The or Type 98A Ke-Ni Ko (also known as Type 98 Chi-Ni light tank
/ref>) was designed to replace 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 ...

Type 95 Ha-Go The was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, at the Battles of Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry but was not effective against othe ...

light tank A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's most numerous

armored fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can b ...

during

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 ...

. Although designed before World War II began, production did not start until 1942, with 104 being produced by the end of the war in the Pacific.

History and development

The Type 98 developed in 1938 was a light tank with the same weight as the earlier

, but with thicker armor. The first prototype was originally known as the "Chi-Ni Model A" and completed by

Hino Motors Hino Motors, Ltd., commonly known as Hino, is a Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines (including those for trucks, buses and other vehicles) headquartered in Hino, Tokyo. The company was established in 1942 as a corpora ...

. The second prototype was originally known as the "Chi-Ni Model B" (a/k/a the "Type 98B Ke-Ni Otsu") and completed by Mitsubishi. This second experimental model had a different suspension system with four larger road-wheels, similar to the US

Christie suspension The Christie suspension is a suspension system developed by American engineer J. Walter Christie for his tank designs. It allowed considerably longer movement than conventional leaf spring systems then in common use, which allowed his tanks t ...

design. During field trials the "Model A" demonstrated superior performance, especially in off-road capabilities, so the Hino design was accepted. However, the Hino "Model A" prototype did not enter production at that time. This can be attributed to the adequate performance of the aging Type 95 against obsolete tanks of

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947. From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...

of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

forces. With the start of

in the Pacific, the

Imperial Japanese Army General Staff The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Role The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Af ...

realized that the Type 95 design was vulnerable to .50 caliber machine gun fire and attempted to develop a light tank with the same weight as the Type 95, but with thicker armor. A production contract for the Type 98 was awarded to Hino Motors. Series production began in 1942. A total of 104 Type 98s are known to have been built: 1 in 1941, 24 in 1942 and 79 in 1943. By the end of the war, the Imperial Navy had priority on

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

for warships and aircraft construction, leaving the

at a low priority for raw material to build tanks.

Design

The design of the Type 98, in comparison to the Type 95, featured thicker, welded armor of improved shape, including the use of a Mitsubishi Type 100 6-Cylinder

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. Air-cooled designs are far simpler than their liquid-cooled ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

, rated at 130 horsepower, and located sideways to make maintenance easier. The height of the tank was 50 cm lower in profile, and slightly lighter and shorter in length than the original Type 95 Ha-Go. It could travel at even with its thicker

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

. Three pairs of

bogies A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more wheelsets (two wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally ...

with six road-wheels connected to the chassis using

bell crank A bellcrank is a type of crank that changes motion through an angle. The angle can range from 0 to 360 degrees, but 90-degree and 180-degree bellcranks are most common. The name comes from its first use, changing the vertical pull on a rope to ...

s, which transferred any movement in the bogies into sideways motion that was absorbed by springs. This gave the tank better stability over its predecessor. In contrast to the one-man turret of Type 95 Ha-Go, the Type 98 had a two-man turret, which offered more room for the commander and gunner. There was no commander's cupola on the turret. In the turret was mounted a Type 100 37 mm tank gun with an angle of fire of -15 to +20 degrees, a

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 ...

of 760 m/s, and also a coaxial 7.7 mm machine gun. Unlike the Type 95 Ha-Go, the driver was located in a central position of the chassis and used a standard steering wheel instead of levers to maneuver the tank.

Variants

* :A Mitsubishi-designed alternative to the Type 98A model made by Hino. The most distinct feature was the

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Car suspension * Cell suspension or suspension culture, in biology * Guarded suspension, a software design pattern in concurrent programming suspending a method call and the calling ...

with four large road-wheels supported by side-ways facing coil springs, in a manner similar to

. It was an experimental model, which never entered production. *

Type 2 Ke-To light tank The was a light tank of World War II, produced in small numbers for the Imperial Japanese Army as an improvement of the existing Type 98 Ke-Ni. No Type 2 Ke-To light tanks are known to have engaged in combat prior to Japan's surrender at the end ...

:An improvement of the Type 98A production model, fitted with the more powerful Type 1 37 mm gun featuring a muzzle velocity of 800 m/s.History of War: Type 98 Type 2 Ke-To Light Tank
/ref> The new 37 mm gun used gave the tank "slightly better performance". The Type 2 Ke-To went into production in 1944–1945 with 34 tanks built. Type 98 Ta-Se SPAAG

Type 98 Ta-Se The experimental Type 98 ''Ta-Se'' was a Japanese self-propelled anti-aircraft gun using a Type 98 20 mm anti-aircraft gun. It used the chassis of the Type 98 Ke-Ni light tank. It did not enter production. History and development During d ...

self-propelled anti-aircraft gun :In November 1941, development began on an anti-aircraft version of the Type 98 with a 20 mm AA gun converted from a Type 98 20 mm AA machine cannon in a circumferential turret. The prototype was designated Type 98 Ta-Se. During trials it was determined that the Type 98 chassis was too small to be a stable "firing platform". *

Type 98 20 mm AAG tank The Type 98 20 mm AAG (anti-air gun) tank () was a Japanese self-propelled anti-aircraft gun using a twin Soki Type 2 20 mm anti-air gun. It utilized the chassis of the Type 98 Ke-Ni light tank. History and development Original single ...

:After the short-comings of the prototype Type 98 Ta-Se were noted, a prototype was built with a modified twin

Type 2 20 mm AA machine cannon The Type 2 20 mm AA machine cannon was a Japanese-designed anti-aircraft gun. It entered service in 1942. Design Introduced in 1942, compared to the earlier Type 98 20 mm AA machine cannon, Type 2 20 mm had higher maximum rate of fire, could ...

. It was known as the Type 98 20 mm AAG tank. However, the project was canceled and neither one of the Type 98 anti-aircraft tanks went into production.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links