World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Japanese Army Type 1 Chi-He medium tank design was completed in 1941 and the first examples rolled off the production line in 1943. They were equipped with high velocity 47-millimeter guns that could penetrate 55-millimeter of armor at the range of 100 meters and 30-millimeter at 1,000 meters, thus they were significantly more lethal than their predecessors, though still unable to penetrate the armor of the American M4 Sherman medium tanks. They were the first Japanese tanks to carry radios as standard equipment. Between 1943 and 1944, 170 units were built, but none of them saw any combat as they were retained in the Japanese home islands to defend against the Allied invasion that never took place.

ww2dbaseIn 1943, the Japanese Navy extensively modified the Type 1 Chi-He medium tank design and developed the Type 3 Ka-Chi amphibious tank design. They had pontoons in the front and rear of the hulls to provide buoyancy, and they could be jettisoned by crews inside the tanks after they made landfall. They were equipped with similar armament as their Type 1 Chi-He predecessors. The commanders' cupolas and the diesel engine exhaust pipes were extended to ensure that they would be above water. 19 of these amphibious tanks entered service between late-1943 and the end of the war and first saw combat at Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands in early 1944, though overall Type 3 Ka-Chi amphibious tanks did not see significant combat.

SPECIFICATIONS

Type 1 Chi-He

Machinery	One Mitsubishi Type 100 air-cooled V-12 diesel engine rated at 240hp
Suspension	Bell crank
Armament	1x47mm Type 1 gun, 1x7.7mm coaxial Type 97 machine gun, 1x7.7mm hull Type 97 machine gun
Armor	8-50mm
Crew	5
Length	5.50 m
Width	2.20 m
Height	2.38 m
Weight	17.0 t
Speed	44 km/h
Range	210 km

Type 3 Ka-Chi

Machinery	One Mitsubishi Type 100 air-cooled V-12 diesel engine rated at 240hp
Suspension	Bell crank
Armament	1x47mm Type 1 gun, 1x7.7mm coaxial Type 97 machine gun, 1x7.7mm hull Type 97 machine gun
Armor	10-50mm
Crew	5
Length	10.30 m
Width	3.00 m
Height	3.82 m
Weight	28.2 t
Speed	32 km/h
Range	320 km

Photographs