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Ha-Go Type 95 Model 1935 Light Tank

In many respects, the Ha-Go was a superb little vehicle. It was fast, mechanically reliable, and had amazing endurance. The 35mm anti-tank gun mounted by the Ha-Go was actually superior to the 57mm gun carried by the Type 97 Chi-Ha, in that it had been specifically designed for the anti-tank role, while the gun of the Type 97's 57mm had been developed originally as an anti-infantry platform.

In production from 1935 to at least 1942, Japanese light tank design was frozen in 1935 to produce large numbers of these tanks. The hull was completely redesigned. The suspension was been improved to utilize the bell crank and armored compression spring. The tank is powered by a 6 cylinder in-line air-cooled Diesel engine. The hull is constructed over an angle iron frame, with backing plates at the corners; insulation is provided by layers of woven asbestos. Ammunition for the 37-mm tank gun is carried stored in clips and racks in the fighting compartment. Two types are known. Model 94 shell -- presumably HE of 1934 model, and model 94 AP shell -- presumably APHE of 1934 model. 1170 rounds of 7.7-mm ammunition are stored in magazines just below the hull machine gun. 1800 rounds are carried in the fighting compartment for turret machine gun.

The Type 95 was developed partly as a response to the Type 92, and partly because of an agreement between the infantry and cavalry branches of the Army that greater cooperation would be necessary for armored operations to succeed. Encounters with Chinese armor had proven that an effective anti-tank platform was needed, fast enough to keep up with the Army and more easily produced than the Type 89.

By the beginning of the 1930s, when the armed forces of the leading states of the world already had modern high-speed tanks with powerful armaments in their armament, the command of the Japanese army decided to add the outdated “Otsu” tank with the “89” type with more modern ones. Therefore, in July 1933, after conducting exercises of an experienced mixed mechanized brigade in Manchuria, specialists from the Central Design Bureau of the Imperial Army of Japan formulated requirements for light vehicles capable of fighting alongside infantry, cavalry, as well as medium tanks, maintaining high speed. A tank to accompany the mechanized cavalry formations should have: a mass of not more than 7 tons; 37-mm cannon in a rotating turret and a machine gun in the front hull sheet; bulletproof armor and speed - at least 40 km / h. The main customer of the future tank was cavalry.

The military arsenal in the city of Sagami was directly assigned to develop it. The construction of the first prototype tank was carried out by the largest Japanese machine-building company Mitsubishi Dzyokho Kabusikigaysya, and in June 1934 Mitsubishi presented the first prototype, which was a further development of the Te Kay family of tanks. Compared with previous samples, the tank received a modified chassis. Although it used four small-diameter interlock pairs of small diameter, normally used for this family of tanks, the guide wheels were raised above the ground and now they were not supporting. The driver's seat on this tank was placed to the right, and a 6.5-mm tank machine gun was mounted to his left.

During the all-round testing of the experimental Mitsubishi tank, a maximum speed of 43 km / h, a power reserve of 250 km, as well as high reliability and throughput of this vehicle were noted. However, since the 7.5-ton prototype turned out to be 500 kg heavier than envisaged by the technical task, it had to be processed, which made it possible to reduce the weight to 6.5 tons, increasing the speed to 45 km / h. In June - November 1935, a second prototype was created, upgraded to include military tests of the first sample. He strengthened the chassis, and the tower received a commander's turret on the roof and an additional machine gun on the right in the stern. Subsequently, to increase the internal space, the tank received developed fiddling niches.

In this form in 1936, after the tests, it was commissioned by the Japanese army under the symbol "Ha-Go" ("the third model" - jap.) and at the same time he was given the designation "2595" or simply the type "95". Numerical designations for weapons and military equipment in Japan were given in accordance with the date “from the founding of the Empire” (660 BC): until 1940, these designations could be complete or consist of the last two figures — for example, the designation "2595" or "95"; and from 1941 only the last digit was used, so the type “1” corresponded to the 1941 pattern. The Ha-Go was typically known by the name Ha-Go to most soldiers (this was the name given by Mitsubishi), but the army's official name for the Type 95 was "Kyu-Go", and many miniatures and model manufacturers refer to it by that name.

