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Thai Army

Thai Army

The Royal Thai Army is the army of Thailand.

Units

The Royal Thai Army is divided into 4 regional army commands:
- First Army (consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 9th and 11th infantry divisions, and 1st development division) is headquartered in Bangkok and is responsible for the country's western and central provinces including the capital city.
- Second Army (consisting of the 3rd, 6th and 12th infantry divisions, and 2nd development division) is based in the northeastern quadrant and its regional headquarters is in Nakhon Ratchasima.
- Third Army (consisting of the 4th infantry division, 1st armor division, and 3rd development division) with its headquarters in Phitsanulok, looks after the northern and northwestern parts of the kingdom.
- Fourth Army (including the 5th infantry division, and the 4th development division) is based in southern Thailand with its headquarters in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Altogether the army is organized into 7 infantry divisions (including 5 tank battalions), 1 armored division, 1 cavalry division (with an armor capability), 8 independent infantry battalions, 2 special forces divisions trained and geared for small unit special and airborne operations, 1 field artillery division, and 1 air defense artillery division. 3 airmobile companies provided the ground force units with battlefield support. See also the Thai Royal Guard.

Weapons


- M72 LAW Light Anti-tank Weapon
- M47 Dragon Anti-Tank Guided Missile
- RPG-2/7 Anti-Tank Rocket

Combat vehicles


- M-60A3 and M-48A5- medium tanks (178 and 105)
- Type 69-II - Main battle tank - upgrade of the Type 59 which is a Chinese copy of the Soviet T-55 medium tank (50+)
- Stingray - Light Tanks (106)
- FV101 Scorpion CVR(T) - light tank (154)
- M41 Walker Bulldog - Light Tank (200)
- M901A3 Improved TOW Vehicle (18)
- Commando V-150 - armored vehicle
- M113A1/A3 - armored personnel carrier, ambulance vehicles, maintenance recovery vehicle and M577A3 command posts (340)
- LAV-150 Commando (M706)- armored personnel carrier (138)
- Condor - armored personnel carrier (18)
- YW 531 H / Type-85 - armored personnel carrier (450)
- Rasit - armored reconnaissance radar vehicle

Artillery


- Type 85 - 130 mm MRLS (60)
- Type 83 - 122 mm MRLS
- M-109A2 - 155 mm self-propelled howitzer (20) supported by 20 M992 field artillery ammunition support vehicles
- GHN-45A1 - 155 mm towed howitzer(42)
- Soltam M-71 - 155 mm towed howitzer(32)
- M198 - 155 mm towed howitzer (62)
- M114 - 155 mm towed howitzer (56)
- Type-59-1 - 130 mm field gun (15)
- Giat LG1 MkII - 105 mm (24)
- M101 - 105 mm towed Light Howitzer upgraded with the LG1 Mk2's barrel (285)
- M102 - 105 mm towed Light Howitzer (12)
- M618A2 - 105 mm towed Howitzer (32)
- Type-59 - Chinese copy of the S-60 towed 57 mm anti-aircraft gun (24)
- Bofors L40/70 - 40 mm anti-aircraft gun (48)
- Type 74 - improved variant of the Type 65 twin-barrel 37 mm anti-aircraft gun (122)
- M163 VADS Vulcan self-propelled 20 mm air defense system (24)
- M167 VADS Vulcan towed 20 mm air defense system (24)

Non-combat vehicles


- High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)

UAV


- IAI Searcher - short-range battlefield reconnaissance UAV (4)

See also

Military of Thailand Category:Armies Category:Military of Thailand ja:タイ王国陸軍

Bangkok

Bangkok, (in Thai กรุงเทพฯ, กรุงเทพมหานคร, or Krung Thep, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, IPA: ), population 8,538,610 (1990), is the capital and largest city of Thailand. The city is located on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, near the Gulf of Thailand. Bangkok is located at . [http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/cntry_files.html] Bangkok is one of the fastest-growing, most economically dynamic cities in Southeast Asia. Local people like to think that it is emerging as a regional centre to rival Singapore and Hong Kong, but it suffers from major infrastructure and social problems as a result of its rapid growth. The World Meteorological Organization has dubbed Bangkok the world's hottest city. It is also one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.

History

Bangkok began as a small trading center and port community, called Bang Makok ("place of olive plums"), serving Ayutthaya, which was the capital of Siam until it fell to Burma in 1767. A capital was established at Thonburi (now part of Bangkok) on the west side of the river, before in 1782 King Rama I built a palace on the east bank and made Bangkok his capital, renaming it Krung Thep, meaning "City of Angels". The village of Bangkok ceased to exist, but its name continues to be used by foreigners. The full ceremonial name of Krung Thep is กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทรายุธยามหาดิลก ภพนพรัตน์ ราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์ มหาสถาน อมรพิมาน อวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะ วิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์, or Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit, which means "The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn." Local schoolchildren are taught the full name, although few can explain its meaning because many of the words are archaic. Most Thais who do recall the full name do so as it was used in a popular song (กรุงเทพมหานคร/Krung Thep Mahanakhon by อัสนี-วสันต์ โชติกุล/Asanee-Wasan Chotikul 1989) and will often recount it by recalling the song at the same time, much in the same way that English speakers sing the alphabet song while reciting the English alphabet.

Economy

Bangkok is the economic center of Thailand. The Chao Phraya River allows Bangkok to function as a port. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is located in Bangkok. Tourism is a major source of revenue. Bangkok Chinatown is located on Yaowarat Road known as the gold shops street. The city contains many Buddhist temples (known in Thai as Wat), among the best known being Wat Pho, Wat Phra Kaeo, Wat Suthat, Wat Ratchanadda and Wat Arun. Khao San Road, near the Grand Palace complex, is a popular destination for young backpackers. The Loi Krathong festival of light is a popular time for tourists to visit with impressive fireworks displays along the river accompanied by many lit up boats parading up and down the river. Bangkok's educational and cultural facilities include several universities, a fine arts academy, a national theater and a national museum. Processed food, timber, and textiles are leading exports. Industrial plants include rice mills, cement factories, sawmills, oil refineries, and shipyards. The city is a famous jewelry center, buying and selling silver and bronzeware. Although technically illegal, prostitution is a major activity in Bangkok, making the city a popular destination for sex tourism.

Administration

Administratively, Bangkok is one of two special administration areas in Thailand, (the other being Pattaya), in which citizens vote to choose their Governor, unlike in Thailand's 75 other provinces (changwat). In the last gubernatorial election in 2004 Apirak Kosayothin was elected Governor. The urban sprawl of Greater Metropolitan Bangkok extends beyond the borders of Bangkok province, spilling into the neighbouring provinces of Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon. The province as it is today was created in 1972 when the previous Bangkok province - changwat Phra Nakhon - merged with Thonburi province. 1972 The seal of the city shows the god Indra riding in the clouds on Erawan, a mythological elephant-shaped creature (sometimes portrayed with three heads). In his hand Indra holds a lightning bolt, which is his weapon to drive away drought. The seal is based upon a painting done by Prince Naris. The tree symbol of Bangkok is Ficus benjamina. Bangkok is subdivided into 50 districts (khet, also sometimes called amphoe as in the other provinces), which are further subdivided into 154 kwaeng (แขวง, equivalent to tambon in other provinces).

