Design
Type 97 hull was of riveted construction with the engine in the rear compartment. In the forward compartment, the driver sat on the right, and bow gunner on the left. The commander's cupola was placed atop the turret. Internal communications were by 12 push buttons in the turret, connected to 12 lights and a buzzer near the driver.
The Type 97 was initially equipped with a Type 97 57 mm main gun, the same caliber as that used for the earlier Type 89 I-Go tank. The cannon was a short-barreled weapon with a relatively low muzzle velocity, but sufficient as the tank was intended primarily for infantry support. The gun had no elevation gear.
The tank carried two 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns, one on the front left of the hull and the other in a ball mount on the rear of the turret. The latter could not be remounted on top of the turret for anti-aircraft use. The turret was capable of full 360-degree traverse, but the main gun had a second pair of trunnions, internally allowing a maximum 10-degree traverse independently of the turret.
The thickest armor used was 33 mm on the gun mantlet and 26 mm on the turret sides.
Power was provided by an air-cooled "V-12 21.7 liter diesel Mitsubishi Type 97" engine, which provided 170 hp (127 kW). The engine designation was SA12200VD.
Read more about this topic: Type 97 Chi-Ha
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