Type 1 Ho-Ki APC prototypes?

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Kikiribukiriki
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Type 1 Ho-Ki APC prototypes?

#1

Post by Kikiribukiriki » 26 Apr 2022, 21:09

Hi, I've been trying to research on the developement process and prototype stages of the Type 1 Ho-Ki APC, however info on some of these prototypes seems a bit lacking and a couple other sources also show some contradictive information. So far I've managed to get this:

1. "TC trial automatic tracked carrier", it was built in 1933 and was based on the Type 92 Heavy Armoured Car's chassis, however it was too small and it had no rear door due to the engine being placed at the back of the vehicle.


2. "TE trial rail automatic carrier", this was built in 1934 as the second prototype and was larger than the previous vehicle, although it still had the same engine of the Type 92 Heavy Armoured Car. Also this seems be a photo of the TE trial carrier with a soft top with windows placed on the cargo area?

Image




3. The "TG trial automatic tracked carrier" was built in 1935 and had a soft cover on top, it had windows on the sides and the cargo door was also placed on the side. However another source says that the TG trial carrier was built in 1945, I'm guessing as a possible upgrade of the Type 1 Ho-Ki APC?

http://hneck.web.fc2.com/warJAweapon6.htm (This is the source that talks about the "TE trial carrier" using the Type 92 Heavy Armoured Car's engine and the "TG trial carrier" being built in 1945)



4. The last prototype was built in 1938 and was called the "Type 98 trial automatic carrier", it is thought that a few numbers of this Type 98 carrier prototype were built and maybe even used in China, the sides of the cargo area of this vehicle were also made out of wood?

Image
(Type 98 trial carrier with wooden sides)


Is all of this info on the prototypes mostly correct? Any help on this would be appreciated, thanks a lot. :)

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Akira Takizawa
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Re: Type 1 Ho-Ki APC prototypes?

#2

Post by Akira Takizawa » 27 Apr 2022, 04:09

First of all, those are not prototypes of Ho-Ki. They are trials before Ho-Ki.

The prototype of Ho-Ki was built from Type 1 Tracked Truck in the end of 1941. It had slanted sides as shown below.

Taki
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Kikiribukiriki
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Re: Type 1 Ho-Ki APC prototypes?

#3

Post by Kikiribukiriki » 28 Apr 2022, 03:15

Akira Takizawa wrote:
27 Apr 2022, 04:09
First of all, those are not prototypes of Ho-Ki. They are trials before Ho-Ki.

The prototype of Ho-Ki was built from Type 1 Tracked Truck in the end of 1941. It had slanted sides as shown below.

Taki
Oh I see, it does make more sense now, thanks a lot for the input Taki.

So these were different trial vehicles and then that Ho-Ki prototype with sloped sides was made in 1941.

In that case it was then originally meant to have those sloped sides like the Ho-Ha half-track, so I assume that somewhere between 1942 and 1943 before mass production of the Type 1 Ho-Ki started, the sloped sides concept was taken out due to low resources during that time and to simplify production.

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