As America began to push towards mainland Japan, the Imperial Army began prototyping the Type 5 Chi-Ri tank. Although the tank never saw combat and all prototypes were destroyed, you’re able to play this tank in War Thunder and simulate the battles it could’ve fought. Despite its similarities to the Type 4 Chi-To, it requires a different approach to defeat enemies and emerge victorious in battles.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| 75 mm main cannon with a 37 mm secondary cannon | Very large hull and turret profile |
| Auto loader with 5.8 second reload | Incredibly weak hull and turret armor |
| Amazing reverse speed of 12 km/h | Slow turret rotation |
| Great depression on main cannon | Weak coaxial machine gun |
| 18 round ready rack for the autoloader |
Armor
Despite being designed to be more of a heavy medium tank, the armor of the Chi-Ri is far from that. Thin armor is a repeating pattern for many Imperial Japanese tanks in the tech tree, with the Chi-Ri being no different. The hull armor is a un-angled 75mm plate, which provides little defense against German and American cannons at its battle rating. The hull will absorb most light tank and SPAA shots, but struggles against dedicated anti-tank platforms and other larger cannons, like the German 88.
The turret armor is also very poor. Featuring a similar 75 mm frontal plate, it’s very bad when compared with similar turret armor on different tanks across its battle rating. Almost all 70 mm and higher cannons can punch straight through your turret armor and usually knock out everyone in your turret.
The large size of the Chi-Ri does not help its armor in any way. The size is more similar to a German Tiger I tank, but with the protection of a KV-1. The turret being so massive makes it so that most tanks can get a fatal shot on you without you even seeing them, which is very frustrating at times, especially when combined with the disadvantageous hull armor.
However, unlike most other Japanese medium tanks, this one is actually more similar in quality to an actual medium tank, and it can be played as such. Your armor will usually tank lower caliber shells and potentially ricochet off at an angle, but you are by no means comparable to a T-34-85, Panther, or even a Sherman.
Survivability
The large profile of the Chi-Ri does come with one advantage: low crew density. The crew of 6 is very spread out throughout the entire tank letting the tanks crew usually survive what should be fatal hits. If a shell were to hit the turret, most of the time everyone in the hull will survive, letting you dash away. The same idea usually goes for the hull as well, allowing most people in the turret to survive and you to get off a shot at that nasty opponent.
Weaponry
The Chi-Ri’s cannon is good. The 75 mm cannon can punch right through most Sherman armor and other heavy tanks. The cannon, a variant of the same one found on the Chi-To and Na-To, is lethal at long ranges with around 135 mm of penetration at 500 meters. It can reliably penetrate most armor you come across, and the good explosive filler guarantees effective damage on any tank.
The Chi-Ri has 5 different types of ammunition for its 2 cannons:
- Type 1 APHE: The first shell you get for the tank. Its a standard APHE shell with good penetration and good explosive mass, it allows you to kill most tanks.
- Type 4 Kou: The upgraded APHE shell available for the Chi-Ri. Having a higher penetration than the Type 1 APHE, it is better at punching through tougher opponents and is the ideal shell to use once you have research it.
- Type 90 HE: The HE shell for Chi-Ri. It won’t do much to armored vehicles, but it is lethal for most open-top tanks.
- Type 1 APHE: The armor-piercing option for the 37 mm secondary cannon. It has poor penetration and explosive mass when compared to the main cannon. I would recommend using this shell only for lightly armored vehicles you encounter.
- Type 94 HE: A high-explosive option for the same 37 mm secondary cannon. This HE shell is incredibly underpowered and suffers from a small explosive mass. Only use this shell if you come across an open-top tank where the fast reload of the secondary cannon can save your life.
I recommend bringing 18 Type 4 Kou and 1 HE for the main cannon, and 30 APHE and 5 HE for the secondary cannon.
The autoloader is the most unique part of the Chi-Ri. It reloads the main gun in 5.8 seconds, which is incredibly good, even when compared with the likes of top tier tanks. The fast reload and powerful gun allows you to get off shots in a quick succession and win almost all confrontations. The large autoloader ammo capacity also allows you to always stay prepared and be a lethal opponent on the battlefield.
The main cannon has 10º of depression and 20º of elevation, while the secondary cannon has -10º and 10º. The gun depression is very good for its battle rating, and the same with its elevation.
The secondary 37 mm cannon is good against lightly armored targets. It has 36 mm of penetration at 500m with its APHE and can reliably take care of any open-top tank destroyers or SPAAG you come across. The secondary gun can also be used to fool some players by taking manual control of it, and firing can trick some into thinking you fired your main cannon and are in the midst of reloading.