Higher Education

There are a large number of both private and public universities located in Bangkok. Amongst the finest universities in Thailand are Chulalongkorn University and Thammasat University. Other universities include:
- Asian Institute of Technology
- Assumption University
- Bangkok University
- Ramkamhaeng University
- Rangsit University
- Kasetsart University
- Mahidol University
- Dhurakijpundit University
- Ratana Bundit College
- Srinakharinwirot University
- Sripathum University
- Silpakorn University
- Mahanakorn University of Technology
- Chulalont University

Transportation

Chulalont University Chulalont University An elaborate network of canals (khlong) gave the city the nickname "Venice of the East", at a time when all transportation was done by boat. Today almost all are filled in and converted into traffic-filled streets. However, many do still exist, with people living along them, and markets being conducted there as well. A notable one is the floating market in Taling Chan district. Several elevated highways, and a partially-finished ring road around Greater Bangkok, have been built to overcome the jams. In 1999 an elevated two-line 'Skytrain' (officially called BTS) metro system was opened. The first line of the underground Bangkok Metro opened to the public in July 2004. The remains of a failed elevated railroad project (the Hopewell project) can still be seen all the way from the main railroad station out towards the Don Muang airport - due to the Asian financial crisis the construction was halted and the concrete pillars were left unused. Locals call them "Hopehenge" or Stonehenge. In July 2004, a new MRT subway system was launched connecting the northern train station of Bang Sue to the Hua Lamphong railway station near the city center, while going through the eastern part of the city. It connects to the BTS system at BTS Stations Mo Chit, Asok, and Sala Daeng. For travel by train, most passengers begin their trips at Hua Lamphong, at the southern end of the Metro. Here, trains connect Bangkok to Malaysia to the south, Chiang Mai and beyond to the north, and Khon Kaen and beyond to the northeast. Virtually all cities and provinces are easily reachable by bus from Bangkok. For destinations in the southwest and the west, buses leave from the Southern Bus Terminal, west of the city. For destinations in the southeast, such as Pattaya and Ko Samet, buses leave from the Eastern Bus Terminal, at Ekkamai, the third-eastern-most stop on the Skytrain. For all destinations north and northeast, the Northern Bus Terminal at Mo Chit, which is reachable by both Skytrain and Metro, is the place to start.

Airports

Bangkok International Airport, commonly called "Don Muang", the busiest in South-East Asia, is located north of the city, now already enclosed by urban areas. Construction for the new Suvarnabhumi Airport (pronounce Suwannaphum), in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan Province to the south-east of the city started in 2002, it is scheduled to be opened in early 2006. Once the new airport is completed, all international traffic is expected to go there and Don Muang will become domestic only. There is also a train station at Don Muang for destinations to the north and northeast.

Current issues

2006 Air pollution is a major problem in Bangkok, blamed on the city's massive traffic jams. The recent construction of elevated second-level expressways and the Bangkok Mass Transit System's (BTS) SkyTrains have eased the problem a little. The sale of illegally copied copyright material (mostly software and DVD movies) is widespread in Bangkok. One of the most popular locations in Bangkok for purchasing pirated software is Pantip Plaza. Although many attempts have been made at cracking down on illegal copying by raiding Pantip and other venues over the years, these have been ineffective and illegal copying of copyrighted material is still a booming business. The BSA, an American software copying prevention group believes that it could extract 80 million USD from Thailand if all of illegally copied software there was stopped [http://www.bbcworld.com/content/clickonline_archive_46_2003.asp?pageid=666&co_pageid=2]. Due to heavy, long term pressure[http://www.ustr.gov/html/1995_thailand.html] from groups such as the BSA and the Recording Industry Association of America, which threatened difficulties for trade agreements for Thailand [http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/033004_2.asp], the Thai government has now started to crack down heavily on the unauthorised copying by its citizens including the introduction of "one of the most aggressive legislative schemes for the protection of intellectual property rights in any developing nation"[http://members.tripod.com/asialaw/articles/takingcopyright.html]. However, these measures have not yet halted the appetite of Thai citizens for unauthorised copies, the sale of unauthorised discs continues and the raids have been called "half-hearted". The BSA states, however, that reduction of illegal copying is a long term goal [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3227622.stm] and that the aim now is more to re-educate the Thais towards the BSA's own views.

External links


- [http://www.bma.go.th/ Bangkok Metropolitan Administration]
-
- [http://goasia.about.com/library/weekly/blbkok-rattanakosin.htm About.com tourist information]
- [http://www.hot-maps.de/asia/thailand/bangkok/homeen.html Interactive Map of Central Bangkok]
- [http://www.swu.ac.th/president/ird/images/bangkok.jpg Map of Bangkok Area]
- [http://www.tourismthailand.org/destinationguide/list.aspx?provinceid=1 Tourist Authority of Thailand - Bangkok Information]
- Category:Capitals in Asia ko:방콕 ms:Bangkok ja:バンコク simple:Bangkok th:กรุงเทพมหานคร

Nakhon Ratchasima

Nakhon Ratchasima (often called Khorat) is a town in the north-east of Thailand (Isan{{

Nakhon Si Thammarat

Nakhon Si Thammarat (Thai นครศรีธรรมราช) is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The city was the administrative center of southern Thailand during most of its history. Originally a coastal city, silting moved the coastline away from the city. The city has a much larger north to south extension then west to east, which dates back to its original location on a flood-save dune. The modern city centre around the train station is located north of Old Town. The population was estimated to be over 118,000 in 1997.

Wat Phra Mahathat Woromaha Vihan

1997 Wat Phra Mahathat (Thai วัดพระมหาธาตุวรมหาวิหาร) is the most important temple of Nakhon Si Thammarat and southern Thailand. It was constructed at the time of the founding of the town, and contains a tooth relic of Buddha. The 78 m high chedi is surrounded by many smaller ones. While the chedi is now in Sri Lankan style, it is said to be built on top of an earlier Srivijaya style chedi. At the base of the chedi is a gallery named Viharn Tap Kaset, decorated with many Buddha statues and elephant heads emerging from the chedi. Viharn Phra Song Ma is the buildings which contains the staircase which leads to a walkway around the chedi above the gallery. At the bottom of the staircase are demon giants (yak) as guardians. Adjoining to the north is the Viharn Kien, which contains a small temple museum. South of the chedi is the large ubosot building, the Viharn Luang. The monk living quarters are located across the street in a separate temple, Wat Na Phra Boromathat. The chedi is the symbol of the Nakhon Si Thammarat province, present in the seal of the province.

City wall

chedi The city chronicle already mentions a fortification when the town was refounded in 1278. Restorations were recorded at the time of King Ramesuan (14th century), as well as King Narai (1686). The latter one was supported by the French engineer M. de la Mare. The walls spread 456 m from East to West, and 2238 m North to South, thus enclosing an area of about one square kilometre. The northern wall had only one gate, called Prathu Chai Nua or Prathu Chai Sak, also the souther wall had only one gate. To the east there were three gates, which connected the town with the sea. To the west were five gates. Today only the northern gate still exists, together with a short stretch of the northern city wall.

Administration

The district of Nakhon Si Thammarat (Amphoe Mueang) is subdivided into 16 communes (tambon). The missing numbers in the list belong to communes which now form the district Phra Phrom.

References


- Stuart Munro-Hay. Nakhon Sri Thammarat - The Archaeology, History and Legends of a Southern Thai Town. ISBN 974-7534-73-8 Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat Category:Cities in Thailand ja:ナコーンシータンマラート

M72 LAW

The M72 LAAW (Light Anti-Armor Weapon) sometimes known as a LAW, is a portable one-shot 66 mm anti-tank weapon, made in United States by Talley Defense Systems.

Description

Talley Defense Systems The weapon consists of a rocket packed inside launcher made up of two tubes, one inside the other. While closed, the outer assembly acts as a watertight container for the rocket and the percussion cap-type firing mechanism that activates the rocket. The outer tube contains the trigger, the arming handle, front and rear sights, and the rear cover. The inner tube contains the channel assembly which houses the firing pin assembly, including the detent lever. When extended, the inner tube telescopes outward toward the rear, guided by the channel assembly which rides in an alignment slot in the outer tube's trigger housing assembly. This causes the detent lever to move under the trigger assembly in the outer tube, both locking the inner tube in the extended position and cocking the weapon. Once armed, the weapon is no longer watertight even if the launcher is collapsed into its original configuration. When fired, the propellant in the rocket motor completely combusts before leaving the tip of the launcher, producing gases around 1,400 °F (760 °C). The rocket propels the 66 mm warhead forward without significant recoil. As the warhead emerges from the launcher, 6 fins spring out from the base of the rocket tube, stabilizing the warhead's flight. Once fired the launcher is no longer useful and may be discarded. Due to the single use nature of the weapon, it was issued as a round of ammunition by the US Army.

