FM57 IJA TYPE 1 TANK CHI-HE

The Type 1 Chi-He was a Japanese medium tank from the Second World War. The first prototypes were built in 1940, and serial production continued in 1943-1944. In total, about 170 examples of this tank were built. The Type 1 Chi-He was powered by an engine Mitsubishi Typ 100 with 240 HP. It was armed with a single 47mm Type 1 tank gun in the turret and two 7.7mm Type 97 machine guns. The Type 1 Chi-He was developed as a very far-reaching development of the Type 97 Chi-Ha. Compared to the original, the main armament was changed to a 47mm cannon, which was much better suited to fighting enemy armored vehicles. The armor was also significantly strengthened, now reaching a thickness of 50 mm. A new engine with more maximum power was also used. What's more - the Type 1 Chi-He was the first Japanese tank to which radios were mounted serially, which fantastically increased the ability to command these vehicles on the battlefield. Despite these improvements, the Type 1 Chi-He continued to be inferior to the American M4 Sherman. It is worth noting that despite the development of prototypes of the car as early as 1940, it entered mass production only in 1943. This was due to other priorities of the Japanese war economy, as well as the growing shortage of strategic raw materials. Almost all of the produced Type 1 Chi-He vehicles were placed in the Home Islands to counter the expected American invasion. The few vehicles of this type seized by the Russians were later handed over to Chinese communists, who used them in the Chinese Civil War of 1945-1949.