This article documents the basic specifications and development history of optical equipment used by the Japanese Army in its tanks and self-propelled guns during World War II. It covers the primary cannon sights, periscopes, rangefinders, and machine gun optics employed from the early Type 89 Medium Tank to late-war prototypes like the Experimental Type 5…
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, multiple experimental Japanese tanks disappeared with little trace. Due to the widespread stories (perhaps overblown in this regard) of the Japanese armed forces disposing of secret weapons prior to American occupation, it is generally assumed that such was their fate. Still, there are a few cases of…
The Type 98 Light Tank (Ke-Ni) was developed as the successor to the Japanese Army’s primary light tank, the Type 95 Light Tank (Ha-Gō). Ordered into development in 1938 with the first prototypes appearing in late 1939, the Type 98 Light Tank was a significant improvement over its predecessor in every respect. It featured thicker…
This is an update to the previous article about the performance of the Type 4 Fighter (Ki-84), addressing some errors and new information that I have found since writing it. It is not so much an article as a set of separate points. The original article is here: https://karyu.org/2022/12/23/ki-84-performance Ha-45 Special is Ha-45-11, not Ha-45-12…
Update Jun 26 2024: some additional information and corrections to this article in Part 2: https://karyu.org/2024/06/26/about-the-performance-of-type-4-fighter-2 The performance of the Type 4 Fighter (project name ‘Ki-84’) is a bit of a can of worms, and a subject of frequent debate. This is due to a significant amount of differing data with varying credibility, and often…
As the threat of strategic bombing loomed over Japan from the middle of the Pacific War, the development of effective extreme-caliber aircraft guns was expedited by the Japanese Army. New weapons with calibers ranging from 47 millimeters to as much as 150 millimeters were developed and were planned to be deployed on various interceptor platforms….