Ammunition

US Army The M72 LAW was issued as a prepackaged round of ammunition. Improvements to the launcher and differences in the ammunition were differentiated by a single designation. The most common M72 LAWs came prepacked with a rocket containing a 66 mm HEAT warhead which is attached to the inside of the launcher by the igniter. The warhead is activated by an impact sense sensor in the nose cone which is connected to the fuse. The fuse then detonates a booster which sets off the main charge. The force of the main charge forces the thin-gauge steel body liner into a directional gas jet that is capable of penetrating up to 0.3 m (1 ft) of steel plate, 0.6 m (2 ft) of Reinforced concrete, or 1.8 m (6 ft) of soil.

Other Variants

Specifications

soil

Launcher


- Length:
  - Extended: less than 1 m (34.67 in).
  - Closed: 0.67 m (24.8 in).
- Weight:
  - Complete M72A2: 2.3 kg (5.1 lb).
  - Complete M72A3: 2.5 kg (5.5 lb).
- Firing mechanism: Percussion.
- Front sight: reticle graduated in 25 m range increments.
- Rear sight: peep sight adjusts automatically to temperature change.

Rocket


- Caliber: 66 mm (2.6 in)
- Length: 508 mm (20 in).
- Weight: 1.8 kg (2.2 lb).
- Muzzle velocity: 144.8 m/s (475 ft/s).
- Minimum range (combat): 10 m (33 ft).
- Minimum arming range: 10 m (33 ft).
- Maximum range: 1,000 m (3,300 ft).

Maximum effective ranges


- Stationary target: 200 m (660 ft).
- Moving target: 165 m (541 ft).
- Beyond these ranges, there is less than a 50 % chance of hitting the target.

Other weapons

The British Army also use a weapon known by the acronym LAW, see article LAW 80. The Russian RPG-18, RPG-22, RPG-26 and RPG-27 are direct copies of the M72 LAW, with minor modifications.

External links


- [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m72.htm FAS]
- [http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infantry/antiarmor/M72.html Gary's U.S. Infantry Weapons Reference Guide]
- [http://www.nazarian.no/wep.asp?id=409&group_id=24&country_id=186&lang=0 Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide] See also Rocket propelled grenade Category:Anti-tank weapons

Patton tank

General characteristics
 M48M60
Length:21 ft (6.4 m)22 ft 9 in (6.9 m)
Width:11 ft 11 in (3.6 m)11 ft 11 in (3.6 m)
Height:10 ft 1 in (3.1 m)10 ft 8 in (3.3 m)
Weight:52 t57.3 t
Speed:30 mph (48 km/h)30 mph (48 km/h)
Range:258 mi (415 km)280 mi (450 km)
Primary
armament:		90 mm rifled tank gun, or 105 mm M68 rifled gun (M48A5)105 mm gun
Secondary
armament:		0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine gun, 7.62 mm machine gun0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine gun, 7.62 mm machine gun
Maximum
armor:		180 mm180 mm
Power plant:690 hp (510 kW) gasoline (later diesel)750 hp (560 kW) diesel
Crew:44
The M46, M47, M48 and M60 Patton were the U.S army's principal main battle tanks of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The model was named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest advocates for the use of tanks in battle. It was replaced in US service by the M1 Abrams.

The M46

In May 1946, due to the changing conception of the US Army's tank needs, the M26 Pershing tank was reclassified as a medium tank. Designed initially as a heavy tank, Pershing was a significant upgrade from the M4 Sherman in terms of firepower and protection. Unfortunately, its mobility was deemed unsatisfactory for a medium tank as it used the same engine that powered the much lighter M4A3. Its underpowered engined was also plagued with an unreliable transmission. So in January 1948, work began on replacing the original powerpack with the Continental AV-1790-3 engine and Allison CD-850-1 cross-drive transmission. The design was initially called M26E2, but modifications continued to accumulate, and eventually the Ordnance desided that the tank "deserved" an index of its own. When the production began in November,1949, the upgraded M26 received not only a new powerpack and other improvements including a main gun with bore evacuator, but a new designation along with them - M46 General Patton or simply Patton.

M46 combat service

The only extensive combat use of the M46 was in the Korean War. The tank proved superior to North Korean T-34/85, which was expected from a much newer design. The M46 was exported to some European countries, including Belgium, France and Italy.

The M47

Italy Although the new powerpack corrected the mobility and reliabilty problems of the M26, the US Army considered the M46 a stopgap solution that would be replaced later by the T42 medium tank. However, after fighting erupted in Korea, the Army decided it needed the new tank earlier then planned. It was deemed that there was likely no time to finish the development of the T42 and then also to fix various problems that were likely to emerge in a new design. The final decision was to produce another interim solution, with the turret of T42 mounted on the familiar hull of the M46. The old-new tank, developed by the Detroit Arsenal, was named M47 Patton and entered production in 1951. The M47 was widely used by NATO allies and other countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey and Yugoslavia. In the US, however, it was quickly replaced by the M48.

M47 combat service

French M47s saw limited action during the Suez Crisis in 1956. Jordan used its M47s in the Six Days War (1967) and Pakistan in the second Indo-Pakistani War in 1965.

The M48

second Indo-Pakistani War in 1965 A year after the M47 entered service, the US Army decided to replace it by yet another product of the evolution of the Persing/Patton line, the M48, still dubbed Patton. A deeper modernization than the M46 and the M47, the M48 featured a new turret, redesigned hull and an improved suspension. The hull machine gunner position was removed, reducing the crew to 4. Nearly 12,000 M48s were built from 1952 to 1959. The early designs were powered by gasoline engines which gave the tank a short operating range and were prone to catching fire when hit, earning it the unflattering nickname Ronson (which was also used for the earlier gasoline powered M4 Sherman ), after the popular brand of cigarette lighter. This version was considered unreliable and unfit for service, but numerous examples saw combat use in various Arab-Israeli conflicts. In 1959, American M48s were upgraded to the M48A3 model which featured a diesel power plant. In the mid-1970s, the M48A5 upgrade was developed to allow the vehicle to carry the heavier 105 mm gun. This was designed to bring the M48s up to speed with the M60 tanks then in regular use. Most of the M48s were placed into reserve service by this time. By the mid-1990s, the M48s were phased out of U.S. service. However, many foreign countries continue to use the M48 models.

M48 combat service

The M48s saw action during the Vietnam War, as did another variant, the M67A2 flamethrower tank. The M48s performed admirably in Vietnam in the infantry-support role. As there were few actual tank vs. tank battles, the M48s provided adequate shelter for its crew from small arms, mines and RPGs. M47s and M48s were first used in tank warfare by Pakistan against Indian Centurion and M4 Sherman tanks in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War with poor results. Although technically superior to the enemy's tanks, it failed in war, but this was largely due to superior Indian tactics and crew ability. The Battle of Asal Uttar—where Pakistan's elite 1st Armoured brigade attacked Indian positions—saw about 100 Pattons being destroyed. It was later used in limited numbers by Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 with similar results. In fact there was a place in Khemkaran in India called "Patton Nagar" ("Patton Town") that held 60-odd destroyed or captured tanks before the war trophies were relocated. M48s were also used with mixed results during the 1967 Six-Day War. On the Sinai front, Israeli M48s were used with stunning success against Egyptian T-54s and T-34s supplied by the Soviet Union. However, on the West Bank front, Jordanian M48s were regularly outclassed by Israeli WWII-era M4 Shermans, the result of superior Israeli tactics and crews. The Israeli Army captured about 100 of these Jordanian M48 and M48A1 tanks and pressed them into their own service after the war.

