O-I / Mi-To SuperHeavy Tank - Testing
Production of the Oy car started in April 1941 (Showa 16), when the four technical research institutes convened a group of engineers from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to come to their headquarters to prepare for the trial production of the prototype. At this time, the car was combined with the first letter "M" of Mitsubishi Corporation and the first letter "To" of the special vehicle to obtain a secret name "Mi-To". Mitsubishi Heavy Industries continued manufacturing work, and the car body was completed on February 8, 1942, and it seems that it is only necessary to start the maneuver test again. In May 1942, Mitsubishi began manufacturing four turrets for the prototype, but for the sake of confidentiality, the turret was also manufactured in multiple parts and was delivered to the trial production team for assembly. The turret was attached to the car body in succession, but by the time the completion was completed, the shortage of materials appeared again, and the last few parts, including the main turret 35 mm thick armored cover, were delayed.
Installation of the car body and in-car devices was completed on February 9, 1942. On April 13, the first night driving in front of the Tosho factory was successful. The weight of the O-I tank at the trial run is 96 tons, while with turret and arms the vehicle weight was 150 tons. It was transported from the Kamata district of Tokyo to the Sagami Army Warrior Factory in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, 51 km from Tokyo. A running test was conducted at the Sagami troop area on August 1, 1943 (Showa 18), and half of the road wheel bearings were damaged during the test. An hour into the test, when maneuvering in a field, the tank fell into mud nearly a meter deep. Because the spring of the suspension system was pressed tightly, the vehicle could not escape this predicament by its own ability, but got in deeper and deeper. In the end, a tractor was needed to help it get out of trouble. The testing then continued on a concrete surface. However, due to the damage of the suspension system caused by the previous trap, the concrete suface was also damaged, which in turn caused damage to the road wheel bearing and the driving wheel teeth.
The test could not be continued. After the damage to various parts of the vehicle, the O-I tank was returned for repair estimate and improvement. On 10 August 1943 the arsenal held the “Inspection of Damage to the Lower Road Bearings”, confirming that 32 of the 64 bearings were damaged and the damage rate was 50%. At the end of 1944 (Showa 19), the O-I tank was dismantled.
The possibility of “breaking” against the Soviet deep positions was rapidly declining and lost practical hope. The topography of the southern front is completely unsuitable for the 150-ton super-heavy tank, and the Japanese Army continued to allow it to be tested after it was damaged in 1943. Technical information was obtained on the manufacture of medium-duty combat vehicles and five-type artillery vehicles.
Initially, when Japan was not yet under threat of invasion of the islands, these tanks could be regarded as assault vehicles. By 1944, the Japanese perimeter of security, based on the Pacific Islands, was broken. In April 1945, the American landing force took Iwo Jima. It became clear that an armada of amphibious ships might one day approach the shores of Japan. The super heavy tank was now seen as a mobile firing point for coastal defense.
As the main armament of the Mi-To series, the Japanese were going to use ship guns in caliber from 100 to 150 millimeters. Such guns were long-range and powerful enough to inflict heavy damage on light landing craft and cover ships. At the same time, the armor of super heavy tanks protected the crew well from explosions and debris. Destroying such a mobile pillbox would have been possible only with a direct hit, and the ships could not conduct aimed fire at virtually point targets.
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