Osprey Japanese Tanks 1939-45

8/13/2019 Osprey Japanese Tanks 1939-45

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apanese anks 939 45


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PREWAR DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENTINTRODUCTION

STEVEN J ZALOGA was bornin 1952 received his BA inHistory from Union Collegeand his MA from ColumbiaUniversity He has publishednumerous books and articlesdealing with modern militarytechnology especiallyarmored vehicle developmentHis main area of interest Ismilitary affa irs in the formerSoviet Union and EasternEurope in World War II,and he has also writlenextensively on Americanarmored forces Stevenlives and works in Maryland

PETER BULL graduated fromart cC ege in 1979 andhas worked as a freelancei l lustrator for over 25 yearsHe h as created bothtraditional and digital artfo r publ ishers worldwideand also runs the Peter BullAr t Studio based in Kent UKwhich he founded in 1975

ONTENTS

Typ 9 medium tank Type 92 avail tank Type 94 tank tt Type 95 Ha-Co light lank T pe 97 Te-Ke tank tte Type 97 hi-Ha medium tank Armored warfare in hina and Ian huria 937 39WORLD WAR II DEVELOPMENTAND EPLOYMENT Tanks of the reat ian War] 94 45 ew light tank If-propelled gun Improving the hi-Ha Medium Tank New m dium tank y tanksTANK COMBAT OF THE GREATASIAN WAR 94 45 The outhwe t Pacific campaign 942 43 h Central Pacifi 943 44 cti n in the hina theat r Th Philippines] 944 45 The final Pacific campaign Burma u ust torm Manchuria The final campaign: defen e of the Home 1 landFURTHER READING B oks Magazin formatCOLOR PLATE COMMENTARYIN EX

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apanese anks 939 45

Steven log Illustrated by Peter ull


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JAPANESE TANKS 939 45

INTRODUCTIONapan was the onl counu-y outside Europ and orth Americato manufacnlr a ignificam numb of tanks in orld '''tar II.Ind d, Japan tank produ tion in the 1930 was mu h gr at r

than that of man ur pean anni due to the on1ict in hina. Japanw s in th for fr ntof tank technolo in the 1930 introdu inga numberof innovati n uch as di I tank engine. B 1940, the Japan e tankforc w s th fifth larg tin th world, following tho e of th v t nionFranc Britain, and rman .Japan tank uni played a k y rol in thearl v torie of Decemb r 1941-Janual 1942 again t th Arm inthe Philippin and th Briti h Arm in alaya. However, aft r 1941, thehift in trategi fo u f th Japan e war effort changed indu trialprioritie from th n d of th arm I t wal hip and aircraft con tructi no that tank pr duction fi in th lat r ears of the war. Likewi e, th

d v I pm n t of ne tanks \ tymi d b th I w priority afford d tarm r quir m nts. Briti hand e ments of Japan tanksweI unfavorabl after mbat n um rs in the ampaign of 1944-45becau e in mo t as th Alii w r fa in tanks de igned a d adearlier.Japan' m t m d m tanks w re rv d for a last cUt h d fen fthe Hom I lancls in 1945 - a final batt that never took place.

Type 3 Chl-Hu w s th e la sttank of World War II

In significant numbers.with a powerful 75mm

It was one of t he fewtanks comparable to

US M4 Sherman t ank o ret T-34-85. However, they

e reserved f or t he tankremaining in Japan fo rf inal defense of the Home

and did no t see combat. 3


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PREWAR DEVELOPMENTAND DEPLOYMENTType medium tankIn the early 20th century, Japan r ec ogni zed its backwardness in ma naspects of military technology, and it l ook ed to Europe to h Ip catch up.pattern emerged of acquir ing the be t Eur p an te hn logy and adaptingit to Japanese requirements, most notably in war hip c n tru tion, inwhi h British t hnology played an important rol . Aft I arid ar TJapan b gan to modernize its army bas d on th Ie on learn d from thatconflict. mall numb I of tanks were acquired for trial purpo es, startingwith a ingle Briti h Mark IV in October 1918 and followed b about sixBritish M dium A Whippet tanks and 13 Fr nch Renault IT tanks in 1919.They were used mainly b the ImperialJapane e Arm IJ ) Infantry andavalry chool, altJlough two vVhippets were deplo ed to Vladi a tok WitJlJapane e occupation troops towards the end of the Rus ian Civil War. hefir t tank units weI formed in 1925, WitJl five Renaul ITs being d playedWitJl th 1st Tank Deta hm nt of the 12tJl Division and the Wh ipp tsf or mi ng a t an k deta hment at the Chiba 1nfanuy School. arly experiencewith these tanks led to me formulation of requirements for Japanfirst indigenous tank. he requirements \ ere given to the 4th MilitalyLaboratory of m IJA chnical Bur au in the Okubo Di trict, whi h wasI pan ible for vehicle d v lopment. Th fir t p rot ot yp e was on tru tedof oft teel and fitted with a main turret in tJl center and ubsidiaryturrets front and rear, similar to the Fr enc h hal 2 . Although c omp let edin the summer of 1926 a the Osaka Arsenal, at 18 tons 16.3 meDictonnes) it was too heavy. It later volved into th Type 91 and ype 95 heavytanks, neitJler of which was accepted for service, as no need was eenfor uch cumbersome de ign. U1-ing me cour e of its development,Britain s Vick rs offered the sale of a Model prototype, which wasd liver d in March 1927. Durin trial ofth Vickers Mod I ,m gasolinengine aught fir ,promptin m Japan in r t pr for a die I

Japan s early tank forced e pe n de d o n imported designslike this detachment o f Whippettanks acquired from Britainin 1918. NARA


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l ype 89 underwent continualduring production.

is the late configura tion ofl ype 89B with th e revisedturret front spli t turret

and external machine gunon the r ight rear turret

NARA)

ough intended primarily fo rIJA, some l ype 89A tanks

also used by the SpecialLanding Forces o f the IJN,

as this one being fOllowedCarden Loyd Mk. VI tankette.

l ype 89 set the pattern fo rtank turret design with

nate gun and maChine gunaments. In this case the

chine gun is positionedwhile the 57mm gun

med aft . NARA)

n in opti n r th ir wn new tank. cond light tank d ignw undertaken, and it was a pted r rvi in 1929 the Type 9 o. It recl ified as a m dium tank du t its wight of 10 ton(9.1 metri tonne).

Produ ti n f th Typ 9 \\ as i n d to the agamiits limit d indu trial capabiliti bli d agami to ub ontrath on tru lion to private finn n tablr MilSubi hi H a( HI), \ hi h P iail built a n w tank plant for the yp 9. Th initialprodu ti n run was p \V r d b a hp gasolin eng ine. Thi va liant wasd ignat d as th yp 9 until a 120hp Ii ubi hi di \ \ finail readin 1934, lading t th Typ 9B tsu. The de i n detail of the Typ 9changed r p atedl during manufa tu r bas d n tr op expeli nee. Forexampi , the commander cupola on th turr t \ hang d on th laterpr du tion run from a mall top hat d ign on the initial typ to a m rpra ti aI upola with a pHt hatch for entilation and a c

Becau e production of thdid not begin until 1931,ordered about ten Fr n h R naultN 1 tanks in 1930. The Renaulttook part. in the earli st a tion of thU tank for e. t p i a l Tank

mpan with R nault IT andtanks \\ ent to Man huria aft rth an hurian Incident in Janual1932. The ompan a\ fightinn ar Harbin. ptain higemi 2ndInd p ndent Tank ompan, ,, thfiv Typ tanks and t n Renault

tan , took part in th han haiIn id I1 l in F bma 1932. Althoughth n w Typ 9 perform d w II thu p n ion of the Renault wasu ubi m and the typ was reur d. 5


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a re ult w hen the 1 t pecial Tank Company aw combat with hintroop in theJ h I Provin e in Mar h 1933 it was equipped olel with th eType 89 tank.

Production of the Type 89 did not become i gnif icant unt il 1933when the die el-powered Type 9B becam the predominant typ ,with291 of the 404 manufa tured by the time produ tion end d in 1939. is worth noting that the Typ 9B was th w or ld first m ass-produceddies I-powered tank. The cale of Type 89 production, a prompted bgrowin Japane e unease over challenge to its influ n in Man huriae t abli shed after the 1904 Ru so-Japan e War. On on hand Ru siaapp ared to be re urging after a decade of w akn s from its defeat inWorld W ar and its ubsequent ivil war. dditionally th civil war inChina hinted at future opportunities to the more militaristi I m nts ofthe IJ leadership.Th tart oflarg al tank produ tion led to the formation of the fir tthr Japan s t n r gim nts in 1933: the 1 t R gim nl based on theR nault IT detachment at Kurume; the 2nd Tank Regiment based on theWhipp t d ta hm nt at the hiba Tank chool; and the 3rd Regimental form d at Kurum. he 1 t n Regiment wa the fir t deplo ed intoa combat th at r being nt to th Kwantung m in hina.Type 9 cavalry tankTh Japan cavalry examined the Type 9 and found that its mode tsp ed of 15mph 24km/h was not ufficient f or m obile operati ons.Japane e officer examined the hri tie tank in the nited tat in 1932but they turned down an export offer du to th m chanical pr bl m

6 een during a demon tration at berd en Proving round. sa r ult a

The late production versionof the Type 9B establishedthe pattern for the unique formof Japanese tank turrets withtheir distinctive asymmetricshape resulting from the useof a secondary machine-gunposition In the rear of theturret. This particular vehiclehas the turret machine 9unmlssln9. NAAA


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Type 92 Jyu Sokoshatank was a short livedwhich suffered technical

including a weakwelding problems

inadequate 6mm annor.s anned with a Type 92

machine gun andype 91 6.5mm machineNARA

Type 94 tankette wa smost widely manufactured

tank of the 1930sfo r support and

by theinfantry divisionsIt was anned with

gle machine gun eitherpe 9 6.5mm or Type 97

NARA

n , d ign was tart d b th I hikawajima Motor Works (toda I uwand the Typ 92 nt r d pr du ti n in 1933. It w igh doni 3.9 ton 3.5m ui tonn b a its thi k t armor wa ani in. (6mm), and it wasarm doni wilh rna hin gun. The de i n pro ed to be ad quat , butit uff red from p r hull widing and f ebl ombat performan . Thsu p n i n had to be I d ign d th r tim . Althou h ext n iv u in

mbat in hina, t c1earl a fail d d ign and pI du tion, limited.Type tankette

mar imp rtant influen e on Japane tank d v lopm nt wa thetank tt fad in Europ in th ad 1930, pitomiz d b the Briti hard n L d Mk. VI tank tte. Th lJ ord red ix f th , which weredeliver d in 1930. J pan offi fi It lhat the de ign , as t mall to

be practical, , th imilar Fr n h of the period. ith its trackedu-ail r however, the E was ri nt d m re tO\ ard infantry uppOrt.Thi help d to in pire the okushu minsha p cial ractor), or TK,d v I ped b the Hino Motor ompan. Th TK wa larger than lhard n La d and more imilar in la out to the Vick rs Ii hL tanks of th

