The ("Imperial Year 2604 Medium Tank Model 7") was one of several

medium tank A medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II, which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. A medium tank's classification ...

s developed by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. While by far the most advanced Japanese wartime tank to reach production, industrial and material shortages resulted in only a few chassis being manufactured and only two known to be completed. Neither of the completed Type 4 Chi-To tanks saw combat use.

Design

Type 4 medium tank Chi-To planned production model 01

The Type 4 Chi-To was a thirty-ton

of all-welded construction and had maximum armor thickness of on the frontal plates. The turret was an enlarged variant of the one used on the Type 3 Chi-Nu medium tank and it carried a crew of five. The tank was long, high, and wide. The main armament was a turret-mounted long-barreled (4.23 m)

Type 5 75 mm tank gun The Type 5 75 mm tank gun was used as the main armament of the Imperial Japanese Army prototype Type 4 Chi-To medium tank. It was one of the largest tank guns to be fitted on a World War II Japanese tank. Due to late war shortage-induced delays o ...

capable of being elevated between -6.5 to +20 degrees. An

muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/ shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately t ...

gave it an armor penetration of at . The tank had a Type 97 heavy tank machine gun mounted in the hull and a ball mount on the side of the turret for a second machine gun. The Type 4's diesel engine was significantly more powerful than the engine of the

Type 3 Chi-Nu was a medium tank of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Like the Type 1 Chi-He, this tank was an improved version of the Type 97 Chi-Ha. It incorporated a Type 3 75 mm tank gun, one of the largest Japanese tank guns during the war. The ...

, giving it a top speed of on tracks supported by seven road wheels on each side. The tank had a range of .

Development

Development of the Type 4 Chi-To began in 1943 as an intended successor to the Type 97-''Kai'' Shinhoto Chi-Ha. The Army Technical Bureau had been working on the Type 4 Chi-To as the counter to the M4 Sherman, but there were problems and delays in the program. As a result, a stopgap tank was required. The Type 3 Chi-Nu medium tank was developed to cope with the

M4 Sherman The M4 Sherman, officially medium tank, M4, was the medium tank most widely used by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. I ...

. Finally, the first prototype Type 4 Chi-To was delivered in 1944. Similar in its general layout, but significantly larger than the Type 97, it was the most advanced Japanese tank to reach the production stage. Intended Type 4 Chi-To output was 25 tanks per month; with 20 to be made at

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

and 5 to be produced at Kobe Seiko-sho. Late war shortage-induced delays caused by the severing of supply lines with conquered territories and U.S.

strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a systematically organized and executed military attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers, long- or medium-range missiles, or nuclear-armed fighter-bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy' ...

of the Japanese mainland resulted in a total of six chassis being built. According to "The National Institute for Defense Studies, Ministry of Defense, Military Administration of Munitions Mobilization, Production Chart of January to April of 1945", the plan was to produce a total of 6 Type 4 Chi-To tanks in the first three months of 1945. Two Type 4 Chi-To tanks are known to have been completed in 1945 and neither saw combat.Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 4 Medium Tank "Chi-To"
/ref> At the end of

, two completed Type 4 Chi-To tanks were dumped into

Lake Hamana is a brackish lagoon in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Formerly a true lake, it is now connected to the Pacific Ocean by a channel. As an internal body of water, it is considered Japan's tenth-largest lake (by area). It spans the boundaries of th ...

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

to avoid capture by Allied occupation forces. One was recovered by the US Army, but the other was left in the lake. In 2013, there were efforts to locate the remaining tank, but it was not found.

Ka-To self-propelled gun

Experimental105mm anti-tank self-propelled gun Ka-To 01

Another 105mm SP gun planned was the Ka-To 105 mm SP AT gun. The Ka-To's development was ordered in 1943. The engine placement was moved forward, while the gun placement was in the rear section of the hull. The open top superstructure was based on the Type 5 Na-To. Two main guns for the Ka-To were completed in 1945. According to several sources, the Ka-To hull was based on the Type 4 Chi-To, which needed to be extended in length to accommodate the main gun. An extra road wheel was added to each side of the chassis.Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: 105mm SP AT Gun "Ka-To"
/ref> However, according to another source, the incomplete Ka-To hull was based on the

Type 5 Chi-Ri medium tank The ("Imperial Year 2605 Medium Tank Model 9") was a medium tank developed by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. It was intended to be a heavier, more powerful version of Japan's prototype Type 4 Chi-To medium tank. Only one incomplete p ...

chassis.

Tanks of comparable role, performance and era

* Soviet

T-34-85 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

* German Panther * British

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

* American M4A1(76)

Gallery

File:Type5 75mm tank gun 01.jpg,

Mark I File:Front angle close-up of Type 4 Chi-To.jpg, Front angle close-up of Type 4 Chi-To with turret-mounted Type 5 75 mm tank gun File:Profile of a Type 4 Chi-To.jpg, Type 4 Chi-To with ball-mounted machine gun on the turret File:Type 4 medium tank Chi-To 02.jpg, Type 4 Chi-To, with turret reversed File:Type 4 Ho-Ro & Type 4 Chi-To.jpg, Front angle view of Type 4 Ho-Ro SPG and Type 4 Chi-To

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

*
Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa

(''accessed 2017-06-17'') {{WWIIJapaneseAFVs 4 Chi-To Type 4 Chi-To Military vehicles introduced from 1945 to 1949