The Type 73 100mm towed smoothbore antitank gun was developed in the mid-1970s as a result of China’s research on the 100mm smoothbore gun technology. The Type 73 is China’s first artillery gun that can fire the armour piercing fin stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) round. The Type 73 entered operational service with the PLA between 1981 and 1983 to replace the Type 56 85mm antitank gun. Apart from being used for the anti-armour purpose, the Type 73 could also be used for direct fire on soft targets such as bunkers, fortifications, non-armoured vehicles, and infantry soldiers.