At noon on April 30, 1975, the first tanks of the Liberation Army began to enter the Independence Palace, led by tanks numbered 843 and 390.
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At noon on April 30, 1975, leading the tank formation of the Liberation Army entering the Independence Palace were two T-54B tanks with the serial number “843” and Type 59 with the serial number 390. And both of these tanks had successively crashed through the side gate and the main gate of the last headquarters of the puppet government in Saigon, marking the end of the unjust war that divided the Vietnamese people for 20 years. Photo source: LIFE. |
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And the first tank of the Liberation Army to enter the courtyard of the Independence Palace was tank “390” belonging to Company 4, Battalion 1, Tank Brigade 203, Corps 2. One of the rapid troops advancing towards the center of Saigon on the historic day of April 30. Photo source: wordpress. |
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Although it was the first tank to enter the main gate of the Independence Palace, tank “843” was stuck at the side gate and could not move forward. Immediately, tank “390” quickly entered and crashed into the main gate of the palace instead of its comrade. This led to the difficulty in verifying which tank first crashed into the gate of the Independence Palace on April 30, 1975. It was not until later, thanks to a valuable documentary photo published by female journalist Francoise Demulder (France) in 1995, that the feat of tank “390” (commanded by Lieutenant Vu Dang Toan) was recognized. Photo source: Getty Images. |
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It was not until 2012 that the two legendary tanks “390” and “843” were recognized by the Government as National Treasures, to accurately confirm the feats of these two special tanks. And they will forever be a testament to a period of resistance against the US to save the nation. |
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Pictured is a replica of tank “390” displayed at the Independence Palace next to the replica “843”. The originals of these two tanks are kept at the Tank-Armored Museum. Photo source: Nissa Rhee. |
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Tank “390” is one of many Type 59 tanks that China provided to our country in the final stage of the resistance war against America, they operated alongside T-54/55 tanks made by the Soviet Union. And this was the main tank duo of our army at that time. Photo source: htka.hu. |
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To this day, the T-54/55 and Type 59 are still the core forces in our army's armored force, along with a number of other tank lines. Both of these tank lines are currently being researched and upgraded to the modernized T-55M3 variant, to improve their combat capabilities. Photo source: QĐND. |
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The Type 59 tank is essentially a localized variant of the former Soviet T-54A tank, manufactured and tested by China in 1958 before it was officially put into service in 1959. According to statistics, about 9,500 Type 59s were manufactured between 1958 and 1980. Photo source: QĐND. |
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Although quite outdated, the Type 59 is still used in many countries around the world with many different variations, including its birthplace. With the number of tanks still in operation reaching more than 5,000. Photo source: Army Recognition. |
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The Type 59 originally used a 100mm gun like the T-54, then some upgraded versions used a 105mm gun. With the effectiveness of the 105mm gun on the Type 59, the next variants of this tank line were standardized with a new main gun model. This can be considered the brightest upgrade of the Type 59 in the period from the early 1980s. Photo source: baidu.com. |
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After the end of the Cold War, the Type 59 was further developed into many different variants with at least 8 new variants besides the Type 59 II and Type 59D variants. During this period, the Type 59 also began to change its design with the addition of a defense system with explosive reactive armor in the weakest positions of the vehicle. Photo source: Wikipedia. |
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Currently, there are at least 10 countries in the world that still use the Type 59, most of which are prototype variants with 100mm guns or upgraded variants Type 69/79 or Type 59G. The Chinese Army itself is still in service with the Type 59 with 105mm gun variants. Photo source: sohu.com. |
According to Kienthuc