Type 95 Ha-Go

Type 95 Ha-Gō
Type 95 Ha-Gō on display at the United States Army Ordnance Museum.
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Empire of Japan
Service history
Used by	Empire of Japan Thailand People's Republic of China France Soviet Union Republic of China
Wars	Second World War Chinese Civil War First Indochina War Korean War
Production history
Designed	1933–1934
Produced	1936–1943
No. built	2,300
Specifications
Weight	7.4 t (7.3 long tons; 8.2 short tons)
Length	4.38 m (14 ft 4 in)
Width	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Height	2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)
Crew	3
Main armament	Type 94 (1934) 37 mm tank gun
Secondary armament	2 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun
Engine	Mitsubishi A6120VDe air-cooled inline 6-cylinder 14.4 L diesel 120 hp (90 kW) at 1800 rpm
Power/weight	16 hp/tonne
Suspension	Bell crank
Operational range	209 kilometers
Speed	45 km/h (28 mph) on road

The Type 95 Ha-Gō (九五式軽戦車 ハ号, kyūgo-shiki kei-sensha Ha-Gō^?) (also known as Ke-Go was a light tank used by the Imperial Japanese Army in combat operations of the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry, but, like the American M3 Stuart, it was not designed to fight other tanks. Approximately 2,300 units were produced, making it the most numerous Japanese armored fighting vehicle of the time.

From early 1930s, the Japanese army began experimenting on a mechanized warfare unit combining infantry with tanks. However, the Type 89 Medium tank could not keep pace with the motorized infantry, which could move at 40 km/h (25 mph) by truck. In combat, motorized infantry could only hope to achieve 40 km advance per day. For transport, tanks could be loaded on train platforms like in any other army of the times. To solve this problem, the Army Technical Bureau proposed a new light tank of 7 tonnes or less capable of 40 km/h speed and started development in 1933.

The prototype of the new tank was begun in 1933 and completed in 1934 at the Army's Sagami Arsenal. Initial tests were positive but it was too heavy at 7.5 tonnes and had to be reworked bringing the weight down to 6.5 t. Due to doubts by the infantry as to its capability for infantry support it was tested in Manchuria in the winter of 1934/1935. The reports were favourable and a second prototype built, being completed in November 1935.

In 1935, at a meeting in the Army Technical Bureau, the Type 95 was proposed as the main tank for mechanized infantry units. The infantry had concerns that the armor was insufficient; however, the cavalry indicated that the improved speed and armament compensated for thin armor. In the end, the infantry agreed, as the Type 95 was still superior to the only available alternative, the Type 92 cavalry tank.