Type 97 Chi - Ha The was a medium tank used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino - Japanese War , at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union , and in the Second World War . It was the most widely produced Japan ese medium tank of World War II , although the armor protection was considered as average in the 1930s . The 57 mm main gun , designed to support the infantry , was a carry over from the 1933 Type 89 medium tank . Later it was replaced by 47 mm gun more effective against enemy armor . The 170 hp Mitsubishi engine was a capable engine for the tank in 1938 , and – notably for the time – it was an air cooled diesel . After 1941 , the tank was considered less effective than most Allied tank designs . The Type 97 ' s low silhouette and semicircular radio antenna on the turret distinguished the tank from its contemporaries . The crude suspension was derived from the Type 95 Ha - Go light tank , but used six road wheels instead of four . History and development . With the Type 89 Chi - Ro fast becoming obsolete in the late 1930s , the Imperial Japanese Army ( IJA ) began a program to develop a replacement tank for infantry support . Experience of the invasion of Manchuria determined that the Type 89 was too slow to keep up with motorized infantry . The new medium tank was intended to be a scaled - up four - man version of the Type 95 Ha - Go light tank , although with a two - man turret , thicker armor , and more power to maintain performance . The Tokyo factory of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries completed a prototype designated " Chi - Ha " . The second prototype was completed in June 1937 . Although the requirement was for a 47 mm cannon , it retained the same short - barreled 57 mm cannon as the Type 89B tank . However , at the time IJA was more interested in the lighter Chi - Ni prototype proposed by Osaka Army Arsenal , because it was less expensive and had the same 57 mm gun . The Second Sino - Japanese War broke out on 7 July 1937 . Peacetime budgetary limitations were removed , and the more expensive Mitsubishi " Chi - Ha " model was accepted as a new Type 97 medium tank . Japanese tank designations . " Chi " came from " Chu - Sensha " ( " medium tank " ) . " Ha " and " Ni " , in Japanese army nomenclature , refer to model number 3 and 4 , respectively . The Type was numbered 97 as an abbreviation of the imperial year 2597 , translating to the year 1937 in standard Gregorian calendar . Hence , the " Type 97 " Chi - Ha " " could be understood as the " 1937 ' s medium tank model 3 " . Design . Type 97 hull was of riveted construction with the engine in the rear compartment . In the forward compartment , the driver sat on the right , and bow gunner on the left . The commander ' s cupola was placed atop the turret . Internal communications were by 12 push buttons in the turret , connected to 12 lights and a buzzer near the driver . The Type 97 was initially equipped with a Type 97 57 mm main gun , the same caliber as that used for the earlier Type 89 I - Go tank . The cannon was a short - barreled weapon with a relatively low muzzle velocity , but sufficient as the tank was intended primarily for infantry support . The gun had no elevation gear . The tank carried two 7 . 7 mm Type 97 machine gun s , one on the front left of the hull and the other in a ball mount on the rear of the turret . The latter could not be remounted on top of the turret for anti - aircraft use . The turret was capable of full 360 - degree traverse , but the main gun had a second pair of trunnion s , internally allowing a maximum 10 - degree traverse independently of the turret . The thickest armor used was 33 mm on the gun mantlet and 26 mm on the turret sides . Power was provided by an air - cooled " V - 12 21 . 7 liter diesel Mitsubishi SA12200VD " engine , which provided 170 hp ( 127 kW ) . Development of the improved " Shinhoto Chi - Ha " . The shortcomings of the Type 97 , with its low - velocity 57 mm gun , became clear during the 1939 Nomonhan Incident against the Soviet Union : the 45 mm gun of the Soviet BT - 5 and BT - 7 tanks outranged the Japanese tank gun , resulting in heavy Japanese losses . This convinced the Army of the need for a more powerful gun , and development of a new 47 mm weapon began in 1939 and was completed in 1941 . The " Type 1 47mm " tank gun was designed specifically to counter the Soviet tanks . The 47 mm gun ' s longer barrel generated much higher muzzle velocity , resulting in armor penetration superior to that of the 57 mm gun . The new version , designated Type 97 - " Kai " " Shinhoto Chi - Ha " , replaced the original model in production in 1942 . It had a new , larger turret – as a side note , a considerable number of existing 57 - mm - gun turrets were subsequently re - used in the Type 4 Ke - Nu light tank . Production . The Type 97 medium tank was manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ( 1 , 224 units ) and Hitachi Industries ( 355 units ) , as well as some limited production in the Army ' s " Sagami Arsenal " . A total of 2 , 123 vehicles was constructed from 1938 to 1943 , of which 1 , 162 units were the standard Type 97 and 930 units were the improved Type 97 - " kai " version . The remainder were various specialized variants produced in small numbers . The number of Type 97 medium tanks produced was slightly lower than of the Type 95 Ha - Go light tanks , but larger than any other tank fielded by Empire of Japan . The following numbers of units were produced each year : Type 97 tank ( 57 mm gun ) : Type 97 - " Kai " tank ( 47 mm gun ) : Total production of the 57 mm & 47 mm gun Type 97 medium tanks was 2 , 092 . Although production peaked in 1943 it was the last year any Type 97 was produced , as factories switched to the new tank designs , most notably the Type 1 Chi - He . Further development . The last design that based directly on Type 97 lineage was the Type 3 Chi - Nu medium tank with a 75 mm main gun of which 144 were built from 1944 to 1945 . The Type 4 Chi - To was a