- Type 5 Ke-Ho
Infobox Weapon
name=Type 5 Ke-Ho
caption=Type 5 Ke-Ho light tank
origin= flagcountry|Empire of Japan
type=
is_vehicle=yes
length=4.38 meters
width=2.23 meters
height=2.23 meters
weight=10 tons
suspension=Bell crank
speed=40 km/hr
vehicle_range=
primary_armament=Type 1 47mm tank gun
secondary_armament=Type 97 7.7mm machine gun
armour=8-20 mm
engine=Mitsubishi NVD 61020 air cooled diesel
engine_power=150 HP
pw_ratio=
crew=4The nihongo|Type 5 Ke-Ho|五式軽戦車|Go-shiki keisensha was the penultimatelight tank developed by theImperial Japanese Army inWorld War II .History and development
By the start of the
Pacific War , Japanese field commanders realized that the standardmain battle tank of the Japanese army, theType 95 Ha-Go was obsolete. It had performed well against the lightly armedNational Revolutionary Army of the China in theSecond Sino-Japanese War , however, its 37mm gun could not penetrate the armor of the British Matilda tanks, and its thin armor made the Type 95 increasingly vulnerable as Allied forces realized that standard infantry weapons were capable of penetrating its minimal armor. Its firepower was insufficient to take on other tanks such as theM4 Sherman or theM3 Stuart tanks. Attempts to address these shortcomings via theType 98 Ke-Ni and theType 2 Ke-To were steps in the right direction, but were still insufficient, [Foss, The Great Book of Tanks] Therefore, a complete design review was held and a prototype for a new standard light tank was completed by 1942. At this point the project was shelved, as theImperial Japanese Army General Staff wanted to concentrate production capacities onmedium tank s andwarplane s. Mass production was finally authorized in 1945, by which time it was too late. Production was impossible due to material shortages, and by the bombing of Japan in World War II. Only a single prototype was completed by the end of World War II. [Zaolga, Japanese Tanks ]Design
The Type 5 Ke-Ho made use of the
Type 95 Ha-Go chassis and basic layout, but with much needed improvements to the armor, and a largerType 1 47 mm tank gun . Power was from a Mitsubishi NVD 61020 air cooled diesel engine yielding 150 HP, for a top speed of 40 km/hr. While a much superior tank to the older Type 95, it still remained inferior in firepower and armor protection to the AmericanM4 Sherman .References
*cite book
last = Zaloga
first = Steven J.
year = 2007
title = Japanese Tanks 1939-45
publisher = Osprey
location =
id = ISBN 1-84603-091-8External links
* [http://www.wwiivehicles.com/japan/tanks_light/type95.html WW2 Tanks]
* [http://www.onwar.com/tanks/japan/data/t5keho.htm OnWar Spec sheets]
* [http://ww2drawings.jexiste.fr/Files/1-Vehicles/Axis/3-Japan/01-LightTanks/Type5-KeHo/Type5-KeHo.htm WWII Drawings]Notes
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