World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseWhen the project for what would later became known as the Type 2 Ho-I design began in 1937, it was to develop infantry support tanks with large caliber weapons. When the project completed in 1942, however, the resulting tank also took on a tank destroyer role as the Japanese Army lacked tanks that could stand up to western tanks such as the M4 Sherman medium tanks. The Tokyo factory of the Japanese manufacturing firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was initially awarded with the production contract, but due to its inability to retool for mass production by 1944, in addition to the general lack of raw materials at this point of the war in Japan, the program was canceled in its entirety at the end of 1944. A total of 30 Type 2 Ho-I infantry tanks were built (all were converted from existing Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks), but none of them ever saw combat as they were retained in the Japanese home islands in preparation for the Allied invasion that never took place.

SPECIFICATIONS

Type 2 Ho-I

Machinery	One Mitsubishi Type 100 air-cooled V-12 diesel engine rated at 240hp
Suspension	Bell crank
Armament	1x75mm Type 99 gun, 1x7.7mm Type 97 machine gun
Armor	12-50mm
Crew	5
Length	5.73 m
Width	2.33 m
Height	2.58 m
Weight	16.1 t
Speed	44 km/h
Range	100 km

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