Type 1 47 mm Anti - Tank Gun The was an anti - tank gun developed by the Imperial Japanese Army , and used in combat during World War II . The Type 1 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted , 2601 in the Japanese imperial year calendar , or 1941 in the Gregorian calendar . History and development . The Type 1 47 mm Anti - Tank gun was accepted into service in 1942 . The design originated as an improvement to the prototype “ Experimental Type 97 ( 1937 ) 47 mm Anti - Tank Gun ” ( 試製九七式四十七粍速射砲 ) , which was tested between 1938 and 1939 . The prototype weighed 567 kilograms with a barrel length of 2 , 515 mm , a traverse range of ±50 degrees and an elevation range of between minus 10 and plus 20 degrees , and a muzzle velocity of 730 m / s . The prototype was not accepted into service because it was considered to not have sufficient performance . After the Nomonhan Incident , the Imperial Japanese Army started the development of a new anti - tank gun , considering that the Type 94 37 mm Anti - Tank Gun would likely be ineffective against the new Soviet tanks . The design was the first completely indigenous anti - tank gun design completed in Japan , and production was assigned to the Army ' s Osaka Arsenal . In terms of performance , the design was still somewhat inferior to advanced contemporary designs in western nations , but was considered suitable by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff due to the anticipated lack of armor by the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China , and by the belief that Japan would face only light tank s fielded by the Allied nations in case of a more general war . The Type 1 47 mm AT Gun was introduced in 1942 , and approximately 2 , 300 were produced . Design . The Type 1 47 mm AT Gun was a relative modern design compared to other Japanese Second World war designs , being relatively light and easy to handle . As with many Japanese designs , it had a very low profile and was intended to be operated from a kneeling or prone position . The gun had a gun shield to protect the gunner . The carriage appears to have adopted a number of design features from the Soviet ZIK 45 mm anti - tank gun , a number of examples of which were captured by the Japanese during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol ( Nomonhan ) in 1939 . It used a semi - automatic breech block with a horizontal sliding wedge . When the gun was fired the spent shell casing was automatically ejected , and upon loading a fresh shell , the breech block closed automatically . A hydrospring recoil mechanism was housed under barrel . The weapon had a split trail which opened to an angle of 60 degrees for firing to improve stability . Transport was by towing behind a truck or horse , via two steel disc wheels fitted with sponge rubber filled tires . Ammunition . The Type 1 fired two types of shell : Type 1 APHE ( Armour piercing high - explosive ) and Type 1 HE ( High explosive ) . Type 1 APHE shell . The APHE shell weighed 3 . 37 pounds and used a Mark 2 base fuse , the complete round weighing 6 . 1 pounds . It had a small explosive charge of 0 . 04 pounds consisting of RDX phlegmatized with 10 % Paraffin . The round also had a tracer . Type 1 HE shell . The HE shell weighed 3 . 08 pounds and used the Type 88 instantaneous or short delay fuse with a complete round weighing 5 . 4 pounds . It contained 0 . 2 pounds of explosive , consisting of a small block of picric acid and a larger block of TNT . Combat record . The Type 1 47 mm AT Gun was introduced to combat service only in 1943 , and up until that time Japanese infantry had considerable difficulty even against the Allied M3 Stuart light tank in the Pacific War . However , by the time the Type 1 was available in any quantities , the M3 had been superseded by the M4 Sherman , against which it was only marginally effective . The Type 1 47 mm AT Gun was issued to armored units as well as independent anti - tank units and was fielded in a wide variety of areas , but most notably Southeast Asia , and continued to be used with diminishing effectiveness until the end of World War II . After World War II Type 1 47 mm AT Gun was used in Indonesian National Revolution by the Indonesian Army . In the Battle of Surabaya Dutch forces and British forces suffered moderate casualties among their convoy which consisted M3 Stuart and M4 Sherman . Variants . The Type 1 47 mm AT Gun was also used as the main armament of the Type 97 Chi - Ha " Shinhoto " .