Although the tank type "95" was adopted by the Japanese army, and a specially equipped factory "Mitsubishi" in 1936 prepared for its mass production, it was produced in very small batches for several years. Improvements were constantly made to its design.

The mass production of tank type "95" began only in 1938 after the end of active hostilities in China. Tank It was mass-produced from 1936 to 1943 by Japanese firms: Mitsubishi; Niigata Takkosho; Kobe Seikasho; "Dova Dzidosya", as well as the Kokura army arsenal ("Kokura Rikugun Dzhoysho"), although the "Mitsubishi" continued to produce tank type "95" in insignificant quantities, including its version "Ke-Nu", until the very end of the Second world war. In total, according to European data, 1161 type 95 tanks were produced (2378 according to Japanese data), which were used in all operations of the Japanese army in Southeast Asia, China and in the Pacific basin from the mid-1930s to 1945. Tank "Ha-Go" type "95" was simple to manufacture, operate and repair, and the overall layout and a number of design features of the tank "Ha-Go" were used in the development of a more advanced model of the Japanese light tank "Chi-Ha", in addition.

Ha-Go Type 95 Model 1935 Light Tank - Design

The Type 95 Ha-Go was equipped with the Hara suspension, a 37mm anti-tank gun, one rear mounted turret LMG, and one hull LMG. The crew of the vehicle was three, with the commander acting as loader in an extremely cramped turret. The weapon was primarily welded, but some components were riveted. Armor protection was not particularly good, but ballistics tested showed that the Ha-Go was actually better protected than the Type 97 Chi-Ha, owing to its smaller size, lower target profile, and greater quantity of welded armor plate. These tests may have played a role in the development of the all-welded Type 1 Chi-He, but there is very little evidence either way.

Tank "Ha-Go", with anti-bullet armor, had a classic layout with rear engine and front transmission elements. In the middle part there were combined control units and a combat unit. The crew of the tank consisted of three people - the commander, driver and equipment-shooter. In the forward part of the hull there were transmission units (side clutches, gearbox, etc.) and a control compartment. The driver was located on the right side, and to the left of him, in a small wheelhouse moved forward, was the place of the machine-gunner. The hull of the tank was assembled from rolled armor plates 10–12 mm thick on the frame with the help of bolts and rivets and had bent sheets of the sides of the underdone box.

To reduce the crew’s susceptibility to fragments of armor, as well as burns on heated armor and to minimize injuries from shocks when the machine was shaken, an asbestos pod attached to the inside of the hull. The volume of the turret box was increased by protruding fencing niches of semi-conic shape. The curved manhole cover hinged forward and upward; it had a viewing hatch with its cover. In the cover of the inspection hatch and on either side of it there were vertical and horizontal viewing slots - thus, we tried to maintain visibility when the machine was vibrating. The tank commander was housed in a single cylindrical tower of a riveted-welded structure and at the same time also served as a gunner-loader, as a result of which the gun’s firing rate was insufficient. On the roof of the commander's turret there was a double-wing hatch, through which the commander and the shooter landed and disembarked. The only observation tools in battle were viewing slots that were not covered with bulletproof glass. In the left side of the tower and on the sides of the arrowhead there were hatches for firing personal weapons with armored valves.

In the frontal part of the turret, a 37-mm tank gun of type “94” was installed with a semi-automatic vertical wedge bolt and a telescopic sight. Its recoil mechanisms consisted of a hydraulic brake recoil with a spring-loaded knurled. Vertical guidance angles ranged from -20 ° to + 24 °. The design of the mask also made it possible to direct the gun on the horizon within 10 ° in both directions. The vertical guidance of the gun was made by the shoulder rest, and the turn of the turret was done by a mechanical manual drive. The only observation tools in battle were viewing slots that were not covered with bulletproof glass. In the left side of the tower and on the sides of the arrowhead there were hatches for firing personal weapons with armored valves.

Its recoil mechanisms consisted of a hydraulic brake recoil with a spring-loaded knurled. Vertical guidance angles ranged from -20 ° to + 24 °. The design of the mask also made it possible to direct the gun on the horizon within 10 ° in both directions. The vertical guidance of the gun was made by the shoulder rest, and the turn of the turret was done by a mechanical manual drive. Its recoil mechanisms consisted of a hydraulic brake recoil with a spring-loaded knurled. Vertical guidance angles ranged from -20 ° to + 24 °. The design of the mask also made it possible to direct the gun on the horizon within 10° in both directions. The vertical guidance of the gun was made by the shoulder rest, and the turn of the turret was done by a mechanical manual drive.

Ammunition guns were 75 unitary armor-piercing and high-explosive fragmentation shots. An armor-piercing projectile with a mass of 0.7 kg with an initial speed of 575 m/s pierced normal 35-mm-thick armor from a distance of 300 m, which was quite enough to fight with the BT or T-26 Soviet tanks - the main alleged enemies. In 1938, the tank "Ha-Go" was re-equipped with an elongated 37-mm cannon type "97" (the initial velocity of the projectile increased to 675 m/s). Additional armament of the tank was two 6.5-mm tank machine gun type "91". Since 1938, in connection with the change of rifle-and-machine-gun caliber in small arms in the Japanese army, the tanks were re-equipped with 7.7-mm tank machine guns of type "97". One machine gun was placed on the right, in the stern of the turret, the other was mounted in a protruding wheelhouse in front of the hull. Machine guns were mounted on special supports, which had three fixed positions, and were equipped with 5-fold optical sights. During the Second World War, tanks also began to install smoke-type grenade launchers of the “99” type, mounted in an amount from one to four at the top of the tower. For communication with the driver, the commander had a negotiation tube ("tankophone"). There was no means of external communication, signals were given flags, and only on commander vehicles, HF radio stations with a hand-held antenna were installed.

The power plant, mounted at the rear along the starboard side, was a two-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engine “Mitsubishi” NVD 6120 air-cooled 120 l. with. The transmission consisted of a gearbox; four-speed manual gearbox (4 - forward, 1 - back); cardan shaft connected by bevel gears with shafts of side clutches, and single-stage bead gears. To the left of the engine were installed fuel and oil tanks. To access the engine served as a hatch in the right side of the stern with a hinged louver. To the tanks led the hatch in the stern roof on the left. For maintenance of side clutches and gears in the upper front plate there were two hatches with hinged lids. The tank got the suspension, developed in 1933 by a major (later a general) Tomio Hara and the type “2592” tested for the first time on a serial small tank. Suspension is blocked - two dvuhkatkovye carts from each side, the elastic element for both trucks is common - spring, placed along the side of the hull. The undercarriage of the tank consisted of eight rubberized track rollers connected in four carts (two for one side), two rubberized supporting rollers, front drive wheels for tsevochnogo gearing and rear wheels guide wheels with a screw mechanism for adjusting the tension of the tracks.

The fine-hardened steel caterpillar of the hinge engagement with an open hinge and one flange consisted of 97 tracks with lugs. Part of the "Ha-Go" tanks was specially released for use in Manchuria, and had a modified undercarriage, where trolleys of the road wheels were reinforced with triangular balancers with an additional support roller. This was done after the exploitation of the first production tanks revealed that when a tank hit an unevenness, its crest fell between the support rollers and caused an increased load on the suspension, leading to its premature failure.

Ha-Go Type 95 Model 1935 Light Tank - Combat

The first experimental batch of tanks "Ha-Go" was collected in 1935 and immediately went to the troops for trial operation. In the war with China, due to the weakness of the army of the latter, the new Japanese tanks did not achieve much success. A little later, during the fighting at Khalkhin-Gol, the Japanese military finally managed to test the Type 95 in a real battle with a worthy opponent. This check ended sadly: almost all of the Kha-Tung army had “Ha-Go” destroyed by tanks and artillery of the Red Army. One of the results of the fighting at Khalkhin-Gol was the recognition by the Japanese command of the insufficiency of the 37-mm cannons. During the battles, the Soviet BT-5s, equipped with 45-mm guns, had time to destroy Japanese tanks even before they approached the distance of a confident defeat. In addition, the composition of the Japanese armored formations were a lot of machine-gun tanks.

