WW2 Japanese Tank Projects

[moin1900]

Hi everybody

Here the ultra-heavy O-I tank
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/japan/japan-exp.html

There was also another japanese giant ?
The 100 ton tank "Mi-To" ?
http://uk.geocities.com/sadakichi09/army/IJAV.htm
Maybe someone knows more ?

Here the Type 5 Chi-Ri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_5_Chi-Ri

Maybe someone knows some other japanese late war tank projects ?

Many greetings and thanks

 

[tom!]

Hi.

Hi everybody

Here the ultra-heavy O-I tank
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/japan/japan-exp.html

Tank project, last version was mainly an massively enlarged type 5 Chi-Ri chassis with a weight of 120 to 140 t. Armed with a type 5 105 mm tank gun and a type 98 20 mm aa-gun in a cupola on top plus a Shinhoto turret with a type 1 47 mm tank gun and a 7,7 mm tank MG turret on the bow. The vehicle only reached early prototype stage. There are rumors that a prototype was tested in summer 1945 in Manchuria but nothing more than rumors.

http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/O-I.htm

There was also another japanese giant ?
The 100 ton tank "Mi-To" ?
http://uk.geocities.com/sadakichi09/army/IJAV.htm
Maybe someone knows more ?

Maybe an early prototype of the O-I project but most probable nothing more than a rumor.

Here the Type 5 Chi-Ri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_5_Chi-Ri

Maybe someone knows some other japanese late war tank projects ?

There were quite a lot of late-war projects from which (following Taki) , the type 5 tank Chi-Ri, the type 5 tank destroyer Na-To, the type 5 tank hunter Ku-Se, the type 5 tank destroyer Ho-Ru, the type 5 light tank Ke-Ho and the 120mm SPG Ho-To reached prototype stage and the type 4 tank Chi-To became ready for production (200 were ordered for late 1945 before surrender).

Yours

tom!

 

[moin1900]

Hi everybody

Thanks for the reply ! There was the Type 5 Chi-Ri.
Was there a candidate for a Type 6 tank ?!?

Many greetings

 

[tom!]

Hi.

In mid 1945 the japanese tank designers and producers were busy developing the type 4 Chi-To and Type 5 Chi-Ri with a massive lack of ressources (tanks were low priority)

At surrender there were only plans to develop a tank hunter (Ka-To) and a tank destroyer (Ho-Ri) both armed with the type 5 105 mm tank gun plus up-armouring the Chi-Ri to up to 135 mm frontal armour in 1946 ("type 6" = 2606 indicates the Jimmu calendar year in which the weapon system was officially adopted, Jimmu calendar started 660 BC)

Yours

tom!

 

[moin1900]

Thanks for the good informations !

Many greetings

 

[Taranov]

bigger picture: http://radikal.ru/F/s019.radikal.ru/i604/1203/18/c6ec157a5d16.jpg.html
Not sure, but maybe it's O-I turret. Photo taken on the Far East shortly after the war.

 

[Taranov]

Torsion suspension for improved design of Type 5 Chi-Ri

 

[Taranov]

Mi-To suspension

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1H3u7Btk8M

Uploaded on Nov 16, 2008
The Japanese original tank type 89 was used in Chinese front and Pacific front before and during WWII. This one is restored By Japanese Self Defence Army in 2007 at Tuchiura wepon scool near Tokyo as an educational technical method.

We saw it at the base day in October 2007 and it runed again in 15th November 2008. It's an important Japanese histrical thing,we think it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDFcT1g47fU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snxs-JL8i8

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OolaPCZx5nc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpTLAAT_jnA

 

[Jemiba]

As I just have the book from Ferdinand M. von Senger und Etterlin "Die Kampfpanzer von 1916 - 1966"
at hand, I'll post some drawings of Japanese tanks. The type 3, 4 and 5 remained prototypes, only.

 

[eltf177]

As I just have the book from Ferdinand M. von Senger und Etterlin "Die Kampfpanzer von 1916 - 1966"
at hand, I'll post some drawings of Japanese tanks. The type 3, 4 and 5 remained prototypes, only.

Actually some 66 of the Type 3 were built. The Type 4 only had 6 examples (I believe some of those were prototypes) and the Type 5 was an unarmed prototype.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://sensha-manual.blogspot.ie/2017/03/theorem-on-newly-discovered-tanks.html

In this new proposed theory, every spot in the Iroha classing system falls into their proper order up until the 1944-1945 gap where many tanks were scrapped and remain unknown.

