Type 1 47 mm tank gun

Type 1 47 mm anti-tank gun
Type 1 47 mm anti-tank gun at the U.S. Army Museum in Honolulu, HI.
Type	Anti-tank gun
Place of origin	Empire of Japan
Service history
In service	1942 - 1945
Used by	Imperial Japanese Army
Wars	Second World War
Production history
Designed	circa 1939
No. built	2,300
Variants	Main gun on the Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha, Type 1 Chi-He and Type 3 Ka-Chi
Specifications
Weight	753 kg (1,660 lb)
Barrel length	2.53 m (8 ft 4 in) L/53.7
Cartridge	47×285 mm. R 1.4 kg (3 lb 1 oz)
Caliber	47 mm (1.85 in)
Action	Breech loading
Muzzle velocity	840 m/s (2,723 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	6,900 m (7,546 yds)
Sights	Straight telescope.

The Type 1 47 mm anti-tank gun (一式機動四十七粍速射砲, Isshiki Kidō yonjyūnana-miri sokushahō^?) was an anti-tank gun developed by the Imperial Japanese Army, and used in combat during World War II. The Type 1 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted, 2601 in the Japanese imperial year calendar, or 1941 in the Gregorian calendar.

The Type 1 47 mm Anti-Tank gun was accepted into service in 1942. The design originated as an improvement to the prototype “Experimental Type 97 (1937) 47 mm Anti-Tank Gun” (試製九七式四十七粍速射砲), which was tested between 1938 and 1939. The prototype weighed 567 kilograms with a barrel length of 2,515 mm, a traverse range of ±50 degrees and an elevation range of between minus 10 and plus 20 degrees, and a muzzle velocity of 730 m/s. The prototype was not accepted into service because it was considered to not have sufficient performance.

After the Nomonhan Incident, the Imperial Japanese Army started the development of a new anti-tank gun, considering that the Type 94 37 mm Anti-Tank Gun would likely be ineffective against the new Soviet tanks. The design was the first completely indigenous anti-tank gun design completed in Japan, and production was assigned to the Army's Osaka Arsenal. In terms of performance, the design was still somewhat inferior to advanced contemporary designs in western nations, but was considered suitable by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff due to the anticipated lack of armor by the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, and by the belief that Japan would face only light tanks fielded by the Allied nations in case of a more general war. The Type 1 47 mm AT Gun was introduced in 1942, and approximately 2,300 were produced.