Japan Type 92 A-I-Go Amphibious Tank
Amphibious version of Type 92 Light Tank was to be used by the Army, but never went beyond prototype stage. It had a watertight hull and was slightly larger than the Type 92 Light Tank. Floats and propellers were added.
The adoption in 1933 of the armament of the Japanese army of a light cavalry tank Type 92 led to the creation of a derivative amphibious tank, which was especially important given the plans for a further capture of China, whose terrain was full of water obstacles. In 1933, a corresponding project was developed, which was approved by the army command.
To ensure the buoyancy of the hull of the tank was thoroughly redesigned. The nose part has got a characteristic wedge-shaped form with a wave-reflecting shield, and the machine-gun installation on the right has been dismantled. The aft part of the hull was expanded with the equipment of the “float” compartments there. In addition, the transmission was modified so that the torque from the engine was transmitted to the propeller installed in the cut-out of the lower stern armor plate. A single-seat turret with one 6.5-mm type 91 machine gun was installed on the roof of the superstructure of the hull. The crew of the tank was two people: the commander and driver (his place was located at the left side).
The changes did not affect only the chassis. Applied to one side, it included three dvuhkatkovye carts with suspension on plate springs, three supporting rollers, front drive wheel, rear guide wheel and cast metal single-groove tracks 190 mm wide and 95 mm pitch.
It is indicated that in 1933 (approximately) two prototypes of a floating tank were built, designated as Type 92 “AI-Go” , however, no information about their testing is given. Presumably, the reason for the refusal of mass production was the low seaworthiness and low margin of buoyancy. Subsequently, both prototypes were dismantled.
| Official designation | Type 92A-I-Go Amphibious Tank |
|---|---|
| Alternative designation | ? |
| Start of design | 1933 |
| Date of construction of the first prototype | ? |
| Stage of completion | built two prototypes |
| Prototypes | 2 |
| Crew | 2 / 3 ? |
| Physical Characteristics | |
| Weight | ~ 4000 kg / 7,000 lb |
| Length mm | ~ 4000 / 12' 7" |
| Width, mm | ~ 1600 |
| Height mm | ~ 1900 |
| Clearance, mm | ~ 300 |
| Ground clearance | |
| Ground contact length | |
| Ground pressure | |
| Turret ring diameter | |
| Armament | |
| Main | 13 mm MG, hull |
| Secondary | |
| MG | one 6.5 mm type 91 machine gun |
| Side arms | |
| AIMING TOOLS | optical sight |
| Quantity | |
| Main | |
| Secondary | |
| MG | |
| Side arms | |
| Armor Thickness (mm) | |
| ARMOR | hull forehead - 12 mm (?) |
| hull bead | 6 mm (?) |
| hull stern | 6 mm (?) |
| turret | 12 mm (?) |
| roof | 6 mm (?) |
| bottom | 6 mm (?) |
| Engine (Make / Model) | Mitsubishi, air cooled |
| Cylinders | |
| Net HP | 45 |
| TRANSMISSION | mechanical type with the transfer to the propeller |
| Fuel type | Diesel / petrol? |
| Octane | |
| Capacity | |
| Suspension (Type) | |
| CHASSIS | (on one side) |
| Wheels each side | 4 twin wheeled bogies |
| Return rollers each side | 6 dual support rollers interconnected in pairs in 3 trolleys, 3 supporting rollers, front drive and rear guide wheel |
| Track length | |
| Track | fine-mounted caterpillar with steel tracks |
| Track width | |
| Track centers/tread | |
| Performance | |
| Traverse | |
| Speed - Road | 21.6 mph |
| Speed - Cross Country | |
| Range - Road | |
| Turning Radius | |
| SPEED | ? |
| RANGE ON THE HIGHWAY | ? |
| CONSTRAINED OBSTACLES | |
| Angle of rise, hail. | ? |
| Wall height, m | ~ 0.45 |
| Wade depth, m | floating |
| width of the pit, m | ~ 1.70 |
| MEANS OF COMMUNICATION | - |
|
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