Specification Crew : 4 or 5 Engine : one V-12 diesel engine developing 170hp Combat weight : 13,300 kg (29.260 lb) Max speed : road 38 km/h (23.60 mph) Range : 250 km (156 miles) Length : 5.53 m (18.14 ft) Width : 2.38 m (7.60 ft) Height : 1.54 m (5.10 ft) Main gun One Type 38 150mm Howitzer Armour : 25mm (0.98in)

The Japanese produced few heavy armored vehicles , partly because they were deemed unnecessary based on experiences in China and Manchuria and partly because their industrial capacity was inadequate for the task.The Type 4 was a self-propelled howitzer using the Type 97 medium tank as a base.The howitzer itself dated from 1905 and had been withdrawn from service in 1942 but continued to be used in the self-propelled version.The Type 4 was poorly armored and had a slow rate of fire mainly because of the breech mechanism employed.The Japanese were unable to produce them on mass scale , being deployed in ones and twos mainly for island defence.They were hopelessly outnumbered against American artillery in the Pacific battles of World War II.