[new] WAK 10/08 - Type 94 Te-Ke

[CharlieC]

From Taki's IJA site I picked up the following answer in his Q&A section

"Ha-Go means "The Third Car" in Japanese. It indicates that Ha-Go was the third tank which the Japanese developed. Yi-Go means "The First Car". The second was Type 95 Heavy Tank.
First portion of the tank name indicates its classification. Chi is the abbreviation of "Chiu", meaning Medium. So, Chi indicates the medium tank.
Second portion of the name is a Japanese alphabet and it shows the order of development. Japanese alphabet is as follows,
I(Yi) Ro Ha Ni Ho He To Chi Ri Nu Ru ....
So, Chi-Ha means "The third developed medium tank". Note that it is the order of development, not introduction. So, as for some tanks, their order is not in accord with that of the introduction. For example, Chi-Nu is the last medium tank on the development order.
Te-Ke seems the abbreviation of something, but I cannot find what was it.
Below, I write the meaning of the names which are identified now.
TK ... Tokusyu-Keninsha (Special Tractor)
SS ... Soko-Sagyosha (Armored Worker)
So-Ki ... Soko Kidosha (Armored Railroad Car)
Ke ... Kei (Light)
Ho ... Ho (Gun)
Ka-Mi ... Kaminishi (Designer's name)"


Regards,

Charlie

[DrBill]

I drew a blank in my (skinny) armor library. The US Army Ordnance Museum at the old Aberdeen Proving Grounds (just off I-95 in NE Maryland) has both a Type 94 and a Type 97 (intro'd in 1942) on display. Neither one resembles the WAK model in any respect; neither have the aft-mounted turret shown in the WAK model drawings.

[CharlieC]

The Type 94/97 refers to the year of the design acceptance in years with 1940 (Western) being the year 2600. You need the rest of the designation to figure out the role of the vehicle.

For the 2 tanks at Aberdeen - the Type 94 looks like a Type 89 Yi-Go and the Type 97 a Chi-Ha - both medium tanks.

There don't seem to be any survivors of the Type 94 TK - here's a page of period images - Type 94.

There is at least a couple of Type 97 Te-Ke still in existence - Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum - Puckapunyal Australia (Australia), Camp San Luis Obispo: Japanese Type 97b Tankette (California)

Regards,

Charlie

[boosed]

Many thanks for posting this information, Charlie. I've ordered a copy of Gordo Rottman's latest on Japanese armor tactics. Taki's site remains the best source so far, and your additional info is very valuable. I always look forward to your well-informed postings, especially in areas such as this where I have a special interest.

Incidentally, and slightly off topic, I got the word from the Combat Studies Institute that "Over the Beach: US Army Amphibious Operations in the Korean War" has gone to the printer. The pdf should be available for free download soon. I will post the URL when it is. No discussion of Japanese tanks, but I do touch on the development of the US LVT(A)s [amtanks].

Don

[CharlieC]

I was wrong - should have dug deeper - there at least 3 Type 94 TK survivors at:

Tank Museum of the People's Liberation Army
Australian War Memorial, Canberra
Wheatcroft Collection (Wheatcroft Collection)

Only the PLA tank museum one is the version that WAK modelled - the other 2 are later versions with an enlarged idler. For photo links go to Australian Military Modelling Society then "reference" and "walkaround" menu selections.

Regards,

Charlie