Japan's Sherman Hunter, the Chi-Ri | Cursed by Design

When most people think of Japanese tanks  from the second world war it's quite similar   to their reaction to Italian tanks of that  period. Small, underpowered tanks with weak   armaments incapable of competing against  the vehicles fielded by other nations.   In most cases this would be true, but towards  the end of the war the Japanese began multiple   projects in an attempt to combat the allied  armor. In future videos we will discuss all   of these projects but for today's episode we’ll be  taking a look at the story of the Type 5 Chi-Ri. This video has been sponsored by “The Modern  Frontiersman”. They are a group of independent   film-makers who create documentary type content of  both modern and historical locations. They explore   dangerous and forgotten places and try to tell  their stories along the way. So if you like urban   exploration, history, or adventures, check them  out on their YouTube channel using the link in   the description. Make sure to let them know I sent  you when you do, now let's get into today's tank.  The origin of the Chi-Ri can be directly traced  back to the tank known as the Type 1 Chi-He.   From there designs would slowly improve being  shaped into bigger and heavier vehicles. The   Type 2 Ho-I and Type 3 Chi-Nu were direct upgrades  using essentially the same hull, but with improved   firepower and armor. In 1943 work was begun on the  next tank in the line which was designated Type 4   Chi-To. This tank used a new chassis as the  upgrades were beyond what the previous one   could manage. Two prototypes of this type would  be completed before the end of the war with them   closely resembling the shape of the previous  models although significantly larger. We now   finally reach the part of our story where the Type  5 enters the stage. You may find it confusing that   the Japanese military would even pursue another  medium tank design, however, having seen the   reports of the tanks being fielded by the Russians  and Germans it does make some sense why they might   be concerned that the Chi-To might not have what  it takes for the battlefields of 1944 or 45.  Development of the Chi-Ri supposedly began in  September of 1943 with there being originally   two designs for the tank. The first one would  be a simpler design intended to be ready within   a year using already available technology.  I couldn’t find much more about this design   but from the drawings I saw it appears to have  been planned with the Chi-To turret in mind.  The second design, which was the one to  reach prototype stage, was far more complex.   A total of 6 different potential suspension  systems were drawn up for it with 3 coming   from the Technology Research Institution and three  from Mitsubishi Heavy industries. To make a long   and overly complicated story short, they ended up  going with a coil spring system which was already   proven from earlier designs. One interesting fact  is that at least one of the suspension types would   have produced a Chi Ri with interleaving  road wheels like that of the German tanks.  The entire chassis and hull design of the Chi-Ri  was very similar to that of the Chi-To although it   was lengthened. To compensate for this increased  length the tank was given 8 road wheels per side   compared to the original 7 the Chi-To used. The  frontal armor thickness of 75mm remained the same   but the other armor was increased to range from  25 to 50mms depending on the plate. This increased   the tanks total weight from the original 30 tons  of the Type 4 to around 37 tons. The powerplant   of this Sherman hunter was initially planned  to be a Mitsubishi diesel engine. In the end,   setbacks with reaching the necessary power  resulted in a gasoline powered 800 hp aircraft   engine from BMW being selected which was being  built under license by Kawasaki Heavy Industries.  To equip this Japanese Panther against its foes  it was to be armed with the Type 5 75mm gun in the   turret and a small 37mm secondary cannon mounted  in the hull front. The exact use of the 37mm is   somewhat debated but was most likely added to be  used against softer targets keeping the main gun   free to engage bigger threats. One source  claims the tank would have eventually mounted   an 88mm cannon, however this seems most likely  to be some sort of error as I couldn’t find any   further mention of it outside of being mentioned  as a potential choice for a gun in the World of   Tanks Chi-Ri, although even that never occured.  I’m just guessing, but it’s entirely possible that   the author mistook the Type 88 75mm anti air  gun which the Type 4 cannon was derived from,   causing them to mistake the size of the weaponry.  There was, in fact, a larger 88mm AA gun the   Japanese had, but this was never actually planned  for the tank. The same source also makes mention   of the tank originally being planned to use  the Type 4 75mm I mentioned and it's entirely   possible this would have been the armament of the  original Chi-Ri had it used the Chi-To turret,   but I cannot confirm that to be the case. As I stated earlier in the video the one   completed prototype of the tank was the second  design which we know as the Chi-Ri II. One of   the most striking characteristics of this machine  is its enormous turret, although the entire tank   is massive all things considered. The turret  size had a reason behind it, though, as the   Type 5 75mm was originally intended to use a belt  fed style autoloader. How exactly they planned to   accomplish that is unclear and unsurprisingly it  was eventually abandoned, being replaced with a   single-tray semi-autoloader. The massive turret  would be driven by an electric motor allowing   the crew to acquire targets faster, and the tank  was also given a turret basket, especially unusual   for Japanese machines. There is even mention  of the 75mm being given a gyro stabilizer,   but again I cannot confirm that as I couldn’t  find any mention of it outside of one source.  With the armament selected the tank may have  been subjected to trials in March of 1945.   Whether that's true or not doesn't really  matter as the program was cancelled in   May with focus being shifted back to the more  cost effective Chi-To. Following the Japanese   surrender the partially completed prototype of  the Chi-Ri was turned over to the Americans.   The photos taken after this have likely led  to more than a little confusion as the tank   was mistakenly classed as a heavy tank despite  always being considered a medium by the creators.   The vehicle was eventually shipped to the United  States for trials at Aberdeen. It survived there   for several years until eventually being scrapped. As if the entire Chi-Ri program wasn't already   overly ambitious there was even a plan to  produce tank destroyer variants of the chassis.   This tank would have been equipped with a 105mm  gun and resembled the German Ferdinand in overall   shape while still retaining the 37mm hull mounted  cannon. The sloped front of the Ho-Ri which has   been made more popular from its addition to War  Thunder seems to not have originated from the   actual drawings of the tank but rather from the  scale mockup of it. For the second layout of the   Ho-Ri known unofficially as the Ho-Ri II it would  have resembled the German Jagdtiger with a center   mounted casemate. The planned 105mm was tested  prior to the end of the war but neither design   was ever built making the Ho-Ri a completely  paper tank. I found mention of a third design   of the Ho-Ri which the scale mockup may be based  on, however the entire article was listed as   outdated by the author and the updated version  seems to have been deleted leaving me no way   to tell what I can trust from the post. As with most designs from that region,   getting exact information on anything is  quite tricky so if I’ve made any mistakes   or you think I missed something let me know  in the comments. As always my sources will   be linked down below if you want to do more  research yourself. If you did enjoy this video   remember to give it a like and subscribe for  more like it in the future. Don’t forget to go   checkout The Modern Frontiersmen using that  link below and I’ll see you in the next one

Channel: ConeOfArc

Views: 620,870

Keywords: ConeOfArc, cursed by design tanks, cursed by design cone of arc, cursed by design kv2, cursed by design tonk, sherman tank, ww2 tanks, war thunder, military history, tank history, chi ri, chi-ri tank, chi-ri wot, chi-ri wot blitz, chi-ri war thunder, chi ri 2 war thunder, chi ri 2 tank, chi ri 2, cursed by design, Japan's Sherman Hunter, japanese tank history, japanese tanks ww2, japanese tanks war thunder, japanese tanks of world war 2, japanese tanks ww2 documentary

Id: wLKYGD4TJig

Length: 8min 1sec (481 seconds)

Published: Fri May 28 2021