According to the findings in the Persian war, Colonel Wang proposed to set up storm artillery units. With their heavy armament on chain-driven chassis they should serve at direct support of infantry divisions and be in a position to destroy enemy bunkers and fortified positions.
Assault guns can be built faster, easier and less expensive than regular tanks, because they do not have rotating turrets. The gun is inserted into the front of the vehicle, so it must be turned to roughly aligning the entire vehicle, while the fine adjustment is via a ball joint. Other advantages additional to the low price, is the low silhouette and the heavy armor in the front.
In February 1942, the CTMCO (Chinese Tractor Manufacturer Company) handed over the first 12 prototypes to the Chinese army.
Serial production started with the beginning of 1943.
RS-50b
assault gun
Informations:
crew: 4 (Driver, gunner, loader, commander)
weight: 24,5 metric tons
armament: 10,5 cm SBG-2-1, 1x machine gun
ammunition: 30 shots for the gun, 500 rounds for the MG
engine: V-12 diesel-engine, 305 hp
speed: on-road= 45 Km/h
range: 350 Km
armor:
hull front = 60 mm
hull sides = 40 mm
hull rear = 30 mm
hull downside = 15 mm
hull topside = 15 mm
turret front = 65 mm
turret sides = 40 mm
turret rear = 25 mm
turret topside = 15 mm
[size=1]Thanks to Daidalos for the drawing[/size]