7


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period h av in g a front mounted engine and a turreted machine un aits main armament. Like the French Renault the TK was equippedwith a t racked tract or. It was classified as the Type 94 and wa intend das a n in fa nt ry support vehicle capable of providing fire support with itsmachine gun as well as carrying uppli s in the battl area. These w rdeploy d in th infantry division in a tank tte ompany, ach with fourplatoons of four tank tt . Th e Typ 94 was the mo t widely pr ducedJapanese tank of the 1930s and was wid I used in hina. Hm e r thmain impetus for its larg - cal produ tion wa til r vi ion ofJapanewar p la ns in 1934. The e plans w r ba d on th po sibility of a f utu rewar with the oviet Union v r Manchuria and tile need to m d rniz30 infantry division of which 24 would be deployed in the Man huriantheat r of op ration. Th tank tt r main d in production even afterth advent of b tter de ign such as the Typ 95 light tank, b cau e til yw re in xpensive to manufacture and operat . F r exampI the Type 94tankette cost only 0,000 compared to 9 ,000 for the Type 95 lighttank. I n later years, t hey were bui lt without the trailer.

A variety of specializedderivatives of the Type 94tankette were developed.These included a pair fo rchemical warfare an offensivetype which used a mustardgas dispersing trailer anda defensive type such asthe Type 94 Ko Go fo rspraying a bleaching powderdisinfectant seen here nearKyushu in 1945. NARA

The Type 95 was crampedinside with the right side ofth e hull f i lled by an ammunitionstowage locker fo r the 37mmgun and the driver immediatelyin f ront as seen in this interiorview. NARA

Type Ha o lig ht tankEarly experiences with the new Type 89m dium tank and Type 92 cavalry tankin China were sari factory, but units complained that th Typ 9 was too slow tokeep up with m ot or iz ed infa ntry units,while th Type 92 cavalry tank was toolightly armed and protected. In Jul} 1933,tile infantry and cavalry s hools completeda d sign study for a new light tank basedon featur of th twO existing designs.Th n w tank weighed about 7.7 tons 7 m tri t nn ), but it was anned a37mm gun. It was powered by the samediesel engine as the ype 89B but weighedonly half as much offering better roadspeed. onstruction was handed 0 er to

8 Mitsubi hi and a prototype b an trial in


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Type 95 Ha Go followed th esi c l ayout of Japanese tanksth e asymmetric turret an dmachine gun position.particular tank is in

m a rking s of Lieutenantt a n k co mp a ny of

18th Infantry RegimentT ini an. NARA

June 1934. tef xten ive te ts by both the infantry and cavalry, th l ighttank was modified and hipp d t th n w lnd p n nt Mix d Brigadin northern Manchuria. The cold weatb r trial w t extrem Iy w IIand a second prototype was built by Mitsubishi in Jun 1935, ba edon th Ie on learned from the t ts The de ign was 0 sati factol)that it was acc pted for production as the Type 95 Ha-Go light tank.Th prototyp w r arm d with a 37mm un in a one-man turr t,but b r larg - cal production comm nc d th Y were modified toinclude a eparat ball-mounted machin gun in an ext n ion on thrigl t r ar id of th turr t pattern d after the Type 9B turret. Thismodifi ation allowed the tank ommand r t use either the 37mm gunor th machine gun, dep ndil on the mission, by traversing the appropl-iate weap n fonvard. Other chang s were also incorporated into thepr du ti n v hi I , uch a xt nd d hull id to provide more storagespace for ammunition.

Som of the first production tanks w re di pat hed t units innorth rn Man huria where a p culiar problem wa uncov red. Thetroops und that th v hi I had po r p rforman wh n movinga ro farm fi Ids plant d with kaoliang or hum) b ause th distancb tw n th furrow oin ided with th pacing b tw n th tank roadwhe Is D pr v nt thi probl m, a modifi d u p nsion was developed\ ith a mall wheel u p nd d at th c nt r of a h bogi . A portion ofthe yp 9- produ tion nll1 wa manufactured with this Manchuriansuspen ion, but the majori was built with the s tandard de ign. 9


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JAPANESE ARMORED FIGHTING VEHICLE IAFVPRODUCTION DURING THE CHINA WARS 1931 40

1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 TotalType 94 tankette - 300 246 200 7 5 2 823Type 97 tankette - 1 56 217 284 558Type 95 light tank - 31 80 53 115 422 7 1Type 92 cavalry 42 49 44 32 167tankType 89A 5 9 8 31 30 15 15 113medium tank

Type 89B 7 11 61 80 28 36 29 19 20 291medium tank

Type 97 110 202 315 627medium tank

Other AFV 1 1 1 2 50 22 9 11 115 212Total 12 21 112 161 404 410 347 317 570 1,138 3,492

Type 97 Te Ke tanket teAft r om exp rience with the ype 94 tankette in China the wanted to tandardize its fuel upply for armored vehicle and hift

ntirely to diesel engine. The que t ioned the need for the trackedtrailer u ed on the Type 94 and debated the efficienci of gun andmachine un armament. A prototyp fitt d with a n w Ik gai di Iengine and a Typ 94 37mm gun wa compl t d by th Hino otor

ompany in 1936. It follow d the configuration of th earli r Typ 94with the en ine in th front and th turr t at the r ar. Trial w re notentirely ati fa tory and a n a lt er na ti ve l ay ou t wa propo d with thengine moved farther to the rear. A second prototype a completed inNovemb r 1937 and it wa accepted for ervice a the Type 97. Onc thebug were ironed out it r pia ed th T P 94 on the production line atHino Motor in 1939. Th T P 97 tankette wa primarily u d b there onnai ance regiments of the infanuy divi i on .Type 97 C hi H a med ium tankAlthou h the T p 9 Ii rmed the ba kbon of th tank for e in China by1935 it was widely r co niz d to b obsol te parti ularly in telms of its

Th e Type 97 Te-Ke tanketteswitched to a more conventionala yo u t t h an th e TYpe 94 tankettebu t it s m os t i m portantim pro vem e nt wa s th e us e of a3 7m m g un fo r armament Insteaof th e p reviou s m a chin e g u n.This TYpe 97 cross-sectioned fotechnical display at AberdeenProving Ground after th e war,shows some o f th e tankette sinterior detail. USAOM-APG


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c an b e seen here th e small th e n pe 97 tankette

th e use th ei t ional rear turret

gun. NARA

limit d I ad peed. new m dium tank de ign began in 1 35 partlin pir d b ne\ of the Briti h 6 tank with a 7mm gun. The mainmph i of the new de ign wa to in I ase t11e tank pe d to k ep up

n w light tanks uch as th Type 95. Th armam nt I main d tlow v I city 57mm un u ed on the T p 9. Armor prot ction I mainedlight due to th army s de ire to k p the \ ight and h nc th co t to aminimum. The thic ke t armor on the tank was th gun manLlet at 33mm,and the turret ides at 26mm. h r maining panels ranged from 20mm

n the hull lIper tructure to 12mm on upp r urfac . The fabricati nwas ntirel riveted. hile not lInu uall thin b mid-1930 landaI d, itarmor prot tion became increasingl vulnerable after th war expand din 1941.

wo Mi ubi hi d ign w I C n id red: the hi-Ha pow I a170hp di I and th Ii hter and h ap I hi- i pO er d b a 135hpdie el. he d i i n b t\ n th two al l mative cam in th umm I f19 7 aft rthe utbreak of \ ar with hina. B au th miliLa bud ethad b n gr atl expanded, th upp rL d the mol apabl of tht\vo d ign, ptin for the hi-Ha configuration for the n \ T P 97medium tank. Th Typ 97 hi-I fa inh ri t d the u pen ion d vel pedfor the T pe 95 l ight Lank but it atur d ix I ad \ h el in t ad H ur.Four m n 0 upied th vehi Ie \ ith a driver and bO machin -gunn I


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In the hull and two men in the turret. Production began in 193 , andorne Type 95 tank were deployed t hina and Manchuria with the n w

tank regiments.Armored warfare in China and Manchuria 937 39v\ar in China had been on a low immer since the Manchurian In id ntin 1931 and the ub qu ntJapan e 0 cupation ofth rest of Manchuria.The war exploded onJuly 7 1937, with the arco Polo Bridge Incident,leading to an outbreak of full- cale warfare by the IJA again t hiang Kai-Chek s Kuomintang Arm . The campai n that followed wa hi hly mobilas Japane e for es moved south from Manchuria again t key hine eciti s induding Beijing. he were supported by the Is and 2nd TankBattalions equipped with 7 Type 89 medium tanks and 41 T pe 94tankettes. The Ind p nd nt Mix d Brigade had b n rm d atKungchuling in Man huria in 1934, and it indud d two tank battaliona motoriz d infant I gim nt, and a I connai an company. Thbrigade took part in a tions in the Quhar Province in northern hina in1937 with mix d r suits, du t th rou h terrain and the di p rsion of itsunits. Three tank battalion al 0 took part in the 1938 campai ns, andwhile the were intended to support infantry divi ions or corp hin sresi tance \ as often 0 di organized that the battalions carried outindependent deep penetration mi ion. How ver, th vast majol-ity oftank actions were by tankettes and light tanks attached to th infantry andcavalry. hina s tank for was limit d to thr tank battalions quipp dwith ick rs exp rt tanks, G rman PzKpfW I light tank and Italian CV 33tank ttes. iven th vastne of the battJefield and the mini cule ize

The ~ 97 ChlHa medium tanfollowed the general layout o fthe earl ier ~ 95 l ight tankbut w ith a longer chassis whichpermitted a larger turret and amore powerful 57mm gun. Thisparticular example was one ofthose captured on Guadalcanalfrom the 1st Independent TankCompany. It was f it ted wi th anew smoke mortar system witha rack on the left turret sideas well as a pair of dischargersfore and aft. NARA


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Type 97-Kai Shinhototank introduced a

enlarged turret wi th th eeffective 47mm tank gun.

the first pilot modelsthe same hull configuratione earlier Chi-Ha th e

production versiona modified protectiveer over the side engine. This is the tank of

onel Goshima executiveto the commandere 9th Tank Regiment

NARA

of the tank t weI w i f any tank-v us-tank n ountersalthou h th hin s D rc did lose many of their tanks in ombate peciall during th fighting r hanghai. In g neral, the IJA \ asquite pi as d with the p rforman e of their tanks, though the need forimprovements was noted.

