Japanese tanks of World War II
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) initially purchased foreign tanks for evaluation during World War I, and began developing its own indigenous designs during the late 1920s.
Due to the war with China, Japan produced a large number of tanks. Although initially the Japanese used tanks to good effect in their campaigns, full-scale armored warfare did not occur in the Pacific and Southeast Asian theaters as it did in Europe, and tank development was neglected in favor of naval activities. Later, during the last year of World War II the newest and best Japanese designs were not used in combat; they were kept back in expectation of defending the Japanese Home Islands.[1]
Initial tank procurement
Near the end of World War I, the Japanese showed an interest in armored warfare and tanks and obtained a variety of models from foreign sources. These models included one British Heavy Mk IV and six Medium Mark A Whippets, along with thirteen French Renault FTs (later designated Ko-Gata Sensha or "Type A Tank"). The Mk IV was purchased in October 1918 while the Whippets and Renaults were acquired in 1919.[2]
Trials with these vehicles were successful, and the army decided to establish an armored force in 1925, planning to form three
Doctrine
As with the Americans and the Italians, the Japanese originally adopted French-designed tanks, and were influenced by their doctrines and employment. As with many other nations at the time, the Japanese viewed the tank as a tool largely used in direct support of their infantry, and were rarely allowed independent action. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese tanks were successful, especially as the Chinese had no significant armoured forces of their own.
With their defeat by the
In addition, the terrain of
Older tanks continued to be used as defensive emplacements and infantry support weapons. Advanced Japanese tank designs, which could challenge Allied tanks did not appear until the close of World War II; as with many innovative weapons projects launched by Japan in the final years of the war, production could not advance beyond either small numbers or the prototype stage due to material shortages, and the loss of Japan's industrial infrastructure by the Allied bombing of Japan.[9][10]
Japanese designs
For both security and logistical reasons, certain officers and engineers in the Japanese Army Technical Bureau during the early 1920s were adamant that future tanks should be made in Japan. General Suzuki (chief of the Technical Bureau) protested at the Ministry of War decision to purchase foreign designs, which ultimately led to that decision being reversed. A special committee of the Imperial General Staff (Daihonei) worked on the feasibility of indigenous design and development of Japanese armor.[11]
However, indigenous design and production of armored vehicles would prove to be difficult, due to minimal experience with military motor vehicle design (the engineers had only designed several types of trucks and one type of tractor), along with low priority for tank steel production. Moreover, the first design had to be completed in only two years or the program would be canceled.[12][13]
Type 87 Chi-I (Experimental tank No.1)
Development of the first Japanese-designed tank began in June 1925. A team of engineers of the Technical Bureau participated in the development, including a young army officer, Major Tomio Hara.[14] Hara later became the head of the tank development department and rose to the rank of general. According to Hara, the first tank on the agenda was to develop a medium main battle tank.[15] The team started their design and worked hard to complete the project within the two years allocated.[16] As this was the first tank designed in Japan, they had to begin with almost every component built from scratch.[13]
The design was completed in May 1926 and production was ordered to begin at the Osaka Army Arsenal. At the time, there was little heavy industry allocated to the production of motor vehicles in Japan, so there were significant difficulties creating the prototype. The prototype Experimental tank No.1 l/k/a Type 87 Chi-I was completed by February 1927. The 20-ton tank underwent field trials, but proved to be under-powered.[17][18] The weight of the initial prototype and its low speed did not impress the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office, so a new requirement was issued for a lighter tank, with a nominal 10-short-ton (9.1-metric-ton) weight. The new design was modeled after a Vickers Medium Mark C tank, which had been purchased by the Japanese Army in March 1927.[4] Along with the Osaka Army Arsenal, Sagami Army Arsenal was also assigned to oversee the design and manufacture of assorted types of armored vehicles and tanks.
The tank had a complex parallelogram suspension system with two pairs of road
Type 89 Chi-Ro medium tank
The IJA decided that the Type 87 Chi-I was too heavy and slow to be used as its main tank, so the Type 89 Chi-Ro was developed to overcome these shortcomings.[21] The new design weighed 12.8 tons and used stronger and lighter steel plate instead of the Type 87's iron armor. Armament was a Type 90 57 mm gun, along with two Type 91 6.5 mm machine guns.[22] The Type 89 prototype was completed in 1929, with production starting in 1931, making this the first tank to be mass-produced in Japan.[23] The designation is also known as the Type 89 "I-Go" and sometimes transliterated "Yi-Go".[24][25]
The Type 89 had two variants - the Kō ("A"), which used a water-cooled
Type 95 Ha-Go light tank
The Type 95 Ha-Go was a replacement for the Type 89 medium tank, which was considered too slow for mechanized warfare. The prototypes were built by Mitsubishi and production was started in 1936, with 2,300 completed by the end of the war.[29] It was armed with a 37 mm main gun and two 7.7 mm (0.303 inch) machine guns, one in the rear section of the turret and the other hull-mounted. The Type 95 weighed 7.4 tons and had three crewmen.[30][31]
Type 95 Ha-Go tanks served during the
Several variants were built, among them: the prototype
Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank
The Type 97 medium tank Chi-Ha (九七式中戦車 チハ, Kyunana-shiki chu-sensha chiha) was the most widely produced
With the development of a new main tank gun came a revised version of the Type 97, designated Type 97 Shinhōtō Chi-Ha ("new turret" Chi-Ha) or Type 97-Kai ("improved").[39] It used the high-velocity Type 1 47 mm tank gun in its new, larger three-man turret.[39] It replaced the original model in production in 1942. In addition, "about 300" of the Type 97 tanks with the older model turret and 57 mm main gun were converted.[39]
Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha tanks were first used in combat during the battle of Corregidor Island of the Philippines in 1942.[41] While shown thereafter to be vulnerable to opposing Allied tanks (US M3 Lee/British M3 Grant, M4 Medium and T-34), the 47 mm high-velocity gun did give the Shinhoto Chi-Ha a fighting chance against them and it is considered to be the best Japanese tank to have seen "combat service" in the Pacific War.[42][43]
Type 98 Ke-Ni light tank
The Type 98 light tank Ke-Ni (九八式軽戦車 ケニ, Kyuhachi-shiki keisensha Ke-Ni) was designed to replace the
Even though the
One prototype variant was the
Type 1 Chi-He medium tank
The Type 1 Chi-He was developed in 1942 to replace the Type 97. The three-man turret and 47 mm gun of the Type 1 were retrofitted on the modified hull of the Type 97, which the factories were already producing. Its angled, thicker frontal armor was welded, as opposed to riveted. The Mitsubishi Type 100
Even so, production did not begin until 1943, due to the higher priority of steel allocated to the
Type 3 Chi-Nu medium tank
The Type 3 Chi-Nu medium tank was urgently developed to counter the American
The Chi-Nu did not see combat during the war. All produced units were retained for the defense of the Japanese Homeland in anticipation of the projected Allied Invasion.[62] They were to be part of the "Mobile Shock Force" to be used for counter-attacks against the anticipated Allied invasion.[63] The 4th Tank Division based in Fukuoka on Kyushu had a "significant" number of the Type 3 Chi-Nu tanks produced at its depot by the end of the war.[64]
Type 4 Chi-To medium tank
The Type 4 medium tank Chi-To (四式中戦車 チト, Yonshiki chūsensha Chi-To) was one of several new medium and heavy tanks developed by the Imperial Japanese Army towards the end of World War II. It was the most advanced Japanese wartime tank to reach the production phase.[65]
The Type 4 Chi-To was a thirty-ton, all-welded tank with a maximum armor thickness of about 75 mm. It was much larger than the Type 97 Chi-Ha, with a longer, wider, tall chassis, supported by seven road wheels on each side.
Type 5 Chi-Ri medium tank
The Type 5 medium tank Chi-Ri (五式中戦車, Go-shiki chusensha Chi-ri) was the ultimate
Along with the Type 4 Chi-To tanks, the Type 5 Chi-Ri was originally considered for use in the final defense of the
As with other Japanese tanks there were variants of the Type 5 Chi-Ri planned. The experimental Type 5 Ho-Ri tank destroyer was a more powerful tank destroyer (gun tank) than ones already produced, such as, the Type 1 Ho-Ni I, Type 1 Ho-Ni II and Type 3 Ho-Ni III.[73] The Type 5 Ho-Ri was to use a 105 mm cannon with an additional 37 mm gun mounted in the front hull. The superstructure for the main gun was placed at the rear, the engine was positioned in the center of the chassis and the driver's station was in the front hull section; all similar in design to the German Ferdinand/Elefant heavy tank destroyer.[74] Another planned version was to have a twin 25 mm anti-aircraft gun mounted on top of the rear casemate superstructure.[75] There was also a planned variant known as the Ho-Ri II, with the boxy superstructure for the main 105 mm cannon designed to be integral with the hull's sides and placed at the center of the chassis (similar to the German Jagdtiger).[76] The 105 mm main gun was produced and tested.[50] However, according to multiple sources, no prototypes of the Ho-Ri were completed.[50][77][78]
O-I super-heavy tank
The O-I experimental super-heavy tank had three turrets and weighed 120+ tons, and required a crew of 11 men.[79][80] It was 10 meters long by 4.2 meters wide with an overall height of 4 meters. The armor was 200 mm at its maximum, and the tank had a top speed of 25 km/h. It had two gasoline engines, and was armed with 1 x 105 mm cannon, 1 x Type 1 47 mm gun (in a forward-mounted sub-turret), and 3 x Type 97 7.7 mm machine guns (one mounted in a forward sub-turret and two in rear hull sub-turrets).[80][81] It has been reported that a prototype of the O-I was built in 1943, with the project ending after the tank proved to be "impractical".[80] However, the complete development history of the O-I prototype is unknown.[61][79] No images of the O-I are known to exist.[80]
Amphibious tanks
During the 1930s and 1940s, Japan produced a number of amphibious tank designs, including prototypes such as the
The Type 1 Mi-Sha was an early experimental design that led to the first production Japanese amphibious tank known as the Type 2 Ka-Mi, which was based on the
The Type 3 Ka-Chi was based on an extensively modified Type 1 Chi-He medium tank and was a larger and more capable version of the earlier Type 2 Ka-Mi.[84] However, given the fact the main priorities of the navy were in warship and aircraft production, and lacking in any definite plans for additional amphibious operations, production of the Type 3 Ka-Chi remained a very low priority.[88] Only 12 to 19 Type 3 Ka-Chi tanks were built by the end of the war.[46][89]
The Type 5 To-Ku was a large, heavy prototype based on the Type 5 Chi-Ri chassis and Type 3 Ka-Chi. It was fitted with a modified turret of the one used on the
Overall production
In the period between 1931 and 1938 the Japanese built nearly 1,700 new tanks
See also
- List of Japanese armoured fighting vehicles of World War II
- Tanks in the Japanese Army
- List of Japanese armored divisions
References
Notes
- ^ Zaloga 2007, p. 42.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, p. 4.
- ^ Hara 1972, p. 3.
- ^ a b Tomczyk 2002, pp. 7, 10.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 4, 5.
- ^ Foss 2003, p. 220.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 3, 13, 15.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 15–18.
- ^ a b Tomczyk 2005, pp. 3, 5, 29.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 3, 22.
- ^ Tomczyk 2002, pp. 3, 4.
- ^ Hara 1972, pp. 3, 4.
- ^ a b Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: "The Development of Imperial Japanese Tanks"
- ^ Hara 1972, pp. 1–4.
- ^ Hara 1972, p. 1.
- ^ Hara 1972, p. 4.
- ^ Tomczyk 2002, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Roland 1975, p. 10.
- ^ Hara 1972, p. 5.
- ^ Hara 1972, pp. 15–17.
- ^ Tomczyk 2002, pp. 7, 10, 17.
- ^ Tomczyk 2002, pp. 19, 25.
- ^ a b Zaloga 2007, pp. 5, 6.
- ^ Tomczyk 2002, p. 17.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, p. 5.
- ^ a b Zaloga 2007, p. 10.
- ^ Tomczyk 2002, p. 27.
- ^ a b Zaloga 2007, p. 11.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 10, 17.
- ^ Tomczyk 2002, pp. 67, 74.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, p. chart D.
- ^ Coox 1985, pp. 350, 370.
- ^ a b Hunnicutt 1992, p. 395.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 18, 19, 20.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007a, p. 19.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 10, 11, 16–22.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 13, 14.
