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SR-III Ha-Go (Suiriku-Ryoyo III)

Since the SR II was far from satisfactory, the Army leadership decided in 1935 to returnthe development to Mitsubishi, which had the development of the Type-95 Ha-Go had an edge in tank armor compared to Ishikawajima. The Mitsubishi team again worked on the third version of the SR (Suiriku-Ryoyo = amphibious) tank - development began simultaneously with the testing of the SR-II tank in 1935. The main requirements were the mass limit of 7,500 kg and reinforcement weapons.

The SR-III [Suiriku-Ryoyo Ha-Go "Amphibious Tank Third Model"] was the third in a series of prototypes meant to fulfill a mid-30s Japanese Army requirement for an amphibious reconnaissance tank. Images from the trials seem to show both river crossings and operation in fairly open water, indicating that support for the Army's landing operations may also have been a consideration.

Released for testing in 1936, the tank was not much different from the second version. The casing was fully welded, which ensured a great tightness in water. The riveted armor plates in the hull and in the lower part of the structure were partially welded. The weight savings resulting from the removal of the rivets was used to reinforce armor in critical areas. Since the ventilation slots of the combat space ventilation had proven to be a weak point, they were rebuilt. In this case, the forward-facing areas were eliminated, the areas directed to the sides were slightly enlarged and protected by a grid structure.

The thickness of the armor was also increased, now it was 13 mm.

In addition, the turret was enlarged so that a Type 92 13.2 mm MG could be installed. Type 95 Light Tank components were incorporated into the controller to improve handling. After all the modifications, the mass of the SR-III tank was 7200 kg, but it had no effect on its running properties and buoyancy.

However, the tank is still not adopted. The reason was the mass close to the limit, and the weakness of machine-gun armament. With the latest designers Mitsubishi tried to cope by installing a 37-mm cannon, but it increased the weight of the tank to 7500 kg. The installation of the type 95 37 mm cannon was not possible without extensive enlargement of the vehicle, probably for reasons of weight and stability.

Attempts to sell the third series of the fleet failed. After intensive tests, in which the lack of a cannon was clearly seen negatively and the armor was still problematic, the army leadership decided in 1937 to finally abandon the introduction of an amphibious tank. The sailors already had their own more successful designs, which the ground forces refused to accept. Since the navy was interested in an amphibious tank for their naval infantry associations, they took over the lead there for further attempts in this direction.

The prototype was sent to Rabaul in 1942 or 1943 for further tests and transport purposes. The remains are on display at Kokopo Museum, Rabaul.

The whole story is one of many examples of how inconsistent the actions of the Japanese military command were. It, as if living outdated feudal principles, sprayed all its forces and funds on parallel projects of competing branches of the armed forces. Perhaps that is why the whole war The country of the rising sun experienced an acute shortage of equipment and went into battle on obsolete machines of the type of the 1930s.