The Type 97 was the last and best of the Japanese tankette designs, entering service in 1938. Unfortunately, it suffered the same problems as earlier tankettes: weak armor (including riveted armor), weak armament and an overworked commander. Although used extensively by the Japanese, most Type 97’s were withdrawn from service by 1943.
The tankette was often issued to infantry units in pairs, or deployed in platoons of 10-17 vehicles. It was provided with a hitch for towing a trailer.
The Type 97 has a crew of two. The driver sits in the body. The commander, who operates the 37mm Type 94 gun, is split between the body and turret. It uses 1.4 gallons per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Very Small Tank chassis with mild slope
+3, full rotation Medium Weapon turret [Body:T] +1, tracks +2.
Powertrain: 36-kW diesel engine w/36-kW tracked drive
train and 40 gallons fuel in standard fuel tank [body]; 4,000-kWs batteries.
Occupancy: 1 CS Body, 1 CS Both Cargo:
1 Body
| Armor | F | RL | B | T | U |
| Body | 5/45 | 4/25 | 4/20 | 4/20 | 4/20 |
| Tracks | 4/30 | 4/30 | 4/30 | 4/30 | 4/30 |
| Turret | 4/45 | 4/25 | 4/20 | 4/20 | 0/0 |
Weaponry
37mm Medium TG/37mm Type 94 [Tur:F] (96).
Statistics
| Size: 12’¥6’¥6’ | Payload: 0.38 tons | Lwt: 5.2 tons |
| Volume: 37 | Maint.: 107 hours | Price: $3,500 |
HT: 12
HP: 800 [Body], 75 [Turret], 270 [Each Track]
| gSpeed: 26 | gAccel: 2 | gDecel: 20 | gMR: 0.25 | gSR: 4 | GP: Very Low (4/5) |
Design Notes
Design weight was reduced by 14% to match historical weight.
Some mounted a 7.7mm Type 91 MG (Ground LMG) with 2,800 rounds in place of the 37mm TG.
Variants
The Type 98 Do-Sa used the basic Type 97 chassis, converted for use
as an ammo or troop carrier.