Type 1 Chi-He | |
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![]() Type 1 Chi-He | |
Type | Medium tank |
Place of origin | Empire of Japan |
Production history | |
Designed | 1940 |
Produced | 1943–1944 |
No. built | 170 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 17.2 tonnes (19.0 tons)[1] |
Length | 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) |
Width | 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) |
Height | 2.38 m (7 ft 10 in) |
Crew | 5 |
Armor | 20–50 mm[1] |
Main armament | Type 1 47 mm tank gun[1] (Armor Penetration: 55 mm at 100 m, 40 mm at 500 m, 30 mm at 1,000 m) |
Secondary armament | 2 × 7.7mm Type 97 machine gun (hull, coaxial) |
Engine | Mitsubishi Type 100 air cooled V-12 diesel[2] 240 hp (179 kW)/2,000 rpm/21,700 cc[1] |
Suspension | Bell crank |
Operational range | 210 kilometers[1] |
Maximum speed | 44 km/h (27 mph) |
The Type 1 medium tank Chi-He (一式中戦車 チへ, Ichi-shiki chusensha Chihe) was an improved version of the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. It had a more powerful main gun, engine and thicker armor. It was the first Japanese tank to have a communication radio as standard equipment. Production of the tank did not begin until 1943, due to the higher priority of steel allocated to the Imperial Navy for warship construction. A total of 170 units were built. All of the tanks produced were allocated for the defense of the Japanese home islands, against the anticipated Allied Invasion.