The war in the hina theater threatened to broaden even more sharplin 193 over a Mongolian border incident near Lake Khasan betwe nJapane e and oviet f or . ension erupted again in ay 1939 along theHalka River Khalkin-Gol) in an action that became known to theJapalle ea the omonhan I nc id en t. Bo th ides b ui lt up th ir forces in the region,and full-s ale fi hting broke out in the summer. The Japane e K mat-

ubara For e was built around the 23rd Division, supported by Lieutenanteneral Ma aomi Yasuoka 1 t Tank Group fr om t he former Independent

Mixed Brigade. Thi force included the 3r d and 4t h Ta nk Regim nts with26 Typ 9B 0 us, eight Typ 9A i as, four Typ 97 hi-I-Ia mediumtank 35 Type 95 Ha- 0 light tanks, t n Type 94s, and four Typ 97tankett . In addition to th tank units, theJapane e infantry and cavalryhad about 50 tank tte and armored ar The oviet tank force in th areawas far mor sub tantial. I t in Iud d five mechanized bJigade of 5 0 tanksand about 450 armored ars. The fighting went very badly for th Japane earmor d units right from the tart of th attack. The Yasuoka deta hmentincluding th tw tank I gim nts and twO infantry regiments, managedto p n trate the defen of th 9th Moto-Armored Brigade on

July 2 1939. How vel in f our day of fighting the Japanes tank force wasdecimated, with about 42 of its 73 tanks put ou t of commi ion. Most ofthe e weI knocked out by oviet45mm tank and antitank gun which hadb tter range than theJapanese weapons. TheJapanes tank crews claimed32 oviet B tanks and 35 armored car . Japanese 10 se were somewhatmitigat db the fa t that all but 13 tank were covered and r paired. Thefailure of ule Japane tanks led to Ul ir recall on July 9 1939, and uleywere nt ba k to garri n.

he oviet armored brigades played a critical role in the defea t ofthe Japane e Kwantung my in the ensuing offensive in ugust 1939.he earlier defeat along the Halka River had profound repercussion in


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Japane e trategic planning, tactical doctrine, and army equipmentrequir ments. From a strate ic per pective, the vigorou Soviet defen eof th Mong lian fr ntier di coura ed the Japanese Arm from anfurther military op ration in this region. It also ncourag d Japan toturn to of t r n m r lu rativ targets in outh a t ia. From ata tical p rspe ti e, the dominant role of mechanized force by the RedArmy for ed th Japan e army to pay more attention to th n ed forind pendent armored formations. This se t the tage for the sub tantialenlargement of Japane armored force. mechanized headquarterwa finall tablish d in pril1941 and plans began to con olidat thecatt r d ] tank units into ten armor d division. From a technicaltandpoint, th fighting r vealed the ignificant short omings of existing

Japane e tank d ign, particularly when confronted by enemy tanks.Th plan wa to incr a e tank production from its 1939 level of about500 annually to 1,200 annuall .

One of th imm diate con equence of the Halka River fighting w thed lopment of a new tank gun, the Type 1 47mm, designed pecificallyin r pon e to the oviet 45mm tank gun. his was incorporated into anew turret that wa fitted to the Type 97 and r -designated as th Typ9 Kai improved) in olo Chi-Ha n w turr t hi-Ha . Produ tion ofthis version began in 1942 and became the standard production type in1942-43. In addition, about 300 of the older ype 97 with 57mm guns werer built with th n w turret. Thi type had not been deployed at the time ofthe war xpan ion in D c mb r 1941.

In th wak of G rmany tunnin defeat of the French and Britisharmi s injun 1940,Japan ign d the TI;partite Alliance with elmanyandItalyon eptember 27, 1940. The erman Vlehrmacht became the newmodel for J de elopment, and a delegation headed by General TomoyukiYama hit a tOured German to tudy the lesson of the recent urop anfightin . Yamashita report empha ized the need for mechanization and awitch to medium tanks. uriou y enough, it also warned against any warwith the United tates, Britain, or the oviet nion, in view of the backwardtat f J equipment. In pite of Yamashita s recommendation, the U

was on trained in carrying out the mechanization plans by the limitation

The Type 89 medium tankformed the backbone ofJapanese tank units in theChina theater This is oneof the ori91nal Type 89Aon operation in ManchuriaIn the late 1930s NARA


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Japanese tank forcea brief moment of

in December 1941 and1942 as it spearheaded

IJA drive into Southeast Asia.column of Type 97 Chl Hatanks marches through

on February 15 1942.

of th e Japanese economy. \l\ThileJapan i an industrial superpower toda , inth e late 1930s it was a rural country with fledgling industrie . PriOI it forarmor plate an d teel went to the I mper ia l Japane e ary IJN) and th eanny ha d t ma k do with t h leftovel.

WORL W R EVELOPMENTN EPLOYMENTTanks of the Great Asian War 94 45By th b ginning of th e war in th e Pacific in December 1941, theJapanesearmor d rc e had gr wn due to inc re as ed tank production in th e la t] 930 . The lJA wa fom1ing more than a do z n new tank I gi m ntsintended to ac t as th shock for e of offi n ive op r a ti o n. T h e my tenmain i nf antr y divi i on ea h ha d a tank ompany, usually with ni n ype95 Ha-Go light tank, as w a a patrol ompany in m an y i nf an tr yregim n with Type 94 tankette I placing traditional hoI avalry.Tn th e fall of 194], with th e oviet Ar m crippl d by GermanyOperation Ba rbamssa th e Imperial General Headquarters decidedto hift th trat gi u o f J ap a n military op ration fr m thJ wan tung Army in China to th e TJN and th e outhem rmy. Th seforces would ac t against the outh ea po ssion o f th nited

tate, Britain, and th e therland. This bold and ambitiou plan wasintended to eize th e Philippine, alay ia, Burma, and t he D ut ch a tJndie today s Indone ia), and to ripple lIied military po w r in th ePacific with a ttack again t th fl t in Pearl H ar bo r a nd Britainmain fortified garrison in Singapore. Th atta k began on D mb 7,]941, with carrier-born ai r trik again t P arl Harbor, follow d by airattacks again t th ot h I k Ytarg ts. Th lJA planned to ma k exten ivu e of its burg oning tank for during th op ratio n , v n th o Igh ith ad n o e xp er ie nc e injungle warfare.

The Briti h my felt that th e rough terrain around ingaporemade it impa able to tank and difficult if not impo ible to traver e by


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an l arg e mil itar y f or mat io ns . he Japane e di agreed and tagedamphibious landing at th e northern neck of th e Malay P ni n ula onDecember 194 1. General Yama hita 25th Army deplo ed 21] tankin the 1t, 6th an d 14th Tank Regim nts. Th 1 t Tank Regiment 40 Type 97 hi-Ha medium tanks and 12 T pe 95 la-Go light tanks)penetrat d Lieut nant General P rcival s Jitra lin on D cember 1]1941. The mo t important tank battle followed on January 7 1942 whenth e Japane e 6t h Tank Regiment 0 ercame th e lim Riv r lin north of

ingapore. ingapore fell on F brual 15, du in no mall m a ur toth e effective u f tank.p arh ad d b th e 2nd and 14th Tank R gim nts, th Japane eArmy truck into Burma hopin to fi ht all th way into India. TheBriti h 7t h Arm ur d Brigad had r ntl arriv d fr m rth Africaan d was ta k d with topping th Japan advan e on India. he Briti h2nd Royal Tank R giment fought a ri of 0 tl r arguard action inBurma, in luding ev ral tangle with th Japane e 14th an k R gim ne yth tim the survivor f th unit a h d Briti h line in India, on lon Stuart t an k r em ai n d in action.

Th Japane a ault on th Philippine t oo k pia at th Lingay nGulf on Luzon in D c mb r 1941, an d it in Iud d th 4th an d 7t h TankRegiments. The first tank-v r u tank engagement of th e Pacific Wartook pia e on ecemb 22, 1941, \ hen ype 95 Ha-Go light tanksof t he 4t h an k Re iment ambushed a patrol of M3 Ii ht tanks f ro m thmy s 1 92 nd T an k Battalion near Damorti . The e two oppo intank units continued to kirmish a th e force retreated towards th eBataan Penin ula. Following th e fall of B at aa n, a pedal Japane e unitwas formed to upport t he l an di ng on th e i land fortre of orregidor.Th Japane 7 th T an k R gim nt ha d criti ized th e 5 7mm g un on th eType 97 Chi-Ha as incapable o f penetrating th e armor of th e U M31i httank 0 a few o f th e improved T pe 97-Kai hinhoto hi-Ha were el ta replacements. Two hinhoto hi-Ha took part in th e Ofr gidorlanding, along with on e aptured M3 light tank c mmand d by th

d ta hm nt 1 ad r Major Matsuoka. Th sudd n appearan f th e

This Type 8 9B is f rom the1st Company of Colonel Sonod7th Tank Regiment It is showncrossing an improvised bridgeon January 3, 1942 during thefighting in the Philippines Thebridge was erected to bypassHighway 6 north of ManilaThis company used a whitestar as i ts uni t insignia HARA


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ly enemy tanks ever toin North America were a

of Type 95 Ha Go l ightfrom a company of

Tank Regimentent reinforced th ethat landed on Kiska

Aleutian Islands of f Alaskathe amphibious assault

on June 6-7 1942. Thed was abandoned prior to

counterattack in AugustNARA

Japanes tank n ar th e main orregidortunnel and the absence of ana nt it an k we ap on s wa one of th k Yre a n for the final ollap of th ed f n . The J 4th Tank R gimenta veteran of both the Khalkin an dPhilippin campaign was hipp d toJa a in March 1942 though mo t of thDutch East Indi s ha d all ady fall n.