The tank also comes with a coaxial machine gun to dispatch of any lightly armored targets, or at least it should. Japanese machine guns are laughably weak; the 20-round magazine and 13 mm of penetration make it lackluster against almost all vehicles. It is really only viable against exposed crew members, but that is the only case where it can be the tiniest bit useful.
Mobility
The mobility of the Chi-Ri is pretty good for a medium tank. It features a slower max forward speed of 45 km/h when compared with other medium tanks at the battle rating, but it makes up for that with its incredibly fast reverse speed of 12 km/h, beating the T-34-85, Panther, and M4 Sherman (76) W variants. Its power to weight ratio is also adequate being 14.9 hp/t, higher than the Panthers and Shermans, but lower than the T-34-85s. All in all, it’s very solid for being a medium tank.
The large frame of the Chi-Ri gives it poor low-speed performance, struggling to turn in place or in high-density environments without accidentally colliding with an obstacle. One advantage the large frame does give the Chi-Ri is in hill climbing and going over obstacles, where it can usually perform better than Panthers and Shermans, and occasionally even beat out the T-34-85. It also has solid steering control on muddy terrain thanks to its size, but it will still sometimes slip down hills if you don’t gather enough speed.
Strategy
The strategy for acing the Chi-Ri is quite similar to playing any other medium tank, but with a couple of exceptions. Rushing points and supporting your teams is essentially the best way to play the tank on any type of map. The cannon is good for its battle rating and can take on most tanks as long as you aim for places you can penetrate. I suggest binding a key to control only your main gun, as you may want to save your secondary in case you miss a shot on a weakly armored tank or to finish off an opponent before they reload or repair.
One of the biggest downsides of the Chi-Ri is its massive profile. It’s as big as a heavy tank and struggles to hide behind most cover that any other medium tank usually would be able to. One must be mindful of how much space you’ll take up in the battle.
When playing the Chi-Ri, the best way is to support your teammates by pushing right behind them. Your cannon is powerful and helps to support your teammate from a possible flank, but you should try not to be at the front of the push, as your poor armor makes it difficult to survive enemy hits.
Most matches should be you pushing a point with some teammates and trying to hold the point for the rest of the game. Pushing ahead of the team for a flank or to trying to capture another point is also viable. Regardless of the strategy, the most important thing is taking advantage of your quick reload time and secondary cannon, which can be used to confuse or finish off opponents.
Enemy Weakpoints
- Panther: The most common German medium tank you’ll be up against. The strong hull armor and powerful gun make it dangerous on the battlefield, and something that knowing how to kill is absolutely necessary. The turret cheeks of the Panther are not too armored, and if you penetrate, you’ll often incapacitate everyone in the turret and sometimes even the transmission. Repeatedly shooting shots into the turret is much more reliable than trying to penetrate the heavily angled frontal plate.
- Tiger: The infamous German Tiger tank is a difficult and heavily armored enemy you’ll frequently encounter while playing the Chi-Ri. For the Tiger H1, aim for the cupola to nail the gunner and commander, and sometimes even the transmission or loader. If it’s a Tiger E facing you frontally, aim for the right side of the hull to get the ammo and explode the entire tank or the crew. If the Tiger is angled, this is where it can get difficult. Aim slightly above the track, but below the rest of the side armor of the Tiger, so you hit the armor behind the tracks. It is less armored than the rest of the tank and will allow you to vanquish this mighty beast.
- IS-2: This battle rating is where you can start to see the power of the Soviet heavy tank and the nightmare it is to take care of. The IS-2 starts to become a dangerous enemy you can encounter, boasting similar armor to the IS-1 and a massive gun. Shooting the turret cheeks or cupola of the IS-2 will knock out most of the crew in the turret. You can also, if need be, shoot the driver hatch and the lower front plate, which you have a possibility of penetrating and getting everyone in the tank for the normal IS-2, but keep in mind this will not work for the IS-2 (1944) variant.
- Sherman Jumbo: A difficult confrontation for the Chi-Ri, but if not known how to dealt with quickly, it can absolutely crush you and your team. The Sherman Jumbos are known for their amazing frontal armor, but lackluster gun. However, unlike other tanks at your battle rating, your armor can’t actually withstand the Jumbo all that well. Always go for the machine gun port; this part of the tank is thinly armored and is reliably penetrated as long as you aim correctly. You can also opt out of shooting the cannon barrel and track if needed, and then driving along the side to land a killing blow.