The M60

M4 Sherman In 1957, it was determined that the Soviets were in the process of developing a new medium tank, the T-55, with a 100 mm gun, superior to that of the American M48 tank. In response, an M48 tank was fitted with a new engine and later with a variant of the British 105 mm L7 series gun. This new vehicle (originally designated M68) was put into production in 1959, reclassified as the M60 and entered service in 1960. Over 15,000 M60s (all variants) were constructed. The improved design provided an increased operational range and mobility, requiried a minimum of refueling and servicing, and incorporated an improved main armament. A Continental V-12 750 hp. air cooled diesel engine powers the vehicle. Power is transmitted to a final drive through a cross drive transmission, which is a combined transmission, differential, steering, and braking unit. The hull of this vehicle is a one piece steel casting and is divided into two compartments, the crew in the front, and the engine at the rear. In 1963, the M60 was upgraded to the M60A1. This new variant, which stayed in production until 1980, featured a larger, better-shaped turret and improvements to the armor protection and shock absorbers. The M60A2 featured an entirely new low-profile turret with a commander's machine-gun cupola on top, giving the commander a good view and field of fire while under armour but spoiling the low profile. It also featured a 152 mm calibre main gun similar to that of the M551 Sheridan light tank, which fired regular rounds as well as the Shillelagh anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). There were a number of problems with the new gun (such as unburnt propellent from the missile fouling the tube and pre-detonating subsequent rounds), most of which were solved to some extent, but after all the problems the A2 model was abandoned and the turret for the A3 would be based on that of the A1. Most of the M60A2 tanks were rebuilt to M60A3 standard. In 1978, work began on the M60A3 variant. It featured a number of technological enhancements, including smoke dischargers, a new rangefinder and ballistic computer and a turret stabilization system. All American M60s eventually underwent the conversion to the A3 model.

M60 combat service

anti-tank guided missile.]] The M60 first saw some action in the Vietnam War with the Marine Corps. Later the Marine Corps also used the M60A1 variant in Operation Desert Storm in opposition to the Soviet-supplied Iraqi T-72 tanks which were comparable, if slightly better-gunned than the M60s. The M60A1s supported the effort into Kuwait City. A few M60s and M60A1s also saw action with Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War in both the Sinai and the Golan Heights. The United States sent additional M60s to Israel just before and during hostilities. Following the war, the IDF received many more M48s, M60s and M60A1s from the U.S.. Israel further upgraded their stock of M60s prior to their use in the invasion of Lebanon in 1982 as part of Operation Peace for Galilee. The Israeli modifications included new tracks and explosive reactive armor (ERA). This variant was known as the Magach 6B. Further work in Israel has been done on the upgraded Magach 6 models, adding new armor, new fire controls, a thermal sleeve and smoke dischargers. This model, the Magach 7 (with variants A through C) is still in use with the IDF. M60 versions are in service as of 2005 with Argentina, Bahrain, Austria, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Taiwan and some others to varying degrees. Also, US continues to have significant stockpiles of them waiting to be scrapped, sold-off, or converted, though some versions that use the chassis see some use still.

Variants

Taiwan Taiwan

US Variants


- M26E2/M46 - M26/A1 Pershing upgraded with Continental V-12 engine and cross-drive transmission. Used the same M3A1 90mm gun as the M26A1 Pershing, and differed mainly in the position of the exhausts.
  - M46A1 - Product improved variant with improved braking, cooling and fire suppression systems, as well as, improved electrical equipment, AV-1790-5B engine and CD-850-4 transmission.
- M47 - M46 with T42 turret, fitted with the M36 90mm Gun, and was longer to incorporate a radio, ventilator, and featured a stereoscopic rangefinger.
  - M47M - The product of an improvement program started in the late 1960's, the M47M featured the engine and fire control elements from the M60A1. The asst. driver's position was eliminated in favor of additional 90mm ammunition. Not used by the US, over 800 vehicles were produced for Iran and Pakistan.
- M48 - Differed from the M47 in having yet another new turret design, featuring the M41 90mm gun. These turrets give the M48 its distinctive non-M26 style look. Originally the gun featured a Y-shape muzzle brake, but this was changed to the more characterisitc T-shape.
  - M48C - Over a hundred original production hulls were found to be lacking correct ballistic protection and were relegated to training as the M48C.
- M48A1 - New driver hatch and M1 commander's cupola, allowing the M2HB .50 caliber machine gun to be operated and reloaded from within the vehicle.
- M48A2 - improved powerpack and transmission, redesigned rear plate, an improved turret control.
  - M48A2C - M48A2s with an improved rangefinder, M17, new ballistic drive and bore evacuator for the main gun, and the auxillery tensioning wheels were deleted.
- M48A3 - Refit of M48A1s with diesel engines and a new fire control system.
  - M48A3 Mod. B - Additional armor on the exhausts and tail lights, and a raised commanders copula.
- M48A4 - Proposed refit of M48A3s with M60 turrets, scrapped with the need of these previous "surplus" turrets with the failure of the M60A2
- M48A5 - Upgunned with the 105mm M68 gun.
  - M48A5PI - M1 copula replaced by the Israeli Urdan model.
- M67 - M48 armed with a flamethrower inside a dummy model of the main gun with fake muzzle brake.
  - M67A1 - M67 variant, M48A2 hulls used.
  - M67A2 - M67 variant, M48A3 hulls used.
- XM60/M60 - Bearing a strong familial resemblance to the M48, the M60 has a wedge shaped hull, three return rollers, and alluminum road wheels, features not found on previous M48s. Featured a turret with 105mm M68 gun. Early versions did not have the commanders copula.
- M60E1/A1 - First variant to feature the distinctive "needle-nose" long nosed turret, along with better armor protection and improved hydraulics.
  - M60A1 AOS - Add-On Stabilization, introduced in 1972 for the M68 gun.
  - M60A1 RISE - Reliability Improvements for Selected Equipment, featured improvements of almost all the basic systems and a new track type, T142, that helped reduce wear and improve track life.
  - M60A1 RISE Passive - RISE, but with a smaller infra-red/white light capable search-light and passive night vision equipment.
- M60E2 - Experimental version with driver in turret and armed with Shillelagh and 20 mm cannon.
- M60A1E1 - Developmental test vehicles fitted with the 152mm M162 gun-missile launchers.
  - M60A1E2/M60A2 - Turret design finalized, giving the distinctive "starship" look. A variant was tested with a remote controlled 20mm cannon as well.
- M60A1E3 - prototype, M60A1E2 fitted with 105 mm gun.
- M60A1E4 - Experimental type with remote control weapons.
- M60A3 - M60A1 fitted with a laser rangefinder, solid state ballistic computer, and a crosswind sensor. Late model USMC M60A3s were also capable of being fitted with ERA.
  - M60A3 TTS - Tank Thermal Sight, M60A3s fitted with the AN/VSG-2 thermal sight.
- M60 Super/AX - Uparmored versions with minor improvements. Main version awas also featured no optical rangefinder.
- M60-2000/120S - M60/Abrams hybrid vehicle developed by General Dynamics Land Division. Not adopted by the United States military.

Specialist Variants


- M60A1 AVLB - Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge, 60 foot scissors bridge on M60A1 chassis.
- M60 AVLM - Armored Vehicle Vehicle Launched MICLIC (Mine-Clearing Line Charge), modified AVLB with up to 2 MICLIC on M60 chassis.
- M728 - M60A1 based Combat Engineering Vehicle (CEV). M60A1 chassis fitted with a new turret featuring an A-frame crane and an M135 165mm demolition gun. Commonly fitted with the M9 bulldozer blade, or a mine-clearing equipment.
  - M728A1 - Upgraded version
- M60 Panther - M60 modified into a remotely controlled mine clearing tank.
- Additional Equipment
- M9 - Bulldozer and earthmoving equipment added to M60.

Israeli variants

Israel created an extensive number of variants of the series from tanks acquired initially from a number of sources, including capturing them in battle, or from other countries such as Germany and the United States.
- E-48
  - E-48 AVLB - a M48 AVLB but with a Israeli bridge.
  - E-48 (M48A2) - basically unmodifed M48A2 from Germany
  - E-48 (M48A2C) - basically unmodifed M48A2C from Germany
  - E-48 (M48A3) - basically unmodifed M48A3 from USA
- E-60
  - E-60 - basically unmodifed main production M60
  - E-60A - basically ummodified M60A1
    - E-60A Dozer - version with M9 bulldozer kit installed
  - E-60B - basically unmodified M60A3
- Sabra - an upgrade of M60A3 developed for a proposal to Turkey. Features a 120 mm gun, modern fire controls, add-on armor.
- Magach - a series of improved Israeli versions of the M48 and the M60.

