Japanese light armour
Type 92 Osaka
The islands of the Pacific weren't suitable for wheeled combat vehicles so the Japanese only use a small amount of armoured cars during World War II, preferring to use light tanks to fulfill the same roles. The few that they did use where mainly deployed to China and Manchuria to guard the railway network.
Type 94 20mm AA
Like most countries first experiments with self propelled anti-aircraft weapons the Japanese took the Isuzu Type 94 cargo truck and modifier to to fit an Type 98 20mm anti-aircraft weapon on the back deck. This and other such combination of trucks and light anti-aircraft weapons where a common field modification but with no armour and only a small weapon their combat usefulness was limited.
Type 94 TK
Type 94 tankette also know as a "light armored car" was designed in the early 1930's as scout reconnaissance vehicle that could also be used to transport cargo when using a trailer. Their very thin armour and armament of only a light machine gun limited there usefulness in combat but they were see through out the pacific right until the end of the war.
Type 94 Ko-Go
A modification of the Type 94 TK to carry a specialized tallier used for chemical warfare. It was able to scatter mustard gas over a 8 meter area contaminating everything around it, there was also another version that could spread bleaching powder to counter the mustard gas. Only a few where built and there are no records of them ever being used in combat.
Type 95 Ha-Go
Japan's early tank designs were to slow and cumbersome to keep up with the fast paced motorised infantry so a new lighter and faster tank was need to support these troops. By 1933 the design of the Ha-Go was finalised & a prototype was ready the next year. Production then started in 1936 and continued until 1943 with a total production run of 2,300 tanks making it the most built Japanese armoured fight vehicle of WW2.
Type 98 Ke-Ni
The Type 98 Ke-Ni was designed to replace the Type 95 Ha-Go, the first prototype was ready in 1939 however the Ha-Go was still proving effective against the Chinese army so interest was lost. By 1941 the Ha-Go was showing its age as it was unable to to effectively deal with the America forces it encountered in the pacific so interest in the Ke-Ni was reignited with production starting in 1942. However like many Japanese tanks of that time production was slow due to lack of resources and by the end of the war in 1945 only a hundred had be made.
Type 98 Ta-Se
The Type 98 Ta-Se was an experimental AA tank built in 1941 based on the Type 98 Ke-Ni light tank using a single Type 98 20mm Anti-Aircraft weapon in a small open topped turret. Testing showed that the the tank was unstable and the single gun was not very effective so the project was canceled.
Type 98 Ta-Se II
With the failure of the Type 98 Ta-Se the Japanese started on a new design useing the Type 98 Ke-Ni again as the base but replacing the small turret and single Type 98 gun with an open structure and two Type 2 20mm guns. Even though this exposed the crew it proved more stable and the twin guns more effective. Sadly this tank was also canceled leaving Japan to use trucks mounted with AA guns for the whole war.
Tomorrow things get heavier with the Japanese medium tanks.
