Specification Crew : 4 Engine Power : 150 hp Combat weight : 13,465 kg (29.690 lb) Max speed : road 40 km/h (24.84 mph) Range : 240 km (149.04 miles) Length : 5.53 m (18.14 ft) Width : 2.31 m (7.58 ft) Height : 2.36 m (7.74 ft) Main gun 47mm (1.85 in) or 57mm (2.25 in) gun Armour : 8mm (0.32 in) to 33mm (1.30 in)

Introduced in 1937 the Medium Type 97 or Chi-Ha was to prove itself the best of the World War II Japanese tanks , but even so it was no match for any Allied tank.The overall design drew heavily on features of many European tanks but little attention was paid to the needs of mass production so output was slow and could never meet demand.It was armed with a 57mm gun in an odd-shaped two-man turret offset to the left of the riveted hull , the machine gun mounting at the back of the turret was retained.The suspension was a considerable improvement over pervious Japanese types but still lacked shock absorbers and thus provided a rough ride.Power was provided by a V-12 diesel engine.Armoured protection on the tank was still poor. Used on all Japanese fronts during the early part of the war the Type 97 underwent numerous changes including a larger turret mounting a 47mm high-velocity anti-tank gun from 1942 onwards this was known as the Shinhoto Chi-Ha.Production of this latter model continued until the war ended.One variant was the Shi-Ki command tank with a 37mm gun in the front hull in place of machine gun ; the turret gun was a dummy.The Se-Ri was an ARV mounting a collapsible crane.Other variants included a mine flail carrier , a dozer blade tank which retained its main armament and various self-propelled artillery equipments.