Difference between revisions of "Ho-Ni I"

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== Description ==
 
== Description ==
 
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The '''{{Specs|name}}''' ({{Annotation|一式砲戦車「ホニI」|Isshiki Hō-Sensha [Ho-Ni I]}}) was a Japanese tank destroyer and self-propelled gun that used the [[Chi-Ha (Family)|Type 97 chassis and engine]], and mounted a [[Type 90 (75 mm)|Type 90 75 mm field gun]] in an open casemate. It was developed in 1941 and produced in 1942, with only 26 units built. It was intended to provide fire support and anti-tank capabilities for the Japanese armoured divisions. It participated in its first and only combat in the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines in 1945. There, it faced superior US forces and lost many units. The Japanese army replaced it with two new types of self-propelled guns: the Ho-Ni II, which specialized in shelling enemy positions, and the [[Ho-Ni III]], which focused on destroying enemy tanks. Some Ho-Ni I units stayed in Japan for home defense until the end of the war.
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The '''{{Specs|name}}''' ({{Annotation|一式砲戦車「ホニI」|Isshiki Hō-Sensha [Ho-Ni I]}}) was a Japanese tank destroyer and self-propelled gun that used the [[Chi-Ha (Family)|Type 97 chassis and engine]], and mounted a [[Type 90 (75 mm)|Type 90 75 mm field gun]] in an open casemate. It was developed in 1941 and produced in 1942, with only 26 units built. It was intended to provide fire support and anti-tank capabilities for the Japanese armoured divisions. It participated in its first and only combat in the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines in 1945. There, it faced superior US forces and many units were lost. The Japanese army replaced it with two new types of self-propelled guns: the Ho-Ni II, which specialized in shelling enemy positions, and the [[Ho-Ni III]], which focused on destroying enemy tanks. Some Ho-Ni I units stayed in Japan for home defense until the end of the war.
  
It was introduced along with the initial Japanese Ground Forces tree in [[Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai"]]. The Ho-Ni I has a high-velocity 75 mm Type 90 gun, which can penetrate most tanks it encounters at its rank. However, the Ho-Ni I also has very thin armour and no turret, making it vulnerable to enemy fire and flanking maneuvers. Therefore, it is advisable to use this tank destroyer in a sniping role, taking advantage of its long-range accuracy and powerful gun. The Ho-Ni I can also use its gun depression to hide behind hills and ambush unsuspecting enemies. The Ho-Ni I is a formidable opponent for tanks like the Char B1, which rely on their armour to survive. The Ho-Ni I can easily punch through their frontal armour and disable them with one shot. The Ho-Ni I is a tank destroyer that requires skill and patience, but can reward its commander with devastating results.
+
The Ho-Ni I was introduced along with the initial Japanese Ground Forces tree in [[Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai"]]. It has a high-velocity 75 mm Type 90 gun, which can penetrate most tanks it encounters at its rank. However, the Ho-Ni I also has very thin armour and no turret, making it vulnerable to enemy fire and flanking manoeuvres. Therefore, it is advisable to use this tank destroyer in a sniping role, taking advantage of its long-range accuracy and powerful gun. The Ho-Ni I can also use its gun depression to hide behind hills and ambush unsuspecting enemies. The Ho-Ni I is a formidable opponent for tanks like the Char B1, which rely on their armour to survive. The Ho-Ni I can easily punch through their frontal armour and disable them with one shot. The Ho-Ni I is a tank destroyer that requires skill and patience, but can reward its commander with devastating results.
  
 
== General info ==
 
== General info ==

Revision as of 16:12, 22 July 2023

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This page is about the Japanese tank destroyer Ho-Ni I. For the succeeding vehicle of similar name, see Ho-Ni III.
jp_type_3_ho_ni_i.png
GarageImage Ho-Ni I.jpg
ArtImage Ho-Ni I.png
Ho-Ni I
AB RB SB
2.0 2.0 2.0
Research:7 900 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:10 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The Type 1 Ho-Ni I (一式砲戦車「ホニI」) was a Japanese tank destroyer and self-propelled gun that used the Type 97 chassis and engine, and mounted a Type 90 75 mm field gun in an open casemate. It was developed in 1941 and produced in 1942, with only 26 units built. It was intended to provide fire support and anti-tank capabilities for the Japanese armoured divisions. It participated in its first and only combat in the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines in 1945. There, it faced superior US forces and many units were lost. The Japanese army replaced it with two new types of self-propelled guns: the Ho-Ni II, which specialized in shelling enemy positions, and the Ho-Ni III, which focused on destroying enemy tanks. Some Ho-Ni I units stayed in Japan for home defense until the end of the war.

