Type 1 Ho-Ni I tank destroyerThe Type 1 Ho-Ni I tank destroyers were developed as a response to the American M4 Sherman medium tanks. They were built by mating 75-millimeter Type 90 field guns and the hulls of Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks. The crews operated the guns in casemates that were open from above and behind, reflecting the designers' thought that they were to be operated at the range of 12,000 meters; in actual combat situations, however, enemy infantry often operated at a much closer range, thus the open casemates exposed crews to small arms fire. They first saw combat in Luzon in the Philippine Islands in Dec 1944, though most of the 124 units built between 1941 and Nov 1943 were retained in the Japanese home islands at this time in preparation for the Allied invasion that never took place.
Picture added on 05 July 2011 at 07:01
