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In the mid-1930s a requirement wasissued for a new medium tank to replacethe Type 89B medium tankwhich by then was rapidly becomingobsolete. As the Engineering Departmentand the General Staff could notagree on the better design, two prototypeswere built. Mitsubishi built thedesign of the Engineering Departmentwhile Osaka Arsenal built the design ofthe General Staff. There was in factlittle to choose between the two designs,although the Mitsubishi tank washeavier and driven by a more powerfulengine. The Mitsubishi prototypewas standardized as the Type 97 CHIHAmedium tank and some 3,000 vehicleswere built before production wasfinally completed in the middle ofWorld War II.The hull and turret of the Type 97medium tank were of riveted constructionthat varied in thickness from 8 mm(0,30 in) to 25 mm (0.98 mm). The driverwas seated at the front of the hull onthe right, with the 7.7-mm (0.303-in)Type 97 machine-gunner to his left,The two-man turret was in the centre ofthe hull, offset to the right, and could betraversed manually through 360°. Mainarmament consisted of a 57-mm Type97 gun with an elevation of +11° anddepression of - 9°, and another 7.7-mm(0.303-in) machine-gun was located inthe turret rear, Totals of 120 rounds of57-mm (80 high explosive and 40 ofarmour-piercing) and 2,350 rounds of7.7-mm (0.303-in) ammunition werecarried.The 12-cylinder air-cooled dieselwas mounted at the rear of the hull andtransmitted power via a propeller shaftto the gearbox in the nose of the tank;the gearbox had four forward and onereverse gears. Steering was of theclutch and brake type, and suspensionon each side consisted of six dual rubber-tyred road wheels, with the drivesprocket at the front and idler at therear; there were three track-returnrollers, The four central road wheelswere paired and mounted on bellcranks resisted by armoured compressionsprings, while each endbogie was independently bell crankmountedto the hull in a similar manner.When first introduced into servicethe Type 97 was quite an advanceddesign apart from its main armament,.which had a low muzzle velocity. Afeature of most Japanese tanks of thisperiod was that they were powered bydiesel rather than petrol engines,which gave them a much increasedoperational range as well as reducingthe ever-present risk of fire, the dreadof any tank crew.In 1942 the Type 97 medium tank(special) was introduced: this had anew turret armed with a 47-mm Type97 gun that fired ammunition with ahigher muzzle velocity and thereforeimproved penetration characteristics.This weapon used the same ammunitionas Japanese anti-tank guns andtherefore helped ammunition commonalityin the front line.The chassis of the Type 97 was alsoused as the basis for a number of othervehicles including a flail-equippedmineclearmg tank, self-propelledguns (including the 150-mm/5.9-mType 38 HO-RO), self-propelled antiaircraftguns (including 20-mm and 75-mm/2.95-in), an engineer tank, a recoveryvehicle and an armouredbridgelayer. Most of these were builtin such small numbers that they playedlittle part m actual operations. TheType 97 was replaced in productionby the Type 1 CHI-HE medium tank,followed by the Type 3 CHI-NU, ofwhich only 60 were built by the end ofthe war. The last Japanese mediumtanks were the Type 4 and Type 5, but'neither of these well-armed vehiclessaw combat.SpecificationType 97Crew: 4Weight: 15000 kg (33,069 lb)Dimensions: length 5.516 m (18 ft 1 in);width 2.33 m (7 ft 8 in); height 2.23 m(7 ft 4 in)Powerplant: one Mitsubishi 12-cylinder air-cooled diesel enginedeveloping 170 hp (127 kW)Performance: maximum road speed38 km/h (24 mph); maximum range210 km (130 miles); fording 1.0 m (3 ft3 in); gradient 57 per cent; verticalobstacle 0,812 m (2 ft 6 in); trench 2.514 m (8 ft 3 in)
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