Chi-I: (Medium First) Tank “A”
Chi-Ro: ( Medium Second) Tank “B”
Chi-Ha: ( Medium Third) Type 97 Chi-Ha
Chi-Ni: (Medium Fourth): Type 97 Chi-Ni
Chi-Ho: (Medium Fifth) Type 98 Chi-Ho
Chi-He: (Medium Sixth): Type 1 Chi-He
Chi-To: (Medium Seventh): Type 4 Chi-To
Chi-Ri: (Medium Ninth): Type 5 Chi-Ri
Chi-Nu: (Medium Tenth): Type 3 Chi-Nu

Ke-I: (Light First) Unreleased Tank*
Ke-Ro: (Light Second) Unreleased Tank*
Ke-Ha: (Light Third) Unreleased Tank*
Ke-Ni: (Light Fourth) Type 98 Ke-Ni
Ke-Ho: (Light Fith) Type 5 Ke-Ho
Ke-He: (Light Sixth) Currently Unknown
Ke-To: (Light Seventh) Type 2 Ke-To
Ke-Ri: (Light Ninth) Type 3 Ke-Ri
Ke-Nu: (Light Tenth) Type 4 Ke-Nu

Ju-I: (Heavy First) Type 96 Heavy*
Ju-Ro: (Heavy Second) Type 97 Heavy*
Ju-Ha: (Heavy Third) Mitsu-104*
Ju-Ni: (Heavy Fourth) Ishi-108*

* = Tanks currently not publicly available. Kept private with David Lister and I until his book, which was recently contracted, is published.

 

[Nick Sumner]

Grey Havoc, when will the book be published?

 

[Grey Havoc]

Grey Havoc, when will the book be published?

Sorry, he didn't give specific details on that, though based on a reply of his in the comments section, it's likely to be sometime around mid-May at the earliest.

 

[Grey Havoc]

With regards as to the development of the O-I superheavy tank: http://sensha-manual.blogspot.com/2018/09/o-i-superheavy-tank-complete-history.html

 

[sienar]

Type 97 heavy tank; http://overlord-wot.blogspot.com/2018/11/forgotten-tanks-supplement.html

 

[sgeorges4]

my research on the OI:
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=241131
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=241116&p=2197261#p2197261
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=241077

 

[sgeorges4]

and here the upgraded Chi Nu:
http://sensha-manual.blogspot.com/2017/01/wt-type3-chi-nu-ii.html

 

[tom!]

Hi.

What I found out on IJA and IJN tanks and armoured vehicles so far (not final but as far as I was able to get):

http://ww2f.com/threads/japanese-tanks-and-armored-vehicles.72238/

Yours

tom!

 

[sgeorges4]

concerning the OI,;you might look at tank encyclopedia article http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/jap/O-I.php (my article on this tank will be out in a french magazine).

 

[Antonio]

Will you please post a message as soon as your article would be published?

Thanks in advance

 

[sgeorges4]

does it disturb you if it's in french?

 

[Foo Fighter]

English would be better. Much more accessible.

 

[sgeorges4]

it was redacted for a french magazine.

 

[Foo Fighter]

Not a problem, just easier to take in that's all.

 

[DiePanzerKanone]

you might want to see this:

O-I Superheavy Tank: A Complete History

The Battle of Khalkhin Gol had been a devastating defeat for the Empire of Japan in 1939. The Kwantung Army suffered total strategic de...

sensha-manual.blogspot.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD1gi54aw64

 

[blockhaj]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uVpTjn3xd0

 

[blockhaj]

Type 97 heavy tank; http://overlord-wot.blogspot.com/2018/11/forgotten-tanks-supplement.html

It has since been found that this was just a wooden playground creation for some trade fair.

 

[Nik]

I get the feeling that the Japanese had a very nasty shock when US Marines took tanks ashore on the Pacific islands. Though 'obsolete' by so-rapidly evolving European standards, these were still in a totally different league to the Japanese models.

After that, given the squeeze on resources, anything they could craft and field would be too few, too late...

Still, looks like they adopted several German design ideas, made a respectful attempt...

As ever, one of the big 'What Ifs' is how they'd have fared against a wave of T-95 / T-28 Assault / GMC rumbling from beach-heads...