Type 3 Chi-Nu

Type 3 Medium Tank Chi-Nu (三式中戦車 チヌ) was a medium tank of Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. It was an improved version of the Type 97 Chi-Ha line by giving it a Type 3 75 mm Tank Gun, one of the largest guns used on Japanese tanks during the war.

The Chi-Nu did not see combat during the war; they were retained for defence of the Japanese Home Islands in case of an Allied invasion.

History and development
Type 3 medium tank Chi-Nu was developed to cope with the American M4 Sherman after it was clear that the Type 1 Chi-He design was still inadequate. The Army Technical Bureau had been working on the Type 4 Chi-To medium tank as the counter to the M4 Sherman, but there were problems and delays in the program, and as a result a stopgap tank was required. Development on the Type 3 Chi-Nu started in May 1943 and was finished by October, just six months later. The low priority given to tank production by 1943 meant that the Type 3 did not actually enter production until 1944, by which time raw materials were in very short supply, and much of Japan's industrial infrastructure had been destroyed by American strategic bombing.

A total of 144 units were produced (55 units in 1944, 89 units in 1945). The Type 3 Chi-Nu was the last tank that was fielded by the Imperial Japanese armed forces, and was still being produced at the end of the war.

Design
The Type 3 Chi-Nu retained the same chassis and suspension of the Type 97 but with a large new hexagonal gun turret.

The main armament of the Type 3 Chi-Nu was the 75 mm caliber Type 3 Tank Gun. The gun could be elevated between -10 and +25 degrees. Firing a shell at a muzzle velocity of 680 m/s it gave an armor penetration of 90 mm at 100 m and 65 mm at 1000 m.

Service record
The Type 3 was allocated to the Japanese home islands to defend against the projected Allied Invasion. At least 6 tank regiments were equipped with Type 3 Chi-Nu tanks on Kyūshū and Honshū, including the 1st Tank Division and 4th Tank Division based around Tokyo. As the surrender of Japan occurred before that invasion, the Type 3 was never used in combat.

One surviving Type 3 medium tank is on display at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Military Ordnance Training School at Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan.

Variants

 * Type 3 Chi-Nu Kai prototype
 * One Chi-Nu was armed with the Type 5 75 mm Tank Gun.