Jordanian Variants


- AB1 - Jordanian armoured recovery vehicle.
- AB9B1 - Jordanian upgrade with 120mm smoothbore gun.
- Mazin - Jordanian modified M60A3.

Spanish Variants


- M47ER3 - Armored recovery vehicle.
- M48A5E - M48A5 variant, 105mm gun with laser rangefinder.
- Alacran CZ-10/25E - Spanish army combat engineer variant.
  - Alacran CZ-10/30E - Upgraded CZ-10/25E
- VLPD 26/70E - Spanish Army bridgelayer based on the M60 with Leguan bridge system.

South Korea


- M48A5K - Fitted with an improved 105mm gun, additional armor, and significant fire control upgrades, making it on par if not more capable than early M60s.

Taiwanese Variants


- M48A5H/CM-11 "Brave Tiger" - Taiwanese version consisting of M48H turret and M60 hull and fitted with ERA. Also has significant upgrades to the gun tracking equipment and fire control.
- CM-12 "Brave Tiger" - Fitting of existing CM-11 turrets to M48A3 chassis.

See also


- List of tanks
- M103 heavy tank
- M1 Abrams

Reference


- Steven J Zaloga, Tony Bryan, Jim Laurier - M26-M46 Pershing Tank 1943-1953 (Osprey New Vanguard 35).

External links


- [http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/m46patton.html AFV Database: M46 Patton]
- [http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/m47patton.html AFV Database: M47 Patton]
- [http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/m48patton.html AFV Database: M48 Patton]
- [http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/m60.html AFV Database: M60 Patton]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m47.htm GlobalSecurity.org: M47 Patton]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m48.htm GlobalSecurity.org: M48 Patton]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m60.htm GlobalSecurity.org: M60 Patton] Category:Main battle tanks Category:Cold War American tanks

Type 69/79

The Chinese Type 69 and Type 79 main battle tanks were developments of the Type 59, which in turn was a copy of the Soviet T-54/55 series of tanks. Their lineage can be seen through the distinct gap between the first and second roadwheels. The original 100 mm smoothbore gun on the Type 59 was replaced with a 100 mm rifled version. Other improvements included a new engine, ballistic computers, and laser rangefinders. The more advanced Type 79 was equipped with a 105 mm rifled gun, also seen on the later Type 88.

References

Category:Main battle tanks Category:Cold War tanks Category:Chinese tanks

China

to protect the north from nomadic invaders and has been rebuilt several times since.]] China () refers to a number of states and cultures that have existed and are viewed as having succeeded one another in continental East Asia, dating back at least 3,500 years. China as it exists today has been variously described in different points of view as a single civilization or multiple civilizations, as a single state or multiple states, and as a single nation or multiple nations. With one of the world's longest periods of mostly uninterrupted civilization and the world's longest continuously used written language system, China's history has been largely characterized by repeated divisions and reunifications amid alternating periods of peace and war, and violent imperial dynastic change. The country's territorial extent expanded outwards from a core area in the North China Plain, and varied according to its moving fortunes to include multiple regions of East, Northeast, and Central Asia. For centuries, Imperial China was also one of the world's most technologically advanced civilizations, and East Asia's dominant cultural influence, with an impact lasting to the present day throughout the region. By the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, however, China's political, economic, and military influence declined relative to growing regional power Japan and the influence of Western powers. Semi-colonialism developed by the late nineteenth century in parts of China, and the country was invaded by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The imperial system in China ended with the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC) under Sun Yat-sen in 1912; however, the next four decades of ROC rule were marred by warlord control, the Second Sino-Japanese War (WWII), and the Chinese Civil War which pitted Chinese Nationalists against the Communist forces. After its victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Communist Party of China under Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, forcing the Republic of China (ROC) to retreat to the island of Taiwan, which it had governed since the end of World War II. Since then, the ROC has maintained administrative control over Taiwan, the Pescadores, several islands off the coast of Fujian province, and some islands in the South China Sea.

Terminology

"Zhongguo"

South China Sea China is called Zhongguo in Mandarin Chinese (Simplified: 中国, Traditional: 中國; also romanized as Jhongguo or Chung-kuo), which is usually translated as "Middle Kingdom", but could also be translated as "Central State" or "Central Country". Zhong (中) means "middle" or "center" while guo (国 or 國) means "country," "kingdom," "state," or "land", referring to the claim that China stood at the centre of that society's "known world", surrounded by lesser tributary states. The term has not been used consistently throughout Chinese history, however, and carries certain cultural and political connotations both positive and negative, some ideological, and early states considered part of Chinese history are not called "Zhongguo". During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was used only to describe the states politically descended from the Western Zhou Dynasty, in the Yellow River (Huang He) valley, to the exclusion of states such as Chu and Qin. The "Chinese" thus defined their nation as culturally and politically distinct from - and as the axis mundi of surrounding nations; a concept that continued well into the Qing Dynasty, although being continually redefined while the central political influence expanded territorially, and its culture assimilated alien influences. Thus Zhongguo quickly came to include areas farther south, as the cultural and political unit (not yet a "nation" or "country" in the modern sense) spread in a southerly direction, including the Yangtze River and Pearl River systems, and by the Tang Dynasty it even included "barbarian" regimes such as the Xianbei and Xiongnu. Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, and the island of Taiwan, over time, came to be dominated (to a greater or lesser extent) by, or officially ruled by, imperial China, and are often included as a part of Zhongguo, though acceptance or denial of such claims remains politically controversial, especially where Zhongguo means PRC. During the Han Dynasty and before, Zhongguo had three distinctive meanings: # The area around the capital or imperial domain. The Book of Poetry explicitly gives this definition. # Territories under the direct authority of the "central" authorities. The Historical Records states: "Eight mountains are famed in the empire. Three are with the Man and Yi barbarians. Five are in Zhongguo." # The area now called the North China Plain. The Sanguo Zhi records the following monologue: "If we can lead the host of Wu and Yue (the area of southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang) to oppose Zhongguo, then we should break off relations with them soon." In this sense, the term is synonymous with Hua (華) and Xia (夏). During the period of division after the fall of the Han Dynasty, the term Zhongguo was subjected to transformation as a result of the surge of nomadic peoples from the northern frontier. This was doubly so after the loss of the Yellow River valley, the cradle of Chinese civilization, to these peoples. For example, the Xianbei called their Northern Wei regime Zhongguo, contrasting it with the Southern Dynasties, which they called the Yi (夷), meaning "barbarian". The southern dynasties, for their part, recently exiled from the north, called the Northern Wei Lu (虏), meaning "criminal" or "prisoner". In this way Zhongguo came to represent political legitimacy. It was used in this manner from the tenth century onwards by the competing dynasties of Liao, Jin and Song. The term Zhongguo came to be related to geographic, cultural and political identity and less to ethnic origin. The Republic of China, as it controlled mainland China, and later, the People's Republic of China, have used Zhongguo as an entity existing theoretically to mean all the territories and peoples within their political control as well as those outside of it (people in the Republic of China on Taiwan now usually use Zhongguo to refer to the PRC and use Taiwan to refer to itself). Thus it is asserted that all 56 officially recognized ethnic groups are Zhongguo ren (中國人), or Zhongguo people. Their disparate histories are collectively the history of Zhongguo.

