| Type 96 Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier | |
|---|---|
 A Type 96 of the JGSDF displayed at Camp Shimoshizu | |
| Type | Armored personnel carrier |
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1995 - present |
| Used by | Japan |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Komatsu |
| Unit cost | 1.6 million $[1] |
| Produced | 1996-present |
| No. built | 346 (2012) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 14.6 tonnes (16.1 short tons) |
| Length | 6.84 metres (269 in) |
| Width | 2.48 metres (98 in) |
| Height | 1.85 metres (73 in) |
| Crew | 2 + 8 |
|
| |
Main armament | 1x Type 96 40mm Automatic grenade launcher or 1x 12.7 mm M-2HB machine gun |
| Engine |
Mitsubishi 6D40 water-cooled 6-cylinder diesel 360 hp |
| Suspension | 8x8 wheeled |
Operational range | 500 kilometres (310 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) (road) |
The Type 96 Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier (96式装輪装甲車 kyuu-roku-shiki-sourin-soukou-sya) is an armoured vehicle that entered service with Japan in 1995.
Description[]
The driver sits on the right side of the vehicle with the engine to his left. His position is fitted with three periscopes, the center of which can be replaced by a passive night vision periscope. For service in Iraq it appears that his position was fitted with an assembly of three windows to enable him to drive with his head out of the vehicle for greater situational awareness while still protected from small-arms fire. Behind him is the commander/gunner in a cupola that traverses 360° that can carry either a 40 mm grenade launcher (Type A) or a .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M-2HB machine gun (Type B). The passenger compartment has space for 8 infantrymen who can use 2 firing ports on each side. Photographic evidence shows no sign of any firing ports in the rear ramp despite numerous assertions to the contrary, unless they've been deleted or added at some point during the production run.
As of 2001 Japan reported to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs that 72 Type 96s were in service,[2] with an additional 22 procured that year.
A Type 96 on display at JGSDF Camp Matsudo
Operators[]
Japan: 346 (2012)
Notes[]
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to JGSDF Type 96 (APC). |
- Type 96 on military-today.com
- Type 96 on globalsecurity.org
- excerpt from Jane's Armour and Artillery 2008
| |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
The original article can be found at Type 96 Armored Personnel Carrier and the edit history here.