Japanese armored vehicles prior to 1939
Дата: 10.12.2013 01:31:41
pizzastorm: Hello Tankers,
With the 8.10 update on the way, let's take a look at the history of the Japanese armoured vehicles.
Japanese armored vehicles prior to 1939
In the middle of the XIX century, Japan entered the ‘Meiji Restoration’ era. In only a few decades, a backwards island state had converted into powerful country with a strong military. In the meantime Japan had undertaken a course of aggressive external politics. Winning a war with China in 1895, and, afterwards, with the Russian Empire in 1905, the Land of the Rising Sun was ensuring its dominance in the Far East region.
When tanks first appeared in the 1916, they received the close attention of Japanese military forces. Colonel Hoshino wrote the following in the years after the First World War: ‘No country can consider itself defended, if it has no powerful artillery, modern tanks and aviation under control’. Soon a special Imperial General Staff committee was created with its remit being to stand up an armoured force. From 1917 to about 1927 Japan was actively purchasing and testing foreign tank prototypes, among them the Vickers Mk С, Mk A Whippet and Renault FT.
The first Japanese tank was ‘#1 Chi-I’ name. It was produced by the arsenal in Osaka in 1927 from plans drawn up by the IJA Technical Bureau. One of the engineers was future-general Tomio Hara, arguably Japan’s version of Estienne. The tank was equipped with two turrets, one conventional and the other in the front hull, which mounted a 57mm gun along with machine guns. When displayed, it received a rousing ovation from the Japanese officers watching, mainly due to sheer disbelief that the Japanese industry could make a tank which at least ran. Being Japan’s first home-brew design, however, it was inevitably flawed and never entered production.
More or less in parallel came the development of the Type 87. Another tank of limited capability it did, however, provide some basis for the first successful Japanese tank, the Type 89, which also borrowed very heavily from the Vickers C. This became Japan’s first domestic production tank, but the factory could not keep up with the demands of the nascent Japanese tank corps, and additional tanks still needed to be imported from overseas: Some two dozen Renault NCs (Locally named “Otsu”) were purchased to fill the gaps.
NC was not the only “Otsu”, however. About a third of the Type 89s manufactured through the production run were powered by a 120hp diesel engine, this was the “Yi-Go Otsu”, as opposed to the petrol-powered “Yi-Go Ko”
.
Interestingly, the Japanese Army in the early 1930s had a quirk in common with the US Army of the period. “Tanks” belonged to the infantry. The cavalry had to make do with “Heavy Armored Cars” (Jyu Shokosha) which looked suspiciously like tanks. Type 92 was the Japanese cavalry’s light tank. US documents for some reason seem to call it the Type 93. Later versions of this tank…erm.. armoured car had the elliptical springs replaced by the more typical Japanese Bell and Crank.
There was one additional quirk to note of the Japanese tank development before they settled down into the mass production of the tanks which saw wide-spread service, and that was the Type 95 Heavy Tank. Of course, ‘heavy’ was a relative term, but at 26 tons, it was far and away the heaviest thing the Japanese were messing around with in 1934. Armed with a 70mm and 37mm in a tandem turret arrangement, with a whopping 1.5” or so of armor, the vehicle had a blissfully short run of four vehicles.
Japan got into the Tankette business in a big way with the Type 92 “TK”, which looks like nothing as much as it does a Vickers MkVI with the bell crank suspension system. Coming in at 3 tons, the armour was good against rifles only, and the vehicle was the oldest to see significant service during the war with the USA. A development of the vehicle was the Type 94 which modified the suspension to incorporate a trailing idler.
In the second half of 1930s ‘Tokio Gasu Denki’ corporation presented a prototype of another tankette, the Type 97 ‘Te-Ke’ tank to the Japanese military. Although the suspension was basically identical to that of the Type 94, as US reports put it “[t]his tankette shows a definite attempt on the part of the Japanese to design a simpler front plate and to improve the deflection angles of the armour. Its whole appearance evinces better design and cleaner features than its predecessors.” Combine the new slope with a heavier weight of over four tons, and this vehicle could actually stop a rice-ball if it wasn’t thrown too hard. Thanks to small size and good speed (up to 42 km/h), the tankette could undertake reconnaissance missions. ‘Te-Ke’ entered service in 1937. Aside from scouting missions, it was also use as an infantry support unit or observer vehicle. The tank was fielded in China, Burma, Philippines. In 1944 this tank formed part of team, which landed on Kwajalein atoll.
