Sumida M.2593

The Sumida M.2593 (Type 91) was an armoured car produced in Japan in the 1930s. It could operate on both the roadway and railway lines.

History

Designed by the Sumida firm, the M.2593 was produced beginning in 1933 at the Ishikawajima Motor Works. A defining feature of this vehicle is that its six road wheels could be exchanged for flanged railway wheels.^[3] When not in use, the tires would be secured to the sides of the hull.^[2] The vehicle had four built-in jacks for use when the wheels were changed. It would take ten to twenty minutes to change the wheels.^[4] The front and rear sets of wheels could even be adjusted to various rail gauges. The car was capable of 25 mph (40 km/h) on road and traveling at higher speeds on rails, going up to 37 mph (60 km/h).^[2]

The car was successful in covering great distances in the 1937 invasion of China. They were also used in Manchuria, to "guard railway lines".^[1] They could be coupled together and operate on the rails like "rolling stock". This led them to be used in joint operations with trains and were used for reconnaissance by the army.^[2] The armoured car was crewed by six men, and was armed with either one 6.5 mm machine gun^[2] or one 7.7 mm machine gun.

Variants

There was one version produced without a main fixed machine gun for armament.^[1] In addition there was a variant known as the Sumida Model P Armored Car which was also made by Ishikawajima. It was known to have been used by the Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF) of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN).^[5]

Gallery

• 
  Sumida M.2590 (1930)
• 
  Sumida Model P Armored Car of the SNLF (1932)
• 
  Side view of a Sumida M.2593
• 
  Sumida M.2593 hooked in tandem to another Type 91 (1933)

Notes

References

• Tomczyk, Andrzej (2002). Japanese Armor Vol. 1. AJ Press. ISBN 83-7237-097-4. 
• Trewhitt, Philip, and Chris McNab (2004). Fighting Vehicles of the World: over 600 Tanks and AFVS of the World. London: Amber.

External links

• Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa