Shinhoto Chi-Ha Type 97 Medium Tank (improved) - Armament
One of the drawbacks of the "Chi-Ha" type tank "97" was the short-barreled 57-mm tank gun type "97", which had poor ballistics and very low anti-tank qualities. However, during the creation of this tank because of the outdated doctrine of the use of armored vehicles, the fight against other tanks did not belong to its priority task, and, despite all the insistence of the designer Major T. Khara, the military did not consider replacing the 57-mm cannon with a more effective gun. The fighting, which at that time led the Japanese army in China, proved the correctness of such a decision, although the small and poorly armed Chinese tank troops could not provide serious resistance to the Japanese.
However, fighting in the area of the river Khalkhin Gol with the combined forces of the Red Army and the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Army in the summer of 1939 provided different conclusions. The three-month battle more than convincingly showed that the Japanese medium tanks “Chi-Ha”, armed with a 57-mm tank gun of the “97” type, turned out to be far less effective than the light Soviet BT-7 and T-26. The issue of equipping “Chi-ha” tanks with a more powerful tank artillery system became topical. The General Headquarters of the Ground Forces ordered to rearm Japanese tanks with cannons capable of fighting the best foreign models of armored vehicles.
Even before the war with the Western Allies began, there was concern among Japanese tankers regarding the penetrative power of the 57mm gun. These concerns had been particularly exacerbated during the Nomohan incident, when heavier Russian vehicles proved nearly invulnerable to the fire of Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks operating against them in Manchuria.
A number of solutions were proposed, including the development of a larger anti-tank round, but ultimately it was decided to significantly increase the muzzle velocity and penetrative power of the 47mm gun then being deployed in support of infantry formations. This weapon was, initially, intended for mounting on an entirely new chassis, and a considerably improved and expanded turret was drawn up for mounting it. The new turret featured the same precision gun-laying technology found in the Type 97, but protection was increased, internal arrangement of the turret was significantly altered, and space within nearly tripled; one added benefit of the turret was the addition of a third man, allowing the Commander to give up his role of Loader, a position he had been required to fill in all medium tanks produced by the Japanese to this point. Of course, the firepower of the main weapon was also significantly improved. The new tank was to be classified 'Type 1 Chi-He'.
A 47-mm gun of the type “97” was chosen, possessing much better indicators. Despite the smaller caliber, it significantly exceeded the 57 mm cannon for armor penetration. So, with a barrel length of 48 calibers, its armor-piercing projectile weighing 1.4 kg with an initial speed of 825 m / s, at a distance of up to 500 meters, punched a vertically mounted armor sheet 50 mm thick, which was considered a good indicator. The aiming range of the gun was 810 m. In the same year, the Japanese designers began work on the improvement of the medium Chi-Ha tank. Already in 1940, a prototype tank, which received the designation "Chi-Ho" type "2598" with an enlarged turret, created under the apparent influence of the Soviet tank BT, armed with a long-barreled 47-mm tank gun, entered the tests.
The Type 97 medium tank (improved) mounts a Type 1 (1941) 47-mm tank gun and two Type 97 (1937) 7.7-mm tank machine guns. One machine gun is mounted in a ball mount forward in the hull, and the other in the rear of the turret. The 47-mm tank gun is a high-velocity semiautomatic gun, equipped with a hydrospring recoil mechanism; since the gun is mounted at the point of balance, no equilabrators are used. The gun has a muzzle velocity of 2,700 feet per second; an elevation of -15° to 20°; and a free traverse of 10° right and left, and a mechanical traverse of 360°. The gun is equipped with an excellent 4 x 14° panoramic telescopic sight, resembling the U.S. M6 sight used on the U.S. 37-mm antitank gun M3.
Combat reports indicate that the quality of the 47-mm armor-piercing, high-explosive projectile had been improved. Moreover, tests showed that the 47-mm tank gun will penetrate the U.S. M4A3 at 500 yards or more. In combat, one U.S. M4A3 medium tank was hit six times with armor-piercing, high-explosive rounds from this gun, at an angle of impact of approximately 30 degrees. Five complete penetrations and one partial penetration resulted. The range, according to members of the U.S. tank crew, was approximately 150 to 200 yards.
The gun ammunition consisted of 120 unitary shots with armor-piercing and armor-piercing fragmentation shells. 7.7-mm tank machine guns of the "97" type were placed in the same way as on the "Chi-ha." The gun and machine guns were equipped with telescopic sights. The turret had two turning mechanisms, both with a manual drive, so the gunner and the tank commander could rotate the turret. The lifting mechanism of the gun is screw-type, it could switch off, in this case the gun was induced by a shoulder rest. Along with this, on the newly released tanks “Shinhoto Chi-ha” slightly increased the thickness of the armor and removed the hatch of the gunner, which was blocked by a new turret. Besides, refined the ventilation system of the engine room, installed armored muffler covers, and mounted a spare parts box at the stern of the hull. The commander received a new light and sound communication system with the driver-mechanic by the type of ship telegraph: 12 buttons on the commander’s remote control corresponded to 12 luminous banners and a buzzer on the driver’s panel.
On the tank "Shinhoto Chi-Ha" tested various installations of smoke grenade launchers (mortar). Initially, the four-barreled grenade launcher was mounted on a frame aboard the turret, but their installation over the gun mask proved to be more successful, now the tank could cover itself with a smoke screen while moving towards the enemy.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
