Type 61

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This article is about the real world Type 61 Tank, for the fictional weapon mentioned in the Gundam Universe, please see Type 61 Tank, for the British Frigate, please see Type 61 frigate

Type 61

General characteristics
Crew	4
Length	8.19 / 6.03 m
Width	2.95 m
Height	2.49 m
Weight	35 tonnes
Armour and armament
Armour	64 mm
Main armament	90mm Rifled cannon
Secondary armament	7.62mm Browning M1919A4 machine gun 12.7mm M2 Browning machine gun
Mobility
Power plant	Mitsubishi 12HM21WT 4 stroke V type 12 cylinder vertical Air cooled diesel 570hp / 2100rpm
Suspension	torsion bar
Road speed	45 km/h (paved roads)
Power/weight	17.14hp/t
Range	200 km

The Type 61 (Japanese: ろくいちしきせんしゃ Kanji: 61式戦車) was a main battle tank (MBT) developed and used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Development started in 1955 and the vehicle was first deployed in April of 1961. The type number follows the year of deployment. A total of 560 type 61's were manufactured between 1961 to 1975, when production ceased.

1 History
2 Development
3 Variants
4 External links

[edit] History

After World War II, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (A.K.A. GHQ in Japan) ceased all military manufacturing and development plants in Japan, making Japan lose the technology to build and manufacture tanks and armoured vehicles (even though the technology was not well developed.) However, due to the Korean War, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers ordered Japan to re-militarize, forming armed police forces (National police reserve, later called National security force, then finally Japan ground self defence force) and provided M4A3E8 Sherman and M24 Chaffee tanks. However, the average height of a Japanese person at the time was too small for the M4A3E8, and drivers had difficulty reaching the clutch pedal with their foot. In addition, the M4 was becoming obsolete. The M24, though it was popular amongst the Japanese crews, was inadequate when facing Soviet T-34/85s, as seen in Korea. Thus, as the tanks in JGSDF service at the time were obsolete/inadequate, the JGSDF was provided with the option of either purchasing the new American built M46 and M47 tanks or develop their own MBT in 1954. Due to the high cost of purhcasing american made tanks, and because the M47 did not meet their requirements, the JGSDF decided on developing their own main battle tank, resulting in the development of the Type 61.

[edit] Development

The original development targets are:

In order to effectively use a small number of tanks to cover up a large area, the size and weight of the tank has to be light enough for trains to carry.
Due to the above target, the weight of the armour has to be limited around 25 tons yet as heavily armoured as possible.
Main cannon has to be 90mm.

The weight was one of the main concerns since if the first contraint was met, the tank could also be transported by a specially modified truck through most major highways and tunnels. The second contraint couldn't be met due to the mock up development team finding out that the armour would be too thin to protect the vehicle. As a result, the armour weight contraint was lifted up to 35 tons for a while. However, due to the delay of the planned diesel engine did not provide enough power, the type 61 had to conpensate for the power loss with lighter armour. The last contraint was due to the body built of the Japanese people at that time, after examining the M36 Jackson, 90mm is the upper limit of what a Japanese at that time can handle effectively. Also, due to the complicated landscape of Japan, it was understood that long range combat would be very difficult and that a 90mm gun would be sufficient within Japan.

The first test vehicles, ST-A1 and ST-A2 were built and tested. The results were used to develop the ST-A3 and ST-A4 in 1960. More improvements were made in 1961 and the deployment of the Type 61 started in the same year.

The main weapon is a 90mm rifled cannon, with a co-axial 7.62mm machine gun and a 12.7mm anti aircraft machine gun mounted on the commander's cupola.

All type 61s were decommisioned in 2000, 39 years after their first deployment. During this period, the type 61 was not improved even once.