Japan s ad vi tori in th e PacificWar di play d a killful and imaginativeus of tank in t rrain that th e Britishand m rican commanders thoughtprohibited their u e. Having \ on C1-iticalearly victorie again t th e llie Japane

trateg now hift d to a d fen iorientation and indu trial priority wagiven to th e war h ips an d aircraft thatbor th e br II1t of th e new d fi n iv navalcampai n . In spite of t heir i mport ant role in th 19 1-42 victorietank produ tion actually fi II after its peak in ] 941. ot only di d tank

produ tion uffi 1 but n w tank de ign stagnated becau Japan ha db en d p ndent on Europ an influen s to h Ip di r tits t hnological advancement. Th Ii d tank ncountered in 1941-42 notably th M3tuart light tank di d not particularly impres th Japanese and weI littl

bett I thanJapan s most modern tank th e T pe-97-Kai hinhoto hi-lla.Japan att em pt ed to I am about newer tr nd in Europ an tank de ignfrom their G erman allies bu t tech nolo tran fer wa 0 slow as to bealmost useless. G rmany sold Japan a pair ofPzKpfw III in 1943 on e withth e 5 0mm gu n and one with th e short 75mm 1 0 bu t b th e t ime theyan-ived in Japan they were already obsolet. erman later old Japanon Panth I tank a nd o ne Tiger tank in ptemb ]943 but by th e timeth y weI ready in 1944 it wa no longer possible to s hip tllem to Japandu to Allied naval in t rdicti n.

JAPANESE TANK PRODUCTION OF THE GREAT ASIANWAR 94 45

1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 TotalType 97 tankette 3 35 5 15 58Type 95 light tank 705 655 239 1599Type 98 light tank 1 24 79 104Type 2 light tank 29 5 34Type 97 medium tank 507 28 535Type 97-Kai medium tank - 503 427 930Type 1 medium tank 15 155 170Type 3 medium tank 55 89 144Type 3 gun tank 15 16 3Type 2 amphibious tank 112 70 182Type 3 amphibious tank 12 12Type 1 75mm SP gun 26 26Type 1 105mm SP gun 14 20 20 54Other AFVs 8 124 63 554 126 1,616Total 1,397 1,395 1,522 925 256 5,495 1 7


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Even thoughJapane e tank de ign tagnated thorganization of the Japane tank force continu dto mature. The Nom nhan battle in 1939 and thesuccess of German blitzkri g tacti . in Europe in1939-41 led to Japan reorganization of the tankroup in Manchuria as tank di i ions, and in July

1942, Japan attached the new 1 t and 2nd TankDi ision under a n w M hanized rm head-quartered at sopingchi h. In 1942, th 3rd TankDivision a formed in China and th 4th TankDivision as formed at the Chiba Tank Schoolin Japan.New l ight tanksIn 1938, a program was begun to develop a new light tank to replace theTyp 95 Ha- o. Alth ugh th Ha-Go was generally viewed as sati fa tory,its armor was too light and vuln rable to heavy ma hin -gun fir . Th aimof the new program wa to d v lop a tank the am wight as the Typ 95bu t to increa e the armor thickn ss Thi m ant th d sign would haveto b somewhat mall r to ac ommodat th ]6mm armor that wasspecified. he program was developed competitivel betw en the mainType 95 m an uf ac tu re r, the Hino Motor Compan , and its main tankmanufacturin rival, Mitsubi hi. Trial were conducted and the armfavored t he Hino design du to its b tt r ro ountry p r fo rm an ce .Although the hi- i Model was accepted for production as the Type 98light tank, no erious pI duction began until] 942 b au th arm wasnot onvinced that th new d ign was n d d. Even when it nt r dproduction it wa overwh 1m d b th continued pr du tion of theucce Eul Type 95 Ha- o. In an fort to improve its pro p cts, the turret

\Va altered to give the gunn r commander more pace. Additionally,the newer Type 1 37mm un \Va introduc d , o ff er in g Ii htl betterp r fo rma nc e. Thi n was a pt d for production as the Typ 2K -To l ight tank, but pl odu ti n began onl in 1944 and onl a handfulwer compl ted. Both th T pe 9 and Typ 2 Ii ht tanks were very rar ,with only 138 manufactured compar d to 2,300 Type 95 Ha-Co lighttanks. Th Type 98 and T Pe 2 l ig ht tanks a\ little any combat use.

The conversion of some 97with th e Shinhoto turret freed uturrets used to re an n t h e Type 9Ha-Go Into th e \t e 4 Ke-Nu ligtank. This example is preserveda t t he NIIBT Museum at Kubinknear Moscow. Author s collectio

Th e Type 2 Ke -To l ight tankwa s intended as a replacemenfo r th e prolific Type 95 Ha-Goseries. It shared a similar turret o t he Type 2 Ka-Mi. This rearview s ho w s a n e xa mp le b ro ug hback to Aberdeen ProvingGround fo r evaluation afterth e war. USAOM-APG


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Type 1 Ho-Ni 1 wa s th e mostused self-propelled gu n

d f r om th e Chi-Ha tanks. Th is on e served

t he 2n d Company of th eMo bile A rt il lery Re gimen tuzon I n th e Philippines

NARA

Type 4 Ho-Ro wa s a hastymounting a

3 8 1 50 mm howitzerconverted Type 97 tank

Two we re ru sh ed to th ep i ne s i n 1945 serving with

Sumi s Independent gunof th e 2n d TankNARA

Self propelled gunsjapan s deci ion to create annored divi ion also reat d the n d tomechanize its divisional artillery. Th i was done in an expedient fashiolusing th yp 97 tank has is he Ho i I on i ed of t he 7 5m m Type90 field gu n mounted in an open casemate on a modified Type 97 chas isThis program began injune 1941 with the til t conv rsion. A mall I;alproduction of th e Type 1 Ho i I followed in 1942 but total d only 26vehicl . I t was upplant d by th Ho iII whi h pIa d a ]OOmm Type 91howitz r Typ 97 has i in a lightly diff< r nt typ op n a m a t .The first Type 1 Ho i II was campi t d injuly 1942 but production didnot begin until 1943 an d an I 54 w re campI t d through 19 . Th finalm mb r of the Ho i family was a tually intended as a fire upport tank tor pIa th hort lived Typ 2 gun tank m nrion d below. It m ounted theam Typ 90 75mm gu n as th J 0 - i T bu t fitt d in a fully n 1 das ma t. Thi was m an uf a t ur d b Hita hi an d of th e 57 ordered onl31 Type 3 Ho i III gu n tank were completed.

he poor firepower of mo t Japane e tanks led to tl1e developmentof elf propelled tank de troyers ma t used tank chassi bu t were armedwim m ore potent guns in a flXed casemate. tank d troyer ver ion of tl1C

9


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Type 95 light tank was de igned armed with a 47mm antitank gun asthe Type 47mm Ho-Ru tank de troyer but only a ingl prototype wasompleted injun 1945. In vi wofthe l imited fir power ofth 47mm gun

the U decided to m unt shor t large-


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Type 3 Chi-Nu was th ederivative of th e basicfamily combining the

oved hull of th e Type 1with a new turretwith a long 75mm gun.

Type 3 Chi -Nu is seen heree Kagushima Tank Park in1945 part of t he 4 th Tank

NARA

troopsa number of

tank variants in theIslands in 1945 intendede f inal battle. The navalat Sasebo up-gunned about

Shinhoto Chi-Has withantisubmarine gunshere. NARA

tank program had uch low priOl ity tha produ tion did not b gin untillate 1 43 in pia of th T P 97-Kai. he n w de ign was reserved for thetank divi ion in Japan and apparently never aw combat u e.Ithough the was happier with th antitank performan of theType 47mm gun us d on the ype 97-Kai and the Type 1, the majority of

combat engagements were again t enemy inJanu where its high-velo itantitank round wa not particular u eful. In addition, the 7mmgun hada light r high xplosive round than the old r 57mm gun. a I ult, th rwas om intere t in a weapon ben I uited to tile infantry los -suppOrtrole. In 1942, the hort 75mm Type 99 gun in a 11 pe 97-Kai turret wasin orporat d, re ulting in til Typ 2 BOoI gun tank. The intention was tocreate a fire support company in each tank regiment with the e vehi les.

o w v l ~ tile project had such low priority that production began onlyin 194 and merel 31 were built. Production was 0 dela ed Ulat insteadof n \ con truction, all w re c nverted fr m Typ 1 medium tanks.m ntioned abov , it was upplem nted b til Type 3 BOo i 3 that hadthe mol powerful 7 n m field un in a f d a emate.

By 1943, it wa be omino- videm that the hi Ba and its volutionaryderivative weI simply too poor arm d to d feat I od rn mediumta.nks. The IJ learned about new Allied tanks uch as the Sherman fromtheir military attache in Berlin, and thi led to a requirem nt in 194 for


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a new medium tank. inc an entirely n w d ign would tak time toprepare an xp di nt wa accept d. A tank-gun v rsi n f the Typ 9075mm field gun was ac ept d for u e as th Typ 3 tank gun and it wasmounted in an enlarged turret on a modifi d yp 1 medium tank hull.

though the new design was accepted for service in 1943 a the ype 3Chi- u medium tank production of the Typ 1 continu d at Mitsubishiuntil ovemb r 1943. yp 3 producti n did not b gin until ptember1944. Th bombing attack in 19 5 caus d havo in th Japanindusu-ies and as a result Typ 3 production fell far short of plans withonly 144 completed by the end of the war. They all r mained in thlome I lands for the final defen ofJapan This wa th mo t powerful

Japan tank of th war built in any i nifi ant numb r . ew medium tanksThe Typ 3 hi- u learly stretch d the hi-Ha hassi to its limit and anfurth r dev lopm nt wo uld r quire a new chassis. I n 1943 w ork b g an onthe Chi-To. It re embled the Chi-Ha in general layout bu t was substantialltar er with a 400hp engine and it wa armed with th n w Type 475mm gun derived from the Type 88 75mm antiaircraft un. The de i nsubstantially increased armor thickne with a maximum protectiOl of75mm on key front plates and the design was primarily welded with somecast armor components This was b far the most ophisticat d Japan sta nk to r ea ch production The plan was to manufacture th m at a rat of20 pe r month at Mitsubi hi and flv pe r month at Kob iko. Ioweverat war s end only ix chassis had b n built and onl two tanks om pi t d.A he avi er de ign th Type 5 hi-Ri was also planned was initiallyarmed with the T pe 4 75mm gun but e en tu al ly an mm gun in theturret and a 37mm econdary weapon in the hull front were incorporated.Thi tank was expe ted to b e powered by a 550hp MV\aircraft engine.prototype without the main gun wa completed in la 1945 but furtherwork wa halted in favor of concentrating attention on the more practi alType 4 hi-To. 1 here have al 0 been rumors that work was underwa Ion a 120-ton super heavy tank called the Oh-I bu t no do umentationsurvived the war

