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The ("Imperial Year 2604 Medium Tank Model 7") was one of several medium tanks developed by the
The Type 4 Chi-To was a thirty-ton medium tank of all-welded construction and had maximum armor thickness of on the frontal plates. Manned by a crew of five, it was long, high, and wide.
The main armament was a turret-mounted long-barreled (4.23 m)
/ref> At the end of
Another 105mm SP gun planned was the ''Ka-To'' or ''Ka-To Sha'' 105 mm SP AT Gun. Ka-To's development was ordered in 1943. The engine placement was forward, while the gun placement was in the rear section of the hull. The open top superstructure was based on the Type 5 Na-To. Two main guns for the Ka-To were completed in 1945. According to several sources, the Ka-To hull was based on the Type 4 Chi-To, which needed to be extended in length to accommodate the main gun. An extra road wheel was added to each side of the chassis.Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: 105mm SP AT Gun "Ka-To"
/ref> However, according to another source, the incomplete Ka-To hull was based on the
File:Profile of a Type 4 Chi-To.jpg, Type 4 Chi-To with ball-mounted machine gun on the turret
File:Type 4 Ho-Ro & Type 4 Chi-To.jpg, Front angle view of Type 4 Ho-Ro SPG and Type 4 Chi-To
File:Front angle close-up of Type 4 Chi-To.jpg, Front angle close-up of Type 4 Chi-To with Type 5 75 mm tank gun
File:Type 4 medium tank Chi-To 02.jpg, Type 4 Chi-To, with turret reversed
Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa
(''accessed 2017-06-17'') {{Portal bar, Tanks 4 Chi-To Type 4 Chi-To Military vehicles introduced from 1945 to 1949
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
towards the end of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. While by far the most advanced Japanese wartime tank to reach production, industrial and material shortages resulted in only a few chassis being manufactured and only two known to be completed. Neither of the completed Type 4 Chi-To tanks saw combat use.
Design
The Type 4 Chi-To was a thirty-ton medium tank of all-welded construction and had maximum armor thickness of on the frontal plates. Manned by a crew of five, it was long, high, and wide.
The main armament was a turret-mounted long-barreled (4.23 m) Type 5 75 mm tank gun
The ''Type 5 75 mm tank gun'' was used as the main armament of the Imperial Japanese Army prototype Type 4 Chi-To medium tank. It was one of the largest tank guns to be fitted on a World War II Japanese tank. Due to late war shortage-induced ...
capable of being elevated between -6.5 to +20 degrees. An muzzle velocity gave it an armor penetration of at . The tank had a Type 97 heavy tank machine gun
The was the standard machine gun used in tanks and armored vehicles of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, a heavy machine gun by infantry forces, This weapon was not related to the Type 97 aircraft machine gun used in several Japane ...
mounted in the hull and a ball mount on the side of the turret for a second machine gun.
The Type 4's diesel engine was significantly more powerful than the engine of the Type 3 Chi-Nu
was a medium tank of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Like the Type 1 Chi-He, this tank was an improved version of the Type 97 Chi-Ha. It incorporated a Type 3 75 mm tank gun, one of the largest Japanese tank guns during the war.
Th ...
, giving it a top speed of on tracks supported by seven road wheels on each side. The tank had a range of .
Development
Development of the Type 4 Chi-To began in 1943 as an intended successor to the Type 97-''Kai'' Shinhoto Chi-Ha. The Army Technical Bureau had been working on the Type 4 Chi-To as the counter to the M4 Sherman, but there were problems and delays in the program. As a result a stopgap tank was required. TheType 3 Chi-Nu medium tank
was a medium tank of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Like the Type 1 Chi-He, this tank was an improved version of the Type 97 Chi-Ha. It incorporated a Type 3 75 mm tank gun, one of the largest Japanese tank guns during the war.
T ...
was developed to cope with the M4 Sherman. Finally, the first prototype Type 4 Chi-To was delivered in 1944. Similar in its general layout, but significantly larger than the Type 97, it was the most advanced Japanese tank to reach the production stage.
Intended Type 4 Chi-To output was 25 tanks per month; with 20 to be made at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
and 5 to be produced at Kobe Seiko-sho. Late war shortage-induced delays caused by the severing of supply lines with conquered territories and U.S. strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
of the Japanese mainland resulted in a total of six chassis being built. According to "The National Institute for Defense Studies, Ministry of Defense, Military Administration of Munitions Mobilization, Production Chart of January to April of 1945", the plan was to produce a total of 6 Type 4 Chi-To tanks in the first three months of 1945. Two Type 4 Chi-To tanks are known to have been completed in 1945 and neither saw combat.Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 4 Medium Tank "Chi-To"/ref> At the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, two completed Type 4 Chi-To tanks were dumped into Lake Hamana
is a brackish lagoon in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Formerly a true lake, it is now connected to the Pacific Ocean by a channel. As an internal body of water, it is considered Japan's tenth-largest lake (by area). It spans the boundaries of the ...
in Shizuoka Prefecture to avoid capture by Allied occupation forces. One was recovered by the US Army, but the other was left in the lake. In 2013, there were efforts to locate the remaining tank, but it was not found.
''Ka-To'' self-propelled gun
Another 105mm SP gun planned was the ''Ka-To'' or ''Ka-To Sha'' 105 mm SP AT Gun. Ka-To's development was ordered in 1943. The engine placement was forward, while the gun placement was in the rear section of the hull. The open top superstructure was based on the Type 5 Na-To. Two main guns for the Ka-To were completed in 1945. According to several sources, the Ka-To hull was based on the Type 4 Chi-To, which needed to be extended in length to accommodate the main gun. An extra road wheel was added to each side of the chassis./ref> However, according to another source, the incomplete Ka-To hull was based on the
Type 5 Chi-Ri medium tank
The ("Imperial Year 2605 Medium Tank Model 9") was a medium tank developed by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. It was intended to be a heavier, more powerful version of Japan's prototype Type 4 Chi-To medium tank. Only one incomplete ...
.
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* American M4A3E8 "Easy Eight"
Gallery
References
Sources
* * * * *Further reading
* * *Gander, Terry J. (1995). ''Jane's Tanks of World War II''. Harper Collins. .External links
*Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa
(''accessed 2017-06-17'') {{Portal bar, Tanks 4 Chi-To Type 4 Chi-To Military vehicles introduced from 1945 to 1949