Comparing: Type 59 vs. Type 58

Chinese medium tank. Initially, the vehicle was a copy of the Soviet medium T-54A tank. The Type 59 entered service in 1959. The first tanks manufactured had no gun stabilizer or night-vision device. Later the vehicle underwent several modernizations. Between 6,000 and 9,500 vehicles of all variants were manufactured from 1958 through 1987.

The U.S.S.R. exported a total of 1,800 T-34-76 and T-34-85 tanks to China. In 1954 the Chinese government made the decision to begin domestic production of the T-34-85 in 1958, with the new vehicle designated the Type 58. However, production was never initiated, and the Chinese army settled for modifications to the Soviet-made T-34s.