The Chinese defence industry during the Cultural Revolution also developed its first indigenously designed 8 x 8 wheeled armoured vehicle. Designated the WZ 522-1, it was an eight-wheeled infantry fighting vehicle that was first trialled in 1971. It was designed for a crew of two and sixteen passengers. It was armed with a Type 59 12.7 mm heavy machine gun with 1,500 rounds in an open cupola. It measured 6.385 metres in length, 2.650 metres in width, 2.609 metres in height and had a ground clearance of .478 metres. Its design weight was 10 tonnes and its 150 horsepower engine gave and power to weight ratio of 15:1. It had four firing ports on either side towards the rear of the hull and its maximum road speed was 80 kilometres per hour and in water 3.3 kilometres per hour. Its maximum range was quoted at 500 kilometres. Although trialled it never went into service.
Petrus said:Thank you for your prompt answering my question. I've just tried to google the WZ 522 and it seems the photo I posted is apparently the only picture of this vehicle.
What I've just found about the WZ 522 is this, which looks very interesting:
The Chinese defence industry during the Cultural Revolution also developed its first indigenously designed 8 x 8 wheeled armoured vehicle. Designated the WZ 522-1, it was an eight-wheeled infantry fighting vehicle that was first trialled in 1971. It was designed for a crew of two and sixteen passengers. It was armed with a Type 59 12.7 mm heavy machine gun with 1,500 rounds in an open cupola. It measured 6.385 metres in length, 2.650 metres in width, 2.609 metres in height and had a ground clearance of .478 metres. Its design weight was 10 tonnes and its 150 horsepower engine gave and power to weight ratio of 15:1. It had four firing ports on either side towards the rear of the hull and its maximum road speed was 80 kilometres per hour and in water 3.3 kilometres per hour. Its maximum range was quoted at 500 kilometres. Although trialled it never went into service.
The info comes from http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=theses
Best regards,
Piotr