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Japanese Tanks

Discussion in 'Weapons & Technology in WWII' started by noobsquadron, Feb 24, 2008.

  1. Wolfy

    Wolfy Ace

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    A lot of their improvised A/T explosives were designed to defeat smaller tanks and were rather inadequate against Shermans.

    There also was a Japanese A/T tactic called "Ten men for one tank". Waves of Japanese would attempt to swarm the tank all at once and install explosives after the enemy infantry was pinned down or neutralized so that the tank couldn't back off and escape.

    This did not always work in practice..
     
  2. razin

    razin Member

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    Although the Japanese tank was a joke the Japanese infantry were not, assuming the attacker got to the Sherman the results were often fatal, There were numerous losses from satchel charges and control mines, things like lunge mines etc were a bit joke.

    The 47mm A/T gun was still very effective against Shermans.

    The ordnance had a number of devices to counter the suicide attackers in the proposed invasion of Japan, (the replacement of Shermans with M26E3 was not really viable), Scorpion flame projectors concrete resin composite armour and a curved barrel attachment for the M3A1 SMG.(don't laugh it is true).
     
  3. Wolfy

    Wolfy Ace

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    True. But this tactic often resulted in the death of numerous Japanese attackers, which would kind of negate the whole effort...

    I believe one of the methods was to run at the tank with a explosive mounted on a stick...
     
  4. JCFalkenbergIII

    JCFalkenbergIII Expert

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    "New Weapons for Jap Tank Hunters" from Intelligence Bulletin, March 1945

    [​IMG] [SIZE=-1]A report on new Japanese antitank weapons, from the Intelligence Bulletin, March 1945.
    [Editor's Note: The following article is wartime information on enemy equipment and tactics published for Allied soldiers. More accurate data on WWII Japanese equipment and tactics is available in postwar publications.] [/SIZE]


    >
    [SIZE=+1]
    NEW WEAPONS FOR JAP TANK HUNTERS
    [/SIZE]