"China"

Song in ancient times, was the imperial capital of 13 different historical dynasties (including the Han and Tang dynasties) in China.]] English and many other languages use forms of the name China (and the prefix Sino-), which is believed to have derived from the name of the Qin dynasty that first unified the country, even though it is not completely resolved and the origins are still controversial to an extent [http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/C0298000.html]. Despite the fact that the Qin dynasty was short-lived and was often regarded as overly tyrannical it unified the written language in China and gave the supreme ruler of China the title of "Emperor", hence, the subsequent Silk Road traders would identify themselves by that name. Alternate theories on the origin of the word "China" exist. In any circumstance, the word China passed through many languages along the Silk Road before it finally reached Europe and England. The Western "China", transliterated to Shina (支那) has also been used by Japanese since the nineteenth century, and has since evolved into a derogatory term in that language. The term "China" can narrowly mean China proper, or, often, China proper and Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang, a combination essentially coterminous with the 20th and 21st century political entity China; the boundaries between these regions do not necessarily follow provincial boundaries. In many contexts, "China" is commonly used to refer to the People's Republic of China or mainland China, while "Taiwan" is used to refer to the Republic of China. Informally, in economic or business contexts, "the Greater China region" (大中華地區) refers to Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Sinologists usually use "Chinese" in a more restricted sense, more akin to the classical usage of Zhongguo, or to the meaning of the "Han ethnic group", who make up the bulk of Mainland China. In many contexts it may be more appropriate to speak of "mainland China" (中國大陸,zhōngguó dàlù in Mandarin), especially when contrasting it with other, politically different regions like Hong Kong, Macau, and territories administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan).

History

:Main articles: History of China, History of the Republic of China (1912–1949; 1949–Present on Taiwan), History of People's Republic of China (1949–Present) History of People's Republic of China China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent writing independently, the others being ancient Mesopotamia (Sumerians), India (Indus Valley Civilization), the Mayans, and, some hold, Ancient Egypt—though it may have been learned from the Sumerians. The first dynasty according to Chinese historical sources was the Xia Dynasty. Until scientific excavations were made at early bronze-age sites at Erlitou in Henan Province, it was difficult to separate myth from reality in regard to the existence of the Xia Dynasty. But since then, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. However, the first confirmed dynasty is the Shang, who settled along the Huang He river, dating from the 18th to the 12th centuries BC. The Shang were in turn invaded by the Zhou (12th to 5th centuries BC), whose centralized authority was slowly eroded by the ceding of state-like authority to warlords ruling small states; eventually, in the Spring and Autumn period, many strong independent states, in continuous war, paid but nominal deference to the Zhou state as the Imperial centre. They were all unified under one emperor in 221 BC by Qin Shi Huang, ushering in the Qin Dynasty, the first unified centralized Chinese state. This state, however, did not last for long, as it was way too authoritarian, destroying many sources of competition for power that were also sources of good governance and development, such as scholars and intellectuals. After the fall of authoritarian Qin Dynasty in 207 BC came the Han Dynasty which lasted until 220 AD. A period of disunion followed again. In 580, China was reunited under the Sui. Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, China reached its golden age. For a long period of time, especially between the 7th and 14th centuries, China was one of the most advanced civilizations in the world in technology, literature, and art. The Song Dynasty fell to the invading Mongols in 1279. The Mongols, under Kublai Khan, established the Yuan Dynasty. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongols in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty, which lasted until 1644. After the Ming dynasty, came the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, which lasted until the overthrow of Puyi in 1911. Oftentimes regime change was violent and strongly opposed and the ruler class needed to take special measures to ensure their rule and the loyalty of the overthrown dynasty. For example, after the foreign Qing (Manchus) conquered China, because they were ever suspicious of the Han Chinese, the Qing rulers put into effect measures aimed at preventing the absorption of the Manchus into the dominant Han Chinese population. However, these restrictions proved ineffective against the assimilation of Manchus into the Chinese identity and culture. In the 18th century, China achieved a decisive technological advantage over the peoples of Central Asia, which it had been at war with for several centuries, while simultaneously falling behind Europe in that respect. This set the stage for the 19th century, in which China adopted a defensive posture against European imperialism while itself engaging in imperialistic expansion into Central Asia. See Imperialism in Asia. However the primary cause of the decline of the Chinese empire was not European and American interference, as the ethnocentric Western historians would lead many to believe. On the contrary it was a series of internal upheavals. Most prominent of these was the Taiping Civil War which lasted from 1851 to 1862. The civil war was started by an extremist believer in a school of thought partly influenced by Christianity who believed himself to be the son of God and the younger brother of Jesus. Although the imperial forces were eventually victorious, the civil war was one of the bloodiest in human history - costing at least twenty million lives (more than the total number of fatalities in the First World War). Prior to this conflict a number of Islamic Rebellions, especially in Central Asia, had occurred. Later, a second major rebellion took place, although this latter uprising was considerably smaller than the cataclysmic Taiping Civil War. This second conflict was the Boxer Rebellion which aimed to repel Westerners. Although secretly supporting the rebels, the Empress, Ci Xi, aided foreign forces in suppressing the uprising. Ci Xi, 1949.]] In 1912, after a prolonged period of decline, the institution of the Emperor of China disappeared and the Republic of China was established. The following three decades were a period of disunion — the Warlord Era, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Chinese Civil War. The latter ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China in control of mainland China. The CPC established a communist state—the People's Republic of China—that laid claim to be the successor state of the Republic of China. Meanwhile, the disorganized and potentially corrupt ROC government of the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, where it continued to be recognized as the legitimate government of all China by the Western bloc and the United Nations until the 1970s, when most nations and the UN switched recognition to the PRC. The United Kingdom and Portugal transferred their colonies of Hong Kong and Macau on the southern Chinese coast to the PRC in 1997 and 1999, respectively. China used in a modern context often refers to just the territory of the PRC, or to "Mainland China" (the territory of the PRC excluding Hong Kong and Macau). The PRC does not recognize the ROC, as it claims to have succeeded the ROC as the legitimate governing authority of all of China including Taiwan. On the other hand, the ROC—while never formally renouncing its earlier claims or changing official maps that show its territory as including both the modern-day PRC, Mongolia and Tibet—has moved away from this former identity representing its rule over all of China, and increasingly identifies itself as Taiwan. The PRC has historically resisted the ROC's identification of itself as Taiwan, especially in light of the movement supported by residents of Taiwan and others who advocate Taiwan's identity as an independent political entity. Significant disputes persist as to the nature and extent of China, possible Chinese reunification and the political status of Taiwan.

Chinese Pre-history

Archeological evidence suggests that the earliest occupants in China date as long as 2.24 million to 250,000 years ago by an ancient human relative (hominin) known as Homo erectus. One particular cave in Zhoukoudian (now known as Peking) has fossilised evidence dating to 300,000 and 550,000 years old. Evidence of primitive stone tool technology and animal bones in association to H. erectus have been studied since the late 18th century to 19th century in various areas of Eastern Asia including Indonesia (in particular the Island of Java) and Malaysia. Originally it is thought that these early hominis first evolved in Africa during the Pleistocene. It is thought that human evolution first took place in Africa expanding 7 million years. By 2 million years ago the first wave of migration from the species in association with H. erectus settled into various areas in the Old World. Fully modern humans (homo sapiens) are believed to originally have evolved roughly 200,000 and 168,000 years ago in Ethiopia or Southern Africa (ei. Homo sapiens idaltu). By 100,000 to 50,000 years ago modern human beings settled in all parts of the Old world (including the New World, Americas 25,000 to 11,000 BCE). By less than 100,000 years ago all proto-human populations disappeared as modern humans took over or drove other human species into extinction. It remains a controversial subject to whether fully modern humans evolved from separate H. erectus populations (known as "multiregional") as some evidence in ancient bones show a transitional change from H. erectus to H. sapiens having archaic features. However it is now more widely accepted that all modern humans genetically share a direct ancestor, a female nicknamed "Mitochondrial Eve" from Eastern Africa 150,000 years BCE. This model is known as Mitochondrial Eve Hypothesis. The earliest evidence examples of fully modern humans in China come from Liujiang, China where a cranium dates 67,000 years BCE. Another is a partial skeleton from Minatogawa being just 18,000 years old.

