Type 5 75 mm tank gun



The Type 5 75 mm tank gun was used as the main armament of the Imperial Japanese Army Type 4 Chi-To prototype medium tank. It was one of the largest tank guns to be fitted on a World War II Japanese tank. Due to late war shortage-induced delays only two were ever mounted in a completed Type 4 Chi-To, neither of which saw combat.

Use
The Type 5 75 mm tank gun was intended as the main armament of the Type 4 Chi-To medium tank, a planned improvement over the Imperial Army's most powerful production tank, the Type 3 Chi-Nu. The first prototype Type 4 Chi-To was delivered in 1944. Though the most advanced and powerful Japanese tank to leave the drawing board, late war industrial and material shortages resulted in only two being completed.

The Type 4 Chi-To was manned by a crew of five and fielded the long-barreled 75 mm L/56.4 (4.23 m) gun. A variant of the Japanese 1943 Type 4 75mm AA Gun, it was mounted in a large, hexagonal turret and capable of being elevated between -6.5 to +20 degrees. Its 850 m/s muzzle velocity gave it an armor penetration of 75 millimeters at 1,000 meters.

Intended Type 4 Chi-To production was 25 tanks per month spread over two Mitsubishi Heavy Industries factories. Late war shortage-induced delays resulted in only 6 chassis being built by 1945 and just two of which were completed. Neither completed tanks saw any combat prior to the end of the war in the Pacific.

The Type 5 tank gun was also fitted into the Type 5 Chi-Ri prototype medium tank as its main gun. Eventually an 88 mm gun (based on the Type 99 88 mm AA Gun) was planned for its turret. The Type 5 Chi-Ri used a lengthened version of the Type 4 Chi-To chassis and had thicker sloped welded armor. Only one incomplete prototype was produced by the end of the war.