Twenty years before the outbreak of war with China and the ensuing offensive across Southeast Asia, the Empire of Japan began to form its armored forces. The experience of the First World War showed the prospects for tanks and the Japanese took note of it. The creation of the Japanese tank industry began with a thorough study of foreign vehicles. For this, starting in 1919, Japan purchased small batches of tanks of various models from European countries. In the mid-twenties, the French Renault FT-18 and the English Mk. A Whippet were recognized as the best. In April 1925, the first Japanese tank group was formed from these armored vehicles. In the future, the purchase of foreign samples continued, but did not have a particularly large size. Japanese designers have already prepared several projects of their own.
Renault FT-17/18 (The 17 had an MG, the 18 had a 37mm gun)
Tanks Mk. A Whippet of the Imperial Japanese Army
In 1927, the Osaka Arsenal showed the world the first Japanese tank of its own design. The vehicle had a combat weight of 18 tons and was armed with a 57 mm cannon and two machine guns. The armament was mounted in two independent towers. It is quite obvious that the first experience of independent creation of armored vehicles was not crowned with much success. The Chi-I tank was, on the whole, not bad. But not without the so-called. childhood illnesses, which was forgivable for the very first design. Taking into account the experience of testing and trial operation in the troops, four years later, another tank of the same mass was created. "Type 91" was equipped with three turrets, which were 70-mm and 37-mm cannons, as well as machine guns. It is noteworthy that the machine-gun turret, being designed to defend the vehicle from the rear, was located behind the engine compartment. The other two towers were located in the front and middle of the tank. The most powerful gun was mounted on a large medium turret. The Japanese used this armament and layout scheme on their next medium tank. "Type 95" appeared in 1935 and was even built in a small series. However, a number of design and operational features eventually led to the abandonment of multi-turret systems. All further Japanese armored vehicles were either equipped with one turret, or managed with a machine gunner's cabin or armored shield.
The first Japanese medium tank, which was referred to as the 2587 "Chi-i" (sometimes called the "# 1 medium tank")
Special tractor
After abandoning the idea of a tank with several turrets, the Japanese military and designers began to develop another direction of armored vehicles, which eventually became the basis for a whole family of combat vehicles. In 1935, a light / small tank "Type 94", also known as "TK" (short for "Tokubetsu Keninsha" - literally "Special tractor"), was adopted by the Japanese army. Initially, this tank with a combat weight of three and a half tons - because of this, it is listed as a wedge in the European classification of armored vehicles - was developed as a special vehicle for transporting goods and escorting convoys. However, over time, the project has developed into a full-fledged light combat vehicle. The design and layout of the Type 94 tank later became classic for Japanese armored vehicles. The body of the "TK" was assembled on a frame made of corners made of rolled sheets, the maximum thickness of the armor was equal to 12 millimeters of the upper part of the forehead. The bottom and roof were three times thinner. In the front part of the hull there was an engine-transmission compartment with a 35-horsepower Mitsubishi Type 94 gasoline engine. Such a weak engine was enough for a speed of only 40 km / h on the highway. The suspension of the tank was designed according to the scheme of Major T. Hara. Four track rollers per track were attached in pairs at the ends of the balancer, which, in turn, was mounted on the body. The damping element of the suspension was a coil spring installed along the body and covered with a cylindrical casing. On each side, the undercarriage was equipped with two such blocks, while the fixed ends of the springs were in the center of the undercarriage. The armament of the "Special Tractor" consisted of one Type 91 machine gun of 6.5 mm caliber. The Type 94 project was generally successful, although it had a number of shortcomings. First of all, the claims were caused by weak protection and insufficient weapons. Only one rifle-caliber machine gun was an effective weapon only against a weak enemy.
