Tanks of Japan
These wheeled armored cars were not suitable for most operations in Manchuria, due to the poor road conditions and severe winter climate.
[9] The Imperial Japanese Army obtained a variety of models from foreign sources as Japan did not have any indigenous tank production capability at that time.
These models included one British Heavy Mk IV and six Medium Mark A Whippets, along with thirteen French Renault FTs (later designated Ko-Gata Sensha or "Type A Tank").
A team of engineers participated in the development of the medium main battle tank, including a young army officer, Major Tomio Hara.
[9][23] The initial attempt for the tracked vehicle resulted in the Type 92 Jyu-Sokosha heavy armoured car by Ishikawajima Motorcar Manufacturing Company (Isuzu Motors).
[46] In the ensuing Soviet counteroffensive in late August, armored units of the Red Army swept around the flanks and attacked the Japanese forces in the rear, achieving a classic double envelopment.
While vulnerable to opposing Allied tanks (US M3 Lee/British M3 Grant, M4 Sherman and Soviet T-34), the 47 mm high-velocity gun did give the Shinhoto some fighting chance against them.
[57] The main gun of the Type 61 was unstabilized, so firing on the move was impractical, and the vehicle is not fitted with an NBC protection system or deep wading equipment.
[62] Hara designed a bell crank scissors suspension that paired the bogie wheels and connected them to a coil spring mounted horizontally outside the hull.
The Imperial Japanese Army had determined that the Type 89 medium tank was too slow for mobile operations, so Ishikawajima Motorcar Manufacturing Company (currently Isuzu), was given the task of designing an armoured tracked vehicle for use by the cavalry in scouting and infantry support.
In 1930 the IJA ordered some Carden Loyd tankettes from Great Britain, along with some French Renault UE Chenillette vehicles and field tested them.
[20] The IJA determined that the British and French machines were too small to be practical, and started planning for a larger version, the Tokushu Keninsha (TK, meaning "Special Tractor").
[25][75] The 'Type 97 Light armored car Te-Ke (九七式軽装甲車 テケ, Kyū-nana-shiki kei sōkōsha Teke) was a tankette designed as a fast reconnaissance vehicle,[76] and was a replacement for the earlier Type 94 TK.
[64][79] Because it was a reconnaissance vehicle, built for speed, and not direct combat,[76] its hull and turret were designed for only two crewmen; leaving the tankette commander to load and fire the main gun.
[88] Even though the Hino Motors "Chi-Ni Model A" prototype was accepted after field trials as the new Type 98 light tank, series production did not begin until 1942.
This, combined with the American strategic bombing campaign that laid waste to the industrial infrastructure, which, when added to the IJN's priority for warship construction, made it clear to the military that the Type 95 light tank would maintain its precedence on the assembly lines.
[99] Armed with a low-velocity 57 mm main gun, the shortcoming of the Type 97 Chi-Ha became clear during the 1939 Battles of Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union.
[112] Given the fact that available raw materials were in very short supply, and with much of Japan's industrial infrastructure being destroyed by American strategic bombing in 1945, its production run was severely curtailed.
However, the project was abandoned to free up manpower and critical resources to concentrate on the development and production of the more practical Type 4 Chi-To medium tank.
[130] The Type 3 Ka-Chi had the useful capacity to be submarine launched, which enabled it to accommodate the increasingly difficult task of daytime reinforcement for isolated island garrisons in the South Pacific and in Southeast Asia.
Similar in concept to early variant of the German Panzer IV, it was designed as a self-propelled howitzer to provide the close-in fire support for standard Japanese medium tanks with additional firepower against enemy anti-tank fortifications.
[143] After experience in the war in China, Japanese planners wanted an armored vehicle with a larger weapon would be useful against fortified enemy positions, such as pillboxes.
[136] The Type 3 Ho-Ni III tank destroyers were assigned to various combat units, most stationed within the Japanese home islands to defend against the projected Allied Invasion.
[156] The Type 5 Na-To (五式砲戦車, Go-shiki hōsensha) was the penultimate tank destroyer developed by the Imperial Japanese Army in the closing stages of World War II.
[158] The superstructure for the main gun was placed at the rear and to have sloped armor up to 30 mm thick; the engine was positioned in the center area of the chassis and the driver's station was in the front hull section.
The boxy superstructure for the main 105 mm cannon was to be integral with the hull's sides and placed at the center of the chassis (similar in design to the German Jagdtiger).
[107][164] The Type 61 (Japanese: ろくいちしきせんしゃ Kanji: 61式戦車) was a main battle tank (MBT) developed and used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The Type 90 mounts a licensed copy of the German Rheinmetall L44 120 mm smoothbore cannon product by Japan Steel Works Limited.
The Type 10 (10式戦車, Hitomarushikisensha) is a 4th generation main battle tank produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF).
Compared with other currently-serving main battle tanks in the JGSDF, the Type 10 has been equipped with enhancements in its capability to respond to anti-tank warfare and other contingencies.