Mitsubishi started to get it right by 1935, however, with the Type 95 Light Ha-Go coming in at about 7 tons. It was of a conventional design of the time, with the transmission placed in the front of the tank, while engine space was put in the vehicle’s rear. Hull armor thickness was about 10-12 mm. The turret had space only for one crew member, and was to the left of the hull’s centerline. It was equipped with 37mm gun in the front and 6.5mm machine gun in the rear turret rear. Another 6.5mm MG was also placed in the front hull. The tank had a diesel 120-h.p. engine, and could reach speed of 30 km/h on cross-country terrain. The engine was selected with economy in mind, since its gasoline counterpart consumed more fuel. The vehicle received the typical Japanese suspension system.. Japanese tankers liked ‘Ha-Go’ for its simple and reliable design. On the other hand, tank had several weaknesses. Among them, a lack of modern communication devices, coaxial machine gun, and numerous access doors and removable armor components, which reduced the effective turret and hull armor even more than the startpoint for a light tank. ‘Ha-Go’ was manufactured until 1945 with over 2,300 being made. ‘Ha-Go’ also holds the distinction of being the only enemy tank to ever invade North America, during the occupation of the Aleutian Islands.
The fast light tank Type 98 ‘Ke-Ni’ was an interesting project, developed in 1938 by ‘Hino Jidosha Kosho’ company. Thanks to a powerful diesel engine it could speed along at some 50 km/h. Changes in suspension design decreased longitudinal oscillation during tank movement. ‘Ke-Ni’ was equipped with new turret, which had enough space for two crewmembers, which should have increased the combat effectiveness of the vehicle. The turret had a 37mm gun and 7.7mm machine gun mounted to the right of the main gun. There was also a Type 98B modification, which had radial cylinder engine and Christie suspension. ‘Ke-Ni’ was never mass produced. In 1942-1943 vehicles were created in a limited quantity of up to 113 tanks (different sources mention different numbers).
In 1936 Japanese military officials reviewed required performance characteristics for medium tanks. From that point engineers had to construct more maneuverable armored vehicles with bigger caliber guns. In order to meet the new requirements, Imperial army engineers created a 9.8 tonnes ‘Chi-Ni’ prototype. ‘Mitsubishi’ specialists also constructed a 15 tonne 'Chi-Ha' prototype.
‘Chi-Ni’ had a 135 h.p. engine, which allowed a 30 km/h maximum speed. The rear part of hull had a ‘tail’ designed for negotiating ditches, trenches and escarpments. Armor thickness was also increased by use of armor plate angles.The tank required three crewmembers for regular operation. Initially, the military favoured this tank, but the war in China showed that small weight and cheap production was, in the end a poor trade-off for the tougher armor of ‘Chi-Ha’ tank.
Chi-Ha’ entered service in 1937, but mass production has started only in 1939, when active battle engagement in China had ended. Considered a medium tank by the Japanese, but weighed in similarly, and was fairly analogous, to the American M3 light tank. This vehicle could travel at some 40 km/h, was armed with the 57mm Type 97 gun and two 7.7mm machineguns. Frontal armor plate thickness was equivalent to some 25mm. The hull was constructed by riveting rolled armor plates. The conical turret was offset to the right of the hull’s cental axis. In 1940, after tank combat around Nomonhan from which the Japanese did not come out the better, a new modification of tank appeared – ‘Shinhoto Chi-Ha’. It was equipped with new turret, which had a 47mm/L48 gun mounted. The shell from that gun penetrated 50mm armor at some 500m distance. ‘Chi-Ha’ tanks were used in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Guadalcanal. From 1938 till 1942 approximately 1200 vehicles of that type were produced.
Compared to Western nations, Japan started the creation of their own armored forces relatively late. But by the start of the Second World War Japanese constructors were able to create almost twenty domestic projects. This shows how fast and dynamically Japan was developing its own tank production.
