Type 4 Chi-To medium tank
Type 4 Chi-To | |
---|---|
Type | Medium tank |
Place of origin | Empire of Japan |
Production history | |
Designed | 1943–1944 |
No. built | 2 (completed)[1][2] |
Specifications | |
Mass | 30.48 tonnes (30.00 long tons; 33.60 short tons)[3] |
Length | 6.42 m (21 ft 1 in)[3] |
Width | 2.87 m (9 ft 5 in)[3] |
Height | 2.87 m (9 ft 5 in)[3] |
Crew | 5[3] |
Armor | 12–75 millimetres (0.47–2.95 in) |
Main armament | Type 5 75 mm tank gun (L/56.4) |
Secondary armament | 2 × Type 97 heavy tank machine guns[2] |
Engine | Mitsubishi AL Type 4 37.7 litre air-cooled V12 diesel engine with supercharger 400 hp at 2,000 rpm[3] (13.73 hp/tonne) |
Suspension | Bell crank |
Operational range | 250 kilometres (160 mi)[3] |
Maximum speed | 45 kilometres per hour (28 mph)[3] |
The Type 4 medium tank Chi-To (四式中戦車 チト, Yonshiki chūsensha Chi-To) ("Imperial Year 2604 Medium Tank Model 7") was one of several medium tanks developed by the Imperial Japanese Army towards the end of World War II. While by far the most advanced Japanese wartime tank to reach production, industrial and material shortages resulted in only a few chassis being manufactured and only two known to be completed. Neither of the completed Type 4 Chi-To tanks saw combat use.[1]
Design
The Type 4 Chi-To was a thirty-ton medium tank of all-welded construction and had maximum armor thickness of 75 mm (3.0 in) on the frontal plates. The turret was an enlarged variant of the one used on the Type 3 Chi-Nu medium tank and it carried a crew of five.[1][4] The tank was 6.42 m (21.1 ft) long, 2.87 m (9 ft 5 in) high, and 2.87 m (9 ft 5 in) wide.[3]
The main armament was a turret-mounted long-barreled (4.23 m) Type 5 75 mm tank gun capable of being elevated between -6.5 to +20 degrees. An 850 metres per second (2,800 ft/s) muzzle velocity gave it an armor penetration of 75 mm (3.0 in) at 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[5][6] The tank had a Type 97 heavy tank machine gun mounted in the hull and a ball mount on the side of the turret for a second machine gun.[2][7]
The Type 4's 400 hp (300 kW) diesel engine was significantly more powerful than the 180 kW (240 hp) engine of the
Development
Development of the Type 4 Chi-To began in 1943 as an intended successor to the
Intended Type 4 Chi-To output was 25 tanks per month; with 20 to be made at
At the end of World War II, two completed Type 4 Chi-To tanks were dumped into Lake Hamana in Shizuoka Prefecture to avoid capture by Allied occupation forces. One was recovered by the US Army, but the other was left in the lake. In 2013, there were efforts to locate the remaining tank, but it was not found.[11]
Ka-To self-propelled gun
Another 105mm SP gun planned was the Ka-To 105 mm SP AT gun. Ka-To's development was ordered in 1943. The engine placement was moved forward, while the gun placement was in the rear section of the hull. The open top superstructure was based on the Type 5 Na-To.[12] Two main guns for the Ka-To were completed in 1945. According to several sources, the Ka-To hull was based on the Type 4 Chi-To, which needed to be extended in length to accommodate the main gun. An extra road wheel was added to each side of the chassis.[13][14][15] However, according to another source, the incomplete Ka-To hull was based on the Type 5 Chi-Ri medium tank chassis.[12]
Tanks of comparable role, performance and era
- Soviet T-34-85
- German Panther
- British Comet
- American M4A3E8 "Easy Eight"
Gallery
-
Type 5 75 mm tank gun Mark I
-
Front angle close-up of Type 4 Chi-To with turret-mounted Type 5 75 mm tank gun
-
Type 4 Chi-To with ball-mounted machine gun on the turret
-
Type 4 Chi-To, with turret reversed
-
Front angle view of Type 4 Ho-Ro SPG and Type 4 Chi-To
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Zaloga 2007, p. 22.
- ^ a b c d Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 4 Medium Tank "Chi-To"
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Tomczyk 2005, p. 30.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, pp. 20, 30.
- ^ Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: "Tank Guns"
- ^ Hara 1972, p. 18.
- ^ Miller 2000, p. 187.
- ^ Tomczyk 2005, pp. 11, 14, 18, 20, 27, 30.
- ^ Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: "Tanks after Chi-Ha"
- ^ "The National Institute for Defense Studies, Ministry of Defense, Military Administration of Munitions Mobilization, Production Chart of January to April of 1945"
- ^ Takagi, Shogo Lake Hamana searched for WWII sunken tank April 17, 2013 The Japan Times Retrieved April 3, 2016
- ^ a b Tomczyk 2007, pp. 36, 37.
- ^ 日本語: 光人社、2002年、佐山二郎 著 『機甲入門』, 2002, p. 278.
- ^ 「帝国陸軍 戦車と砲戦車」学習研究社, 2002, p. 128.
- ^ Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: 105mm SP AT Gun "Ka-To"
Sources
- Hara, Tomio (1972). Japanese Medium Tanks. AFV Weapons Profiles No. 49. Profile Publications Limited.
- Miller, David (2000). The Illustrated Directory of Tanks of the World. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 978-0-7603-0892-9.
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2005). Japanese Armor Vol. 4. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371676.
- Tomczyk, Andrzej (2007). Japanese Armor Vol. 5. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371799.
- ISBN 978-1-8460-3091-8.
Further reading
- Foss, Christopher (2003). Great Book of Tanks: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day. Zenith Press. ISBN 0-7603-1475-6.
- Foss, Christopher (2003). Tanks: The 500. Crestline. ISBN 0-7603-1500-0.
- Gander, Terry J. (1995). Jane's Tanks of World War II. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-470847-4.
External links
- Media related to Type 4 Chi-To at Wikimedia Commons
- Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa
- Japan search for super tank that never saw action - The Telegraph, 12 April 2013 (accessed 2017-06-17)