Chi-He (Family)

Description

The Type 1 Chi-He (一式中戦車 「チへ」) was an improved version of the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. It uses the same anti-tank gun as the Chi-Ha Kai and boasted an upgraded engine and thicker armour. It was the first Japanese tank to have a communication radio as standard equipment.

Vehicles

Rank II

• Chi-He
• Chi-He (5th Regiment) - 1st Tank Division, 2nd Armored Brigade, 5th Armored Regiment

History

Design

Type 1 Chi-He Prototype With Unarmed Turret

While the new Chi-Ha Kai redesign was underway, the development of its new 47mm high-velocity gun and the new turret design would prompt a new tank on the side of development.

The new tank would go under the name of Chi-He, and the turret design would directly be used on the Chi-He. By 1941 both the tank and 47mm would be adopted within the army and were given the designation of Type 1 (47 mm) and Type 1 Chi-He.

While the Chi-He looks very similar to the Chi-Ha, it has been simplified in design while being an upgrade at large with the changes being:

• The Chi-Ha would see many rivets on the front of the tank, but the Chi-He would be welded or flat bolted.
• As part of the simplification, the tank would see way less curved armour parts, and the whole body would be straightened out, unlike the Chi-Ha's design and would see an increase of thickness
  • The newly designed Chi-Ha Kai turret would be used with additional armour to the front face of the turret.
• The Mitsubishi SA12200VD was replaced by a Type 100 Mitsubishi engine which created 70 hp more and effortlessly compensates for the additional weight in armour.
  • The hull became slightly longer to mount the new engine
• The firing system was exchanged for an electrical one and got rid of the shoulder support mechanism
• It would be the first Japanese tank to have radio as standard equipment in every tank.

On testing of the Chi-Ha vs Chi-He, a 15cm heavy howitzer would be used on both tanks where the Chi-Ha would pretty much fall apart, unlike the Chi-He that would allegedly still withstand the blast. Although it was an improvement over the Chi-Ha in most regards, it would come a little too late as it was already dated for a 1941 tank, which would be produced even later than that which didn't allow it to see frontline combat and would be held back for homeland defence.

Combat History

Type 1 Chi-He, Type 97 Chi-Ha Kai and other armoured vehicles of the 1st Tank Division, 1945

A total of 170 Chi-He's were produced, including prototypes (with an unconfirmed total of 587).

Americans first reported the new Chi-He during the Battle of Luzon, Philipines. But as they successfully engaged with the tanks and came for a closer inspection, it was simply the Chi-Ha Kai.

All of the Type 1 Chi-He's were allocated to the Japanese home islands to defend against the projected Allied Invasion and never saw combat. Despite the Chi-He's superiority in terms of armour and firepower over the earlier Type 97 Chi-Ha, it still underperformed against the American M4 Sherman, leading to a new design known as the Type 3 Chi-Nu.

See Also

Medium Tanks

• Type 97 Chi-Ha (Predecessor)
• Type 1 Chi-He
• Type 3 Chi-Nu (Successor)

Gun Tank

• Type 2 Ho-I

Amphibious Tank

• Type 3 Ka-Chi

Media

Videos

The Shooting Range #240 - Pages of History section at 03:41 discusses the Chi-He.

External links

• [Devblog] Type 1 Chi-He: An Updated Classic
• [Devblog] Type 2 Ho-I: A Volatile Ally