The proposed 100 ton prototype was to be equipped with a Type 92 105 mm cannon for its main gun. The general outer appearance design was not dissimilar to the Type 95 Heavy Tank. Colonel Iwakuro indicated that the new tank should be at least two times larger than the current Type 95 Heavy Tank (26 tonnes). In early 1940, Hideo Iwakuro, a colonel with the Army Ministry of Japan (陸軍省 Rikugun-shō) ordered the Army Engineering Division to develop a new super heavy tank. A super heavy tank project was proposed directly in response to the Japanese defeat at Khalkhin Gol. A larger tank design was urgently needed. Many Japanese tanks such as the Type 95 Ha-Go light tank and the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks were proven to be insufficient to counter Soviet armored forces. History and development Īfter the Battles of Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union in 1939, Japan tried to improve their tank designs using lessons learned from this battle. The complete history of the O-I is unknown, due to the “obscure” nature of the project and the limited documentation known to have survived post-war. The vehicle was planned to be very heavy and have a crew of 11. O-I was the name given to a proposed series of Japanese super-heavy tanks, to be used in the Pacific Theater.
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