Type 2 Ke-To light tank

The Type 2 Ke-To (二式軽戦車 ケト, Nishiki keisensha Ke-To) was a light tank of World War II, produced in small numbers for the Imperial Japanese Army as an improvement of the existing Type 98 Ke-Ni. No Type 2 Ke-To light tanks are known to have engaged in combat prior to Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.^[4]

Key Information

Type 2 Ke-To
Type 2 Ke-To light tank
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Empire of Japan
Production history
Designed	1941[1]
Produced	1944–1945[2]
No. built	34[3]
Specifications (Type 2 Ke-To[4][5])
Mass	7.2 tons
Length	4.11 m (13 ft 6 in)
Width	2.12 m (6 ft 11 in)
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Crew	3
Armor	6–16 mm[4]
Main armament	Type 1 37 mm tank gun[4]
Secondary armament	7.7 mm machine gun[4]
Engine	Mitsubishi Type 100 air-cooled diesel 130 hp (97 kW)[4]
Suspension	bellcrank
Operational range	186 kilometers
Maximum speed	50 km/h[4]
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The Type 2 Ke-To was based on the Type 98 Ke-Ni, using the same engine and bell crank suspension.^[6] However, the gun turret was enlarged to provide greater space for the crewmen and the main armament was changed to the more powerful Type 1 37 mm gun,^[6] with a muzzle velocity of 800 m/s.^[4][1] The new 37 mm gun used gave the tank "slightly better performance".^[6] The conical turret also carried a 7.7 mm machine-gun in a coaxial mount.^[7] Besides these modifications, the tank was essentially the same as the Type 98 Ke-Ni, using the same hull, engine and having the same maximum armor plate.^[5] The designation "Type 2" represented the Japanese Imperial Year 2602 (1942 AD), "Ke" represented "light", and "To" represented the number seven.^[4][8]

Production commenced in 1944, with 34 units completed by the end of the war.^[3][4] No Type 2 Ke-To light tanks are known to have engaged in combat prior to Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.^[4]

An experimental "work vehicle" based on the Type 2 Ke-To light tank was produced in 1944. The armament consisted of a Type 97 7.7 mm machine gun in a smaller, modified turret. It was equipped with a 30kw generator, a flood light for night work and a light crane behind the tower.^[9]

The Type 4 work vehicle was an engineering vehicle developed in late 1944 on the chassis of the Type 2 Ke-To light tank. It was equipped with a dozer blade on the front end for use in airfield construction. It was also equipped with a 30kw generator to power tools and a flood light for night work. The exact number produced is not known.^[10]

• Hara, Tomio (1973). Japanese Combat Cars, Light Tanks, and Tankettes. AFV Weapons Profile No. 54. Profile Publications Limited.
• Tomczyk, Andrzej (2002). Japanese Armor Vol. 1. AJ Press. ISBN 83-7237-097-4.
• Zaloga, Steven J. (2007). Japanese Tanks 1939–45. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-8460-3091-8.

• Foss, Christopher (2003). Great Book of Tanks: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day. Zenith Press. ISBN 0-7603-1475-6.
• Foss, Christopher (2003). Tanks: The 500. Crestline. ISBN 0-7603-1500-0.

• History of War: Type 2 Ke-To Light Tank
• Taki's Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa