Special number 3 light tank Ku-Ro
Special number 3 Ku-Ro (So-Ra) | |
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Bell crank | |
Maximum speed | 43 km/h (27 mph) on road[1] |
The Special number 3 light tank Ku-Ro (特三号戦車 クロ) (also known as the "So-Ra"[1]) was an experimental Japanese winged light tank project, developed during World War II. It is one of the notable aircraft concepts developed during that war.[2]
Context
The main problem that the army faced was the difficulty of moving armored fighting vehicles long distances over the main islands of Japan to resist seaborne invasion. They came up with the idea that it could be done by equipping the vehicle with wings, empennage, and take-off carriages. Once landed, all the items that needed to make the vehicle airborne would be quickly detached to allow it to go into action as a ground vehicle.
In 1939, the Japanese Army Air Force Examination Department began the concept development of what became the Special Tank No.3 Ku-Ro. The glider for this project was given the army designation Ku-6 (Japanese: ク六 (Ku roku)), which can also be read or abbreviated as "Ku-Ro", and thus that also became the code name for the tank the glider was intended to carry.[3][4]
Development
In the fall of 1943, the
Design
Mitsubishi based the tank on their
Glider
Ku-6 | |
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Role | Winged tank |
National origin | Empire of Japan |
Manufacturer | Maeda Aircraft Corporation |
Status | Experimental |
Number built | 1 |
Developed from | Type 98 Ke-Ni (ostensibly)
|
The glider developed for the Ku-Ro was the Maeda Ku-6 a 700 kg
When mounted in the Ku-6 glider, the Ku-Ro had a wingspan of 22 m, a length of 12.8 m and a total weight of 4.2 tons.[1] The glider was designed to be towed behind a Mitsubishi Ki-21 medium bomber. The tracks of the tank were unable to match Ki-21's take-off and landing speeds and since taking-off and landing would cause a great amount of damage from friction to the tracks, a pair of detachable skis were made part of the glider. The glider, after being launched and landing could quickly be disassembled and removed from the Ku-Ro tank.
Specifications
Data from Fighting gliders of World War II[5]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 1 light tank (2,800 kg (6,174 lb)
- Wingspan: 21.9 m (71 ft 10 in)
- Wing area: 60.3 m2 (649 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 697.6 kg (1,538 lb)
- Gross weight: 3,498 kg (7,712 lb)
Project fate
By 1945 the project was cancelled, even though Maeda had completed the prototype glider in January of that year.[6] Only a mockup of the prototype tank had been completed by Mitsubishi.[1] The cancellation was caused by a combination of technical problems, related to the poor maneuverability of the glider and stress on the tank, and the changing nature of the war for Japan. The Pacific War was going poorly for Japan by 1944. The Japanese had lost air supremacy to the United States Air Force and the chances of any large Japanese aircraft towing a glider being intercepted and shot down were very high and would mean not only the loss of the aircraft but the tank, as well. As with many innovative weapons projects launched by Japan in the final years of the war, production could not advance beyond the prototype stage due to material shortages, and the loss of Japan's industrial infrastructure to the Allied bombing of Japan.[7][8]
See also
- Winged tank
- Antonov A-40, a Russian flying tank
- Baynes Bat, an experimental British design
- Light Tank Mk VII Tetrarch
- Japanese tanks of World War II
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Special No. 3 Flying Tank "So-Ra" or "Ku-Ro"
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8117-0808-1.
- ISBN 978-1857803174.
- ^ Pentelic, Marko (25 July 2022). "Maeda Ku-6". The Online Tank Museum. Tanks Encyclopedia. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ISBN 978-0312289270.
- ISBN 0811744663.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, pp. 3, 5, 29.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, pp. 3, 22.
References
- 木俣滋郎『幻の秘密兵器 恐るべき先駆的技術の集大成』廣済堂出版 1977年
(後に光人社NF文庫から再版 1998年ISBN 4-7698-2204-9) - Tomczyk, Andrzej (2005). Japanese Armor Vol. 4. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371676.
- ISBN 978-1-8460-3091-8.