The Type 4 Chi-To was th e las tmedium tank design completedbefore the end of the war. twaa Japanese equivalent of theGerman Panther anned with along 75mm gun The f irst unitswere completed only weeksbefore the end o f th e war, andthey never saw combat NARA


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pe 2 KaMi was thedesigned amphibious tanke war, capable of operatingen ocean and in high surf.example shows t he two

and engine t runk , buttrunk over the turret is no t

NARA

l as t o f th e Special Craft, pe 4 Ka-Tsu was an

transport rathera true tank. It s final

a pair ofmachine guns and

torpedoes, is not presentthis example preserved atUS Marine Corps museum

p Pendleton, California.collection)

Navy tanksThe IJ ha d its 0 n m ar in e c on ti ng en ts k nm n as the pecial lavalLandings For es LF). he units \ er fr qll ntly r infor d with .lighttanks, most oft n witl1 th Typ 95 Ha- o. Th j LF was inter t d in atank mol uitable for amphibiou landings. In fa t, tI ar m had toyedwitl1 om mall xp rim ntal amphibious tanks for re onnais ance unitsin tI1e 1930s. Th navy \V dnted a t an k c ap ab le of op -rating in op n 0 anan d t11rough high urf, and m I robll t p rforman e in water wareqlli r d. DlI to Mitsubi hi s arli I \ ar k on the army pI cts, in 1941 tI,efirm was a sign d th d v fopm nt of tl1e Ka-Mi p ial l-afi:. Th i wasintend d to b a n amp hibio ll a na lo g of tl1 new Type 2 light taJ k, an dt1,ey hard similar turrets. Th vehi I u p nsion was d )-iv d from tl1atof the Typ 95 I a- o. Th e method of amphibioll nan port was throughm 1I o f twO pontoons fitt d for an d aft wim a sy t m of mall clasp tI,atcould be I leased from witl1in the tank to drop the pontoons on on land.In addit ion, a trunk was fitted over th engin air intak on th rear d kto pI vent wat r fr m flo ding into tI ngine ompartment i k e ~ e,there was a d ta hable tow I over tI1e turret hat h to pI v ent wave fromwashing into me fighting ompartm nt. Th d ign was a pt d as mType 2 Ka-Mi pecial Craft, an d production be ga n in 1943. Th w rdeployed in 1944 an d saw action on Saipan an d eyre.


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With th suc es ful d si n of th Typ 2 Ka-Mi, the navy added ar quirem nt for th Ka hi p i l raft, whi h w an amphibiou tankanalog of the Type 1 Chi-H medium tank. Mitsubi hi was also as ign dto thi proj t and it f 1I0wed the g n ral onfiguration of the Ka Miexc pt ing si nificantly lar r for suffi ient buo anc . The prototypwa omplet d in D emb r 1943 and was nt to asake Island offKure in JanuaI 1944 for trials with th n w econd la s Tran portamphibious landing hip that wa de igned to laun h it. A doz n of thesewere built in 1944, bu t the project abruptly ended due t th pro ramlow priority. ost of these tanks remained at the Yokosuka avy Yard andso far as is known, non wer deployed outside Japan. Th Typ 5 To-Kuwas also consid r d, bu t too lat to hav b n manufactur d.

Th fightin in the olom ns in 1942 and tl1 difficulty in re upplyingJapan e for e in thes ituations prompted th I to start an amphibiouu-ansport u-actor pro ram in 1943 as th Ka T:u. nlik tl1 oth r p i lraft, the Ka-Tsu was intended primarily to carry cargo ashore. Th r for ,it was not armored except for ome modest shields for the crew. Its rno t

ingenious feature was the hermetic eal ingof the engine compartment andthe electric final drives. wa designed thi way because the Ka Tsu was tobe delivered by submarine. The first unit \ a completed in late 1943, andtrial were conducted in March 1944 ofI Kure as the Type 4 p cial I-aft.By the time development was complete, some IJN offi ers prop S d amore exotic role for tl1e Ka T: u: to attack U battleship anchor d in atollsuch as lithi that could not be attacked by more onv ntional means.The Ka T: u would be dropped b submarine away from th atOll propelitself to the outer reef, urmounl the reef u ing its u-acked su pen ion, and n enter the lagoon on the other ide of the re f. The Ka T: u would bearmed with two torpedoes for thi mi ion. though te ts were ucce fullyconducted and the Ka Tsu modified for tl1is secret mission, the war nd dbefore they could be deployed in thi wa.

Ten Type 97 Chi Ha tanks of the1s t Independent Tank Companyspearheaded a Japanese attackacross th e Matanika River onOctober 26 1942 In whichmost were destroyed by Marine37mm antitank guns midstreamThe tank still carries the insignio f it s parent unit the 4thCompany 2nd Tank Regimenta Masu insignia in blue on thehull side. NARA


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A: Type 8 9B m e di um tankth Tank Reg imentChina 939


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B : T ype 95 li t tank 2nd Compan y 7th Tank RegimentLuzon Phi l ippines December 1941


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1: Type Ka Mi specia l craf t I to SNLF Leyte 944

C2: Type Ka Ch i Spec ia l Craf t Kure SNLF 1945

c


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SPE IFI TIONS

15 Mitsubishi A6120VO diesel engine16 Oil filler cap17 Tank repair jack18 Tank tools19 Idler w l20 Power-train to transmission cover omitted

for clarity)21 Helical compression springs under

armored cover for suspension22 Return roller23 Front Type 97 7.7mm machine gun24 Road wheel in twin bogie mount25 Drive sprocket26 Transmission

Crew: 3 commander, driver, hull machine-gunner)Combat weight: 8.1 tons 704 metric tonnes)Power-to-weight ratio: 16.2hplTOverall length: 172in. 4.37m)Width: 81 in. 2.06m)Height: 84in. 2.13m)Engine: Mitsubishi A6120VD 120hp six-cylinder

diesel engine; 5-speed 4 1 R transmissionFuel capacity: approx. 27gal main tank + 7gal

reserve 104 liter main tank + 27 liter reserve)Max. speed road): 28mph 45krnlh)Max. speed cross-country : 18mph 29km/h)Max. range: 130mi 209km)Fuel consumption: Ami gal 2.3krnlliter)Ground clearance: 15in. OAmArmament: Type 94 or Type 98 37m m tank gun

U46 1 cal); two Type 97 7.7mm machine gunsMain gun ammunition: 130 rounds 37mm;

3,300 7.7mm machine roundsMuzzle velocity: 2,300fps 701 m/sPenetration: 40mm at 90 degrees @500m with

Type 1 AP projectile @0.67kgMax. effective range: 1.8mi 2.9km)

Gun depression/elevation +20 to -15 degreesArmor: 12mm hull and turret front, turret side

and hull side, turret and hull rear; 9mm topand bottom

1 Steel tracks2 Brake pads for vehicle steering3 Tank headlight4 Driver s forward visor5 Driver s instruments electrical switches)6 Driver s seat7 Main gun trunnion8 Right side m m u n ~ o n stowage for 37mm gun9 Type 94 37mm gun

10 Turret 37mm ammunition ready rack11 Rear turret Type 97 7.7mm machine gun12 Engine muffler13 Engine bulkhead14 Air intake for engine


32/52


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F1: Type 9 7 k a i S h in ho to Chi Ha 3rd Company 7 th Tank Regiment2nd Armored Div is ion Luzon Phi l ipp ines December 1944

F2: Type Ho Ni se l f p rope l led gun 2nd Mobi le Art i l lery Regiment2nd Armored Division Luzon December 1944


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G 1: T ype C hi-R i m e diu m tank J a pa n, 1 94 5

G 2: T ype 97 ka i S h i n h o t o C h i - H a , C h in es e P e op le s Liberat ionA r m y P LA ), 1 9 4 9


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h Sasebo SNLF on Tarawaeinforced with seven Type

l ight tanks that wereou t during th savagethere on November 20,

NARA

TANK COMBAT OF THE GREAT ASIANWAR 1941 45The Southwest Pacif ic campaigns 942 43Th num rou i lands ofth ouLh\ e t rn Padfi weI the tage for mu hof th e fightin between th e S an d Japan in 1942-43. The i lands wereoften heavil fore ted an d hill which proved to be difficult ter rain fo rtanks, ept along the oasts. TheJapane e seized ew Britain an d ewIreland in ugust 1942, an d the IJA garri on d Rabaul the th TankRegim nl. In ept mb r th IJ conduct d amphibious landings at MilnBay upported by Type 95 Ha- 0 light tanks of th Kure th LF. TheMarin us d tanks in small numb rs on Guadal anal in 1942, an d basedon their ample the umi 0 hi Force was landed on uadal anal \ ~ tits own tank contingent in late 0 tob r for a counteroffi n ive again tlhe Marine. The 1 t Independent Tank ompany was equipped wi h adozen T p 97 hi-Ha medium tanks manned by veteran crews of the4m ompany, 2n d Tank R giment. Th tanks p arhead d me Japaneseatta k a ross th Matanika Riv r but mo t of th tanks w r de tr y dby arine 37 mm ant ita nk g un s midstream, putting an abrupt end to

Japan armor op ration on uadalcanal.The Centra Pacif ic 943 44

he t rrain of th Central Pacific i land wa mo r suitabl r tankop rations than th jungl t rrain of th earlier battJes and saw m arexten iv tank u y both id . Given th e small iz of th battl fi Id ,an independent rol fo r tanks was out of th e qu e tion, an d th y ervedin tead in their u aditional role of providing direct fire support for th einfantry. Th tanks w re a major threat to Japan se infanu) , wholacked an ad quate antitank un until the Type 1 47mm gu n began toarrive in i nifi ant number in th e summer of 1944.Japan e tank w reno t a uffi ient antidote because both the T pe 9 light tank an d th eType 97 medium tank lacked th e firepower to pe n trate tJ1e armor of eAmerican M4 medium tank an d both Japane e type were vulnerable toa \vide range ofAmet-i an weapons. As a re ult Japane e tanks were oftend plo ed in tati entr nchments to redu their vulnerability in th ehopes that th e might b abl to ambu hAm rican tanks by fir ing again ttJ1eir weak r id an d rear armor. 33


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The first of th e ntral Pa ific batt s, Tarawa, be an on th e coralatoll in th e ilb rt I land n v mber 20, 1943. The main Japane edefen e were n Betio, an d th )' in luded even ntren h d T P 95 lighttank of th 7th a bo S F. Two other F Typ 95 tanks w r onneighboring Makin Island. Alt 10ugh one of th e Type 95 tanks on Betiocharged out of its revetment durin th e initial fighting an d di ableda Marine M 2 before being bla ted apart, the remaining tanks \ er eemployed a tatic pillboxe an d were de troyed on e b one. The nextobjective for amphibiou force wa Kwajal in, the world large tat II.

