Type 3 Ka-Chi
Type 3 Ka-Chi | |
---|---|
Type 1 47 mm tank gun [1] | |
Secondary armament | 2× Type 97 7.7 mm machine guns [1] |
Engine | Mitsubishi Type 100 air cooled V-12 diesel 240 hp (179 kW) [1] |
Power/weight | 8.4 hp/tonne |
Suspension | Bell crank |
Operational range | 320 km [1] |
Maximum speed | 32 km/h (land) 10 km/h (swimming) [1] |
The Special Type 3 Launch Ka-Chi (特三式内火艇 カチ, Toku-san-shiki uchibitei Ka-Chi) was an amphibious medium tank developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The Type 3 Ka-Chi was based on an extensively modified Imperial Japanese Army Type 1 Chi-He medium tank (it had 2 more road-wheels and two more return rollers on each side) and was a larger and more capable version of the earlier Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tank.
History and development
The success of the Type 2 Ka-Mi design pleased the planners in the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, and it was determined that a larger version with stronger armor and armament would be useful in future amphibious warfare operations.[2] The Type 3 Ka-Chi prototype was completed in late 1943 and the first units entered service that same year.[2][3]
However, only 12 to 19 Type 3 Ka-Chi's were built from 1943 to 1945.[4][5] The main priorities of the Japanese 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.[2]
Design
The Type 3 Ka-Chi was based a heavily modified version of the chassis of the army's
The main gun of Type 3 Ka-Chi was the
Service record
The Type 3 Ka-Chi was produced in very limited numbers, but proved useful due to its capability to be launched from a
See also
- DD tank - World War II British tank flotation system.
- T-38 - World War II, Soviet amphibious light tank.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Tomczyk 2003, p. 33.
- ^ a b c Zaloga 2007, p. 24.
- ^ a b c d e f Tomczyk 2003, p. 32.
- ^ Zaloga 2007, p. 17.
- ^ Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 3 Amphibious Tank "Ka-Chi"
- ^ Tomczyk 2003, pp. 32, 33.
- ^ "Japanese Armored Vehicles of the Second World War". Archived from the original on 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- ^ Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: "Tank Guns"
- ^ Tomczyk 2003, pp. 22, 32.
References
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2003). Japanese Armor Vol. 3. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371287.
- ISBN 978-1-8460-3091-8.