- Yes - comment if as 1 vehicle with modifications or 2 separate vehicles
- No - explain why
General Specifications :
Length: 7.10m (without floats), 10.80m (with floats)
Width: 3.00m
Height: 3.38m
Total weight: 26.8t (without floats), 29.1t (with floats)
Crew: 7
Engine: Type 100 4-stroke V-12 air-cooled diesel
Maximum output: 240hp/2,000rpm
Maximum speed: 32km/h (surfing 10.5km/h)
Range: 320km (surfing 140km)
Armament: Type 1 48-caliber 47mm tank gun x 1 (121 rounds)
Type 96 60-caliber 25mm machine gun x 1 (330 rounds)
Type 97 vehicle-mounted 7.7mm heavy machine gun x 2 (5,070 rounds)
Armor thickness: 8-50mm
Armament :
The To-ku’s main gun, a Type 1 47 mm tank gun, had a barrel length of 2,450 mm, a muzzle velocity of 810-832 m/s, a firing rate of 10 rounds per minute, and an armor penetration of 65 mm at a firing distance of 500 m and 50 mm at a firing distance of 1,000 m when using Type 1 armor-piercing shells. The To-ku was equipped with 121 47 mm shells for the main gun, the same as the Ka-Chi.
As for secondary armament, the To-ku was equipped with one Type 97 machine gun (7.7 mm caliber) on the front of the fighting compartment and on the left rear side of the turret, the same as the Ka-Chi. The To-ku was equipped with 5,070 rounds of 7.7 mm machine gun ammunition, with the hull machine gun mounted in front of the gunner’s seat and the turret machine gun mounted on the right rear side of the turret.
In addition, the To-ku was equipped with one Type 96 25 mm machine gun, which was surplus to the Navy, as secondary armament.
Its performance was a muzzle velocity of 900 m/s, a maximum range of 8,000 m, a maximum firing rate of 230 rounds per minute, and a feeding method of 15 rounds in clips.
It carried 330 rounds of 25mm machine gun ammunition, and 22 clips of 15 rounds were stored inside the vehicle.
The To-ku is generally equipped with a 47mm tank gun in the front of the fighting compartment and a 25mm machine gun in a fully rotating turret on top of the vehicle. However, a vehicle equipped with a
47mm tank gun in the turret and a 25mm machine gun in the front of the fighting compartment was also planned as the “Type 2,” and it is said that the commonly known type was named the “Type 1.”
Armour:
The body and turret of the To-ku tank were welded with rolled bulletproof steel plates, just like the Ka-Chi tank, and the thickness of the armor of each part was basically the same as that of the Ka-Chi tank.
The armor thickness of the To-ku tank was 50mm at the front, 25mm at the sides, 20mm at the rear, 10mm at the top, and 8mm at the bottom of the body, and 50mm at the front, 25mm at the sides/rear, and 12mm at the top of the turret.
Mobility:
The engine of the To-ku was the same as that of the Ka-Chi, and it was equipped with a controlled type 100 air-cooled diesel engine.
A controlled type engine is a general term for a group of engines that have the same standard dimensions as a single cylinder, and the To-ku had the maximum number of cylinders, 12. With a
cylinder diameter of 120 mm, a piston stroke of 160 mm, and a pre-combustion output of 240 hp.
However, for the To-ku, which weighed nearly 30 tons, this engine was underpowered, and the maximum road speed was only 32 km/h.
The suspension of the To-ku was basically the same as that of the Ka-Chi, and two sets of suspensions were installed on each side, with four road wheels connected by a bogie and suspended by horizontal coil springs (spiral springs).
Therefore, the number of road wheels was eight on each side, and the number of upper support wheels was four on each side.
Like the Ka-Chi, the To-ku was equipped with a distributor that switched the powertrain between the drive wheels at the front of the vehicle body or the screw installed on the rear of the vehicle body.
When traveling on water, the power to the tracks was cut off, and two screws were rotated by two shafts that passed through both sides of the engine from the distributor.
The distributor also served as a bilge pump to drain water leaking into the vehicle.
The intake and exhaust of the engine was done from the top of the engine room, and when traveling on water, the ventilation pipe was raised to ensure intake.
Changing direction on water was done by operating two rudders equipped on floats attached to the rear of the vehicle using cables. The speed of the Toku vehicle on water was 10.5 km/h, almost the same as that of the Ka-Chi.
The planned production number of To-ku tanks, including the Type 1 and Type 2, was 50, with 25 of each type planned.
The design of the To-ku tank was completed and it was officially designated the Type 5 Special Landing Boat, but the war ended while the body was being manufactured at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Tokyo Machinery Works.
Some sources say a single type 1 was completed while other say that not a single vehicle was fully completed.
References:
・“Grand Power September 2017 Japanese Army Amphibious Tanks” by Masatoshi Kodaka and Okitaro Ayukawa, Galileo Publishing
・“Imperial Army and Navy Combat Vehicles” by Delta Publishing
・“Tanks of the World 1915-1945” by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, Dainihon Kaiga
・“Japanese Military Combat Vehicle Encyclopedia: All about Tracked and Armored Vehicles” by Dainihon Kaiga
・“Encyclopedia of Irregular Tanks: Visual History of Tank Development” by Nobuo Saiki, Kojinsha
・“Japanese Tanks 1927-1945” by Argonaut Publishing