The Ho-Ni I was introduced along with the initial Japanese Ground Forces tree in Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai". It has a high-velocity 75 mm Type 90 gun, which can penetrate most tanks it encounters at its rank. However, the Ho-Ni I also has very thin armour and no turret, making it vulnerable to enemy fire and flanking manoeuvres. Therefore, it is advisable to use this tank destroyer in a sniping role, taking advantage of its long-range accuracy and powerful gun. The Ho-Ni I can also use its gun depression to hide behind hills and ambush unsuspecting enemies. The Ho-Ni I is a formidable opponent for tanks like the Char B1, which rely on their armour to survive. The Ho-Ni I can easily punch through their frontal armour and disable them with one shot. The Ho-Ni I is a tank destroyer that requires skill and patience, but can reward its commander with devastating results.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull25 / 25 / 20
Turret25 / 25 / 0
Crew3 people
Visibility75 %

The Ho-Ni I's excellent firepower and good mobility is balanced out by its very poor armour protection. The front of the hull is covered in unsloped 25 mm plates, which is only sufficient to protect the tank from machinegun rounds - and even then some high-calibre guns (such as the 50 cal or DShK) can find their way through.

In addition, the gun compartment of the tank is uncovered, leaving the gunner and commander extremely vulnerable to artillery, machine guns, and aircraft attack. As the tank only has three crew members, the two being knocked out will leave the vehicle inoperable. Be sure to immediately retreat away from any artillery, preferably with your front facing the area being attacked, in order to protect the crew.

It is also important to try not to arouse the attention of enemy aircraft, as the open design means that any fighter plane can easily destroy you in a single strafe. With no machine gun, it does not have any means of fighting back against them either, so stay in the shadows!

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
Armour Front Sides Rear Roof
Hull 25 mm (12-32°) Front plate
15 mm (63°), 17 mm (81°) Front glacis
15 mm (37-59°) Lower glacis
25 mm (40°) Top left
25 mm (24-27°) Top right
20 mm Bottom
17 mm (69°) Top
20 mm (4-72°) Bottom
12 mm
Superstructure 25 mm (14-15°) 25 mm (0-11°) N/A 10 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels and tracks are both 15 mm thick
  • Belly armour is 8.5 mm thick.
  • Roof superstructure armour will not protect crew from strafe fire.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB44 / 21 km/h
RB and SB40 / 19 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
2 back
Weight14.8 t
Engine power
AB324 hp
RB and SB170 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB21.9 hp/t
RB and SB11.5 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 44 21 14.8 241 324 16.28 21.89
Realistic 40 19 150 170 10.14 11.49

The Ho-Ni I is based off the Chi-Ha chassis, which Japanese ground forces will be familiar with since it is featured on other Japanese early tanks: Chi-Ha,Chi-Ha Kai, Ho-Ro and Ho-Ni III.

Thus, it has a fairly good level of mobility, reaching a peak speed of 36 km/h on flat grass in Realistic, with a theoretical maximum of 40 km/h. It also has a quite good traverse rate, both on the hull and the gun, performing a full 360 degree rotation from a stop in about 16 seconds.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB416 → 514 Sl icon.png
RB465 → 575 Sl icon.png
SB551 → 681 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications6 930 Rp icon.png
6 740 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost530 Ge icon.png
Crew training3 000 Sl icon.png
Experts10 000 Sl icon.png
Aces115 Ge icon.png
Research Aces160 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
30 / 50 / 60 % Sl icon.png
112 / 112 / 112 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
460 Rp icon.png
Cost:
450 Sl icon.png
75 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
390 Rp icon.png
Cost:
380 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
390 Rp icon.png
Cost:
380 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
580 Rp icon.png
Cost:
560 Sl icon.png
90 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
750 Rp icon.png
Cost:
730 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
750 Rp icon.png
Cost:
730 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
460 Rp icon.png
Cost:
450 Sl icon.png
75 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
390 Rp icon.png
Cost:
380 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement jp.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
580 Rp icon.png
Cost:
560 Sl icon.png
90 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
460 Rp icon.png
Cost:
450 Sl icon.png
75 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
390 Rp icon.png
Cost:
380 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
580 Rp icon.png
Cost:
560 Sl icon.png
90 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
75mm_jp_Smoke_ammo_pack
Research:
750 Rp icon.png
Cost:
730 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Main armament

75 mm Type 90 cannon
Ammunition40 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
7.8 → 6.0 s
Vertical guidance-15° / 20°
Horizontal guidance-11° / 11°
Main article: Type 90 (75 mm)

Packing a high-velocity 75 mm Type 90 cannon, the Ho-Ni I has a serious amount of firepower.