"Type 94" "TK" captured by the Americans
"Type 97" / "Te-Ke"
The terms of reference for the next armored vehicle implied higher levels of protection and firepower. Since the Type 94 design had a certain development potential, the new Type 97, aka Te-Ke, in fact became its deep modernization. For this reason, the suspension and design of the Te-Ke hull were almost completely similar to the corresponding units of the Type 94. At the same time, there were some differences. The combat weight of the new tank increased to 4.75 tons, which, combined with a new, more powerful engine, could lead to major changes in balancing. To avoid too much stress on the front road wheels, the OHV engine was placed in the rear of the tank. The two-stroke diesel engine developed power up to 60 hp. At the same time, an increase in engine power did not lead to an improvement in driving performance. The speed of the Type 97 remained at the level of the previous TK tank. Moving the engine to the stern required a change in the layout and shape of the front of the hull. So, thanks to the increase in free volumes in the nose of the tank, it was possible to make a more ergonomic driver's workplace with a more comfortable "wheelhouse" protruding above the frontal and upper hull sheets. The level of protection of the Type 97 was slightly higher than that of the Type 94. Now the entire body was assembled from 12 mm sheets. In addition, the upper part of the hull sides had a thickness of 16 millimeters. This interesting feature was due to the angles of inclination of the sheets. Since the frontal was located at a greater angle to the horizontal than the sidewalls, different thicknesses made it possible to provide the same level of protection from all angles. The crew of the tank "Type 97" consisted of two people. They did not have any special observation devices and used only observation slots and sights. The tank commander's workplace was located in the fighting compartment, in the tower. At his disposal was a 37 mm cannon and a 7, 7-mm machine gun. The Type 94 cannon with a wedge bolt was manually loaded. Ammunition of 66 armor-piercing and fragmentation shells was stacked along the sides, inside the tank hull. The penetration of an armor-piercing projectile was about 35 millimeters from a distance of 300 meters. Coaxial machine gun "Type 97" had more than 1700 rounds of ammunition.
Type 97 Te-Ke
Serial production of Type 97 tanks began in 1938-39. Before its termination in 1942, about six hundred combat vehicles were assembled. Appearing at the very end of the thirties, "Te-Ke" managed to take part in almost all military conflicts of that time, from battles in Manchuria to landing operations in 1944. At first, the industry could not cope with the production of the required number of tanks, so it was necessary to distribute them between the units with great care. The use of "Type 97" in battles went with varying success: weak armor did not provide protection against a large part of the enemy's firepower, and its own armament could not provide the required firepower and effective range of fire. In 1940, an attempt was made to install a new gun with a longer barrel and the same caliber on the Te-Ke. The muzzle velocity of the projectile increased by one hundred meters per second and reached a level of 670-680 m / s. Nevertheless, over time, the insufficiency of this weapon also became clear.
Type 95
A further development of the theme of light tanks was the "Type 95" or "Ha-Go", created a little later, "Te-Ke". In general, it was a logical continuation of the previous cars, but it was not without serious changes. First of all, the design of the undercarriage was changed. On previous machines, the idler wheel also played the role of a road roller and pressed the track to the ground. On "Ha-Go" this detail was raised above the ground and the track acquired a more familiar form for tanks of that time. The design of the armored hull remained the same - the frame and rolled sheets. Most of the panels were 12 millimeters thick, which kept the level of protection the same. The basis of the power plant of the tank "Type 95" was a six-cylinder two-stroke diesel engine with a capacity of 120 hp. Such engine power, despite the combat weight of seven and a half tons, made it possible to maintain and even increase the speed and maneuverability of the vehicle in comparison with the previous ones. The maximum speed of "Ha-Go" on the highway was 45 km / h.
The main weapon of the Ha-Go tank was similar to that of the Type 97. It was a 37mm Type 94 cannon. The suspension system of the gun was made in a rather original way. The gun was not rigidly fixed and could move both vertically and horizontally. Thanks to this, it was possible to roughly direct the gun by turning the turret and adjust the aiming using its own turning mechanisms. The gun ammunition - 75 unitary rounds - was placed along the walls of the fighting compartment. The additional armament of the Type 95 was initially two 6, 5 mm Type 91 machine guns. Later, with the transition of the Japanese army to a new cartridge, their place was taken by Type 97 machine guns of 7.7 mm caliber. One of the machine guns was installed in the rear of the turret, the other in a swinging installation in the front sheet of the armored hull. In addition, on the left side of the hull there were loopholes for firing from the crew's personal weapons. The Ha-Go crew, for the first time in this line of light tanks, consisted of three people: a driver mechanic, a gunner technician and a gunner commander. The duties of the technician-gunner included control over the engine and firing from the front machine gun. The second machine gun was controlled by the commander. He also loaded the cannon and fired from it.
The first experimental batch of "Ha-Go" tanks was assembled back in 1935 and immediately went to the troops for trial operation. In the war with China, due to the weakness of the latter's army, the new Japanese tanks did not achieve much success. A little later, during the battles at Khalkhin Gol, the Japanese military finally managed to test the Type 95 in a real battle with a worthy enemy. This check ended sadly: almost all the "Ha-Go" that the Kwantung Army had were destroyed by the tanks and artillery of the Red Army. One of the results of the battles at Khalkhin Gol was the recognition by the Japanese command of the inadequacy of 37-millimeter cannons. During the fighting, Soviet BT-5s, equipped with 45-mm guns, managed to destroy Japanese tanks even before they approached the range of confident defeat. In addition, the Japanese armored formations included many machine-gun tanks, which clearly did not contribute to success in battles.
