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The hull of the Type 61 is of all-welded steel construction. The driver is seated at the front of the hull on the right hand side and is provided with a single piece hatch that has three periscopes mounted forward of it. The turret is made of cast steel with an overhanging bustle similar to that of the US M47 medium tank and has a light sheet steel stowage box at the very rear. The turret is of conventional layout with the commander and gunner seated on the right hand side and the loader on the left. The commander has a domed-shaped cupola that can be rotated through 360 degrees and has a single piece hatch and four vision blocs. The commander is also provided with a periscope sight that has a magnification of x 7 mounted in the forward part of the cupola roof. The gunner is seated forward of the commander and has a telescopic sight with a magnification of x 6 and a periscope with a magnification of x 4. The loader is seated on the left-hand side of the turret and has a single piece hatch and has a single periscope mounted in the turret roof. The engine is a Mitsubishi Type 12 HM 21 12-cylinder diesel (600hp) coupled to a Mitsubishi mechanical manual transmission. The suspension is of a torsion bar type, with six dual rubber tired road wheels, drive wheel at the rear, idler at the front and three track return rollers. The first, second fifth and sixth road wheels have hydraulic shock absorbers. The main armament is a Type 61 90mm rifled tank gun, which is manufactured by the Japan Steel Works and is considered by many to be seriously undergunned. Mounted coaxially with the main armament is a 7.62mm Browning M1919A4 machine gun, while a 12.7mm (0.5) Browning M2 HB machine gun is mounted on the commander's cupola. The latter can be aimed and fired from within the tank. The Type 61 has no NBC system or deep wading equipment. Some models have been fitted with an infrared searchlight to the left of the main armament as well as infrared driving lights. Variants include the Type 67 Armoured Vehicle-Launched Bridge, Type 67 Armoured Engineer Vehicle, Type 70 Armoured Recovery Vehicle and the Type 61 training tank.
Hull length: 6.3m. Hull width: 2.95m. Height: 2.49m. Crew: 4. Ground Clearance: 0.4m. Weight: 35,000kg (combat) Ground pressure: 0.65kg/sq.cm Max speed: 45km/h. Max range (internal fuel): 200km on road. Armament: 90mm Type 61 90mm rifled gun, 1 x 7.62mm Browning M1919A4 machine gun coaxial, 1 x 12.7mm (0.5) Browning M2 HB machine gun on commander's cupola.