Type 1 Ho-Ha

Infobox Weapon
name=Type 1 Ho-Ha


caption= Type 1 Ho-Ha APC
origin= flag|Empire of Japan
type= half-track armoured personnel carrier
is_vehicle=yes
service=
used_by=
wars= World War II
designer=
design_date=
manufacturer= Hino Motors
unit_cost=
production_date=1944
number=
variants=
weight=6.5 tonnes
length=6.1 meters
width=2.1 meters
height=2.51 meters
crew=3 + 12 passengers
armour=8 mm
primary_armament=3 × 7.7 mm Type 97 Light Machine Guns
secondary_armament=none
engine=Diesel engine
engine_power=134 PS/2000 rpm
transmission=
fuel_capacity=
pw_ratio=?
suspension=Bell crank
clearance=
vehicle_range=300 kilometers
speed=50 km/h
guidance=

The nihongo|Type 1 Ho-Ha|一式半装軌装甲兵車 ホハ|Isshiki Han-sōkōheishahoki

Type 1 Ho-Ha was an armored half-track armoured personnel carrier (APC) used in limited numbers by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

Development and history

The Type 1 Ho-Ha was developed in 1941 as a result of a request from the Army for a vehicle that could be used to transport a squad of infantry to the battlefield protected from enemy small arms fire, and with some protection from artillery fire. Trucks had the speed and mobility needed by the mechanized infantry, but were too prone to problems with the poor roads and rough terrain of Manchukuo and northern China. On the other hand, fully-tracked vehicles were viewed as too slow, and were unable to keep up with the speed necessary for contemporary infantry tactics. [ [http://www.honved.com/senshansupport.html] Japanese Armored Vehicles of the Second World War]

Production of both tracked and half-track APCs began in 1941, and both versions were confusingly designated “Type 1" (See also Type 1 Ho-Ki). The half-tracked Type 1 Ho-Ha was built by Hino Motors, but only in small quantities due to the low priority assigned to non-offensive weaponry by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. By the time the Type 1 Ho-Ha actually entered mass production by Hino Motors in 1944, raw materials were in very short supply, and much of Japan's industrial infrastructure had been destroyed by American bombing. The total number produced is unknown. [Foss, The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles]

Design

The Type 1 Ho-Ha was based upon the German SdKfz 251/1 HANOMAG, the main armoured personnel carrier used by the German army, and had a resemblance to that vehicle in profile. It was also similar to the Italian Semincingolato Fiat 727 and Semincingolato Breda Tipo 61.

The Type 1 Ho-Ha had a pair of road wheels in front supported by a pair of short caterpilar tracks to the rear. As with the Type 1 Ho-Ki, a towing hitch to haul artillery was provided at the rear. Maximum armor thickness was about 8 mm; however, the open top meant that the crew was still vulnerable, especially to high explosive rounds and shrapnel.

The Type 1 Ho-Ha carried three Type 97 light machine guns as standard armament, one on each side, just to the rear of the driver's compartment and a third mounted to the rear as an anti-aircraft weapon. All of these weapons had constricted firing arcs, which made firing directly forward or directly rearward impossible. [ [http://www.honved.com/senshansupport.html] Japanese Armored Vehicles of the Second World War]

Combat record

Initial deployment of the Type 1 Ho-Ha was to the Chinese mainland for operations in the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War, but were never in any great numbers. The Type 1 Ho-Ha was later deployed with Japanese reinforcements to the Philippines in 1944; however, most were sunk by American submarines on the way, and only a few were available for Japanese commanders at the Battle of the Philippines.

After the end of World War II, demilitarized Type 1 Ho-Ha were used for a variety of civilian purposes in occupied Japan, as general utility vehicles, and also as garbage trucks by Tokyo city.

Comparison

References

*cite book
last = Foss
first = Christopher F
year = 2002
title = The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles: The Comprehensive Guide to over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles from 1915 to the Present Day
publisher = Thunder Bay Press
location =
id = ISBN 1571458069

External links

* [http://www.honved.com/senshansupport.html Japanese Armored Vehicles of the Second World War]
* [http://ww2drawings.jexiste.fr/Files/1-Vehicles/Axis/3-Japan/08-Halftracks/Type1_Ho-Ha/Type1_Ho-Ha.htm WWII Drawings]
* [http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/ho-ha.htm Taki's Imperial Japanese Army HP]

Notes