In a recent video we discussed the Chi Ri which was essentially the final tank built
by the Japanese during the second world war.
However that project was never fully completed due to the war's end cutting development short.
The same cannot be said for the predecessor of that design, the Chi To.
Sit back and relax as we take another trip to the land of the rising sun.
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Now let's get into today's topic.
Japan’s armored vehicles had always had issues engaging with enemy tanks due to poor
armor and armament.
Although this issue plagued them through the entire war the majority of their early conquests
were still successful due to many areas around and within China either not needing tanks
in large numbers or having inferior enemy forces who lacked many tanks or modern anti
tank weaponry.
However it was still clear to the Japanese that better designs would be necessary against
the increasing capabilities of their major enemies such as the US and Soviet Union.
This was made abundantly clear when their tanks were decimated during the fighting in
Manchuria against the Soviet forces in 1939 forcing a complete rethink of their entire
armored doctrine as well as spurring radical upgrades to their tank force.
The first tank to see these changes was the upgraded version of the Type 97 Chi Ha known
as the Chi Ha Kai.
This chassis would also serve as the base for many of Japan's tanks during the war.
If you want to learn more about the Chi Ha’s development and usage check out the link in
the corner to the video done by my friend TankParty which I helped out on.
The Chi Ha Kai performed acceptably against US tanks in the Philippines helping to complete
the conquest of that territory however by this point tank technology was beginning to
advance at a more rapid pace quickly leaving Japan's designs behind.
Attempts were made to learn from their German allies about European tank designs but the
information transfer was incredibly slow and was insufficient to keep them up to date on
the technological advancement.
Even the purchase of a pair of Panzer 3s armed with the 50mm and short 75mm in 1943 did little
to help as they did not arrive until they were already obsolete.
By this point a new and deadly foe was making its way closer and closer to the Japanese
homeland on both the Pacific Islands and later with Indian and Chinese forces.
Boasting armor nearly twice and even three times as thick as the frontal armor of their
current tanks the M4 Sherman with its short 75mm became the primary target of Japan's
next tank projects.
As I mentioned earlier the Chi Ha chassis was still used at this point as a basis for
the tanks with the Chi Nu still using a modified version of the hull.
This tank would see limited production with around 144 completed by the end of the war
although none of these left the home island being reserved for the final line of defense.
Still though this tank was only a stop gap solution to combat the threat of the Sherman
until a better tank could be produced.
This is when today's real topic finally enters the stage.
In 1943 work would begin on an all new tank from the ground up.
Although it bore similarities to the previous Chi Ha in its overall layout the tank was
improved in every way.
The only thing not changed were the components for the suspension system and the drive sprockets.
These were all the same as the ones from the earlier Chi Ha although it used 2 bell cranks
rather than the one used for the Chi Ha.
Given how late in the war this vehicle was developed not a huge amount is known about
it but we do know the basics.
For its hull and turret the tank ranged from 12-75mms of armor putting it much closer to
the Sherman in its protection.
The 75mm plates made up the turret front and hull front with a slight slope which further
increased protection.
The sides were considerably thinner, but still featured 12 to 30mms of armor which was about
the same as the Chi Nu although it did not have as much of a slope.
To propel this tank which was by now approaching 30 tons a much larger power plant was needed
than the small 240hp Mitsubishi engine used in the Chi Nu.
Now a 412hp Mitsubishi AL Type 4 Supercharged Diesel would become the heart of this Japanese
Sherman.
This gave the tank a top speed of around 45 kilometers per hour or 28 miles per hour and
put it just shy of the Shermans mobility with a power to weight ratio of 13.7 horsepower
per ton.
This would likely have meant the tank would have had reasonably good mobility.
Of course none of this would mean anything if the tank remained equipped with the weak
firepower that plagued many Japanese tanks.
Even the Chi Nu was just barely capable of engaging the Sherman frontally and would need
to get close which put it well within the range of the M4s cannon.
The Chi To, however, would feature a new and vastly improved 75mm.
Originally the tank was proposed with a high velocity 57mm which was supposedly fitted
to one of the first prototypes before this was abandoned in favor of the experimental
75mm.
Based on the Type 4 75mm Anti Air gun the Type 5 75mm featured increased velocity and
penetrating power.
Testing of the weapon against steel plates revealed the Type 1 armor piercing round could
defeat 140mms at 1000 meters, although bear in mind this was not rolled homogeneous armor
meaning the steel was far weaker.
Likely against rolled armor like that of the Sherman this gun would have been effective
at ranges exceeding 1000 meters although exact figures differ depending on the source.
Regardless we can say for certain that this would have been much more dangerous for the
American crews than anything else the Japanese could field.
Production of a prototype and another pre-production vehicle took place during 1944 with testing
of the vehicles following.
Steel shortages had caused many delays though and the planned 25 units per month that Mitsubishi
believed they could deliver was little more than a fantasy.
Around this same time focus was split from the Chi To with work beginning on the similar
but even more ambitious Chi Ri project.
By the time that program was abandoned and efforts were redirected towards the Chi To
it was already too late with no further units being produced as far as we know.
One tank is said to have been dumped into Lake Hamana with the Americans recovering
it after the war.
Rumors persist that the second still remains there to this day however efforts to recover
it in 2013 were unsuccessful so this cannot be confirmed.
The one recovered by the Americans eventually made its way to Aberdeen where it along with
the Chi Ri was assessed before eventually being scrapped.
Another variant of the Chi To was discussed early in its development known as the Ka To.
This would have been a tank destroyer equipped with a 105mm gun similar to the earlier Na
To.
Not much is known about this project however and it may have been based on the Chi Ri chassis.
Likely we will never know as this was never produced and not much information remains.
Thank you for watching and I hope you did enjoy this video.
It's at this point however that I would like to take a moment to address the tragic loss
of someone within our community.
We sadly lost a fellow content creator by the name of 2and900 to suicide on Wednesday
the 21st of July 2021 immediatly following the upload of the last video to his youtube
channel.
As he was a fan of Japanese armor I thought it would be fitting to dedicate this video
to him as my way of honoring his memory and have decided to donate the entirety of the
money I would have been receiving from the sponsorship to the gofundme set up by his
brother.
As I’m sure you can imagine his family is struggling a lot with the immense pain this
sort of thing causes so I want to try and ensure that this isn't increased by financial
hardships.
If you can I ask that you consider donating as well to help cover the funeral expenses
and I’ll leave a link to the gofundme down below.
Thank you all for watching and to Nord for giving me the ability to donate to a worthy
cause by supporting this video.