Type 2 Ho-I

{{Infobox weapon

|name=Type 2 Ho-I

| image= Ｔype 2 Ho-I gun tank.jpg

| image_size = 300

|caption=Type 2 Ho-I gun tank

|type=Infantry support tank
Assault gun

|is_vehicle=yes

|origin= Empire of Japan

|used_by= Imperial Japanese Army

|production_date=1944

|number=31{{sfn|Zaloga|2007|p=21}}

|length={{convert|5.73|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|width={{convert|2.33|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|height={{convert|2.58|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|weight=16.1 tons

|suspension=bellcrank

|speed={{convert|44|km/h|abbr=on}}

|vehicle_range=100 km

|primary_armament=75 mm Type 99 gun

|secondary_armament=1 x 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun

|armour=12–50 mm

|engine=Mitsubishi Type 100 air cooled
V-12 diesel

|engine_power=240 hp (179 kW)

|pw_ratio=14.9 hp/tonne

|crew=5

}}

The {{nihongo|Type 2 gun tank Ho-I|二式砲戦車ホイ|Ni-shiki hōsensha Ho-I}} was a derivative of the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Similar in concept to the early variants of the German Panzer IV, it was designed as a self-propelled howitzer to provide the close-in fire support for standard Japanese medium tanks with additional firepower against enemy anti-tank fortifications.[http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_type_2_ho_i.html History of War: Type 2 Ho-I Gun Tank]

History and development

File:Experimental Type 1 gun tank Ho-I 01.jpg

Design work on the Type 2 Ho-I began in 1937, after experience in Manchukuo taught Japanese war planners that an armored vehicle with a larger weapon would be useful against fortified enemy positions such as pillboxes, against which the standard low-velocity 57mm and high-velocity 47mm tank guns were ineffective. Since this vehicle was to be able to keep up with the rest of an armored formation, the Japanese began work on mounting a Type 41 75 mm mountain gun onto the chassis of the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank. The adapted mountain gun, known as the Type 99 75 mm tank gun, was completed in 1940. The gun could fire an assortment of ammunition, including a 6.6 kg (14.5 lb) armor-piercing shell and had a muzzle velocity of 445mps. By 1942 the Type 99 75 mm gun was fitted into a modified Type 97 Shinhōtō Chi-Ha turret, which resulted in the designated Type 2 Ho-I gun tank.{{sfn|Zaloga|2007|p=21}} The Type 2 Ho-I gun tank was intended to be part of a fire support company in each of the tank regiments.{{sfn|Zaloga|2007|p=21}}

Design

File:Type 2 Gun Tank Ho-I prototype.jpg

File:Type 2 gun tank Ho-I01.jpg

The 1941 prototype model, known as the Experimental Type 1 Ho-I, used the Type 97 Chi-Ha chassis. The production model utilized the chassis of the Type 1 Chi-He medium tank, which was itself a modified Type 97 Chi-Ha hull.{{sfn|Zaloga|2007|pp=20, 21}}[https://takihomepage.web.fc2.com/ho-i.htm Taki’s Imperial Japanese Army: Type 2 "Ho-I"]

The main armament of the Type 2 Ho-I was a Type 99 75 mm tank gun, and secondary armament was a single 7.7 mm Type 97 light machine gun in the hull. The short barreled 75 mm Type 99 gun was mounted in a gun turret of the type used for the Type 97 Shinhōtō Chi-Ha tank with modifications to accommodate the gun used and the addition of a large rear hatch.{{sfn|Zaloga|2007|p=21}}{{sfn|Tomczyk|2007|pp=21, 22}}

Service history

As with other tanks and self-propelled guns, production was hampered by material shortages, and by the bombing of Japan in World War II. All 31 Type 2 Ho-I tanks produced were conversions from existing Type 1 Chi-He medium tanks.{{sfn|Zaloga|2007|pp=20–22}} There is no record of a Type 2 Ho-I being used in combat prior to the end of the war.

Notes

References

{{cite book | last = Tomczyk | first = Andrzej | year = 2007 | orig-year = 2002 | title = Japanese Armor Vol. 2 | publisher = AJ Press | isbn = 978-8372371119 }}
{{cite book | last = Zaloga | first = Steven J. | author-link = Steven Zaloga | year = 2007 | title = Japanese Tanks 1939–45 | publisher = Osprey | isbn = 978-1-8460-3091-8 }}

External links

[http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_type_2_ho_i.html History of War.org]
[https://takihomepage.web.fc2.com/ho-i.htm Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080404040600/http://ww2drawings.jexiste.fr/Files/1-Vehicles/Axis/3-Japan/02-MediumTanks/Type2/Ho-I.htm World War II drawings]