The was a

tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire anti-tank gun, artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-ta ...

and

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

developed by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

for use during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. It saw limited combat action, being first deployed at the

Battle of Luzon The Battle of Luzon (; ; ) was a land battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony the Philippines, Mexico, and allies against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in 1945. There were two variant models known as the Ho-Ni II and Ho-Ni III. All three types were only produced in limited numbers.

History and development

The Type 1 Ho-Ni I was the first self-propelled gun design of this particular type. They were meant to be

and tank destroyers for

armored division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically mak ...

s. The plan was for the Type 1 Ho-Ni I gun tank to form part of a fire support company in each of the tank regiments. The first conversion took place in June, 1941. The production model that followed had a larger fighting compartment due to enlarged side armor plates. Further, the periscope and rangefinder were removed and the gun mantlet was revised. Production of the Type 1 Ho-Ni I took place during 1942. Only a total of 26 Type 1 Ho-Ni I units were produced. Typ 1 ho-ni I prototyp

The Type 1 Ho-Ni I was developed by using the existing Type 97 chassis and engine, and replacing the

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...

with a Type 90 75 mm field gun mounted in an open

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

with frontal and side armour only. The gun could elevate from -5 to +25 degrees; the gun mounting could also traverse up to 20 degrees either side, so the entire vehicle did not have to be turned. The Type 1 Ho-Ni I carried 54 rounds of ammunition.History of War: "Type 1 Ho-Ni I Self-Propelled Gun"
/ref> They were designed to operate as self-propelled artillery at ranges of up to . The design had no provision for a defensive machine gun, which together with the open structure made it vulnerable in close combat. The Type 97 chassis,

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Car suspension * Cell suspension or suspension culture, in biology * Guarded suspension, a software design pattern in concurrent programming suspending a method call and the calling ...

and

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

were used unchanged. The 75 mm Type 90 Field Gun, was protected on three sides by 51 mm thick armored plate. The hull armored plate was 25 mm on the sides and 20 mm on the rear.

Variants

The Type 1 Ho-Ni II was one variant. It mounted a Type 91 105 mm howitzer and had a slightly changed superstructure as far as the design of the side armor with re-positioned observation visors. The main gun could traverse 10 degrees to each side, but only had an elevation of 22 degrees due to the recoil of the gun. A prototype was built in July, 1942. Production of the Type 1 Ho-Ni II did not begin until 1943. A total of 54 units were produced. The other variant was the

Type 3 Ho-Ni III The was a tank destroyer and self-propelled artillery of Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The Type 3 Ho-Ni III superseded the Type 1 Ho-Ni I and its variant the Type 1 Ho-Ni II in production, and gave better protection to the crew by havin ...

, which mounted a

Type 3 75 mm tank gun The Type 3 75 mm tank gun was used as the main armament of the Imperial Japanese Army Type 3 Chi-Nu medium tank. It was one of the largest guns ever to be fitted on a World War II Japanese tank. Design and use The Type 3 had a caliber of , bar ...

in a completely enclosed armored casemate to address the issue of crew protection in close combat. The welded superstructure had sloped armor and the gun mount had additional stamped armor plate. A total of 31 to 41 units were produced through March 1945.Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 3 Gun Tank "Ho-Ni III"
/ref>

Combat history

The Type 1 Ho-Ni I was first deployed in combat at the

in the

in 1945, with some deployed in static entrenched positions. However, like the rest of the Japanese armor of the 2nd Tank Division, they were defeated in action against superior US Army forces. In addition, the Type 1 Ho-Ni were not available in sufficient numbers to make an impact on the Battle of the Philippines. Type 1 Ho-Ni were also used by the Japanese Army in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

during the

Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

.Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 1 "Ho-Ni" I
/ref> The Type 1 Ho-Ni I was produced in small quantities in 1942, when it was superseded by the Type 1 Ho-Ni II and then the

. The total number produced of all three types in the Ho-Ni series were 111 units. Most of the Ho-Ni units were retained within the

Japanese home islands The is an archipelago of 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China and Philippine seas in the southwest along the Pacific coast of the Eurasian continent, and cons ...

to form part of the defenses against the projected American invasion, and did not see combat before the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

Survivors

A Type 1 Ho-Ni I from the IJA 2nd Tank Division, 2nd Armored Artillery Regiment was captured by the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

37th Infantry Division on

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

on April 6, 1945. It is currently at the United States Army Depot in Anniston,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

History of War.org Type 1 Ho-Ni I Self-Propelled Gun
* ttps://takihomepage.web.fc2.com/ho-ni2.htm Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page: Type 1 "Ho-Ni" II - Akira Takizawa {{WWIIJapaneseAFVs Self-propelled anti-tank gun 1 Ho-Ni I World War II tank destroyers World War II self-propelled artillery Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944

History and development

Variants

Combat history

Survivors

Notes

References

Further reading

External links