The engine has a cooling system and an initial heater (intended for use when the air temperature is −20 °C or colder). The CCN-72 has a 5-speed manual shaft-type transmission system similar to the one in the CC-41. The gearbox has four forward gears and one reverse. The vehicle has a side clutch that enables it to make turns and a handbrake. The tank has four mounts for additional external fuel tanks at the rear of the hull. The two on the corners are for flat type external tanks and the two in the center are for a drum type. These additional tanks increase the range from 370–400 km to 480–510 km. The CCN-72 is a reliable, simple to operate and highly mobile reconnaissance vehicle and is ideally designed for amphibious operations, but it has many limitations as a fighting vehicle.
Water
The CCN-72 is amphibious, it has a flat, boat-shaped hull which is hermetical and ensures minimal resistance when the tank is afloat. It can swim after switching on the two electric bilge pumps, erecting the trim vane which improves the vehicle's stability and displacement in the water and prevents water from flooding into the bow of the tank. Switching the driver's periscope for a swimming periscope enables the driver to see over the trim vane. When not in use the trim vane is stowed in the front of the bow over the barrel of the main gun and serves as additional armor. Bilge pumps keep the tank afloat even if it leaks or is damaged. There is a manual bilge pump for emergency use. The tank is propelled through the water by two hydrojets, one on each side of the hull, with the inlets underneath the hull and the outlets at the rear. There are also additional assistant water-jet inlets on both sides of the hull over the last road wheels. The rear outlets have lids that can be fully or partially closed, redirecting the water stream to the forward-directed outlets at the sides of the hull, thus enabling the vehicle to turn or go in reverse. To turn to the left for example, the left water-jet is covered, to turn to the right, the right water-jet is covered. To make a 180° turn, one water-jet sucks in water while the other pushes it out. This system was designed by N. Fullofaudes. The tank can swim at up to 10.2 km/h and has a range of 100 km. It can cross most water obstacles and can also swim in the sea. However, its amphibious design makes it disproportionally large for a vehicle of its weight and allows less armor protection than other light tanks.
Equipment
The CCN-72 is equipped with a tank communication device, a gyro compass, a radio with an antenna that extends itself when needed. It also has two headlights in front of the hull and a searchlight on the right-hand side of the top of the turret. It lagged behind other armoured fighting vehicles because only the driver had a night vision device and also because it has no fire or NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection systems, which significantly reduced its effectiveness. The lack of NBC protection ended with the CCN-72B, which has a modern NBC protection system. Because only the driver has night vision equipment, the crew has a vision range of 4,000 m (13,000 ft) by day and 600 m (2,000 ft) at night.