Japane e defen e included nine tankett compan of Typ 95 lighttank an d two atta h d LF companie of Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibioutanks. TheJapan se tanks w r in ffe tive against th attack an d wereov rwhelmed in an unequal so-uggl .

The Marianas w re th e fir t large island in Japan inner defen b Itto be attacked b) th e U . Two of me island Guam an d aipan \ er edangerou Iy 10 nough t Japan to rv a po t ntial airba e fo rbombers. As a re ult japan arri on were reinforced b tl1e 9t 1 TankRegiment, th e fir t iz abl japan tank force encountered bforces since th e 1 94 1- 42 P hi li pp in e c am pa i n. he 9ti1 Tank Regimentwa plit up \Vim me 1 t and 2 nd ompanies on uam an d th e 3rd, 4th,an d m a n aipan. he companie on a ip an h ad a mode t number ofme newer T) pe 97-Kai hinhoto hi-Ha, me anI) japanese tank wim an)chanc f knocking out an rican M m dium tank. In additionth r w r nin Ha-Go light tank f th e 1 t Yoko uka LF n aipanan d a imilar numb r with t 1e 24th Ind p nd nt Tank mpan) n

uam. The Japan se infantry in th e Mariana wa b tt r quipp d thanthos on th Mal hall having finall), begun to r eive th n w T p ]47 mm an ti tan k gu n. he Marine land d n aipan n Jun 15with two tank battalion a h with 46 4A2 m dium tanks an d 14 to24 M3Al atan f lamethrow r tanks. On tl1 night f th landing th e

Japan e F tag d a poiling raid near Garapan again t th e I ftflank of th north rn landing beache upported b), thre Typ 2 Ka-Miamphibiou tanks. he arine called in naval ta r hell illumination,and me T pe 2s oo n fell victim to Marine bazookas an d tank gu n . Th iwa the first wide- le use of bazookas in t 1e Pacific an d marked et

The 1st Yokosuka SNLF stageda spoiling attack on the USInvasion beaches on Saipan onthe night of June 15 16 losingtheir three Type 2 Ka Miamphibious tanks. NARA


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of the Type 97 Chi Haks of the 9th Tank RegimentSaipan were fiUed with an

rack on the hullto carry additional infantry.was one of the tanks that

into marshy groundthe disastrous nightof June 16 17 1944decimated the regiment.

anoth r di advanta faced b the Japan s tanks. At dawn, the Japane eLFT pe 95 Ha-Go compan and the 4th ompan 9th Tank Regiment,

attacked the beachhead with upportin infantry and were devastated btank fire. OnJune 16, the S Arm , s 27th Divi ion landed, upported btwo light and one medium tank companie .

he tead progre of the attack led Vice- dmiral agumo toorder the garris n commander to laun h an all-out counterattack onthe night ofJun 16-17. p arh ading th atta k w re the 44 tanks ofth 9th Tank R gim nt. Th Marines hard th ounds of th tanks asth y gather d around Garapan to load up with infantry. ailing forreinforcements, a Marine 4A2 plat on arrived along with everal M375mm half-tra k tank d stroy rs to r inforc the prim t r Th large tingleJapan tank atta k of the Pa ificV\ar b gan after midnight in theearly morning hours of Jun 17. Th tanks au mpted to char acroop n ground but naval tar hell quickly illuminat d them. Th Matinop ned fir with baz okas at1d 37mm antitank gun with deadly effect. Afew Japan tanks rash dint Mat in lin bu t w r quickly kno ked

ut at clo rang On f th Typ 97 plat n tumbl n t mar hyareas, becoming oapped theJapanese attack wilted in a hail ofgunfire,the Maline tanks began moving forward, destroying the o apped tanks.

dozenJapane e tanks managed to escape the l u g h t l ~ but on June 24mo t of the e survivors were knocked out in an unequal duel with Marinetank near arapan The re t were lost in scattered encounters withS Army 5 1 light tanks. On July 24, Marines assaulted nearby Tinian,

supported by the two tank battalions. 0 t of the Type 95 light tanks ofthe Japanese tank company on the island were lost that night during apredictable night-banzai charge.

Th 3rd Marin Division a ault a ainst uam was supported by morethan tw tank battali n . Japan tank units on th i land includ d th1 t and 2nd ompani f the 9th Tank R gim nt with 29 hi-Ha andI a-Go tanks and th 24th Ind pend nt Tank Company with nin Ha-Golight tanks. Mo t f th Japan tanks w r kn k d ut in a ries ofd pelat c unteratta k n th fir t day, but th r mainin tanks of th2nd ompany f the 9th Tank R gim nt wer withdrawn north and weregladually xpend d in a eri f fer i us night atta ksThe Marianas campaign was ar evid nc of th hop I t chni alimbalance b tween theJapane e tank and weaponry. The Marineand army troop had an array of w apon including the bazo ka, the


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37mm antitank gun and th 75mm tank gun that could readily knock utth Japan tanks. Th Japane tank guns, with the x ption of th47mm gun on the Type 97-Kai hinhoto Chi-Ha, were ineffecti e against

S medium tanks. hi situation would not improve to any ignificantxtent for the remaining ear of the war.

On eptember 15, 1944, th Maline 1st Division landed on PeleHuin the Palau I land a heavil fortified coral outcropping, painfullremini cent of blood arawa. PeleHu vas defended by the Japanese14th Infant Divi ion. That aft moon th division light tank companylaunched a banzai attack acro the open airfield. The 15 ype 95 Ha 0tanks had b n fitted to carry troop b lashing mpty fuel drum withinfantrymen ramm d in id them on their rear fend rs. Th attack vaporat d under a massi barrag of arine firepow r from bazo kas .5O-Cal.machine gun , 37mm antitank gun , 75mm half-track tank de troy rsthr M4A2 m dium tanks, and naval gunfir. h r i n tanks w rb wildered wh n th ir annor-pi rcing (AP) ammunition s med to havno effect on the Ha-Go . In fact, th shell w r p netrating th Japanetanks on on sid and passing I ar through th other. The Am ri angunners witched to high explo ive , blowing the small tanks apart. Thd tru tion f m of the Type 95 light tanks was so campi te that theMarine lat r found it difficult to d termine how manyJapanes tanks hadactually been us d in the atta k. By 1944, the Type 95 tank was nearly ad cad old and learly obsolete.Actions in the China theaterBy th summer of 1943, the Chine e Army in Central China was in deeptroubl. he Japan Imperial neral Headquarters began planningchi Go Op ration 1 to deal a final kno kout blow. t th ame time, thiwould op n rail links between a upied hina and Indo hina as well asaptur base bing prepar d for S Army Air Force op rations against

Japan. Operation 1 was laun h d b th hina Expeditionary my inpril 1944, mainl along the railroad lines in Central China. Althoughprimarily an infantry operation Japane e tank units were e ten ively usedin a upporting role. The larges annor operation was conduct d by the

The Ype 97 tankette waswidely used in the China theater.This one was knocked out bya Chinese bazooka team of the3 112th Infantry, 38th Division,in December 1944 NARA


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Yamashita ordered th ed Tank Division to disperseunits as a b locking f o rce

static defensive positionsLuzon. This Type 1 Ho Ni 1

n k d es tr oy er i s seen herea n e la bo ra te entrenchment

camouflage c ov er n ea rIe. NARA

quipp d with about 255 tanks. Its attacks ulminat d inth d feat of th r hine e divi ions defending Luo ang and the aptureof the ity on Ma 24, 1944. Th fighting ontinued thr u h Decemb r1944, finall pu hing down th rail line to Indo hina.

Although th op ration u ce ded in oven helming man ArmAir Forc ai r ba and sever I injuring the Kuomintang Arm) , it failedto deliv r a fatal blow to th hinese. Furthermore, the Army AirF I e b gan emplo) ing the long-range B-29 bomber from base de p inth zechwan Provin ) ond the rea h of th . The bomb r fir tai r raid wa ondu t d on June 16, 1944, and in time, ai r raft ba edin China were abl to interdi t the n w rail conne tions. a re ult, as ries of attack w r plann d in earl 9 4 ~ and the hina ExpeditionaryArm) ini tiat d a major p ration again t th Kuomintang Arm and the

airbas . Th 3rd Tank Divi ion was as igned to th 12th rm , takingpart in the succe sful March 1945 offensi e that seized the airbase atLaohokow in the Hubei Province. The 3rd Tank Di i ion remained inhina until the end of the war, headquarter d near Beijing. The e w re

the la t ucce ful Japanese tank op ration of orld ar II bu t arelargel unknown in the We t.The Phil ippines 944 45The campaign in the Philippines involved the lar e t tank operations byeither ide in the Paciii War. It was a 0 the fir t and onl time that theJapanese Arm committed one of its tank divi ion, th 2nd on Luzon,again t for . Th Arm d plo) ed s v n tank battalion, th r tankde tro) r battalion and a parat tank ompan) during th Philippinampai n, totaling over 500 tanks and tank destro) ers.Th initial fightin on Le te in Oct b r 1944 aw th quick d tru tion

of the old T P 9B tanks of th 7th Ind p nd nt Tank Compar1) wh nit tried to counterattack th S landin n ar Dula . Th ltoh SNLFattempted an amphibiou count rattack a ain t th landings at Ormocwith a d ta hm nt that in Iud d t n T) P 2 Ka-Mi amphibi u tanks.Th NLF J rc was hit whil landing, and onl a handful of Ka-Mi tanksr ach d th h r , wh re th w r qui kJ d tro d. R inforc ments


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were ru hed to eyte, including th 1 t Divi i n upp rted b tJle 1 tand 2nd lnd p ndent Tank mpanie from th 2nd Tank Divi ion onneighboring Luzon. Ea h divi ion had t n Typ 95 Ha- 0 light tanks.Thes tanks were 10 t in a ttered en ounte l with infantry, u uallyto bazookas and tow d ant itank gun .

