Type 97 ShinHōtō Chi-Ha medium tank

TheType 97Shinhōtō Chi-Ha(Japanese:九七式新砲塔中戦車チハ,romanized:Kyūnana-shiki Shin Hōtō Chū-Sensha Chi-ha) was a Japanesemedium tankused inWorld War IIthat was an upgrade to the originalType 97 Chi-Ha. The new version was designatedType 97-Kai("improved"),Shinhōtō Chi-Ha("new turret" Chi-Ha) or simply "Type 97/47". Armed with aType 1 47 mm tank gun, this design was considered to be the best Japanese tank to have seen combat service during thePacific War. It first saw combat service at Corregidor Island in the Philippines in 1942.
Japanese Army observers had watched tank developments inEuropeand studied as avidly as any European military the operational experiences gained byGerman,Soviet, andItaliantanks in theSpanish Civil War(1936-1939). In addition, the shortcoming of the Type 97 Chi-Ha armed with its low-velocity 57 mm main gun became clear during the 1939Battles of Khalkhin Golagainst theSoviet Union.The 45 mm gun of the SovietBT-5andBT-7tanksout-ranged the 57 mm tank gun, resulting in heavy Japanese losses.
The army commanders were convinced of the need for a more powerful gun.In order to improve the anti-tank capability of the Type 97 Chi-Ha, a new enlarged three-man turret armed with a new high-velocityType 1 47 mm tank gunwas combined with the Chi-Ha's hull; hence the new nameKai("improved") orShinhōtō("new turret").In 1942, it replaced the original model Type 97 in production. In addition, "about 300" of the Type 97 tanks with the older model turret and 57 mm main gun were converted.
When the Type 97 entered service, properly equipped and supported, mechanized infantry units were realized. Type 97 Shinhōtō tanks were first used in combat during theBattle of Corregidorin the Philippines in 1942.A special company known as the "Matsuoka Detachment" was formed from the 2nd Tank Regiment and sent to the Philippines. According to an after-action report, they performed well in combat by "silencing several American defensive positions".
The Japanese commanders showed a "skillful and imaginative use of tanks" during the early string of victories of the Japanese military forces.The skill with which they maneuvered their mechanized infantry divisions was best seen in theJapanese invasion of Malaya, where the lighter weight of Japanese medium tanks allowed for a rapid ground advance so heavily supported by armor that British defenders never had a chance to establish effective defense lines.
During theBattle of Guam, 29 Type 97 and Type 95 tanks of the IJA 9th Tank Regiment and nine Type 95s of the 24th Tank Company were lost to bazooka fire or M4 tanks.At theBattle of Okinawa, 13 Type 95s and 14 Type 97 Shinhōtō medium tanks of the understrength IJA 27th Tank Regiment faced 800 American tanks of eight US Army and two USMC tank battalions.The Japanese tanks were defeated in their counter-attacks of 4–5 May 1945. Similar conditions were repeated in the Kwantung Army's defense against theSoviet invasion of Manchuria, although there was little tank-versus-tank action. The SovietRed Armycaptured 389 tanks.
While vulnerable to opposing Allied tanks (such as theM4 Shermanand SovietT-34), the 47 mm high-velocity gun did give the Type 97 Shinhōtō a fighting chance against them. The 47 mm gun was effective againstlight tanksand against the sides and rear of the Sherman tank.For this reason, some Shinhōtō Chi-Ha tanks were dug in concealed positions to ambush the American tanks and others were dug in to form the core of defense "strong points" during the battles forLuzonandIwo Jimain 1945.The Type 97 Shinhōtō Chi-Ha served againstallied forcesthroughout the Pacific and East Asia as well as theSovietsduring the July–August 1945 conflict inManchuria.It is considered to be the best Japanese tank to have seen "combat service" in thePacific War.
Some Japanese tanks remained in use, postwar during theChinese Civil War. After the end of World War II, IJA tanks captured by the Soviets were turned over to theCommunistChinese army. After victory, the ChinesePeople's Liberation Army(PLA) continued to use them in their inventory.The PLA's force of 349 tanks in 1949 included many Type 97 Shinhōtō Chi-Ha tanks.
This was a variant of the Type 97 Shinhōtō Chi-Ha produced late in the war for theImperial Japanese Navy. They wanted a gun tank similar to theType 2 Ho-Ifor close support, but with greater fire-power. The standard 47 mm main tank gun was replaced with a short barrel naval 12 cm (120 mm) "anti-submarine" gun with amuzzle brakeadded.In addition, it had a small storage compartment added onto the back of the Shinhōtō Chi-Ha turret. Only "about a dozen" were produced for deployment by theJapanese Special Naval Landing Forces.
There was a "one-off" prototype developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy known as theNaval 12 cm SPG(self-propelled gun) orLong barrel 120 mm SPG. AType 10 120 mm main gunwas mounted backwards on a Type 97 Chi-Ha chassis.The gun was not housed in a turret like the Short barrel 120 mm version and did not have a casemate. The post-war fate of the completed prototype deployed at the Yokosuka SNLF base is unknown.