Feel free to chime in below with your own Japanese armoured vehicle knowledge!
With the 8.10 update on the way, let's take a look at the history of the Japanese armoured vehicles.
Japanese armored vehicles prior to 1939
In the middle of the XIX century, Japan entered the ‘Meiji Restoration’ era. In only a few decades, a backwards island state had converted into powerful country with a strong military. In the meantime Japan had undertaken a course of aggressive external politics. Winning a war with China in 1895, and, afterwards, with the Russian Empire in 1905, the Land of the Rising Sun was ensuring its dominance in the Far East region.
When tanks first appeared in the 1916, they received the close attention of Japanese military forces. Colonel Hoshino wrote the following in the years after the First World War: ‘No country can consider itself defended, if it has no powerful artillery, modern tanks and aviation under control’. Soon a special Imperial General Staff committee was created with its remit being to stand up an armoured force. From 1917 to about 1927 Japan was actively purchasing and testing foreign tank prototypes, among them the Vickers Mk С, Mk A Whippet and Renault FT.
The first Japanese tank was ‘#1 Chi-I’ name. It was produced by the arsenal in Osaka in 1927 from plans drawn up by the IJA Technical Bureau. One of the engineers was future-general Tomio Hara, arguably Japan’s version of Estienne. The tank was equipped with two turrets, one conventional and the other in the front hull, which mounted a 57mm gun along with machine guns. When displayed, it received a rousing ovation from the Japanese officers watching, mainly due to sheer disbelief that the Japanese industry could make a tank which at least ran. Being Japan’s first home-brew design, however, it was inevitably flawed and never entered production.
More or less in parallel came the development of the Type 87. Another tank of limited capability it did, however, provide some basis for the first successful Japanese tank, the Type 89, which also borrowed very heavily from the Vickers C. This became Japan’s first domestic production tank, but the factory could not keep up with the demands of the nascent Japanese tank corps, and additional tanks still needed to be imported from overseas: Some two dozen Renault NCs (Locally named “Otsu”) were purchased to fill the gaps.
NC was not the only “Otsu”, however. About a third of the Type 89s manufactured through the production run were powered by a 120hp diesel engine, this was the “Yi-Go Otsu”, as opposed to the petrol-powered “Yi-Go Ko”
.
Interestingly, the Japanese Army in the early 1930s had a quirk in common with the US Army of the period. “Tanks” belonged to the infantry. The cavalry had to make do with “Heavy Armored Cars” (Jyu Shokosha) which looked suspiciously like tanks. Type 92 was the Japanese cavalry’s light tank. US documents for some reason seem to call it the Type 93. Later versions of this tank…erm.. armoured car had the elliptical springs replaced by the more typical Japanese Bell and Crank.
There was one additional quirk to note of the Japanese tank development before they settled down into the mass production of the tanks which saw wide-spread service, and that was the Type 95 Heavy Tank. Of course, ‘heavy’ was a relative term, but at 26 tons, it was far and away the heaviest thing the Japanese were messing around with in 1934. Armed with a 70mm and 37mm in a tandem turret arrangement, with a whopping 1.5” or so of armor, the vehicle had a blissfully short run of four vehicles.
Japan got into the Tankette business in a big way with the Type 92 “TK”, which looks like nothing as much as it does a Vickers MkVI with the bell crank suspension system. Coming in at 3 tons, the armour was good against rifles only, and the vehicle was the oldest to see significant service during the war with the USA. A development of the vehicle was the Type 94 which modified the suspension to incorporate a trailing idler.
In the second half of 1930s ‘Tokio Gasu Denki’ corporation presented a prototype of another tankette, the Type 97 ‘Te-Ke’ tank to the Japanese military. Although the suspension was basically identical to that of the Type 94, as US reports put it “[t]his tankette shows a definite attempt on the part of the Japanese to design a simpler front plate and to improve the deflection angles of the armour. Its whole appearance evinces better design and cleaner features than its predecessors.” Combine the new slope with a heavier weight of over four tons, and this vehicle could actually stop a rice-ball if it wasn’t thrown too hard. Thanks to small size and good speed (up to 42 km/h), the tankette could undertake reconnaissance missions. ‘Te-Ke’ entered service in 1937. Aside from scouting missions, it was also use as an infantry support unit or observer vehicle. The tank was fielded in China, Burma, Philippines. In 1944 this tank formed part of team, which landed on Kwajalein atoll.