Its Type 1 APHE shell has up to 100 mm of armour penetration, which is the second best of tank destroyers at its rank, only beaten by the Soviet ZiS-30, and being very closely followed by the American M3 GMC.

However, a cannon this big does come with two drawbacks; being that it has a fairly long reload time of 7.8 seconds, and no turret, meaning it can only aim in an arc in front of you. Thus, it is important that you make sure your shot lands, and that you are well aware of your surroundings, so that you do not end up wasting precious time turning your entire hull towards an enemy. You should play this tank as a support vehicle, hiding in bushes and shooting at targets at medium range. Chances are, you'll be able to penetrate and score one-shot after one-shot. You could also play as a sniper, if you are so inclined.

The Ho-Ni I does also not feature any machine guns, which leaves it unable to fight back against enemy aircraft or uncovered vehicles.

75 mm Type 90 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 40 -10°/+20° ±10° N/A 14.09 19.50 23.68 26.19 27.86 7.80 6.90 6.36 6.00
Realistic 9.52 11.20 13.60 15.04 16.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
Type 1 APHE APHE 103 101 92 82 73 65
Type 94 HE HE 12 12 12 12 12 12
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
Type 1 APHE APHE 668 6.56 1.3 15 84.8 47° 60° 65°
Type 94 HE HE 522 6.02 0 0.1 810 79° 80° 81°
Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Screen radius
(m)
Screen deploy
time (s)
Screen hold
time (s)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Type 90 Smoke 570 5.72 13 5 20 100

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Ho-Ni I
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
40 27 (+13) (+36) (+40) No

Usage in battles

The Ho-Ni I should be played like most open crew compartment, fixed gun tank destroyers, fighting from a distance from the front-lines and delivering support fire. The thin armour means the Ho-Ni I will not survive a direct confrontation with any enemy tank and will require the vehicle to obtain the fighting advantage of being able to target the enemy first to ensure any chance of victory. The Ho-Ni I should also be wary of enemy aerial attacks as the open compartment and three-man crew means that an accurate strafing fire could potentially knock out the entire crew.

At its battle rating, the worst the Ho-Ni I could face are the German Pz.IV E and British Cromwell V and Matilda Mk II. The two medium tanks have sufficient armour to withstand the 75 mm gun while the Matilda II requires precise shot in order to destroy it frontally - the driver's port. All of these tanks have guns able to shred the Ho-Ni I apart if they could get a bead on it. The Char B1 can also be a challenge, the only way to deal with it head on is by shooting the driver's port, which will require making you vulnerable to the powerful 75mm hull gun that tank has.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • 75 mm cannon is great, reloads fast and causes massive damage upon penetration
  • Favourable matchmaking will leave the tank destroyer being matched with enemies the gun is able to handle
  • Mobility is decent due to being built on a Chi-Ha chassis
  • Gun is able to effectively penetrate all tanks the Ho-Ni regularly faces frontally
  • Similar play style as the German Marder with better gun depression
  • Good gun traverse speed
  • Powerful HE shell
  • Has smoke shells

Cons:

  • Tall profile
  • Overall armour is thin
  • Poor cross country performance due to narrow tracks
  • Exposed crew space makes it vulnerable to air attacks
  • Reverse speed is abysmal
  • Only 3 crew members
  • Rather small traverse angle

History

The creation of their own independent armoured division had Japan also envision an enlargement of their artillery forces. They decided to build a series of assault guns based off the Type 97 Chi-Ha chassis. One of the first of these design was the Ho-Ni I which had the Type 97 chassis fitted with a 75 mm Type 90 field gun.[1]

The Ho-Ni I was used in China by the 3rd Tank Division and on Luzon by the 2nd Tank Division. It could be used as mechanized artillery or as a tank destroyer/assault gun. A total of 124 were built.

Media

Skins

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the series of the vehicles;
  • links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

References

  1. Zaloga Steven. Japanese Tanks 1939-1945 Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2007


Hitachi, Ltd. (株式会社日立製作所)
SPG  Ho-Ni I · Ho-Ni III

Japan tank destroyers
Ro-Go Derivatives  Ro-Go Exp.
Chi-Ha Derivatives  Ho-Ni I · Ho-Ni III · Ho-Ro · Chi-Ha LG
Ho-Ri  Ho-Ri Prototype · Ho-Ri Production
Other  Na-To
JGSDF 
SPRG  Type 60 (C)
SPH  Type 75 · Type 99
ATGM  Type 60 ATM
Rocket  Type 75 MLRS
USA  ▅M36