The Chi-Ha LG, despite first impressions, is one of the best early Japanese tank destroyers once you learn how to play it. The Chi-Ha LG can be frustrating to use at first because of the non-existent armor, difficult to use gun and the added difficulty of facing off against more advanced American Shermans and Soviet T-34s; however, when used properly, it is a beast on the battlefield.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| 120mm gun capable of overpressure | Weak turret and hull armor |
| SAPCBC shell can pen almost all tanks at its battle rating | Only can carry 10 pieces of ammo |
| Amazing reverse speed of 19 km/h | 13 second reload |
| Low profile and very easy to hide behind corners or obstacles | No secondary weapons or machine guns |
| Relatively quick turret traverse speed | Very weak against HE shells, artillery, and bomb shrapnel as there is little protection |
Armor
The hull armor of the Chi-Ha LG is the standard hull of a Chi-Ha medium tank as implied by the name. The Chi-Ha hull is not amazing by any standards; decent in a downtier and horrible in an uptier. The hull has a chance to block machine gun fire, but melts like butter when shot with armor-piercing shells. Luckily, there is not much important in the hull: only the driver, fuel tanks and engine. The turret is also completely separated from the hull, so enemies can’t knock out your entire crew with a shot to the hull.
With just a glance, you can tell what’s wrong with the turret armor. There is only a thin plate at the front and nothing on the sides and back. It might be the least armored turret in the entire game.
The only piece of armor is the front 10mm plates which are easily penetrated by machine guns and bomb shrapnel. The turret armor in all is absolutely horrendous and is definitely not going to protect your crew in any circumstance.
Never rely on the armor to block or ricochet any shots that come your way, but occasionally the impossible will happen; it is important to never assume your armor can tank the round shot at you.
Survivability
Contrary to what many would assume, the Chi-Ha LG has decent survivability for a thinly armored tank destroyer. It is difficult for enemies to detonate the ammo of the Chi-Ha LG from the front and the crew is very split up by the gun breech. This makes it so if the enemy shoots either side of the turret; either a loader or the gunner will survive. Basic armor-piercing rounds will find it difficult to kill everyone, but machine guns and APHE are lethal in that department. The survivability can be summed up as good for the armor, but not amazing when compared to other tank destroyers it faces.
Weaponry
The Chi-Ha LG’s cannon is amazing; certainly one of the best among its contemporaries. Its 120mm cannon has around 100 mm of penetration at 300 meters and 90 mm at 1000 meters. It’s amazing at sniping from long distances as the high penetration lets precise aiming not be an issue when it is difficult to see your enemy.
The Chi-Ha LG has only 2 types of ammunition:
- Ordinary, Mod. 1: The stock shell of the tank. It’s a fairly simple HE shell used for overpressure, but is better suited to destroy open top tank destroyers and SPAA rather then more armored targets.
- C.P. (BF) Shell: The SAPCBC shell is the shining light of the Chi-Ha LG. This explosive filled ballistic shell will be your go-to for any armored targets.
I recommend bringing 9 SAPCBC shells and 1 HE shell in your loadout
The gun can depress down 10º and up 15º. The solid gun depression makes it viable for getting kills from hill cover, but don’t count on it to be able to dispatch any aircraft in the sky. There is also no stabilizer on the vehicle, common for low-tier Japanese tanks, so shooting targets while moving is difficult.
The Chi-Ha LG has no secondary machine guns or smaller cannons, so always take your time to hit your first shot in stressful close quarters confrontations.
Mobility
The mobility of the Chi-Ha LG is acceptable for what the tank is. The max speed of the Chi-Ha LG is a solid 40 km/h and the maximum reverse speed is 19 km/h. Dodging bombs is difficult in the vehicle as the acceleration makes it difficult to run away from the bomb in time; the lack of turret armor also makes the lethal range of the bomb much larger than it usually would be.
The reverse speed of the Chi-Ha LG is its saving grace, being much faster than most tanks at its battle rating, it allows dashing back into cover very easily and quickly.
Strategy
The main strategy of the Chi-Ha LG is sniping and assisting from the back lines. The horrible armor makes it an almost instant death if you travel at the front, so the best way to capture points with your team is to stay behind. Your superior cannon helps to shoot unsuspecting vehicles and provide vital cover fire for the light and medium tanks on your team.
Sniping in open fields is one of the best ways to get kills in the tank. The great depression allows for not much of the tank to show when shooting over a hill and the relatively high shell velocity means it has high penetration for a pretty long distance.
Urban combat is where the true power of the Chi-Ha LG can shine. Corners of buildings is the best place to be in a Chi-Ha LG. The low profile and low crew density allows for corner peeking to be the most viable strategy for the tank. Peeking around the corner with the cannon lets only one crew member, the gun and the usually angled hull armor be the only things shown to the enemy.
If you peek from a right corner of a building only the loader will be out of cover, but if you peek from a left corner, then the gunner will be out of cover.
Most matches you should spend attacking a capture point with a teammate or two, then defending that capture point for the rest of the game. Find a good corner and place down an ammo box. You can then spend the rest of the game sniping unsuspecting tanks as they attempt to rush the capture point.
Enemy Weakpoints
- M4 Sherman: The most common enemy for the Chi-Ha LG and one of the most dangerous. The .50 cal machine gun and 75 mm cannon make it a nightmare to deal with for the Chi-Ha LG. When facing it from the front, aim for the hull armor as it has a greater chance of getting the entire crew or aim for the armor above the tracks on the right and left sides to explode the ammo. For the turret, one should aim for the lower right or left sides as you can usually get the entire crew.
- Churchill: A tough and heavily armored opponent on the battlefield, it is one of the best heavy tanks at 2.7. With good survivability and thick armor makes it difficult to know where to shoot to get a kill. Try to get a shot off at the left side of the hull armor or the lower turret cheeks from the front, but when the Churchill is at an angle it becomes much more difficult to destroy it. Try to aim for the turret cheeks if you can, but shooting the area just below the top part of the track and above the rest of the side armor can result in a penetration, but its difficult to pull off that shot in the heat of battle.
- KV-1: One of the best and most overpowered tanks at its battle rating, it combines superb armor and a potent gun, it is a one man army on the battlefield and difficult to dispatch. The best place to shoot is the armor just above the transmission and to the left of the drivers hatch. If just the turret is showing, go for the flat parts of the armor to the left and right of the mantlet. If the tank is at an angle aim for the machine gun port or the turret armor to get a kill.
