Type 1 Chi-He
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| Type 1 Chi-He | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 5 |
| Length | 5.5 m |
| Width | 2.2 m |
| Height | 2.38 m |
| Weight | 17 t |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | 8-50 |
| Main armament | 47 mm Type 1 gun |
| Secondary armament | 2 x 7.7 mm Type 97 gun (hull, coaxial) |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | Mitsubishi Type 100 air cooled V-12 diesel 240 hp (179 kW) |
| Suspension | Bell crank |
| Road speed | 44 |
| Power/weight | |
| Range | Unknown |
The Japanese Type 1 Chi-He was the successor to the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank of World War II. Designed to replace the Type 97 Chi-Ha, the Type 1 was an overall improvement over its predecessor with a more powerful main gun, powerplant, and with thicker armour.
[edit] Production history
As a response to the Type 97 Chi-Ha's poor anti-armour capabilities due to its low-velocity Type 97 57 mm main gun a new series of tanks based on an improved Chi-Ha design was conceived. The first of this new series was the Type 1 Chi-Ha, which appeared in 1941.
The Type 1 compared to the Type 97 was slightly longer and taller than the Type 97, the thicker angled frontal armour was welded as opposed to riveted and the Type 1 weighed 2.032 tonnes (2 tons) more than the Type 97. The Mitsubishi Type 100 diesel engine was 52 kW more than the Type 97's Mitsubishi Type 97 diesel engine and was more than able to compensate for the additional weight of the Type 1. The Type 1 47 mm high-velocity turret had a barrel length of 2.250 m and a muzzle velocity of 810 m/s; almost doubling the penetration capability compared to the low-velocity Type 97 57 mm. The gun was placed in a new two-man turret allowing space for a loader.
One of best disposable Japanese tanks of WWII,in last stages of wartimes was the Medium Tank Type 3 Chi-Nu. This vehicle was based on the hull of Chi-He with new turret design around Type 3 75 mm gun and installed on the basic hull. The larger main gun and its turret(without a machine gun in its rear face) increased the combat weigth to 18.80 tonnes,but as the 240 hp (179 kW) Diesel engine remained unchanged, the overall defect was a sligth reduction in performance. Its production started in 1944, but Japan s increasingly acute production troubles limited manufacture to between 50 or 60 of these improved Tanks
The main cannon in such Tank was the Type 1 47 mm Tank Gun with caliber of 47 mm ,barrel length of 2.250 m (L48) EL angle of fire of -15 to +20 degrees ,AZ angle of fire of 20 Degrees,muzzle velocity of 810 m/s and penetration of 55 mm/100 m, 30 mm/1,000 m.
In 1942, new medium tank Chi-He had been developed. It was better than Chi-Ha on the speed or armor, but the IJA had little interest in this new tank. The 47 mm gun of Chi-He was already mounted on Chi-Ha and the factories were mass-producing the Chi-Ha. Almost two years after its development, the production of Chi-He was started. However, Chi-He was not produced even for one year because the production of Chi-Nu started.
Japanese industry was unable to produce enough tank bodies, and only fifteen trial models and one hundred fifty-five mass production models where completed. The surplus turrets and Type 1 guns were instead used on Type 97 chassis. This new Type 97 was designated as the 'Type 97 Shinhoto ("New Turret") Chi-Ha and 2,208 were mass-produced. The Type 1 turret was also used by Type 3 Ka-Chi Amphibious Tank.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
| Japanese armoured fighting vehicles of World War II |
|---|
| Tankettes |
| Type 92 Jyu-Sokosha | Type 94 Te-Ke | Type 97 Te-Ke |
| Light Tanks |
| Type 95 Ha-Go | Type 98 Ke-Ni/Type 2 Ke-To |
| Amphibious Tanks |
| Type 2 Ka-Mi | Type 3 Ka-Chi |
| Medium Tanks |
| Type 89 Chi-Ro | Type 97 Chi-Ha | Type 1 Chi-He | Type 2 Ho-I | Type 3 Chi-Nu |
| APCs |
| Type 1 Ho-Ha | Type 1 Ho-Ki | Type 98 So-Da | Type 4 Ka-Tsu |
| Self-propelled artillery (including AA guns) |
| Type 98 20 mm | Type 98 20 mm AA Half-Track | Type 1 Ho-Ni | Type 4 Ho-Ro |
| Japanese armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II |
