Type 5 Chi-Ri Medium Tank

The Type 5 Chi-Ri (medium ninth) tank was the last medium tank to be developed in Japan during the Second World War, although no complete examples were actually built. It was the largest, heaviest, best armoured and best armed of all Japanese tanks.

The Chi-Ri had sloped welded armour, 75mm thick at the front. The first prototype was to be armed with a 75mm gun in the turret and a 37mm gun in the front of the hull, in the position normally taken by a machine gun. It was planned to arm the production version with an 88mm gun based on the Type 99 anti-aircraft gun.

All other contemporary Japanese tanks were powered by diesel engines, but the advanced models needed for the Chi-Ri failed to appear, and so the prototype was powered by a license built 500hp BMW V-12 petrol engine.

The prototype was complete apart from the main gun by May 1945, but work was then suspended, and no further progress was made before the end of the war.

Names (see article on Japanese tank designations)
Type 5 (1945) Chi Ri (medium ninth)

Stats
Number produced:  prototype only
Produced: 1945
Length: 23.98ft
Hull Width: 10ft
Height: 10ft
Crew: 5
Weight: 37 tons
Engine: 550hp BMW engine
Max Speed: 28mph/ 45 km/hr

Armour

 

Front

Side

Rear

Hull

75mm

25-50mm

50mm

Turret

50mm with 75mm mantlet

Japanese Tanks, 1939-45, Steven J. Zaloga, Osprey New Vanguard 137. A well written and illustrated look at the tanks produced for the Japanese army from the late 1920s to the end of the Second World War. This is a good overview of this neglected subject, looking at both the development of their tanks and their use in combat. [see more]
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (25 August 2008), Type 5 Chi-Ri Medium Tank , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_type_5_chi_ri.html

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