Who in turn likely has sources rooted elsewhere, although I’d be interested to know how much of his research comes from public archives as opposed to whatever he has legal claim over.
Try using duplichecker.
I don’t know what the Ka-Shi tank is, but these two photos seem to be taken from the same blueprint. It’s just a black-and-white inversion.
Both photos depict the Observation Tank Ka-So.
Japanese Tanks (1961), p.115
got the name from here
The Ka-Shi Blueprint. Photo: Masao Kimura
I am certain that this is a misidentification of Ka-So. As far as I know, there is no tank named Ka-Shi among the derivatives of Shi-Ki. Japanese Tanks mentions that the vehicle modified from the Type 1 Chi-He was called Ka-So.
Japanese Tanks (1961), p.113
Translating the last sentence, it states:
“Later, a prototype Ka-So vehicle was created by modifying the Type 1 medium tank Chi-He and installing a rangefinder and other observation tools.”
This description is almost identical to what is written in Tank Encyclopedia.
You think the Ka-So match with the mystery tank? I couldn’t find any other blueprint photos of it to do more comparisons.
I’m not sure. There is a possibility, but it is not very high.
I could not find any other sources on Ka-So. According to Japanese Tanks, it seems that a prototype existed, but the description is too short to be reliable.
However, if this tank is one of Ka-Shi, Ju-Ha, or Ka-So, the most likely candidate is Ka-So. Ka-Shi appears to be a misidentification of Ka-So, and Ju-Ha most likely never existed.
The central return roller looks the same as the one seen on Shi-Ki. However, since other photos of Shi-Ki do not show such a large roller, this could have been a temporary modification.
(Another photo of Shi-Ki)
As for the muffler location, I am not sure. Both Chi-Ha and Chi-He have their mufflers at the rear end of the hull. This does not match the photo. The Chi-Ho has a muffler in a similar position to the one in the photo, but its overall shape does not resemble the vehicle in the image.
This is just my personal opinion, but considering that Ka-So, as an observation tank, had little reason to change its hull, this vehicle in the photo might not be Ka-So. Instead, it could be an unknown vehicle developed between Chi-Ha and Chi-He.
Chi-Ho had four units produced, and there were two different designs: one led by the Tank School (which was similar to Chi-Ha) and another by the General Staff (which was similar to Chi-Ni). I think there is a possibility that this photo shows one of them.
Of course, this is not a certainty. It is also possible that this was not a new vehicle but simply a field modification of Chi-Ha.
Sorry, but I can’t recognize the photo you uploaded… A roof hatch on a Chi-Ha? Is that what you mean? I’m not sure if I understood your question correctly.
Nvm the normal chi ha has it.
but engine grills don’t match.
Ah, I didn’t realize there was someone there.
Yes, the rear section of the vehicle, including the engine grills, looks different from a typical Chi-Ha.
(To be honest, the image quality is poor, so I can’t be certain.)
The reason I mentioned that this might be a modification of the Chi-Ha was simply because I wasn’t entirely sure what this vehicle was. Considering the differences, it’s more likely that this is a separate tank based on the Chi-Ha rather than just a modification.
The way the turret hatch opens is something seen from the improved Chi-Ha, but the part you highlighted only exists on the original Chi-Ha hull. This tank seems to have a mix of both features.
Turret hatch in the photo
Original Chi-Ha turret hatch
Improved Chi-Ha turret hatch
And this type of turret hatch also exists on the Chi-Ho:
hull hatch in the photo
Original Chi-Ha
Improved Chi-Ha
At some point during Chi-Ha’s production the cooling system was re-designed, which resulted into fairly big change to the grilles. Number of tanks with older type hull were upgraded with 47mm gun turret. I don’t know further details.

Is it me or is the turret bigger? I originally thought it was just aiming backwards and had the late model cupola (like you mentioned) and a longer/bigger gun.
Maybe it’s a bit out of place, but I wonder if it’s really a Type 92 heavy armoured car with a 37mm gun?
The photo has a bit poor quality, but you can see that this is not a Type 92 13.2 mm
Would be cool to have that in Enlisted.
I’d rather have it in Enlisted:
or this
I mean why not both games? They port stuff from there to here like the puma twitch drop.
It was just mentioned enlisted, so I said what I would like to see in it
There is a possibility, here is a better quality image.
@onemax9000 There is an interesting livejournal post about the 37mm Type 92, and another example is shown that is clearly the 13.2mm without flash hider.
If you look at the author’s closeup, there appears to be differences