Type 95 Ha-Go
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Type 95 Ha-Go captured at Battle of Makin |
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| Type 95 Ha-Go | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 3 |
| Length | 4.38 |
| Width | 2.06 |
| Height | 2.18 |
| Weight | 7.4 |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | 6 - 14 |
| Main armament | Type 94 37 mm gun |
| Secondary armament | Type 91 6.5 mm MG or 2 x Type 97 7.7 mm MG (bow, turret rear) |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | Mitsubishi NVD 6120 air-cooled diesel 120 hp (89 kW) |
| Suspension | Bell crank |
| Road speed | 45 |
| Power/weight | |
| Range | 250 |
The Type 95 Ha-Go (also known as the Type 97 Ke-Go) was a Japanese light tank used in the Second World War. It was very slow for a light tank, however more than 2000 were produced. It was used by the Japanese Army in China and the entire Pacific War. Although it proved sufficient against infantry, it was no match for Allied tanks.
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[edit] History
The Type 95 was a replacement for the Type 89 Medium tank which was considered too slow for mechanized warfare. The prototypes were built by Mitsubishi and production was started in 1935. By 1939, 100 Type 95s had been built.
The prototype of Type 95 Light Tank was built either by the army's Sagami Arsenal or Mitsubishi. Later both factories produced some trial vehicles that saw extensive use in Manchukuo and China, before the order to initiate mass production was entrusted to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which built 843 in their own factories and 1,250 vehicles in the Sagami Arsenal, Hitachi Industries and other subcontracted assemblies.
These tanks entered service in 1935 and at that time it was a capable machine and comparable to any contemporary light tank in the world.
The Type 95 Ha-Go was the best vehicle of its category available to the Japanese forces in any numbers from the 1930s to World War II. It was a 7.4-ton vehicle with crew of three, an armament of one 37 mm main gun and two 7.7 mm (0.303 inch) machine guns. This first production models possessed one 110 hp (82 kW) Mitsubishi Diesel engine with a top speed of 25 mph (40 km/h). Later the manufacturer installed a more powerful engine, the "Mitsubishi NVD 6120" of 120 hp (89.5 kW). Some Type 95 were fitted with two reflectors in the front of the vehicle for night operations.
The Light Tank Type 95 proved moderately successful in the early Pacific War Campaign for example during late 1941 and early 1942, when Japanese forces overran British Malaya and seized the fortress city of Singapore.
The Type 95 was a major improvement over the Japanese Army's previous light tanks and tankettes, but was soon involved in an intensive programme to produce improved variants such as the Manshu model (Type M), Ha-Go's direct descendant. Type M was technically identical but developed for use in the Kwantung Army's tank schools in Kungchuling and other cities in Manchukuo and it was planned to be provided in far more numbers to future Manchu Army Armored units and was projected to be manufactured in same country. The first Manchu tank unit was organized in 1943, when 10 Type 94 tankettes were passed on from a Japanese armor unit. One armor company was organized with these tankettes.
Another development was the Type 98-Ko (Ke-Ni) light tank that entered production in 1942 of which 200 vehicles were built (some sources suggest only 100 in all were manufactured). The Ke-Ni was better armored and carried an armament comprising one 37 mm Type 100 high-velocity main gun and two 7.7 mm (0.303inch) machine guns.
The Type 95 also served as the basis of the Type 2 (KA-MI) amphibious tank which gave good service in Japan's early campaigns of World War II.Ha-Go s was also used by Japanese Navy SNLF armored forces amongst naval infantry units detached in Pacific areas during conflict.
[edit] Characteristics
From early 1930s, the Army was experimenting on the mechanized unit combined with infantry and tank. However, slow Type 89 Medium Tank could not keep pace with the motorized infantry which could move at 40 km/h by truck. To solve this problem, Tomio Hara proposed a new light tank at 40 km/h speed and started the development in 1933. The prototype of the new tank was finished in 1934. It was a high-speed and light-armored tank similar to the British cruiser tank or Soviet BT-tank. Its code name was "Ha-Go" meaning the third car.
