Chonma-ho (Pegasus)

Chonma-ho (Pegasus) Story

Currently, with 1,250 or more vehicles, the Chonma-ho (or "Pegasus" or "Pegasus") represents one of the North Korean military's larger and more modern tank offerings. The Chonma-ho was designed back in the 1970s with the Second Machinery Industry Bureau receiving initial orders in 1976. Production (also handled by SMIB) officially started in 1980, and by 1989 about 470 units had been delivered to the North Korean army. The core of the tank is an improved version of the original Soviet-era T-62 series of main battle tanks.

Like most North Korean homegrown projects, Chonma-ho was developed in secret, with few public appearances during its lifetime (it was last seen in public at a parade in 1992). Regardless, it now represents a lethal component of North Korea's military, emphasizing core components of mobility and strength with figures reminiscent of Soviet Cold War tank theory.

The Soviet T-62 main battle tank appeared as the next evolution of the T-55 series. The T-62 entered service with the Red Army in mid-1961, with more than 22,700 produced in factories in the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia.

North Korea, a communist ally, participated in the production of the T-62 to improve its armor components after the Korean War (1950-1953). During this period, North Korean factories gained valuable experience in manufacturing front-line main battle tanks. The T-62 itself is an improved version of the T-55, replacing its 100mm main gun with a 115mm weapon.

Armor protection has also been improved.

The

Chonma-ho became the homegrown main battle tank program developed by North Korean authorities to bridge the gap between its armored forces and South Korean and U.S. forces. The Koreans eventually developed and fielded the mighty K1 series main battle tanks, while the local American contingent fielded their mighty M1 Abrams tanks.

The Chonma-ho program is similar in scale to other North Korean homegrown modernization attempts, driven by their former global allies leaving them alone in a changing world. Communism was dead in the "new" Russia, and the economic downturn soon followed, and China became increasingly concerned about its own economic well-being.

From the outset, the Chonma-ho quickly replaced (at least on paper) the WWII-era T-34 tanks, the Soviet-era T-62 tanks, and the Chinese Type 59 tanks in service with the North Korean army at the time. However, it remains to be seen how "modern" the Chonma-ho system is in actual combat.

The

Chonma-ho's design follows conventional armored wisdom, largely due to its Soviet origins. The turret is located amidships and forward of the engine room. The crew managed their positions in the front and middle of the armored hull.

Like the T-62, the Chonma-ho maintains a low profile, making it more difficult to hit targets from any angle. The front armor plate is well sloped and relatively flat, while the turret is centrally located in the hull and looks like an upside-down "frying pan" with a round fairing for better ballistic protection.

The barrel is located lower on the front of the turret with a prominent smoke vent in the middle. A searchlight was mounted near the cannon's hood, and a large-caliber anti-aircraft gun was mounted on the commander's cupola. There is a single track system on each side of the hull consisting of five widely spaced wheels.

The track idler is mounted to the front of the hull, while the drive sprocket is located aft near the engine. The side skirt armor is standard Chonma-hos production, and a cylindrical external fuel tank can be mounted along the structural support arms on the trailing edge of the fuselage to improve the operating area.

According to reports, Chonma-ho weighs 40 tons, has a hull length of 6.63 meters and a total height to the spire of 3.52 meters. The standard operator consists of four people, including the driver, tank commander, gunner and loader. Protection included "spacer" armor on all fairings, and explosive reactive armor (ERA) was found in later production models, especially on the turret sides. The turret structure itself consists of cast armor. Power comes from a diesel engine mounted in the rear compartment for maximum survivability.

Rated around 750 hp, it can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h and have a range of 450 km. The suspension system is of the torsion bar type for excellent off-road performance. The main armament is centered on the standard 2A20 series 115mm smoothbore main gun, although the tank series was upgraded to the more powerful 2A46 series 125mm smoothbore main gun in later models.

Secondary armament consists of a heavy 14.5mm KPV anti-aircraft machine gun and a coaxial 7.62mm PKT infantry machine gun. Smoke grenade launchers were eventually added to the line on either side of the turret.

As many as five different forms of the Chonma-ho are believed to exist, either based on the Syrain T-62 development or based on the Soviet T-62D. An internal upgrade program has transformed chonma-ho further from its foreign roots into a distinctly North Korean end product. Therefore, base names have been used to denote varying degrees of variation from model to model. These include the characters of Chonma-ho I (Ga), Chonma-ho II (Na), Chonma-ho III (Da), Chonma-ho IV (Ra) and Chonma-ho V (Ma). The Chonma-ho I was a clone of the T-62, while the Chonma-ho II covered the imported T-62 with a laser rangefinder above the hood.

The Chonma-ho III is believed to have improved hull and turret armor as well as a redesigned main gun heat shield. The Chonma-ho IV and V models are considered the latest iterations of the Chonma-ho series, with the difference being the ERA block on the turret side (and additional rear storage box) in the IV variant and the turret side-mounted smoke grenade V-type Discharger, new engine, ERA block, 125mm main gun and night vision capability. In addition to these direct variants, Chonma-ho's chassis is used to produce Armored Rescue Vehicle (ARV) and Command Vehicle versions with fake main guns and additional communications equipment. The "Main Body Treasure" is a self-propelled weapon that uses Pegasus' chassis and various large-caliber main guns (up to 152 mm) on a circular closed turret mount.

Since the North Korean military places a high priority on artillery systems in its inventory, the development of the main armament is not entirely unexpected.

As with other North Korean homegrown projects, little is known about the provenance of key components and components needed to make weapons systems like the Quanmaho. Some key elements are believed to be imported to save valuable development and production time, and possible sources are Russia, Slovakia or Syria.

The rest are considered homegrown because North Korea has maintained some manufacturing capabilities and previous expertise over the years of operating (and building) Soviet equipment.

Iran is the only known operator of Chonma-ho and ordered 150 units in 1981. These were provided by North Korea starting in 1982, and the deal was completed in 1985.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

40 x 115mm projectile.

300x14.5mm ammo.

2,500x7.62mm ammo.

12 x Smoke Grenade.

Changes