Type 2 Ho-I
| Type 2 Ho-I | |
|---|---|
 Type 2 Ho-I gun tank
| |
| Type | Infantry support tank |
| Place of origin | Empire of Japan |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1944 |
| No. built | 31 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 16.1 tons |
| Length | 5.73 m (18 ft 10 in) |
| Width | 2.33 m (7 ft 8 in) |
| Height | 2.58 m (8 ft 6 in) |
| Crew | 5 |
| Armor | 12–50 mm |
Main armament |
75 mm Type 99 Gun |
Secondary armament |
1 x 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun |
| Engine | Mitsubishi Type 100 air cooled V-12 diesel 240 hp (179 kW) |
| Power/weight | 14.9 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | Bell crank |
Operational range |
100 km |
| Maximum speed | 44 km/h (27 mph) |
The Type 2 Gun tank Ho-I (二式砲戦車 ホイ, Ni-shiki hōsensha Ho-I) was a derivative of the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Similar in concept to the early variants of the German Panzer IV, it was designed as a self-propelled howitzer to provide the close-in fire support for standard Japanese medium tanks with additional firepower against enemy anti-tank fortifications.
History and development
Design work on the Type 2 Ho-I began in 1937, after experience in Manchukuo taught Japanese war planners that an armored vehicle with a larger weapon would be useful against fortified enemy positions such as pillboxes, against which the standard low-velocity 57mm and high-velocity 47mm tank guns were ineffective. Since this vehicle was to be able to keep up with the rest of an armored formation, the Japanese began work on mounting a Type 41 75 mm Mountain Gun onto the chassis of the Chi-Ha medium tank. The adapted mountain gun, known as the Type 99 75 mm tank gun, was completed in 1940. The gun could fire an assortment of ammunition, including a 6.6kg (14.5lb) armor-piercing shell and had a muzzle velocity of 445mps. By 1942 the Type 99 75 mm gun was fitted into a Type 97-Kai Shinhoto Chi-Ha turret, which resulted in the designated Type 2 Ho-I gun tank. The Type 2 Ho-I gun tank was intended to be part of a fire support company in each of the tank regiments.
Design
The 1941 prototype model, known as the Experimental Type 1 Ho-I, used the Type 97 Chi-Ha chassis. The production model utilized the chassis of the Type 1 Chi-He medium tank, which was itself a modified Type 97 Chi-Ha hull.
The main armament of the Type 2 Ho-I was a Type 99 75 mm tank gun, and secondary armament was a single 7.7 mm Type 97 Light Machine Gun in the hull. The short barreled 75 mm Type 99 Gun was mounted in a gun turret of the type used for the Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha tank with modifications to accommodate the gun used and the addition of a large rear hatch.
Service history
As with other tanks and self-propelled guns, production was hampered by material shortages, and by the bombing of Japan in World War II. All 31 Type 2 Ho-I tanks produced were conversions from existing Type 1 Chi-He medium tanks. There is no record of a Type 2 Ho-I being used in combat prior to the end of the war.