In 1935, the Army council about the introduction of Ha-Go was held at the Army Technical Bureau. At that meeting, Ha-Go was presented as the main tank of the mechanized unit. The representative of the tank force objected that this tank cannot be used as a main tank, because its armor is not enough for the infantry support duty. The representative of the cavalry said, "We don't care of a thin armor. We are content with its speed and armaments." The chairman asked the representative of the tank force if this tank is unnecessary for them. The representative of the tank force said unwillingly that it would be better than not having it, because it would be used as an armored car.
The Ha-Go (also known as the Kyugo) had a crew of 3 or 4 (normally a commander/gunner/loader, mechanic/bow machine gunner, and a driver) and was armed with a Type 94 37 mm cannon as its main gun and either a single 6.5 mm Type 91 machine gun placed in the rear of the turret or a pair of 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns (one placed in the rear of the turret and one in the hull). The turret was small and extremely cramped for even the one person normally in there (the commander). The turret had the fault of only being able to rotate in a 45 degree forward arc, leaving the back to be covered by the rear-facing machine gun which failed to compensate for this significant disadvantage. The suspension had troubles early on, and so it was modified with a brace to connect the pairs of bogies. Despite this, the tank still gave its users a rough ride across any uneven ground, and was provided with an interior layer of asbestos, useful in reducing interior heat and protecting the crew from injury as the tank moved at speed across terrain.
The 7.40 tonne machine was built around a riveted hull with a forward compartment for the driver and gunner and had a 6.5 mm bow machine gun. Behind this was the welded and riveted turret which accommodated the commander who in addition to his commmand responsibilities had the task of loading, aiming and firing the Type 94 37 mm main gun.
The Ha-Go s main guns were Type 94/Type 98 37 mm Tank Gun with 37 mm caliber, barrel length of 1.3585 m (L36.7) (early model), 1.358 m (L36.7) (late model), el angle of fire -15 to +20 degrees (early model), -15 to +20 degrees (late model), AZ angle of fire of 20 degrees (early model) 20 degrees (late model), muzzle velocity: 600 m/s (early model), 700 m/s (late model), penetration: 45 mm/300 m (early model) 25 mm/500 m (late model) used by Type 95 Light Tank(early and late models).
At the rear were the 110 hp (82 kW) or 120 hp (89.5 kW) Mitsubishi NVD 6120 air cooled diesel engine and transmission that had a top-speed of 25 mph (40 km/h). The early production models was equipped with air-cooling 120 hp diesel engine Mitsubishi A6120VD, as same engine equipped Type 89 Chi-Ro medium tank also.
Trial use in Manchukuo and China confirmed that better armament was desirable and the 6.5 mm (0.26inch) bow machine gun was replaced with 7.7 mm (0.303inch) weapon and another 7.7 mm machine gun was added on the right hand side for use by the already overworked commander/gunner. The original Type 94 main gun was also replaced with Type 98 weapon of the same caliber but with a higher muzzle velocity.
Ha-Go was introduced and named Type 95 Light Tank. Though it was not a main tank, Type 95 was produced in the most numbers among the Japanese tanks.
In combat the Type 95 tanks were often easily destroyed. Standard infantry weapons were capable of penetrating the minimal armour around the engine block, and even its thickest armour could not withstand anything above rifle caliber. Its firepower was insufficient to take on other tanks, but it was however effective against infantry who weren't equipped with proper anti-tank weaponry due to its effective high explosive shell. Despite these faults the tank was built in large numbers although production never came close to the numbers of Allied tanks such as the M4 Sherman or the M3 Stuart.
