Despite its formidable reach in the early stages of World War 2, the Japanese Army fell behind her contemporaries in several key areas during the conflict. One such area was in the design and development of effective tracked armored fighting vehicles, their inventories made up largely of outdated designs theories and light tank classifications. The early successful showings of the Japanese Army across both China and Manchuria forged a false thinking that a mobile light armored force was the key to sure victory, setting aside much thought given to the inclusion of medium and heavy tank systems. As such, the Japanese Army would go into full scale world war against the Allies while lacking in key battlefield components. It bears mention that the industrial state within the Empire of Japan encouraged such thinking for mass production methodology largely lagged behind those of Germany, Britain, Russia and the United States. Even Canada and Australia were forced to develop their wartime production facilities from "nothing" to "something". Needless to say, this lack of manufacturing capacity went on to limit the types - and quantity - of Japanese armored vehicles and self-propelled gun systems for the duration of the Pacific campaign.
At this point in the war, the Japanese found themselves with a surplus of old Type 38 150mm (5.9 inch) field howitzers. These were originally based on a German Krupp design and were introduced as early as 1905. For their time, they were relatively adequate weapons firing a formidable shell weighing nearly 80lbs at ranges out to 6,542 yards. However, the inherent design of the breech mechanism made them slow to fire and their age was beginning to show through for many of the remaining Type 38 systems in stock were either run down through regular use or naturally aging with time. As such, the weapon, being regarded as obsolete, was largely removed from the Japanese inventory in 1942.
With that said, Japanese authorities thought the Type 38 gun still a serviceable mount and the Type 97 chassis still retained a few good years in yet - plus both were available in some number and success was witnessed with the Germans adding their 15-cm sIG 33 guns to tracked chassis such as captured Czech Panzer 38(t) tanks in Europe. The decision was therefore made to mate the two weapon systems into a makeshift, inexpensive self-propelled gun system with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries being made the primary contracting activity.
The Type 38 gun would be seated in a fixed superstructure that was protected only by a forward shield or armor that slightly protected the forward sides. The crew of four or five personnel would operate the gun breech in an open-air setting, exposed to the elements and battlefield dangers but systems such as these were always intended to operate behind direct lines of contact. The gun was situated well-forward in the design with the Type 97 hull left largely intact. There were a set of tracks straddling either side of the tank hull with six road wheels to a track side. The drive sprocket was located at the front of the design with the track idler at the rear. Three track return rollers were positioned along the underside of the upper track element. The glacis plate was well sloped and the engine remained at the rear. Only a portion of the Type 97's lower superstructure remained, the rest of the design being capped by the impromptu open-air gun mount. The superstructure and gun mount essentially replaced the original turret assembly of the base Type 97 and was wholly fixed in place with some elevation flexibility. Power was derived from a Mitsubishi Type 100 air-cooled V12 diesel engine outputting some 170 horsepower. This allowed for speeds up close to 24 miles per hour with a range out to 156 miles.
Once again the industrial limitations of the Japanese Empire shown through with the Type 4 Ho-Ro. The system was severely limited in production to the point that only twenty five or so vehicles were ever produced. Mass produced forms never appeared as the Type 4 was essentially forged into existence by the hands of laborers without the benefits of assembly line benefits.
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FIRE SUPPORT / ASSAULT / BREACHING
Support allied forces through direct / in-direct fire, assault forward positions, and / or breach fortified areas of the battlefield.
18.0 ft (5.5 meters) Length
7.5 ft (2.28 meters) Width
5.1 ft (1.549 meters) Height
29,321 lb (13,300 kg) Weight
14.7 tons (Light-class) Tonnage
1 x Mitsubishi Type 100 air-cooled V12 diesel-fueled engine developing 170 horsepower. to a conventional track-and-wheel arrangement. Drive System
24 mph (38 kph) Road Speed
155 miles (250 km) Road Range
1 x 150mm Type 38 howitzer main gun.
AMMUNITION
Dependent on ammunition carrier.
Type 4 "Ho-Ro" - Base Series Designation
Images
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Front left side view of the Type 4 Ho-Ro self-propelled gun
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Left side view of the Type 4 Ho-Ro self-propelled gun
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