JGSDF TYPE 61 MIDDLE TANK

The Type 61 was a Japanese Main Battle Tank of the post-war era. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in the late 1950s, and serial production was carried out in the years 1961-1975. About 560 vehicles of this type were created in its course. The Type 61 was powered by an engine Mitsubishi 12HM21WT with a power of 570 hp. The vehicle is armed with a single 90mm cannon and two machine guns: one 12.7 Browning M2 and one 7.62mm Browning M1919A4. Design work on the Type 61 began in 1955, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was the main contractor and the later producer of the tank. The new tank was created to replace the M4 Sherman tanks in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and based on the experience of the Korean War (1950-1953). When designing the new tank, particular emphasis was placed on the high mobility of the vehicle, which would be suitable for the hilly and mountainous terrain of the Japanese Islands. The armor of the tank, by the standards of the time, can be considered average, as it reached 114 mm in the front of the turret, and only 55 mm in the front of the hull. Based on the Type 61 tank, two specialized vehicles were built: a bridge laying vehicle (Type 67 AVLB) and a technical support vehicle (Type 70 ARV). Type 61 tanks remained in the line until 2000.