Ho-Ro
Contents
Description
The Type 4 Ho-Ro (四式十五糎自走砲「ホロ」) is an open-topped self-propelled gun with a short-barreled 150 mm howitzer, based on the Chi-Ha. Being pressed instantly into service on its creation, a dozen or so were shipped to the Philippines together with the newly formed 1st Self-Propelled Artillery Company. While it did see combat with several confirmed Sherman destructions, it was effectively used in close-quarter combat rather than as an artillery piece, firing at Shermans at 100-200 m range in smokey and low visibility scenarios, and repositioning on each shot. Arriving in Dec 1944, the last Ho-Ro squad served until knocked out in Mar 1945 with the remainder of the company fighting until the end in the mountains as regular infantry.
Since its introduction in Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai", the Ho-Ro has gained a reputation for being one of the most powerful howitzer-equipped SPGs in the game despite its low battle-rating, right up there with the beloved KV-2. It is capable of destroying or severely disabling any opponent it meets (or more often ambushes), even against top-tier vehicles, mainly due to its extremely effective high-explosive shell. This is balanced, however, by the shell's low velocity, forcing the player to lob the shell in an arc at their opponent even for a short distance, and the vehicle's light armour and limited gun traverse compared to other SPGs.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
| Armour | Front | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 12 mm (80°) Front glacis 15 mm (63°) Joint plate 25 mm (37-64°) Lower glacis |
25 mm (28-36°) Top Left 25 mm (25-26°) Top Right 20 mm Bottom |
17 mm (70°) 20 mm (4-69°) |
8.5-12 mm |
| Turret | 25 mm (15°) | 20 mm (0-11°) | N/A | 12 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are both 15 mm thick.
Mobility
| 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 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 150 mm Type 38 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 24 | -10°/+20° | ±5° | N/A | 5.3 | 7.3 | 8.9 | 9.8 | 10.4 | 17.29 | 15.30 | 14.10 | 13.30 |
| Realistic | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 6.0 | ||||||||
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 95 APHE | APHE | 38 | 37 | 35 | 33 | 31 | 31 |
| Type 92 HE | HE | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| Type 95 APHE | APHE | 290 | 36.1 | 1.2 | 19 | 2.6 | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| Type 92 HE | HE | 290 | 36 | 0 | 0.1 | 7.02 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
Ammo part |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Projectiles Propellants |
17 (+7) 1 (+23) |
9 (+15) N/A |
1 (+23) N/A |
No |
Notes:
- The Ho-Ro uses two-piece ammunition, composed of propellant bags (orange) and projectiles (yellow). Both have separate racks.
- Both projectiles and propellant bags are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
Machine guns
| 7.7 mm Type 97 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 3,000 (20) | 499 | -10°/+60° | ±60° |
Usage in battles
The Ho-Ro is a fairly manoeuvrable SPG, and like many other open-topped vehicles, this is not one that should charge into the front-lines. Just like many of the other low-rank Japanese vehicles, it has no real armour protection from anything more than rifle-calibre MGs, and its ammo storage is literally a box mounted on top of the engine deck. The crew is very exposed, and the gun breech is mounted rather high on the chassis and can be easily knocked out. With this knowledge in mind, the Ho-Ro is best played by staying in the rear (but not distantly) of friendly tanks for short-range or point-blank artillery fire, along with finding hidden positions where it can attempt to be hull-down out of sight of the enemy.
Due to its low-velocity shell, the gun often needs to be aimed higher than the commander estimates when performing direct fire onto a target, but this also allows the vehicle to lob shells from behind shallow hills, out of the sight from opponents that may be camping or pushing into friendly territory on the other side. However, because its HE shell is so powerful, it is extremely risky to fire directly next to or very close to an enemy vehicle, as the light armour may not protect the crew, and the blast from the explosion it will certainly deal damage to the vehicle itself. The gun, while powerful, cannot traverse very far to either side, so to fire on tanks that are outside the arc of the gun's horizontal traverse, the entire hull must be traversed as well. The recoil of the gun is also an issue, as it throws the vehicle backwards rather severely, which means it loses target acquisition every time it fires.
