Type 2 Ka-Mi

The Type 2 Ka-Mi was the amphibious tank that formed the backbone of the armour of Japan's Special Naval Landing Forces in the Second World War. Japan had begun experimenting with amphibious armoured vehicles as early as 1928; the Army led the work until 1940, after which the Navy took over development for its marines.

Design

The Ka-Mi used many components of the Type 95 light tank but had a redesigned, fully sealed hull of all-welded construction. Large pontoons of 3 mm steel plate were attached front and rear for extra buoyancy; the front one was divided into eight compartments to limit the effect of shell damage. In the water the tank was driven by two propellers, powered from the main engine through a transfer case, and steered by two rudders worked by the commander from the turret. Once ashore the crew released the pontoons by turning hand-wheels that opened clamp mechanisms.

The turret, with full 360-degree traverse, carried a 37 mm gun and a coaxial 7.7 mm machine gun, with a second machine gun in the bow; 132 rounds of 37 mm and 3,500 rounds of 7.7 mm ammunition were stowed. Armour was 6 to 13.2 mm thick and the crew numbered five. The tank weighed about 13 tons, plus about 3 tons of pontoons, and was about 4.8 m long without pontoons and 7.5 m with them, 2.8 m wide and 2.3 m high.

Use

Ka-Mis were normally launched from ships or landing craft offshore, swam to the beach, crossed the reef, dropped their pontoons and drove inland. Japan pursued amphibious tanks further than most nations, with designs intended for carriage on submarine decks and even one able to carry a torpedo on each side.

The folder also contains pictures of the related Type 3 Ka-Chi and Type 5 To-Ku amphibious tanks.