Type 120 O-I History

As World War II progressed, the Germans, Soviets, British and Americans were not the only ones seriously considering the development of "Super Heavy Tanks" - the Imperial Japanese Army came up with the "O-I" initiative to develop their own indigenous tanks Super heavy tanks are all on their own. The original plan was to have a 120-ton tank with a 105mm main gun in the main turret, with the smaller turret carrying smaller caliber weapons. In total, the car requires 11 employees to manage its various functions.

Another O-I project - the 100-ton "100 Super Heavy Tank O-I" - envisages the construction of a massive vehicle that would be equipped with up to four turrets with large and small caliber weapons. While the design was a setback, the 120-ton effort saw life to some extent before the war ended.

Interesting design direction here involving the use of multiple towers. The concept of the multi-turret tank gained traction in the decades following the end of World War I, mainly by British and Soviet indigenous attempts at the vehicle. However, World War II action soon demonstrated the limitations of the multi-turret concept, and the single turret was subsequently widely accepted as the norm, a norm that continues to today's main battle tanks.

Still, the Japanese certainly saw some value in their O-I tank's multi-turret tank concept and continued with their designs.

Externally, the 120-ton design test - also known as the "Type 120 O-I Super Heavy Tank" - presents a very traditional appearance, following the linear and square shapes that were widely accepted in early Japanese weapons testing design. The vehicle is suspended on eight wheels from one side of a track that runs the entire length of the hull and is protected along its upper part by an armored skirt bolted to the side of the upper hull. The Glacis panel is almost horizontal in its setup, with the cab centered in the front.

The crew had a short fuselage structure with a main turret mounted on top of the fuselage. A pair of smaller turrets will be added in front of the main turret to accommodate additional weapons. The roof of the main tower has at least two entrances and exits, and one more at the back.

Additional fuel supplies could be carried in barrels at the rear of the hull, as such a large aircraft would quickly consume available internal supplies. The powerplant will be located in the rear of the fuselage with access openings for easy servicing of the large twin gasoline unit.

The main weapon is the 1 x 105mm main gun, which in 1945 would be an excellent mobile artillery system against Allied armor. The 5-ton Type 92 - as it was originally a proven product and required some modifications to fit in the turret - shortened the development time for the newly developed 105mm gun. The gun is mounted in a fully movable turret with an overlapping rear. The primary armament will be supported by secondary weapons in the form of a 1 x 37mm anti-tank gun mounted on a smaller movable turret on the forward hull, just forward and below the main turret. Anti-infantry defenses will be produced using up to 3 x 7.7mm Series 97 machine guns, one mounted on different forward turrets and others elsewhere.

Ammunition numbers include 60 105mm rounds, 100 37 rounds and up to 7,470 7.7mm rounds.

In terms of dimensions, the Type 120 should have a barrel length of 10 meters, a width of 4.2 meters, and a height of 4 meters. In fact, it would have been a big, slow target on the battlefields of World War IIespecially for attack aircraft flying low overhead. Base armor values ??show thicknesses up to 200mm.

The total weight is about 120 tons - hence the name. Their clumsy nature would assume that the tanks would be equipped with infantry protection and medium and light tank support to avoid being overtaken by enemy personnel.

Power is provided by two V12 series petrol engines, each rated at 500 hp. The engine is usually installed in the aft compartment of the armored hull.

Since the Type 100 was nothing more than a proposed concept tank and performance specifications were never actually provided, the estimated top speed was 25 km/h.

While the Type 120 is believed to have been built, its "integrity" is always in doubt - perhaps there was an unfinished airframe at some point. The only extant example is thought to have been transported to Manchuria after 1944 under the direction of project engineers, although its current whereabouts are forgotten by history. Also, no photos of the vehicle are known.

It is believed that the Model 100 was not built at all before the collapse of the Japanese Empire in 1945.

Type 120 O-I Specification

Basic

Year:
1945
Staff:
11
Manufacturing:
Government Factory - Imperial Japan
Production:
1 unit

Roles

- fire support/attack/damage

- Tank vs Tank

Dimensions

Length:

32. 81 feet (10 m)

Width:

13.78 ft (4.2 m)

Height:

13. 12 feet (4 m)

Weight:

120 tons (108,862 kg; 240,000 lbs)

Performance

2 x V12 petrol engines at 1,500 rpm and 550 hp.

Performance

Maximum Speed:

25 km/h

Armor

Model 120:

1 x 105mm gun in the main turret

1 x 37mm Type 1 gun on the front turret

1 x 7.7mm Type 97 machine gun in front turret

2 x 7.7mm Type 97 machine guns

Type 100:

1 x 105mm gun in the main turret

1 x 37mm Type 1 gun on the front turret

1 x 37mm Type 1 gun in rear turret

1 x 7.7mm Type 97 in front turret

2 x 7.7mm Type 97 machine guns

Ammo:

60 x 105mm bullet

100 x 37mm bullet

7,470x7.7mm ammo

Changes

Type 120 O-I Super Heavy Tank - name of the basic series; 2 x petrol engines; 120 t operational weight; three towers; one example will do.

Type 100 O-I Ultra-Heavy Tank - Proposed 100-ton Type 100 four-turret development.

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