Following the full of Leyte, the turned its attention to Luzon. Theommand r fth 14th Ar a Army, neral Tomoyuki Yamashita, doubt d

that tJle tanks of the 2nd Tank Divi ion c uld stand up to S firepow r ina dir t mas d onfrontation. He ord r d that th divi i n b di P rs d tstiffen defen e in key town and village, witJ tanks to b no n h d inadobe revetments and covered with foliage. Most of tJle defensive po irionincluded multiple tank nIT nchments, 0 that the tan could mo earound if n c ary Yamashita al forbad th tank command r toconduct th typ of banzai har that had led to the de Tuction ofth 9th Tank R gim nt n ipan. M d attack was to b u ed onlwh n it was evident that th local d fi n were on the er e of failing. Thed n ity of tank mplac m nt val; d from villa to ilia . Th malle td tachm nt at rdan ta had only nin tanks, but the hi mi d tachmentof th 7th Tank R giment at an Manu I had 5 tanks, and tJl Idad ta hm n to f th 6th Tank R gim nt at Mun z had 52 tanks. Th divi i nwa extremely well equipped by Japane e tandard with over 200 Type 97and Type 97-Kai medium tanks, 20 Type 95 light tanks and a val;et of thenew self-propelled guns.

De pite tJle large number ofJapane e tanks on Luzon, there were eryfew large- ale tank-ver u -tank encounter When the m landingbegan on December 15, 1944, the 7th Tank Regiment wa ord red tostage a ounteratta k against tJle Linga en landing ite. tank companand motoriz d infantry battalion mount d the attack on tJle night ofDecember 16 bu t were ambu hed b) infanu and d cimated. Thadvancin units mad fir t contact witJ the outer belt of the 2nd TankDivi ion position near Binal nan lat r in tJl monm The first ignm anttank battl t ok pia e on January 24 1945 at an Manu I Th tInfantry R giment attack d th town, supported by M7 105mm howitzer

This TYPe 97-Kai ShinhotoChiHa was head of a columnof 2nd Tank DiVision, hi t bybazooka fire on January 31945 near Umungan on Luzon.The column was a empting anight retreat. The crew addeda length of spare track to theturret front In an a empt toreinforce it s armor. NARA


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nel Nishi s 26th Tankconverted from

1s t Tank Division sregiment

TYpe 97Kai Shlnhototank.s on Iw o Jima

i ly deployed in staticNARA

motor arria e (HMC) and a compan of M4 medium tank. Opposingthem w re 40 Typ 97-Kai medium tanks and five Type 95 Ii ht tanksof th hig mi deta hment. Th MTs 105mm howitzer uc eeded inblasting away th adob tank r v tm nts, and theJapane e position weregraduaJly reduced b infantl attacks. Led b the ten remaining ] tanks,a final banzai harg laun h d in th arl hours ofJanua. 2 . Thattack uffered a predictable fate again t 37mm antitank gun.

Th Ida d ta hm nt at Munoz m t a imilar nd in the fir t week ofFebruary, and when surviving Japan s tanks attempt d a breakout, theyw r de imated b artill ry and a tank atta k. The 2nd Armored Divi ion slast I-egiment, th 10th Tank R gim nt at Lupa , was hatt r d during thfighting there on February 7-8. By March 5, the Japane 2nd Arm r dDivi ion had been de troyed, already having 10 t 203 Chi-Ha and 19 Ha- 0tanks, and two n w 150mm Ho-Ro tank de tro ers. heir aClifice did nOtsub tantiallyaffi t th campai n, becau th poor quality of theJapane etanks was n t a S Ii u threat t th Am ri ans. n of the mo t curiouin idents of the campaign curr d in April 1945 when U forceappr ach d Yam hita h adquart rs i. Baguio, which was defended byth division s fiv surviving tanks. Yamashita fitted large explo i e chargesto th fr nt of th Typ 97 and Type 95, which w re then camouflagedwith bru hand hidd n along th road id . When S M4 m dium tanksapp ar d aro md a b nd on R ut 9 on th morning ofAplil 17, the t\ 0Japane e tanks raced fonvard, and in a kamikaz - tyl atta k rammed th

tan blowing up two in the pro ehe f inal aci fic campaignsike Tarawa, 1wo Jima would go down in leg nd as on of th most itt r

battle of the Pacific V\ar. Th onl Japane armor on th island was aportion of the 26th Tank Regiment b cau on of th regim nt s companie was being deployed on a neighboring i land. Lieut nant olon Ji hi hoped to use hi hinhoto hi-Ha tank as a roving fire brigad ,

but h wa ord red to deplo them as enu enched piJlboxe . The 1 t


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encounters with Sovietn k u ni ts in th e August 1945hting were no t widespread.

are th e Type 97 Chi-Haof t he 3 4t h Tank Regiment,

near Mukden Inn ch ur ia in 1 94 5. The

klkusul markingevident on th e turret ine var ia nt u se d b y th ed ompany and therean AI-koku presentation

king on th e hull side.tton Museum)

very effective in British and Indian service in Burma. The 14th TankRegim nt, r built near Mandalay, re ntered the fray at Meiktila with then w Type 97-Kai hinhoto hi-Ha. In March 194 , its last tanks werewip d out on th Mandalay Road by h rman of255 Tank Brigade.u ust Storm: ManchuriaAlthough the Man hurian Op ration ofAugust 1945 was the larg st tankoperation of th war in ia, it i one of th least known outside ofRu sia. Th Sovi t Union nt r d th war in August 1945, ov rrunningthe Kwantung Army in Manchuria in two w ek by a rapid pincermov ment .an huria had traditionall be n th main operational areafor Japane e tank formation but in late 1944 Japane units in thhina theater were t ripped bare to prepare for the defense of th

Home Islands. B 1945, the Kwantung Army had only the inexperienced1st and 9th Tank Brigades at ukden and sopingchieh plus a few smalldivisional tank compani s.

Th ovi t attack was a three-pronged pincer involving over 5,000armor d vehicl s, mor than at Kursk. There cas v ry Iitt tank-versus-tankfighting during this campaign, as the war ended before the Red Armyr ached the main defens line where the IJA tank brigades ere stationed.The Red Army captured 369 Japanese tanks and 35 armored cal duringthe AU'-ust 1945 campaign.

Th only major ovi t combat with Japane tanks came after theJapane e surrender on Augu t 15, 1945. On Augu t 1 , t 1e R d Armystag d an amphibiou landing on himushu I land in the Kuril s, homto th 11 th Tank R gim nt, quipp d with 39 Typ 97 m dium tanks and25 Type 95 light tanks. Th garri n had b en inform d ofth urrend r,but Tokyo grant d th right to self-d fense if attack d. Under thecommand of Ion I Ida th regiment d id d t r si t, and it attack dth b achh ad. A confu d batt wa fought in th fog for two hours withthe oviet antitank gun kno king out 21 tanks but ing over a hundr dtroops in the pro e . A cea e-fire agreem nt wa r ached on August 20,making the battle for Shimushu the lastJapanese tank battle of th war.


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is 1I0t an entirely hopeless case as the \ aSl lIl:yorilY of the publishedis heavily iIItISlr:ltcd. The most prolific source of public.uions 011

panese ;mks has 1x C1l Japanese magazincs. These include specialislmaga7jnc:. S, such as Iflllk (Sel/ I/(/) and Koku-Fllll, as well as many

neral interest mag-.-tzines. Soflco\'er mag;tZine specials are a popularrnlat in Japan. and man)' of the Ill.yor publishers ha\ c released publitions in lhis fOllllat o\'er the ycou S. as can be seen from the list below.

of these arc mini-ellc)'clopcdias lhal rehash lhe same malerial o\'erd overagain. bUl some arc SCliOllSI) researched sLUdies \\ilh new malerial.Besides the full-length magazine spt:cials, there has been an enOllllOI.lS

of malerial on Japanese tanks in the Japanese military press,peciall}' in Tank and l ~ u l e f 1Il Ig dzines in the 197 5 and 1980s, and

recently, in Croll/Ill l QTUU mag


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Larkum, Trevor, and Allan Kelly, Preseroedja/JlIIlese Tiwks,Annour Archivc, Northhamplon, England (1999)

Mclean, Donald, c d j a / J a l l e ~ Tank,f, Tactics alld Anti--Illllk \\ eupons,Nonnount Tcchnical Publications. Wickenburg, Arizona (1973)Roland, Paul, /mperia/ja/mllese Tallks /9/8-1945, Bellona PublicalionBmckncll, Berkshirc (1975)

Tantum, W. 1 1. et al.,jajxlll l 9 Combat Weapons oJthe. Secolld WorM War,Wc Inc., Old Greenwich, ConnecticlU (1968)Tomczyk, AndrLej, ja/Kmska broil jxl1lce.rrlll/japalles J Annor, Aj Press,Gdansk. Poland, fivc ,'olumes (2002--Q6)

ndcmood john jajxllle5e Annoml Units ill \ Orld I\or Nafzigcr,West Chestcr, Ohio (2000)Undcn\ ood.john, (cd.), jajxmesL Annor ill Manchuria 1931 45Naf-I.igcr, WCSI Chcster, Ohio (2001)Fisual lVgimentall-listory: The lllh 1lmk Regimmf*, II th Sensha RentaiAssociation (1978)bloga. Steven. Annour of the Pacific \ hr Osprc)' I)ublishing, Oxford.

England (1983)- Tank IJnIlIes oJthe Pacific Uhr. Concord Publications, Hong Kong1995)

g zine form t-Armor of the Pacific \\ ar (I ), - Groulld Power, Special No.11 (1994),Galileo Publishing-Battlcs along the Khaikin-Col Ri, cru ,- Fronlline lIIustmte.d/Prrmt(Jl)(l) fI

illusfmtsi),a. No.2 (2002), Moscow, Russia-Bauk'S ncar the Khaikin-Col River II May-16 September 1939**.MiLitm) Chmllides/\loemlll) a l1toj)is, No.2 (2001)-Hislory of the IjA Tank Corps*,- 'libra (2005)

-lmpcrialJapanesc Ann)' Ordnance Review*,- \ViM Mook.Spccial Issue 35 (1979)-lmperialJapancse Tanks. Cun Tanks Self-Propellcd Cuns,- Cahhl'll,Special Issuc 34 (2002)-Japanese Combat Vehicles ofWWII*,- Ground Power, Spccial No.11(1996), Galilco Publishing.-Japanese Tanks and Armored Vehiclcs*, Koku Fall Speciallssuc

(OtlObcr 1968)-Japanese Tanks and Armored Vehicles*, The Maru GmlJhic SIHxillt

No.8 (Slimmer 1971)]apancsc Tanks and Military Vchides*,- Graphic AClion cries (2005)~ p l l c s c Tan ks lil 1945*, 'J(mh Magm.il/e Special Issue (April 1992)-Japancsc Tanks of \Vorld War Two* , Kohli Fan Special Issue

( cptcmber 1974)-Light Tallk Type 95*, Tank Mflgazilu Special No.3 (1980)-t\kdilllll '(link Type 97*.- 1 II/k Magm.ine. Special No.6 (1981)Chamberlain, Peter, and Chris Ellis. -Light Tank Type 95 K}'u-go,

