Tankopedia
WW2MediumMedium TankJapan

Type 97 Chi-Ha

In service 1938 - 1945

Japan's most numerous tank of the war, designed for China rather than for fighting Shermans.

Built byMitsubishi Heavy Industries

Type 97 Chi-Ha
IJA Type 97 Chi-Ha tank with radio operator — Imperial Japanese Army, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Development history

Optimised for the roads, bridges and shipping constraints of the Asian theatre, the Chi-Ha was light, diesel-powered and adequate against Chinese forces. Its thin armour and low-velocity 57 mm gun were badly outclassed by Allied armour from 1942, prompting the Shinhoto rebuild with a high-velocity 47 mm. By 1944 surviving tanks were dug in as static defences on the Pacific islands.

Variants

One canonical record, 3 recorded variants.

  1. Type 97 Chi-Ha

    1938

    Original low-velocity 57 mm gun, two-man turret.

  2. Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha

    1942

    New larger turret with the high-velocity 47 mm Type 1 gun.

  3. Type 97 Chi-Ha Kai variants

    1943

    Command, engineer and recovery conversions on the same chassis.

Notable actions

  • Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45)
  • Battles of Khalkhin Gol (1939)
  • Malayan Campaign (1941-42)
  • Battle of Luzon (1945)