separate design , the last Japanese medium tank design to be completed during the war , considered equivalent to the German Panther tank , with only two vehicles made by war ' s end . By the time , the Japanese industry had been badly crippled by the American bombing campaign ; as a result , few of these newer vehicles were ever built . The IJA ' s need to supplement their tank divisions with artillery led to a need for self - propelled gun s ( SPGs ) , subsequently , the Type 97 ' s chassis were utilized to manufacture nearly a hundred SPGs , consisting primarily of 75 mm guns . Since the IJA ' s 1930 ' s era tanks didn ' t have the firepower to penetrate the 1940s generation of allied armor , a need for tank destroyers arose ; and experiments ranging from 47 mm to 120 mm guns were conducted . However , due to naval priorities , raw materials for any IJA ' s production were limited . Combat history . Wars against China and the Soviet Union . The Type 97 was deployed in Manchukuo ( Manchuria ) and China in combat operations in the Second Sino - Japanese War with considerable success , as the ill - equipped National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China forces were limited to only three tank battalions consisting of British exports of the Vickers , German Panzer I s , and Italian CV33 tankettes . However , its first " real " test in combat against opposing armor came with the Nomonhan Incident ( also known as the " Battles of Khalkhin Gol " ) in July 1939 against the Soviet Union . The IJA 1st Tank Corps consisting of the 3rd and 4th Tank Regiments ( Yasuoka Detachment ) had been assigned to the " Nomonhan " region , under the command of Lt . General Yasuoka Masaomi . Of the two regiments , only the 3rd Tank Regiment had been supplemented with 4 of the new " Type 97 " medium tanks , of which one was selected as the regimental commander ' s tank during the Nomonhan campaign . During fierce fighting against the Red Army , in which the 3rd Tank Regiment was assaulting an objective ringed with strung coiled wire ( piano wire ) , the regimental commander , LTC Yoshimaru Kiyotake ' s " Type 97 " tank had become entangled up to its drive sprockets . Struggling to extract itself from the tank trap , LTC Yoshimaru managed to move his tank only about 40 yards rearward , when his machine became stopped completely . Now exposed to Russia n defensive positions , Yoshimaru ' s " Type 97 " was subjected to the fire of a dozen Soviet BT - 7 tanks and anti - tank guns . Russian shells struck the tank ' s drive gear , hull , and the engine area , causing the vehicle to erupt into flames . When the fire reached the tank ammunition , the tank exploded , throwing the turret several feet away from the hull ( the turret was blown off ) . Only the tank ' s gunner survived unwounded , abandoning the tank prior to the explosion . The 3rd Tank Regimental commander ' s body was recovered after the battle . World War II . From December 8 , 1941 and in early 1942 , during the Battle of Malaya and the Battle of Singapore , Type 97 tanks were used by the 3rd Tank Group ' s 1st , 6th and 14th Tank Regiments under Lieutenant - General Yamashita ' s Army . The 1st Tank Regiment was attached to IJA 5th Division , which was among the first to land at Songkhla in southern Thailand . One of its medium tank companies was the 3rd Tank Company under First Lieutenant Yamane ( ten Type 97 medium tanks and two " Ha - Go " light tanks ) , forming part of Saeki Detachment . The company was in the vanguard of the attack . One key to the Japanese success in Malaya was the unexpected appearance of their tanks in areas where the British did not believe tanks could be used . The wet jungle terrain did not turn out to be an obstacle . Later , the 2nd and 14th Tank Regiments participated in the Burma Campaign . The Type 97 - " kai " was first used in combat in the battle of Corregidor . The updated 47 mm gun was easily capable of dealing with the armor of the American M3 Stuart light tanks , though not with the armor of the M4 Sherman medium tank . During the Battle of Saipan , 36 Type 97s of the 9th Tank Regiment , commanded by Colonel Tadashi Goshima joined with Type 95s of the 136rd Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Yukimatsu Ogawa in an all - out counterattack against the US 6th Marine Regiment . This was one of the largest tank attacks mounted by Japan in the Pacific Theater of Operations , and was stopped by machine guns , mortars , bazooka s , artillery , and naval gun fire . However , the Japanese Army seldom made major armored attacks during the Pacific War , due to the limited maneuvering areas that prevailed on islands in the South Pacific ocean . Terrain dictated the battle , and IJA tanks were emplaced where they could be the most effective , in hull defilade position ( that is , buried up to their turrets ) . Many Type 97s were retained on the Japanese home islands in anticipation of an American invasion . At the final Battle of Okinawa , 13 Type 95s and 14 Type 97 " Shinhoto " medium tanks of the 27th Tank Regiment were grossly outnumbered by 800 American tanks . Similar conditions repeated in the Kwantung Army ' s defense against the Soviet invasion of Manchuria . Some Japanese tanks remained in use , under new ownership , after the war . As late as 1949 , the Chinese People ' s Liberation Army still had an appreciable number of Type 97s in its inventory . Survivors . Restored examples of the Type 97 are on display at the Yūshūkan Museum at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo , and at the Wakajishi Shrine in Fujinomiya , Shizuoka in Japan . in Indonesia there is one known Type - 97 at the Brawijaya Museum in Malang . The wreck of a Type 97 was found buried in the sand on the beach at Miura , Kanagawa in 2005 . Overseas , preserved examples are at the People ' s Liberation Army Museum in Beijing , China and at the United States Army Ordnance Museum , Aberdeen , Maryland . Numerous ruined examples of the Type 97 can still be found on Saipan and on the Kuril Islands .