    The effectiveness of U.S. tanks in operations against the Japanese has led the Japanese Army to devise an extraordinary series of hand-carried antitank demolitions. Specially designed to pierce armor plate or to damage vital tank parts, these weapons may well replace the familiar Model 99 (magnetic) armor-piercing mine as the primary weapon of Close-quarter Combat Units—the Japanese suicide tank fighters.
    The Japanese are known to have been experimenting with such antitank charges, and, during recent operations, attempts to use weapons of this type have been reported.
    LUNGE MINE
    Perhaps the oddest of these antitank charges is the so-called "Lunge Mine" encountered on Leyte Island. This weapon—an armor-piercing charge on the end of a pole—derives its name from the way in which it must be thrust against the side of a tank in order to detonate.
    The mine is an explosive-filled, sheet-steel cone, about 12 inches long and 8 inches in diameter at the base. As in all hollow charges, the cavity in the bottom of the cone tends to guide the force of the explosion out from the bottom of the cone and against the armor plate of the target. A metal sleeve extends from the top, or point end, of the cone and houses the simple firing device—a nail on the end of the broomstick-like handle which fits into the sleeve. The detonator is little more than an ordinary blasting cap set into the top of the cone, where the nail will strike the cap if the handle is jammed down in the sleeve. During transport, however, the handle is held immobile in the sleeve by a simple safety pin inserted through the sleeve and handle. A further safety feature is a thin holding pin, or shear wire, similarly installed through sleeve and handle. Three legs, 5 1/4 inches long, are attached to the bottom of the cone; the Japanese claim that these legs increase the penetrating power of the weapon. The penetrating effect of the charge is greater when the explosion occurs a few inches away from the armor.
    [​IMG]The Japanese suicide soldier will use the Lunge Mine as he would a rifle and bayonet, thrusting the three legs of the mine base against the side of the tank. The mine explodes on contact.
    The Japanese suicide soldier has been taught to wield this weapon as he would a rifle and bayonet. The prescribed method of operation is for the soldier to remove the safety pin as he approaches the tank to be attacked, and to grasp the center of the handle with his left hand, and the butt end with his right. Then, holding the stick level, with the mine to the front, he lunges forward as in a bayonet attack, thrusting the three legs on the mine base against the side of the tank. The shock of contact will break the shear wire and the striker nail will be shoved into the detonator cap, thus exploding the mine as it is held against the armor. At this point the Jap soldier's mission ends for all time.
    From experiments conducted in Manila, the Japanese claim that the 6 1/2 pounds of explosive in the mine is capable of penetrating 6 inches of armor, provided that the mine contacts the plate squarely. However, if contact is made at an angle of 60 degrees, the mine is reputed to penetrate 4 inches of armor. To date all attempts by the enemy to use the Lunge Mine against our tanks have met with failure.
    HOOK CHARGES
    One Japanese division has advocated the use of a similar, although simpler, device designed primarily to damage the guns on a tank being attacked by ground troops. It consists of a heavy demolition charge of explosive blocks to which a short stick has been wired. One end of this stick then is inserted in the hollow end of a bamboo pole, thus forming an easily removable handle. Two heavy wires, bent like fishhooks, are fastened to the other end of the charge.
    A short length of fuze rigged with a pull-type fuze lighter is installed in a demolition block near the handle, and a cord or rope about as long as the handle is tied to the fuze lighter.
    When attacking a tank with this pole charge, presumably from ambush, the Japanese soldier is supposed to pull the cord and ignite the fuze as he approaches his target. On reaching the tank, he is supposed to hook the wire hooks of the charge over the tank cannon or machine gun. As he retreats he pulls the bamboo pole loose from the charge, and the demolition hangs freely in position on the gun until the charge explodes.
    [​IMG]The Hook Charge, used to destroy tank guns, is fastened to the gun barrel by two wire hooks. The charge is detonated by a fuze and blasting cap lighted by an ordinary pull-type fuze lighter.
    A variation of this pole charge is a similar demolition on the end of a 4-foot rope. The soldier armed with such a weapon is supposed to sling the rope and explosive over the top of the tank gun barrel and then pull the rope back towards him until the wire hooks catch and hang on the barrel. Lacking opportunity to attack the tank weapons, the Japanese of this division were instructed to hang the explosives on the tank's camouflage net, or some other likely place.
    HAND MINES
    Besides the Model 99 magnetic mine, which already has been used on a wide scale, two other hand-thrown antitank demolitions are known to have been developed and experimented with by the Japanese Army. They are the Conical Hand Mine and the Experimental Hand-thrown Mine.
    [​IMG]The Conical Hand Mine (right) and the Experimental Hand-thrown Mine (left, quarter-section view) are antitank grenades that detonate on impact. They can penetrate 3/4 inch of armor.
    The Model 3 Conical Hand Mine actually is an antitank bomb or hand grenade. This grenade has been found in captured ammunition dumps in the Philippines, although there have been no reported attempts by the enemy to use it. Of Japanese naval manufacture, it comes in two sizes—one weighing 2 pounds, and the larger weighing 3 pounds. Like the Lunge Mine, the Conical Hand Mine is a cone shaped, hollow charge designed to direct the force of explosion against tank armor. The large end of the grenade cone is covered by a bowl-shaped wooden base. The whole body of the grenade is encased in a silk bag sewn to fit tightly around the explosive unit and the wooden base.
    The fuze, which functions on impact, is located in the narrow end of the bomb, and is designed to detonate regardless of the angle at which the grenade strikes the target. To ensure detonation, the grenade must be thrown with force. To be safe from the effect of the explosion, the soldier who throws the grenade must be at least 35 feet from the target. The grenade reputedly can penetrate 3/4 inch of armor.
    Approximately 20 inches of hemp-palm fibers resembling a grass skirt are attached to the narrow end of the grenade, and serve as a tail or stabilizer when the grenade is thrown. This permits the grenade to strike base-first on the target. The Experimental Hand-thrown Mine is a spherical bomb 4.7 inches in diameter. It is composed of 3 pounds of explosive encased in a black aluminum shell. Like the Conical Hand Mine, it is reported as capable of penetrating 3/4 inch armor, and must be thrown from a distance of at least 30 feet from the target. A carrying handle and a fuze cover are attached to the outside of the mine. During shipment the fuzes are packed separately, and must be inserted in the mine by unscrewing the fuze cover and inserting the fuze in the recess provided. The fuze is similar to that on the Conical Hand Mine, and is kept unarmed by a safety pin. Since the fuze will detonate the bomb upon impact with the target, the mine requires careful handling after the safety pin has been removed.



    Lone Sentry: New Weapons for Jap Tank Hunters (U.S. WWII Intelligence Bulletin, March 1945)

    And
    Japanese antitank Tactics
    http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/japan/japan_c3_pt3.pdf
     
  5. Wolfy

    Wolfy Ace

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    Jesus christ, that lunge mine quote: "The shock of contact will break the shear wire and the striker nail will be shoved into the detonator cap, thus exploding the mine as it is held against the armor. At this point the Jap soldier's mission ends for all time."

    They should have asked their helpful German buddies for the Panzerfaust design plans..
     
