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The (also known as ''Ke-Go''〔 or ''Kyu-Go'') was a light tank used by the Imperial Japanese Army in combat operations of the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry, but, like the American M3 Stuart, it was not designed to fight other tanks.〔Zaloga (Armored Thunderbolt) p. 16 & 18〕 Approximately 2,300 units were produced,〔 making it the most numerous Japanese armored fighting vehicle of the time. ==History and development== From early 1930s, the Japanese army began experimenting on a mechanized warfare unit combining infantry with tanks. However, the Type 89 Medium tank could not keep pace with the motorized infantry, which could move at by truck. In combat, motorized infantry could only hope to achieve 40 km advance per day. For transport, tanks could be loaded on train platforms like in any other army of the times. To solve this problem, the Army Technical Bureau proposed a new light tank of 7 tonnes or less capable of 40 km/h speed and started development in 1933. The prototype of the new tank was begun in 1933 and completed in 1934 at the Army's Sagami Arsenal.〔Hara ''Armour in Profile''〕 Initial tests were positive but it was too heavy at 7.5 tonnes and had to be reworked bringing the weight down to 6.5 t. Due to doubts by the infantry as to its capability for infantry support it was tested in Manchuria in the winter of 1934/1935.〔Hara〕 The reports were favourable and a second prototype built, being completed in November 1935.〔 In 1935, at a meeting in the Army Technical Bureau, the Type 95 was proposed as the main tank for mechanized infantry units. The infantry had concerns that the armor was insufficient; however, the cavalry indicated that the improved speed and armament compensated for thin armor. In the end, the infantry agreed, as the Type 95 was still superior to the only available alternative, which was the Type 92 Heavy Armoured Car. Production was started in 1936 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.〔 By 1939, 100 units had been built. Mitsubishi would go on to build a total of 853 in their own factories, with another 1,250 units built by the Sagami Arsenal, Hitachi Industries, Niigata Tekkoshō, Kobe Seikoshō, and Kokura Arsenal.〔Zaloga, Japanese Tanks 1939–45 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Type 95 Ha-Go」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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