not sure if there is space for a 37mm but a 25mm maybe.
Type 96 25 mm Machine Cannon
also here is all the 37mm/small guns the jap used as far as i know.
Puteaux SA18 37 mm tank gun
And yet none of them appear to match up with the mystery cannon, so either it really is just a 13.2mm without flash hider as you said, or perhaps a dummy weapon for whatever reason.
Relevant book
I do have a full size image for the interior shot
Ke-To I think?
Bonus images
Te-Ke with Ha-To/Na-To/Chi-So appearance in background
And FYI, there are a handful of J-Tank magazines for sale on Hobbyland that can be shipped overseas.
Military Scale Model Specialty Store Hobbyland | Online shop Product list
Probably the ke-to
I can confirm this is the Ke-To. I can’t remember where it’s exactly from, but the last time I saw this image, it was stated to be a Ke-To undergoing practice with a local regiment.
Also do you have more photos like this?
It appears to be of the Ke-Ni A roadwheels
Unfortunately not, I suppose I can do a bit of research later to see if anything else arises though.
It is from this book though?
Correct, I sourced both images from a Twitter post.
The various modified Shermans of the JGSDF 👀
I am pretty confident that I have seen another photo or two of this prototype, probably on Twitter, although I could not find any at this time.
I knew of this one before, but type3fighter’s video gave me the context and date for this prototype.
As said in his video (translated):
“The first one is the Type 67 tank bridge. It was officially adopted, so it’s pretty well known. In fact, the history of its development is long, with basic research beginning in 1957, before the Type 61 was adopted. In 1961, a prototype vehicle was also built using the M4 chassis. A prototype vehicle using the Type 61 chassis was then produced and adopted as the Type 67 tank bridge in 1967.”
I do not have any full size versions of the first two photos, as I found them within one of type3fighter’s Youtube videos.
“The vehicle was designed for the purpose of constructing positions and placing explosives in enemy positions and blowing them up on battlefields where movement was restricted by enemy fire. Development began in 1962 (Showa 37), and a prototype SD based on the M4A3E8 was produced. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was in charge of development.”
“The SD had the turret removed to provide an armored workroom, as well as a hydraulic dozer at the front of the hull. In addition, an A-type boom used for installing explosives and lifting heavy objects was installed on the upper part of the hull, but this was later removed and a 200 kg hydraulic crane diverted from civilian products was installed in the co-pilot’s seat instead. Along with this, a part of the workroom has been modified to be notched so as not to interfere with the crane’s turning.”
“This car was formalized in 1967 (Showa 42). Subsequently, a full-fledged vehicle was supposed to be produced based on the Type 61 tank, but it was canceled due to budget shortages and other reasons. After that, the prototype SD is said to have been used by the 7th Facilities Battalion.”
Possibly the most famous of the Japanese modified Shermans, it boasts a whopping 1,100 hp license-built Lycoming T-53 engine, which is also used in Japanese produced Bell 204 helicopters.
Recently, I found a new image on the official Kawasaki Heavy Industries website:
While it does look different than the original photo, the testing date is marked as 1970, so there’s a chance it was a modification/rebuild of the prototype; possibly before or after it suffered the rollover that ended up killing the chief project engineer.
As for its combat ability, it clearly lacks a turret in both of the photos, but this Russian post I managed to find almost seems to imply that the turret was only removed after the initial modifications were made, although we would need additional sources to confirm this.
As always, additional information/sources/imagery would be much appreciated.
Imagine how fast it would go lmao