One interesting note is the pintle-mounted MG on the roof, which has good elevation and a much wider range of horizontal fire than the main gun, which can be useful on spotting enemy tanks for teammates or dealing with SPAAs that have exposed crew members. However, it has a slower rate of fire than most other rifle-calibre MGs and its magazine capacity is pitiful. In conclusion, the Ho-Ro is a very defensive vehicle suited to supporting friendly tanks and ambushing the enemy on paths where they may attempt to flank around the map.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- 150 mm howitzer makes it an intimidating foe
- The howitzer's high trajectory makes it able to fire over hills
- Large TNT filler in its HE shell
- HE load can cause sufficient splash and shrapnel damage even if the shell doesn't directly hit the target
- Can destroy most, if not all, vehicles by shooting HE just under an enemy tank and hitting the thin belly armour
- Can deter inattentive flak trucks or any vehicles with open and exposed crew with its roof-mounted MG
- Quick, manoeuvrable in both AB and RB, though slightly sluggish to put into gear in the latter
- Good gun depression
- HE Shell will destroy any vehicle you come up against
Cons:
- Super thin armour, extremely vulnerable to heavy machine guns, SPAAs, and aircraft
- Extreme blast radius can destroy the vehicle if fired too close to oneself
- Ammo Rack is literally a box behind the crew on top of the engine deck, leading to some very explosive ends if hit there
- Massive recoil causes the vehicle to be launched backwards after firing, requiring aiming adjustment after every shot
- Horizontal traverse is disappointing
- Very slow muzzle velocity and limited range
- At long range, the shells have a habit of bouncing harmlessly off armour surfaces without exploding
- AP Shell lacking in penetration for the calibre relies more on HE power
- Slow reload speed. It is vital that you do not miss your shot, because if you miss and the enemy notices, you will not be able to respond and will certainly die
- Terrible reverse speed, characteristic of vehicles based on the Chi-Ha and other lower-tier Japanese tanks
- Like all Japanese WWII tanks, the machine gun in the turret carries an extremely low number of just 20 rounds, which makes it almost useless against SPAAs if the player does not know the weak points
History
The Type 4 Ho-Ro was a Self Propelled Gun developed by the Imperial Japanese Army, based off the German Grille series. It was developed off the Type 97 Chi-Ha chassis and used a 150 mm Krupp gun, considered outdated by 1942. It was used to combat American forces. Only a few were made, and out of those few, 8 were sunk with a Japanese ship somewhere in the Pacific. Usually deployed in groups of 4, it was used in the Philippines during late 1944 and then used in ones and twos on Okinawa, to a somewhat great effect. It was ineffective due to its 3 degrees of gun swing and 30 degrees of depression because of the gun mount's design. That gave it a small firing distance of 6,000 m. It also could only fire 5 shells per minute because of the breech-loader.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related Development
- Tanks of comparable role, configuration, and era
External links
References
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (三菱重工業株式会社) | |
|---|---|
| Light Tanks | |
| Type 95 | Ha-Go · Ha-Go Commander |
| Medium Tanks | |
| Type 89 | I-Go Ko |
| Type 97 | Chi-Ha · Chi-Ha Kai |
| Type 1 | Chi-He · Chi-He (5th Regiment) |
| Type 3 | Chi-Nu · Chi-Nu II |
| Type 4 | Chi-To · Chi-To Late |
| Type 5 | Chi-Ri II |
| SPGs | |
| Chi-Ha Derived | Ho-Ro |
| Chi-He Derived | Ho-I |
| Chi-Ri Derived | Ho-Ri Prototype · Ho-Ri Production |
| Other | Na-To · Ro-Go Exp. |
| Captured | ␗Chi-Ha · ␗Chi-Ha Kai |
| Note | Most tank designs would be contracted by the Army Technical Bureau to Mitsubishi |
| See also | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (Post-War) |
| 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 |
