Type 3 Ka-Chi

The Type 3 Ka-Chi was an amphibious tank built for the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War. The Navy was pleased with the earlier Type 2 Ka-Mi and asked for a larger version with heavier armour and armament, for amphibious landings and special operations. The Ka-Chi was developed in 1943 and the first units entered service in late 1943-1944. Only 19 were built between 1943 and 1945, because warships and aircraft took priority and the Navy had no firm plans for further landings.

Design

The Ka-Chi used a heavily modified chassis of the Army's Type 1 Chi-He medium tank. The hull had smooth sides that blended into buoyancy pontoons at the front and rear, the front one shaped like a ship's bow. The crew could jettison both pontoons from inside after landing. In practice they were often kept, as they gave a little extra protection. A tall cupola kept the turret hatch clear of the water, and a large snorkel behind the turret supplied air to the diesel engine and kept water out of the exhaust.

The tank weighed about 28.7 tonnes and measured 10.3 m long, 3 m wide and 3.82 m high, with armour of 10-50 mm. Its 240 hp Mitsubishi twelve-cylinder diesel gave about 32 km/h on land and 10 km/h in the water, and the road range was about 320 km. It was armed with a Type 1 47 mm gun and two 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns, one coaxial and one in the hull.

Service

The Ka-Chi could be carried and launched by submarine. This made it useful for reinforcing isolated island garrisons in the South Pacific and South-East Asia. Allied forces first met it at Kwajalein in 1944.