Mitsubishi started to get it right by 1935, however, with the Type 95 Light Ha-Go coming in at about 7 tons. It was of a conventional design of the time, with the transmission placed in the front of the tank, while engine space was put in the vehicle’s rear. Hull armor thickness was about 10-12 mm. The turret had space only for one crew member, and was to the left of the hull’s centerline. It was equipped with 37mm gun in the front and 6.5mm machine gun in the rear turret rear. Another 6.5mm MG was also placed in the front hull. The tank had a diesel 120-h.p. engine, and could reach speed of 30 km/h on cross-country terrain. The engine was selected with economy in mind, since its gasoline counterpart consumed more fuel. The vehicle received the typical Japanese suspension system.. Japanese tankers liked ‘Ha-Go’ for its simple and reliable design. On the other hand, tank had several weaknesses. Among them, a lack of modern communication devices, coaxial machine gun, and numerous access doors and removable armor components, which reduced the effective turret and hull armor even more than the startpoint for a light tank. ‘Ha-Go’ was manufactured until 1945 with over 2,300 being made. ‘Ha-Go’ also holds the distinction of being the only enemy tank to ever invade North America, during the occupation of the Aleutian Islands.
The fast light tank Type 98 ‘Ke-Ni’ was an interesting project, developed in 1938 by ‘Hino Jidosha Kosho’ company. Thanks to a powerful diesel engine it could speed along at some 50 km/h. Changes in suspension design decreased longitudinal oscillation during tank movement. ‘Ke-Ni’ was equipped with new turret, which had enough space for two crewmembers, which should have increased the combat effectiveness of the vehicle. The turret had a 37mm gun and 7.7mm machine gun mounted to the right of the main gun. There was also a Type 98B modification, which had radial cylinder engine and Christie suspension. ‘Ke-Ni’ was never mass produced. In 1942-1943 vehicles were created in a limited quantity of up to 113 tanks (different sources mention different numbers).
In 1936 Japanese military officials reviewed required performance characteristics for medium tanks. From that point engineers had to construct more maneuverable armored vehicles with bigger caliber guns. In order to meet the new requirements, Imperial army engineers created a 9.8 tonnes ‘Chi-Ni’ prototype. ‘Mitsubishi’ specialists also constructed a 15 tonne 'Chi-Ha' prototype.
‘Chi-Ni’ had a 135 h.p. engine, which allowed a 30 km/h maximum speed. The rear part of hull had a ‘tail’ designed for negotiating ditches, trenches and escarpments. Armor thickness was also increased by use of armor plate angles.The tank required three crewmembers for regular operation. Initially, the military favoured this tank, but the war in China showed that small weight and cheap production was, in the end a poor trade-off for the tougher armor of ‘Chi-Ha’ tank.
Chi-Ha’ entered service in 1937, but mass production has started only in 1939, when active battle engagement in China had ended. Considered a medium tank by the Japanese, but weighed in similarly, and was fairly analogous, to the American M3 light tank. This vehicle could travel at some 40 km/h, was armed with the 57mm Type 97 gun and two 7.7mm machineguns. Frontal armor plate thickness was equivalent to some 25mm. The hull was constructed by riveting rolled armor plates. The conical turret was offset to the right of the hull’s cental axis. In 1940, after tank combat around Nomonhan from which the Japanese did not come out the better, a new modification of tank appeared – ‘Shinhoto Chi-Ha’. It was equipped with new turret, which had a 47mm/L48 gun mounted. The shell from that gun penetrated 50mm armor at some 500m distance. ‘Chi-Ha’ tanks were used in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Guadalcanal. From 1938 till 1942 approximately 1200 vehicles of that type were produced.
Compared to Western nations, Japan started the creation of their own armored forces relatively late. But by the start of the Second World War Japanese constructors were able to create almost twenty domestic projects. This shows how fast and dynamically Japan was developing its own tank production.
Feel free to chime in below with your own Japanese armoured vehicle knowledge!
Japanese armored vehicles prior to 1939