IJA Type 97 Tankette Te-Ke

Interestingly Te-Ke is sharing the Type designation with Chi-Ha Medium tank. This did not happen by mistake as in fact Te-Ke is an ‘Tankette’ (light armored car) and not a tank. It was ordered by the Imperial Japanese Army to replace Type 94 TK tankette. The design was done by Hino Motors and it’s first version was ready in 1936, due to unsuccessful trials further revisions where made until 1937 when the design was accepted. It was designed to hold a Type 94 37mm tank gun (as in this model) however due to shortages in supply of Type 94 guns it was also equipped with Type 97 7.7mm machine guns. A total of 616 armored cars of this type where produced between 1938 and 1944. It was used by the Imerial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and during World War II.