"Ha-Go" captured by American troops on the island of Io
Later, the "Ha-Go" tanks clashed with American equipment and artillery. Due to the significant difference in calibers - the Americans were already using 75 mm tank guns with might and main - Japanese armored vehicles often suffered heavy losses. By the end of the Pacific War, Type 95 light tanks were often converted into stationary firing points, but their effectiveness was also low. The last battles with the participation of "Type 95" took place during the Third Civil War in China. Captured tanks were transferred to the Chinese military, with the USSR sending the captured armored vehicles of the People's Liberation Army, and the USA - the Kuomintang. Despite the active use of the "Type 95" after the Second World War, this tank can be considered quite lucky. Of the more than 2300 built tanks, a dozen and a half have survived to this day in the form of museum exhibits. A few dozen more tanks in damaged condition are local attractions in some Asian countries.
Average "Chi-Ha"
Soon after the start of testing the Ha-Go tank, Mitsubishi presented another project that dates back to the early thirties. This time the good old TK concept became the basis for a new medium tank called the Type 97 or Chi-Ha. It should be noted, however, that Chi-Ha had little in common with Te-Ke. The coincidence of the digital development index was due to some bureaucratic issues. Nevertheless, the matter was not done without borrowing ideas. The new "Type 97" had the same layout as the previous vehicles: the engine in the stern, the transmission in the front and the fighting compartment between them. The Chi-Ha design was carried out using a frame system. The maximum thickness of the rolled hull sheets in the case of the Type 97 increased to 27 millimeters. This provided a significant increase in the level of protection. As practice later showed, the new thicker armor turned out to be much more resistant to enemy weapons. For example, the American Browning M2 heavy machine guns confidently hit the Ha-Go tanks at distances of up to 500 meters, but they left only dents on the Chi-Ha armor. A more solid booking led to an increase in the combat weight of the tank to 15, 8 tons. This fact required the installation of a new engine. In the early stages of the project, two motors were considered. Both had the same power of 170 hp, but were developed by different firms. As a result, the Mitsubishi diesel engine was chosen, which turned out to be a little more convenient in production. And the possibility of quick and convenient communication between tank builders and engine engineers did the trick.
Taking into account the current trends in the development of foreign tanks, the designers of Mitsubishi decided to equip the new Type 97 with more powerful weapons than those of the previous tanks. A 57 mm Type 97 cannon was installed on the rotating turret. As in the "Ha-Go", the gun could swing on the trunnions not only in the vertical plane, but also in the horizontal plane, within a sector 20 ° wide. It is noteworthy that the fine aiming of the gun horizontally was carried out without any mechanical means - only by the physical force of the gunner. Vertical guidance was carried out in the sector from -9 ° to + 21 °. The standard gun ammunition contained 80 high-explosive and 40 armor-piercing shells. Armor-piercing ammunition weighing 2, 58 kg per kilometer pierced up to 12 millimeters of armor. At half the distance, the penetration rate increased by one and a half times. Additional weapons "Chi-Ha" consisted of two machine guns "Type 97". One of them was located in the front of the hull, and the other was intended for defense against attacks from behind. The new weapon made the tank builders go for another increase in the crew. Now it consisted of four people: a driver-mechanic, a shooter, a loader and a commander-gunner.
In 1942, on the basis of the Type 97, the Shinhoto Chi-Ha tank was created, which differed from the original model with a new cannon. The 47-mm Type 1 gun made it possible to increase the ammunition load to 102 shells and, at the same time, increase the armor penetration. The barrel with a length of 48 calibers accelerated the projectile to such speeds at which it could penetrate up to 68-70 millimeters of armor at a distance of up to 500 meters. The updated tank turned out to be more effective against armored vehicles and enemy fortifications, in connection with which mass production began. In addition, a considerable part of the more than 700 manufactured "Shinhot Chi-Ha" were converted during the repair from simple tanks "Type 97".
The combat use of "Chi-Ha", launched in the very first months of the war in the Pacific theater of operations, until a certain time showed sufficient effectiveness of the solutions used. However, over time, when the United States entered the war, which already had tanks such as the M3 Lee in its troops, it became clear that all light and medium tanks available to Japan simply could not fight them. To reliably defeat American tanks, precise hits were required on certain parts of them. This was the reason for the creation of a new turret with a Type 1 cannon. One way or another, none of the modifications of the "Type 97" could compete on equal terms with the equipment of the enemy, the USA or the USSR. Including as a result of this, out of about 2,100 units, only two complete Chi-Ha tanks have survived to this day. A dozen more survived in a damaged state and are also museum pieces.