Later, tanks "Ha-Go" collided in a battle with American equipment and artillery. Due to the significant difference in caliber - the Americans were already using tank guns of 75 millimeters - the Japanese armored vehicles often suffered heavy losses. By the end of the war in the Pacific, the Type 95 light tanks were often converted into stationary emplacements, however, their effectiveness was also low. The last battles with the participation of "Type 95" took place during the Third Civil War in China.

In 1944, when one of Japan's infantry divisons requested armor support for the ongoing Burma offensive, a platoon of Type 95 tanks was sent directly from Siam. So desperately were these needed that they drove the entire distance and apparently arrived ready for action, with only the need for standard engine maintenance.

The Ha-Go saw wide service, and was deployed against all of Japan's enemies. In general, it succeeded quite well in an anti-infantry role, but was of only limited use against armor. It was said to be capable of penetrating the armor of the M3 Stuart, but to be completely useless against the Grant or Sherman tanks. The Matilda, of course, was out of the question for a 37mm gun. Armor protection was a serious liability, as with most Japanese tanks. Other weaknesses attested include wide gaps between the hull and turret ring, a narrow wheel base which resulted in flipping with inexperienced crews, and a complicated hand-crank mechanism in the turret which could easily be jammed with a bayonet or knife. The most serious of these weaknesses seems to have been the unusually cramped turret, which resulted in the deployment of progressive variants attempting to improve the problem of armament and turret size.

The most commonly produced and utilized of all Japan's armored vehicles, more than thirteen hundred Type 95 tanks had been produced by the time production was officially complete in 1943. The two most common Ha-Go variants were the Type 95 Ke-Ri and the Type 95 Ke-Nu. The Ke-Ri used a Type 95 turret and the 57mm gun of the Type 97 Chi-Ha; the Ke-Nu also used the Type 97 turret, but was armed instead with a high velocity and much improved version of the original 37mm gun. Neither of these was produced in particularly large numbers, and combat actions were extremely limited for both. Most accounts of these two vehicles outside China occur quite late in the war, on the islands of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, where the two are frequently (and quite understandably) confused. Very few Type 95 tanks were equipped with radios. Those that were can easily be distinguished by the turret-ring antennae commonly seen with Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks. Radios seem to have been standard in the Ke-Ri and Ke-Nu variants.

Trophy tanks were handed over to the Chinese military, with the USSR sending the People’s Liberation Army to captured armored vehicles, and the United States to the Kuomintang. Despite the active use of the "Type 95" after the Second World War, these tanks can be considered quite lucky. Of the more than 2,300 tanks built, today the form of museum exhibits there are a half dozen examples.

Type 94

Although one tank was reported by US intelligence during the war as the Type 94 medium tank [Chu Sensha], even then there appeared to be some doubt as to whether the type number is correct. One example of a "Type 94" was shipped back to Aberdeen Proving Ground from the Southwest Pacific Area, where it preserved the Type 94 designation. Confusingly, the tank displayed at Aberdeen is labeled "Chu Sensha" [medium tank], but the weight of the display tank is barely half that of the 15 ton Type 94 Chu Sensha reported by Army intelligence, and should more properly be labeled Kei Sensha [Light tank].

The following text is from the Aberdeen display sign: "Japanese Tank, Type 94, Chu Sensha. Initial Production 1935. Weight 8.5 tons. This tank has a three-man crew with a 37mm main gun, and two 7.7mm machine guns. The U.S. Army captured this tank on Attu in the Aleutian Islands during World War II.".

Ha-Go Type 95 Model 1935 Light Tank - Specifications

Ha-Go Type 95 Model 1935 Light Tank - Pictures