Political history

Before unification by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, "China" did not exist as a coherent entity. The Chinese civilization consisted of a patchwork of several states, each ruled by a king (王), duke (公), marquess (侯), or earl (伯). Although there was a central king who held nominal power, and powerful hegemons sometimes held considerable influence, each state was ruled as an independent political entity. This is also the time of the beginnings of Confucian philosophy and that of many other philosophies that greatly influenced Chinese philosophy-political thought. This ended with the Qin Dynasty unification, during which the office of the emperor was set up, and a system of bureaucratic administration established. After the Qin, China experienced about 13 more dynasties, many of which continued the extensive system of kingdoms, dukedoms, earldoms, and marquisates. The territory varied with several expansions and contractions depending on the strength of each emperor and dynasty. However the emperor had ultimate, supreme, and unquestionable authority as the political and religious leader of China. The emperor also consulted civil and martial ministers, especially the prime minister. Political power sometimes fell into the hands of powerful officials, eunuchs, or imperial relatives, often at the expense of a child heriditary emperor. This happened especially since the emperor often was many layers of power removed from the outside world, making him susceptible to manipulation because his sources for information could manipulate that information causing him to make incorrect decisions, especially when their age at becoming emperor often had no bottom limit, with rule passing heriditarily but also given "in trust" to another relative. Political relations with dependencies (tributary kingdoms) were maintained by international marriages, military aids, treaties, and gifts. (see section "Geography, Political" below for examples), Luoyang, Chang'an (today's Xi'an), Nanjing, and Beijing are the four cities most commonly designated as capitals of China over the course of history. Chinese was the official language, though periods of Mongol and Manchu conquest saw the arrival of Mongol and Manchu as alternate official languages. On January 1, 1912, the Republic of China (ROC) was established, signaling the end of the Manchu-dominated Qing Empire. Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist Party), was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However, Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who had defected to the revolutionary cause, soon forced Sun to step aside and took the presidency for himself (formally it was a negotiation where Sun agreed to step aside for what was then perceived as a strong reformer, Yuan). Before long, Yuan attempted to have himself proclaimed emperor of a new dynasty; however, he died soon of natural causes before fully taking power over all of the Chinese empire. After Yuan's downfall, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally-recognized, but virtually powerless, national government seated in Beijing (thus failing to fit the definition of a state). Warlords in various regions exercised actual control over their respective territories. state In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, was able to reunify the country under its own control, moving the nation's capital to Nanjing and implementing "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's program for transforming China into a modern, democratic state. Effectively, political tutelage meant one-party rule by the Kuomintang with heavy Leninist influences. Ironically, both the Kuomintang and the CCP have heavy Leninist influences. In 1947, constitutional rule was established, but because of the ongoing Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China (CPC), many provisions of the 1947 ROC constitution were never put into actual practice on the mainland. By early 1950, the CPC had defeated the Kuomintang on the mainland, and the ROC government retreated to the island of Taiwan. Beginning in the late 1970s, Taiwan began the implementation of full, multi-party, representative democracy in the territories still under ROC control (i.e., Taiwan Province, Taipei, Kaohsiung and some offshore islands of Fujian province). Today, the political scene in the ROC is vibrant, with active participation by all sectors of society. But rather than the usual conservative-liberal policy distinctions that are the hallmarks of most democracies around the world, the main cleavage in ROC politics is the unification with China in the long-run vs. formal independence issue. However, Greens are generally more liberal (i.e. more environmentally friendly) and Blues are generally regarded as more conservative. environmentally friendly Meanwhile, Mao Zedong, the leader of the communists, proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949 in Beijing, saying China had stood up. From the beginning, the PRC has been a dictatorial one-party state under the Communist Party. However, post-1978 reforms have led to the relaxation, in varying degrees, of party control over many areas of society. Nonetheless, the Communist Party still has absolute control over political aspects of society, and it continuously seeks to eradicate threats to its rule. Examples of this include the jailing of political opponents and journalists, general control of the press, regulation of religions and other non-party organizations, censorship of the press, literature and film, and suppression of independence/secessionist movements. In 1989, a popular demonstration held in Beijing at Tiananmen Square was violently put to an end by the Chinese government. Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989 The attempted eradication of the Falun Gong movement is also held by its supporters to be motivated by fear of Falun Gong's growing influence. Today, however, there is much more freedom in intellectual thought in non-political areas and propaganda, while still continuing, has lessened.

Territory

Historical overview

propaganda The Zhou Dynasty, which preceded the unification of China by Shi Huangdi, was originally the region around the Yellow River. Since then, the territory has expanded outward in all directions, and was largest during the Tang, Yuan, and Qing dynasties. The Qing Dynasty included parts of modern Russian Far East and Central Asia (west of Xinjiang). Xinjiang Along with provincial administrators, some foreign monarchs sent envoys to offer gifts to the Emperor of China and the Emperor returned compliments to them. The Chinese thought that the barbarians attached themselves to the virtue of the Emperor, while the foreign governments sometimes disagreed. Since the end of the 19th century, China has tried to reinterpret this relationship as suzerainty or suzerainty-dependency, but this no longer has any real conception in modern international political theories. The Qing Empire reduced the territorial value of the Great Wall of China as a barrier of China proper after they merged their homeland (Manchuria) north of the wall with China proper south of it. In 1683 after the surrender of the Kingdom of Tungning established by Koxinga, Taiwan including the Pescadores became a part of the Qing Empire, originally as one prefecture, then two, and later a province. Taiwan was subsequently ceded to Japan after the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895. At the end of the second Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Japan relinquished the sovereignty of the island in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and the Republic of China took over. Since then, the de jure sovereignty of Taiwan has been under dispute between the PRC, and the now democratic ROC and Taiwan independence supporters.

Historical political divisions

Historically, top-level political divisions of China have altered as the administration changed. Top levels included circuits and provinces. Below that, there have been prefectures, subprefectures, departments, commanderies, districts, and counties. Recent divisions also include prefecture-level cities, county-level cities, towns and townships (see below for examples). Historically, most Chinese dynasties were based in the historical heartlands of China, known by the politically-correct term of China proper (since it doesn't include places it doesn't control, such as Mongolia or Taiwan). Various dynasties also exhibited expansionism by engaging in incursions into more peripheral territories like Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The Manchu-established Qing Dynasty and its successors, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China cemented the incorporation of these territories into China. These territories are separated by borders that are vague at best, and do not correspond well to contemporary political divisions. China proper is generally thought to be bounded by the Great Wall and the edge of the Tibetan plateau; Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are found to the north of the Great Wall of China, and the boundary between them can either be taken as the present border between Inner Mongolia and the northeast Chinese provinces, or the more historic border of the World War II-era puppet state of Manchukuo; Xinjiang's borders correspond to today's administrative Xinjiang; and historic Tibet is conceived as occupying all of the Tibetan Plateau. China is also traditionally thought of as comprising North China (北方) and South China (南方), the geographic boundary between which north and south is largely generalized as Huai River (淮河) and Qinling Mountains (秦岭).

Geography and climate

Qinling Mountains
China within East Asia. ([http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/pdf/asia.pdf PDF])
China is composed of a vast variety of highly different landscapes, with mostly plateaus and mountains in the west, and lower lands on the east. As a result, principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Huang He (central-east), and the Amur (northeast), and sometimes toward the south (including the Pearl River, Mekong River, and Brahmaputra), with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific. Most of China's arable lands lie along the two major rivers, the Yangtze and the Huang He, and each are the centers around which are founded China's major ancient civilizations. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are found extensive and densely populated alluvial plains; the shore of the South China Sea is more mountainous and southern China is dominated by hill country and lower mountain ranges. To the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, with the Himalayas, containing the highest point Mount Everest. The northwest also has high plateaus among more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding. Due to a prolonged drought and perhaps poor agricultural practices, dust storms have become usual in the spring in China. Dust blows all the way to southern China, Taiwan, and has even been measured on the West Coast of the United States. United States native to the bamboo forests of central and southern China.]] During many dynasties, the southwestern border of China has been the high mountains and deep valleys of Yunnan, which separate modern China from Burma, Laos and Vietnam. The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (within which lies Beijing) has a climate with winters of Arctic severity. The central zone (within which Shanghai is situated) has a generally temperate climate. The southern zone (within which lies Guangzhou and other southern provinces) has a generally subtropical climate. The Palaeozoic formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the Carboniferous system, are marine, while the Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits are estuarine and freshwater or else of terrestrial origin. Groups of volcanic cones occur in the Great Plain of north China. In the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas, there are basaltic plateaux.