  6. razin

    razin Member

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    Well I said the Lunge mine was a joke:D

    I would have thought a Panzerfaust style weapon was not beyond the capabilities of Japanese production techniques,- it not exactly rocket science -Oh B***er it is:)
     
  7. razin

    razin Member

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    I mentioned in #43 the M3A1 SMG "curved barrel device"

    View attachment 5264

    It was found to be effective against man sized targets at 100feet penetrating 1inch without dispersion, the weapon fitted is an M3.
     

    Attached Files:

  8. JCFalkenbergIII

    JCFalkenbergIII Expert

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    Not much to say about it since it never got past the prototype stage.

    [​IMG]



    "Type 5 heavy tank Chi-Ri:

    In 1944 the decision was made to built a heavy tank based on the informations gathered from the german Tiger and Panther tanks bought in 1943 and issued to the Wehrmacht after trials in Germany.

    The use of a 88 mm tank gun was decided and such a tank gun was developed from the type 99 88 mm aa-gun. The tank was planned with a weight of 45 t and so the new 8 wheel suspension was taken.
    The hexagonal turret of the type 3 medium tank was enlarged and a mg port were installed on either side of the turret.


    A type 1 37 mm tank gun and a machine gun was installed on the left in the hull next to the driver. In summer 1945 a prototype was built and movement trials were made. The development of the type 5 88 mm tank gun was delayed and so for shooting trials a type 5 75 mm tank gun was installed. The tank was named type 5 medium tank Chi-Ri.


    On the trial vehicle the armour thickness was limited. For the production series maximum armour thicknesses of 105 mm and later 130 mm were planned. Additionally the installation of the 105 mm tank gun tested in summer 1945 was prepared. Further design studies for a successor with 150 mm maximum armour and a modified 120 mm naval gun or 127 mm twin naval gun were also made.


    As there was limited time a BMW12-cylinder water-cooled gasoline engine was used for the prototype. A diesel motor had to be developed. The surrender of Japan stopped all further development. Equipped with the type 5 105 mm tank gun this vehicle would have been capable to destroy all other tanks on the battlefield. The prototype was tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground and scrapped in 1946. "

    Japanese tanks, page 1



    History and development
    A single unarmed prototype of the Type 5 Chi-Ri was completed by May 1945. The project was shortly thereafter abandoned to free up manpower and critical and scarce resources for the further development and production of the smaller and more practical Type 4 Chi-To. [1]As with many innovative weapons projects launched by Japan in the final days of World War II, production could not advance beyond the prototype stage due to material shortages, and the loss of Japan's industrial infrastructure to the bombing of Japan.


    Design
    The Type 5 Chi-Ri featured a lengthened version of the Type 4 Chi-To chassis, with eight bogies per side instead of the Chi-To's seven. It had the usual Japanese track arrangement with forward mounted drive sprockets and rear mounted idlers. The Type 5 Chi-Ri had sloped welded amour, with a maximum thickness of 75 mm at the front.

    The Type 5 Chi-Ri was initially to be powered by a Diesel engine, but the advancements needed to provide the necessary horsepower fell behind schedule, and a 550 HP V-12 gasoline-driven aircraft engine designed by BMW in Germany and licensed to Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan was selected instead. [2]

    Originally, the prototype tank was to be fitted with the same Type 5 75 mm tank gun ( based on the Type 88 75 mm AA Gun) used on the Type 4 Chi-To. Production versions were to be equipped with a Type 99 88 mm AA Gun. A secondary hull-mounted Type 1 37mm tank gun was also planned, in the position normally taken by a machine gun, and two more Type 97 light machine guns to the front and rear would have added extra firepower in close combat situations. [2]


    Combat record
    As with the Type 4 Chi-To tanks, the Type 5 Chi-Ri were earmarked for the final defenses of the Japanese home islands against the expected Allied invasions. Army planners envisioned large armored divisions equipped with the Type 5 Chi-Ri driving the invaders back into the sea, but the war came to an end before even the first prototype could be completed.

    The prototype was seized by American forces during the occupation of Japan, but its subsequent fate is unknown. One theory is that it sank in the ocean when a freighter taking it to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds capsized in a typhoon; another theory is that it was scrapped for its metal armor during the Korean War. [3]

    Type 5 Chi-Ri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  9. Tomppa90

    Tomppa90 recruit

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    Thanks for information. Nicely found
     
  10. scarface

    scarface Member

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    I thought that I would necro-post into this rather interesting thread rather than starting a new one....



    .... I ran across this interesting page on Japanese Flame Tanks (which don't seem to be mentioned in this thread).....


    ..... well, at least, I thought it was interesting....


    -whatever

    -Lou
     

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