Type 4 Ho-Ro

Infobox Weapon
type=Self-propelled artillery
name=Type 4 Ho-Ro


caption= Type 4 Ho-Ro Self-Propelled Gun
is_vehicle=yes
origin= flag|Empire of Japan
length=5.537 meters (18 ft 2 in)
width=2.286 meters (7 ft 6 in)
height=1.549 meters (5 ft 1 in) to top of shield
weight=13.3 tons (29,260 lbs)
suspension=bell crank
speed=38 km/h (23.6mph)
vehicle_range=250 kilometers (156 miles)
primary_armament=150mm Type 38 howitzer
secondary_armament=none
armour=12mm – 25mm (0.98in)
engine=Mitsubishi Type 100 air-cooled V-12 diesel
engine_power=170 Hp (126.8kW)
pw_ratio=12.8 hp/ton
crew=4 or 5

The nihongo|Type 4 Ho-Ro|四式十五糎自走砲| was a self-propelled gun developed by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II.

History and development

Inspired by the Grille series of self propelled artillery vehicles developed by Nazi Germany during World War II, wherein a 15 cm sIG 33 Infantry support gun was mounted on a tracked chassis, engineers at the Army Technical Bureau resolved to do the same. Production was assigned to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The exact number produced is uncertain, but was approximately 25 units in total.

Design

The chassis selected was a modified Type 97 Chi-Ha chassis. On to this platform, a Type 38 15 cm howitzer which was based on a design by the German arms-manufacturer Krupp was mounted. This gun was capable of firing a 79 lb shell 6,000 meters, but dated from 1905 and had been withdrawn from service as being obsolete in 1942. [Trewhitt, Armored Fighting Vehicles. pp108 ] The gun crew was protected by an open gun shield with armor thickness of 25 mm to the front, but was un-protected to the sides and rear, which made the design extremely vulnerable to close combat. Other issues with the design was that the gun had a traverse movement of only 3 degrees, and had a slow rate of fire due to its breech loader.

Combat record

The Type 4 was deployed in four vehicle batteries, which saw combat with the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army during the Battle of the Philippines [ [http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/ho-ro.htm Ho-Ro] Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page ] during the final months of the World War II. Remaining units were deployed to Okinawa in ones and twos for island defense during the Battle of Okinawa, but were severely outnumbered by American artillery. [Trewhitt, Armored Fighting Vehicles. pp.108]

References

*cite book |last=Trewhitt |first=Philip |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Armoured Fighting Vehicles |year=1999 |publisher=Dempsey-Parr |location=108 |isbn=1-84084-328-4
*cite book
last = Zaloga
first = Steven J.
year = 2007
title = Japanese Tanks 1939-45
publisher = Osprey
location =
id = ISBN 1-84603-091-8

External links

* [http://www.wwiivehicles.com/japan/self_propelled_guns/SelfPropelledGuns.htm WWII vehicles]
* [http://www.onwar.com/tanks/japan/data/horo.htm OnWar.com]
* [http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/ho-ro.htm Ho-Ro Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page]
* [http://www.tanksinworldwar2.com/japan-type-4-ho-ro.aspx Tanks in WWII]
* [http://ww2drawings.jexiste.fr/Files/1-Vehicles/Axis/3-Japan/01-LightTanks/Type5-KeHo/Type5-KeHo.htm WWII Drawings]

Notes