Armour ill Profit '. No.22 (1967)Hara, Tomio, -japtuuy M llium llmks, IlI-Y Pmfiles. No.49 (1972)Hanl. Tomio, -Japanese Comb'll Cotrs, Light Tanks and Tankcttes,AH1 l>'vfiLes. No.54 (1973)*Japancse lexi / ** Russian text


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LOR PL TE OMMENT RYPANESE TANK CAMOUFLAGE AND MARKINGSrough the 1930s, Japanese tank camouflage paintingually became more standardized. Tanks were generally

in camouflage, usually over a base of a dull brownsometimes called Japanese artillery brown by US intelas it was the standard finish for Japanese ordnanceough most of the war. This was usually supplemented bypatches of dark mahogany brown and dark green. Ine cases, the colors were separated by a thin black line.

e of the unique features of Japanese tank camouflage wasfrequent use of bright yellow disruptive stripes over these camouflage colors, often intersecting on the turret roofcreate a rough cross appearance, if viewed from above.anese tank interiors were usually painted in a very light graysh, although some of the plants apparently used silver paintead. Certain practices remained standard through much ofwar, such as not painting the machine-gun ball socket orhine gun covers. Ukewise, army-supplied external tools

as jacks and shovels were usually provided in artilleryIJA tanks had a brass star fixed to the front while in thee of SNLF tanks, an anchor emblem was substituted.In 1942, the IJA attempted to standardize its camouflage

The use of black edging and yellow stripes was officiallypped. Astandard three-color finish was adopted, consistinga base coat of parched grass primer also called khakQ.corresponded to DIC350 Dai-Nippon Ink and Chemicalsustrial color standard) and roughly corresponded to thehrmacht 1942 dark yellow color. This was a rust-preventiveint and was even supposed to applied over the tracks ofvehicles. The two principal camouflage colors were a darke that ranged from a dark olive green to an olive drab

corresponding to DIC510/DIC531) and a dark mahoganybrown corresponding to DIC521 . These colors could applied in hard-edged patterns, but after 1943 they wereincreasingly applied with feathered edges, using spray guns.This basic color scheme was intended for the Home Islandsand China, while a Southern Army alternative was alsointroduced, substituting a lighter and brighter willow green forthe dark olive. Samples collected by US technical intelligenceshow willow green to a medium green, and in some cases,quite vivid. Some components, such as the gun and gunhousing, continued to delivered from arsenals in standardartillery brown.Japanese tank unit insignia was idiosyncratic to theregiments, though certain styles were common. The use oftraditional symbols was also common, especially thoseassociated with samurai traditions. Some regiments useddifferent symbols for sub-formations, usually companies. Otherregiments adopted simple geometric shapes, helping todistinguish each company. Tactical numbers painted on thehull side and sometimes on the front were common in the1930s, but the practice largely disappeared after 1942. Instead,many units painted names or other writing on the hull side.In some cases, these were Japanese geographic names, but

Only a few Japanese annored vehicles survived theUS demilitarization program of 1945. was usually theunanned types that were turned over fo r reconstructionpurposes such as this modified TYpe 1 Ho-Ha half t rack inuse In Tokyo In October 1946. I ts rear annored compartmentwas cu t of f and replaced by a more useful work bed. NARA)

45


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there were many variations on this practice. Another type ofmarking sometimes seen on tanks was the i kokumarking, adedication to recognize the contributions of Japanese civilianswho contributed to the purchase of the weapon.

The SNLF had its own practices. Although some tanks inthe 1930s were painted in IJN dark gray, many tanks wereprovided from army stocks, and they remained in army colors.Some items specifically acquired by the IJN, such as the Type2 Ka-Mi amphibious tank, was originally delivered in IJN darkgray. However, by 1943 this practice was ended in favor ofoverall green, probably the brighter willow green. The IJNimperial standard, the famous sunburst flag, was frequentlyuse on the SNLF tanks rather than the regimental insigniacommon on IJA tanks.A: TYPE 8 9B M ED IU M TANK 7T H TANKREGIMENT CHINA 1939The 7th Tank Regiment had a standardized set of markings inChina in 1938-41, which remained in use through operationsin the Philippines in 1941-42. Each company had a geometricsymbol as seen here: a star for the 1st company, and so on.This was usually painted on the turret side and the hull front.Four-digit tactical numbers were carried as well: the Type 9preceded by 89 and the Type 9 light tanks with 95.This plate shows a typical camouflage scheme for China inthe late 1930s: a base color of artillery brown with patches oflight sand, mahogany brown, and dark olive green with theyellow disruptive stripe. The two front views show tanks of the1st and 2nd Company.B: TYPE 9 5 L IG HT TANK 2ND COMPANY, 7TH TANKREGIMENT, LUZON PHILIPPINES DECEMBER 1941When the 7th Tank Regiment was assigned to the Luzon strikeforce, its markings and camouflage remained essentially the

Delays in producing th e Type 89 le d to th e purchaseof Renault NC tanks from France. These were u se d b yCaptain Shlgeml s 2nd Independent Tank Company duringth e Shanghai Incident In February 1932. Their fragilesuspension led to a qui ck r eti rement. NARAIsame as in China. The newer Type 95 light tank was painted ithe more common three-color scheme of artillery brown, darolive green, and dark mahogany brown with the characteristiyellow stripe. On the Type 95, the company insignia wapainted on the turret and the tactical number on the hull sideand repeated on the lower bow.C1 : TYPE 2 KA-MI SPECIAL CRAFT, IT O SNLF,LEYTE 1944The Ka-Mi amphibious tanks were originally finished in darIJN gray when first manufactured. In 1943, the overall finisshifted to green. As was common with many SNLF units, thitank company painted the IJN rising sun standard on thturret side, along with a tactical number.C2 : TYPE 3 KA-CHI SPECIAL CRAFT,KURE SNLF, 1945The Type 3 Ka-Chi was never manufactured in large numbersand the only extant photo of the type shows it in a plain overafinish, presumably dark green.D: TYPE 95 LIGHT TANK 26TH TANK REGIMENTIWO JIMA 1945This Type 9 light tank is finished in normal IJA colors. Thebasic finish is the later 1942 parched grass base coat withpatches of willow green and mahogany brown. The 37mm gunand gun cover remain in the artillery brown color in which theand the tools were delivered. The tanks on Iwo Jima lacked theusual regimental insignia, an upwards-pointing blue arrowhead


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a white oval, because their original shipment had been sunkUS submarines and replaced with new tanks prior to thet of the battle.TYP E 97 C HI -H A M ED IU M T AN K,H COMPA NY , 9 TH TANK REGIMENT,I PA N, J UL Y 1 94 4e 9th Tank Regiment had some of the most elaboratekings of any Japanese tank unit of the war The 5th Tankhad this elaborate Kikusui chrysanthemum overwing water) insignia painted on the turret side, a designsociated with the 14th-century hero Masashige Kusunoki.regiment as a whole used geometric company insigniaon the rear turret side or on an attached plate in

ite and green. Painted on the hull side is Mitate shield ofEmperor), and the final letter te is repeated within theany tactical insignia, probably indicating the 3rd Platoon.

e camouflage scheme is the pre-1942 style consisting ofillery brown and dark green with yellow stripes. In spite ofnew 942 camouflage changes, older vehicles were not

arily repainted.: TYPE 97-KAI SHINHOTO CHI-HA,D COMPANY, 7TH TANK REGIMENT,D A RMORED DI VI SI ON, LUZON,

L IP PI NE S, DE CE MB ER 1 94 4is Shinhoto Chi-Ha is in the standard 1942 finish of overallrched grass with bands of wil low green and mahoganywn. Some elements of the 7th Tank Regiment retained

e Type 5 Chi-Ri wa s intended to be th e Japaneseof th e Tige r t an k, a rmed with an 8 8mm g u n.

was impractically large, an d th e p ro gram was h a lt e d e a rly1 94 5 in f avor of th e lighter Type 4 Chi-To. Patton Museum)

their company markings as shown on Plate A but in a lessvisible form. In this case, it is the oka cherry blossom) of the3rd Company. The marking in front of it is the traditionalTomoe design, derived from the family crest o f OishiKuranosuke, leader of the legendary 47 ronin warriors of1702. On the side of the gun cover is an i kokupresentationmarking, consisting of two stylized circular characters above,No. 125 in the center, and the symbols for Dai NipponGreater Japan) below.F2: TYPE 1 HO-NI 1 SELF-PROPELLED GUN,2N D MOBILE ARTILLERY REGIMENT,2N D A RM OR ED D IV IS IO N, L UZ ON ,DECEMBER 1944The self-propelled guns of this regiment were finished inthe usual 1942 scheme of parched grass, willow green, andmahogany brown. At least two variations of the insignia wereseen on these, probably distinguishing batteries; one with ared disc and the other in white with a hollow rectangle withinthe center disc.G 1: T YP E 5 CHI-RI MEDIUM T AN K, J AP AN , 1 94 5This plate is a what i f representation because no Type 5was ever completed by the end of the war. It shows how theType 5 might have appeared had any been completed, in theusual late-war scheme of parched grass, dark olive green,and mahogany brown.G2: TYPE 97-KAI SHINHOTO CHI-HA, CHINESEPEOPLE S LIBERATION ARMY PLA), 1949The Chinese tank force was originally based on Japanesetanks captured by the PLA from Japanese units near Beijing,as well as from equipment captured by the Soviets. Muchof the equipment was left in original Japanese camouflagecolors, but a number of tanks were smart ly repainted inoverall dark green for parades in Beijing in 1949 to celebratethe final victory over the Kuomintang Army.


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The design development operation and historyof the machinery of warfare through the ges

Japanese Tanks1939 45

ull olor rtwork

utawayrtwork

OSPREY

Unrivaled detail

Photographs

Th Japan e Army u ed tanksto great effect in the build-upto World War II In pic dby Europ an design in the1920s and 1930 an innovativetank program facilitat d Japane ecampaign in hina prior to thPacific War. uring the ensuingwar against the llie tanks weredeployed imaginatively in junglterrain pr viou Iy thoughtimpa sable by such v hieland were integral in aJayaand th aptuIe of ingapore.How ver tank development wasincrea ingly neglected in fa orof naval prioritie and Japanestanks becam outmoded andineffective. teven J Zalogau es detailed photograph andcolorful artwork to explorethese Japanese d ign.

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Transcript of Osprey Japanese Tanks 1939-45