Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank

The Type 97 Chi-Ha was a medium tank introduced in 1937 (imperial year 2597 from when it takes its designation) to improve and upgrade the performance of the already obsoleted medium tank Type 89 Chi-Ro. The old Type 89 had proved to be too slow to be effective on modern motorized warfare, and therefore the Type 97 was intended to improve both the Type 89 medium tank and the Type 95 Ha-Go light tank.

Type 97 Chi-Ha, date and location unknown (pinterest).

The Type 97 suspension system was derived from the Type 95 one but had six wheels per side instead of four. The main gun was the Type 97 57 mm gun, an infantry support gun with low velocity and poor antitank performance. As the Type 95, the Type 97 also fielded two Type 97 light machine guns, one mounted on the front of the hull and the other on the rear side of the turret.

Type 97 Chi-Ha schematic (The-Blueprints.com)

The Type 97 Chi-Ha had a slightly thicker armor than the Type 95 Ha-Go. Its most characteristic feature was a  horse-shoe shaped radio antenna on the turret. The tank was manned by a crew of four. In the forward compartment, the driver sat on the right and the hull machine gunner on the left. On the turret sat the commander who was also the main gunner, and the radioman/loader/rear machine gunner. Communication between compartments was done via 12 buttons in the turret and a set of buzzers and lights near the driver.

Type 97 Chi-Ha with its commander (fhsw.wikia.com).

The Type 97 Chi-Ha was first deployed in China in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, where it proved to be effective against the Chinese armor. During the Nomonhan incident, the 3rd Sensha Rentai (3rd Tank Regiment) under command of Lieutenant Colonel Kiyotake Yoshimaru, comprised 28 Type 89 I-Go, 4 Type 97 CHi-Ha, 4 Type 97 Te-Ke tankettes and 7 Type 94 tankettes. The battle proved that the Type 97 main gun was no match for the Soviet long range AT guns and BT-5 and BT-7 tanks.

Type 97 Chi-Ha and some IJA soldiers (world-war-2.wikia.com)

Maneuvering exercise of early Type 97s (tanksencyclopedia).

Similarly to the Type 95 Ha-Go, the Type 97 Chi-Ha proved effective on the battles of Malaya and Singapore, being able to maneuver on jungle terrain and spearheading attacks on the British defenses. Type 97 Chi-Ha took also part in the Burma campaign.

 Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha in Singapore, 1942 (pinterest).

A column of Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha drives into
Singapore on 15th February 1942 (tumblr).

In 1942, because the tank was already less effective than most of the allied tank designs, a new version was produced with a larger turret and the more powerful Type 1 47 mm tank gun. This version was designated as Type 97-Kai or Shinhoto, and was first used in the battle of Corregidor in the Philippines.

Type 97-Kai (ww2photo.se).

Both versions of the tank were used throughout the war, from the Dutch East Indies to Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima or Okinawa among others. A total of 1162 Type 97 Chi-Ha and 930 Type 97-Kai were produced, making it the most produced Japanese medium tank in World War II.

Destroyed Type 97 Chi-Ha of the 9th Tank Regiment in

Saipan 1944 (pinterest).

Type 97 Chi-Ha of the 9th Tank Regiment burning
in Saipan 1944 (worldwaphotos.info).

Sources:
- Wikipedia
- Tanks encyclopedia