Demographics

Shandong.]] Over a hundred ethnic groups have existed in China. In terms of numbers, however, the pre-eminent ethnic group in China is the Han, which is a group so diverse in its culture and language that some conceive of it as a larger overarching group bringing together many smaller, distinct ethnic groups sharing common traits in language and culture. Throughout history, many ethnic groups have been assimilated into neighbouring ethnicities or disappeared without a trace. Several previously distinct ethnic groups have been Sinicized into the Han, causing its population to increase dramatically; at the same time, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and cultural traditions, though still identifying as Han. Many times in the past millenia many foreign groups have, in turn, shaped Han language and culture, for example the queue is a pig tail hairstyle strictly enforced by the Manchurians on the Han populace. The term Zhonghua Minzu is sometimes used to describe a notion of a "Chinese nationality" transcending ethnic divisions. The government of the People's Republic of China now officially recognizes a total of 56 ethnic groups, of which the largest is the Han Chinese. China's overall population is 1.3 billion. With the global human population currently estimated at about 6.4 billion, China is home to approximately 20%, or one-fifth of the human species, homo sapiens. The lack of birth control and promotion of population growth during the rule of Mao Zedong resulted in a demographic explosion, culminating in over 1.3 billion people today. As a response to the problems this is causing, the government of the PRC has enacted a birth control policy, commonly known as the One-child policy. The Han speak several mutually unintelligible tongues, classified by modern linguists as being separate languages, but regarded within the Chinese languages as "dialects" or "local languages" (topolects) within a single Chinese language (the word for "area languages" has an implication of dialect rather than a separate language, although on the basis of use, these topolects can be found to be separate and mutually unintelligible, and are so classified by many linguists). The various spoken varieties of Chinese share a common written standard, "Vernacular Chinese" or "baihua", which has been used since the early 20th Century and is based on Standard Mandarin, the standard spoken language, in grammar and vocabulary. In addition, another, more ancient written standard, Classical Chinese, was used for writing Chinese by the literati for thousands of years before the 20th Century. Classical Chinese is no longer the predominant form of written Chinese, though it continues to be a part of high school curricula and is hence intelligible to some degree to many Chinese people. Other than Standard Mandarin, spoken variants are usually not written; the exception is Standard Cantonese, which is sometimes written as Written Cantonese in informal contexts. Written Cantonese.]]

Culture

Religion

The major religions of China are:
- Taoism - exact numbers unknown
- Buddhism - exact numbers unknown [about 8%]
- Christianity - 2 to 4% (this is a Western number, the Chinese official number is much smaller than 1%)
- Islam - 1% to 2%
- Falun Gong - exact numbers unknown (claim not to be a "religion", though from a scholarly perspective is a spiritual practice, claimed numbers of followers of the Falun Dafa are also regarded as unreliable) While the People's Republic of China is officially atheist it does allow religion under strict supervision. Historically, Taoism and Buddhism has been the dominant religion of Chinese societies, and continues to be so in Chinese societies outside of direct PRC control. In recent years, Falun Gong, a spiritual practice drawing upon Buddhism and Taoism, has attracted great controversy after the government of the People's Republic of China labeled it an evil cult and began an attempt to eradicate it. The Falun Gong itself denies that it is a cult or a religion, even though there is solid evidence that determines Falun Gong as a rather" abormal" cult, several members have been seen to burn themselves alive even before the Chinese government has reacted to Falun Gong, unfortuantely, most people are oblivious of this fact and even a majority of members are oblivious to this. The Falun Gong says that it has approximately 70-100 million followers, which is a bit higher than estimates by outside groups, though exact numbers are unknown. They regularly protest against their suppression, both domestically and internationally.

Arts, scholarship, and literature

Falun Gong.]] Chinese literature has a long and prolific continuous history, in part because of the development of printmaking during the Song Dynasty. Before that, manuscripts of the Classics and religious texts (mainly Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist) were manually written by ink brush (previously scratching shells) and distributed. Academies of scholars sponsored by the empire were formed to comment on these works in both printed and written form. Members of royalty frequently participated in these discussions. Tens of thousands of ancient written documents are still extant and more, from oracle bones to Qing edicts, are discovered each day, which had been formally ground up for use in Chinese medicine. oracle bones For centuries, opportunity for economic and social advancement in China could be provided by high performance on the imperial examinations. This led to a meritocracy, though in practice this was possible only among those who were not female or too poor to afford test preparation, as doing well still required tutorship. Nevertheless it was a system distinct from the European system of blood nobility. Imperial examinations required applicants to write essays and demonstrate mastery of the Confucian classics. Those who passed the highest level of the exam became elite scholar-officials known as jinshi, a highly esteemed socio-economic position. Chinese philosophers, writers, and poets have been, for the most part, highly respected, and played a key role in preserving and promoting the culture of the empire. Some classical scholars, however, were noted for their daring depictions of lives of the common people, often to the displeasure of authorities. (See List of Chinese authors, and List of Chinese language poets). The Chinese have created numerous musical instruments, such as the zheng, xiao, and erhu, that have spread throughout East and Southeast Asia, and especially areas under its influence. The sheng is the basis for several Western free-reed instruments. Chinese characters have had many variants and styles throughout the Chinese history, and were "simplified" in the mid-20th century on mainland China. Calligraphy is a major art-form in China, above that of painting and music. Because of its association with elite scholar-official bosses, it later on became commercialized, where works by famous artists became prized possessions. The great variation and beauty in the Chinese landscape is often the inspiration for great works of Chinese art. See Chinese painting for more details. Calligraphy, sushi, and bonsai are all millennia-old art that later spread to Japan and Korea.

Science and technology

Korea In addition to the cultural innovations mentioned above, technological inventions from China include:
- Compass
- Block Printmaking / Printing Technology
- Paper
- Asian abacus
- Gunpowder
- Crossbow
- Stirrup
- Lacquer
- Rudder
- Seismograph
- Silk
- Porcelain
- Paper money
- The Glider
- The Hot air balloon
- Fireworks
- Parachute Other areas of technological study:
- The main applications of mathematics in traditional China were architecture and geography. Pi (π) was calculated by 5th century mathematician Zu Chongzhi to the seventh digit. The decimal system was used in China as early as 14 Century BC. "Pascal's" Triangle was discovered by mathematician Liu Ju-Hsieh, long before Pascal was born.
- Studies in biology have been extensive, and historic records are consulted even today, such as pharmacopoeias of medicinal plant<

T-55

The T-54 and T-55 main battle tanks were the Soviet Union's replacements for the World War II era T-34 tank. The T-54/55 tank series is the most produced in the world, and very widely employed, especially by former client states of the Soviet Union. The T-54 and T-55 tanks are very similar and difficult to distinguish visually. Many T-54s were updated to T-55 standards. Soviet tanks were factory overhauled every 7,000 km, and often given minor technology updates. Many states have added or modified tank equipment (India affixed fake fume extractors to its T-54s and T-55s, so that Indian gunners wouldn't confuse them with Pakistani Type 59s). T-54 can be distinguished by a dome-shaped ventilator on the turret front-right, and has a SGMT 7.62 mm machine gun in a fixed mount in the front of the hull, operated by the driver. Early T-54s lacked a gun fume extractor, had an undercut at the turret rear, and a distinctive "pig-snout" gun mantlet. The T-55's new turret has large D-shaped roof panels, visible from above.

Production history

fume extractor The first T-54 was built in 1945, replaced the T-44 in production from 1947 as a result of a WWII project. At the time it was better armed and armoured than its West