- ^ a b c d Zaloga 2007, p. 14.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007a, pp. 12, 13, 15.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, p. 16.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, p. 61.
- ^ Zaloga 2012, p. 15.
- ^ a b History of War: Type 98 Chi-Ni Light Tank
- ^ a b c Zaloga 2007, p. 18.
- ^ a b c d Zaloga 2007, p. 17.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007b, p. 14.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 17, 18.
- ^ History of War: Type 98 Type 2 Ke-To Light Tank
- ^ a b c d Zaloga 2007, p. 20.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007a, pp. 20, 21.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007a, p. 20.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 15, 20, 21, 22.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 17, 21.
- ^ Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: "Tanks after Chi-Ha"
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 17, 21, 22.
- ^ a b Tomczyk 2005, p. 5.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, pp. 3, 32.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, pp. 3, 5.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, p. 14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Zaloga 2007, p. 22.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 21, 22.
- ^ Rottman & Takizawa 2008, p. 16.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, p. 15.
- ^ History of War: Type 4 Chi-To Medium Tank Retrieved 10 December 2014
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, pp. 18, 20, 27.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, pp. 11, 14, 20, 30.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, pp. 18, 20, 30.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, p. 46.
- ^ a b History of War: Type 5 Chi-Ri Medium Tank Retrieved 10 December 2014
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, p. 29.
- ^ a b Tomczyk 2005, p. 23.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 19, 20.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007b, pp. 10, 30, 31.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007b, p. 32.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007b, pp. 33–35.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007b, p. 10.
- ^ Taki’s Imperial Japanese Army:105mm SP Gun Tank "Ho-Ri"
- ^ a b Estes 2014, p. 37.
- ^ a b c d Taki’s Imperial Japanese Army: Super-Heavy Tank "O-I"
- ^ Estes 2014, pp. 37, 38.
- ^ Tomczyk 2003, pp. 3, 4, 32.
- ^ Tomczyk 2003, p. 4.
- ^ a b Zaloga 2007, pp. 23, 24.
- ^ Tomczyk 2003, pp. 3–6.
- ^ "Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 2 Amphibious Vehicle "Ka-Mi"". Archived from the original on 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
- ^ Tomczyk 2003, pp. 29, 30.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, p. 24.
- ^ Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 3 Amphibious Tank "Ka-Chi"
- ^ Tomczyk 2003, pp. 32, 33, 43.
- ^ Tomczyk 2007b, p. 141.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, p. 3; "Japan was in the forefront of tank technology in the 1930s".
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 17, 19–24.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-8047-1160-9.
- Estes, Kenneth (2014). Super-heavy Tanks of World War II. Osprey. ISBN 978-1782003830.
- Foss, Christopher (2003). Tanks: The 500. Crestline. ISBN 0-7603-1500-0.
- Hara, Tomio (1972). Japanese Medium Tanks. AFV Weapons Profiles No. 49. Profile Publications Limited.
- Hunnicutt, R. P. (1992). Stuart: A History of the American Light Tank. Vol. One. Presidio Press. ISBN 978-0-89141-462-9.
- Miller, David (2000). The Illustrated Directory of Tanks of the World. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 978-0-7603-0892-9.
- Roland, Paul (1975). Imperial Japanese Tanks. Bellona Publication. ISBN 978-0852424346.
- Rottman, Gordon L.; Takizawa, Akira (2008). World War II Japanese Tank Tactics. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1846032349.
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2002). Japanese Armor Vol. 1. AJ Press. ISBN 83-7237-097-4.
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2007a) [2002]. Japanese Armor Vol. 2. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371119.
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2003). Japanese Armor Vol. 3. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371287.
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2005). Japanese Armor Vol. 4. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371676.
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2007b). Japanese Armor Vol. 5. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371799.
- ISBN 978-1-8460-3091-8.
- Zaloga, Steven J. (2012). M4 Sherman vs Type 97 Chi-Ha: The Pacific 1945. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1849086387.
Further reading
- Hara, Tomio (1973). Japanese Combat Cars, Light Tanks, and Tankettes. AFV Weapons Profile No. 54. Profile Publications Limited.
- McCormack, David (2021). Japanese Tanks and Armoured Warfare 1932–45. Fonthill. ISBN 978-1-78155-810-2.