- Fording: 1 m
- Vertical obstacle: 0.821 m
- Trench: 2 m
- Areas where the Type 95 was used
- Quhar Province, China
- Nomonhan, Manchuria
- Malaya Peninsula
- Philippines
- French Indochina
- Burma
- Dutch East Indies
- Milne Bay
- Guadalcanal
- Betio, Tarawa
- Makin
- Eniwetok Atoll
- Biak
- Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Marianas
- Sarmi, New Guinea
- Peleliu
- Henan-Hunan-Guangxi, China
- Imphal, Burma
- Leyte, Luzon, Philippines
- Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands
- Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands
- Shimushu, Kuril Islands
- Units that used the Type 95 Ha-Go
- 1st Independent Mixed Brigade
- 4th Tank Regiment
- 1st Tank Regiment
- 6th Tank Regiment
- 7th Tank Regiment
- 2nd Tank Regiment
- 1st Company of 2nd Tank Regiment
- 14th Tank Regiment
- 1st Independent Tank Company
- 2nd Battalion of 1st Army Sea-mobile Brigade
- Tank Company of 1st Army Sea-mobile Brigade
- Tank Company of 222nd Infantry Regiment
- 9th Tank Regiment
- Tank Unit of 18th Infantry Regiment
- 1st Company of 9th Tank Regiment
- 2nd Company of 9th Tank Regiment
- Tank Unit of 29th Division
- Tank Unit of 36th Division
- Tank Unit of 14th Division
- 3rd Tank Division
- 7th Independent Tank Company
- 1st Independent Tank Company
- 2nd Independent Tank Company
- 1st Company of 4th Tank Regiment
- 3rd Company of 4th Tank Regiment
- 2nd Tank Division
- 26th Tank Regiment
- 27th Tank Regiment
- 11th Tank Regiment
- Training Group of Kungchuling Army Tank School of Kwantung Army.
- Kamiyoshi Detachment
- Shoji Detachment
- Itoh Detachment (Army Gr.)
- Itoh SNLF Detachment (Navy Gr.)
- Tank Platoon unit of Kure 5th SNLF
- Tank Unit of Sasebo 7th SNLF
- Makin Detachment of 3rd Naval Special Base Force
- 55th Armor Guard Unit of Yokosuka 1st SNLF
- Kwajalein Armor Detachment of Sasebo 7th SNLF
[edit] Variants
- 57 mm Model 97 gun
- Type 4 Ke-Nu
- Converted Type 95 with the turret of a Type 97 Medium tank for more space. Some 100 produced.
- Type 95 Manshu
- The Type 95 Manshu model was an operational and training tank derived from and very similar to the Ha-Go. These tanks were detached to Manchukuo and belonged to the instruction unit of the Kwantung Army tank school.
- Anti-Aircraft Tank "Ta-Se"
- An experimental vehicle called "Ta-Se" was created in November 1941. It utilized the chassis of Type 95 Light Tank Ha-Go and mounted a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun converted from a Type 98 20 mm anti-aircraft gun. A 20 mm anti-aircraft gun tank was also experimented with. Its gun was converted from a Type 2 20 mm anti-aircraft gun. Neither model went into production.
- Type 2 Amphibious Tank "Ka-Mi"
- The first amphibious tank that Japan produced. The floats could be detached after landing by the driver from inside the tank. The chassis was based on the Type 95 Light Tank.
- Type 95 Crane Vehicle "Ri-Ki"
- Ri-Ki was an engineer vehicle for field works. It had a 3-ton 4.5 metre boomed crane.
- 120 mm self-propelled gun "Ho-To"
- The Ho-To was a Type 38 120 mm howitzer mounted on a Ha-Go chassis. The gun was low-velocity but the HEAT shell enabled it to destroy the M4 Sherman. This self-propelled gun was developed along with the Ho-Ru self-propelled gun.
- Type 5 47 mm self-propelled gun "Ho-Ru"
- The Ho-Ru was a light tank destroyer similar to the German Hetzer. The development of Ho-Ru started in February 1945. The Ho-Ru utilized the chassis of the Type 95 Light Tank, but its suspension was different from that of the Type 95. The track link was enlarged to 350 mm width. The wheel guide pins were set in two rows to hold a road wheel between them. The sprocket of the driving wheel was the grating type to gear with the wheel guide pins like on the T-34. Armed with one 47 mm main gun.
[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 |
