Type 95 Ha-Go light tank

The Type 95 Ha-Gō (九五式軽戦車 ハ号, kyūgo-shiki kei-sensha Ha-Gō) was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, at the Battles of Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry but was not effective against other tanks. Approximately 2,300 were produced, making it the most numerous Japanese armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War.

From early 1930s, the Japanese army began experimenting with a mechanized warfare unit combining infantry with tanks. However, the Type 89 Medium tank could not keep pace with the motorized infantry, which could move at 40 km/h (25 mph) by truck. For transport, tanks could be loaded on train platforms like in any other army of the time. To solve this problem, Tomio Hara of the Army Technical Bureau proposed a new light tank capable of 40 km/h speed and started development in 1933.

The prototype of the tank was begun in 1933 and completed in June 1934 at the Army's Sagami Arsenal. Initial tests were positive, but it was too heavy at 7.5 T (75,000 G) and was reworked to bring the weight down to 6.5 T (65,000 G). Due to doubts by the infantry as to its capability for infantry support it was tested in Manchuria in the winter of 1934–1935. The reports were favourable and a second prototype built, which was started in June and completed in November 1935.

In 1935, at a meeting in the Army Technical Bureau, the Type 95 was proposed as the main tank for mechanized infantry units. The infantry had concerns that the armor was insufficient but the cavalry indicated that the improved speed and armament compensated for thin armor. The infantry eventually agreed, as the Type 95 was still superior to the alternatives of the Type 92 cavalry tank and Type 94 tankette.

The name Type 95 was based on the year since the beginning of the Empire that the tank was produced (2595); with only the last two digits of the year being used. Sometimes a surname was used to supplement or replace the naming ideograms used for Japanese armored fighting vehicles. The Type 95 had the surname "Ha-Go" (third model) that was given by the designer of the tank, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries started production of the tank in 1936. Mass production began in 1938 with the tank and parts made by several companies; besides Mitsubishi, that included, Niigata Tekkoshō, Dowa Jido Shō, Sagami Arsenal, and Kokura Rikugun Jiohei Shō, as the main contributors.

The Type 95 was a 7.4-ton vehicle with a complement of 3 crewmen: a commander, a hull machine gunner, and a driver. Only the commander was seated in the turret, hence he was responsible for observation, loading, aiming, firing the main gun, as well as decision-making and commanding the crew. The hand-operated turret was small and extremely cramped.

The primary armament of the most produced version was a Type 94 (1934) 37 mm tank gun (not to be confused with the Type 94 37 mm anti-tank gun introduced two years later) with a barrel length of 46.1 calibers. It elevated between −15 and +20 degrees. The tank carried two types of 37 mm ammunition, the high-explosive and armor-piercing. For the latter, muzzle velocity was 580 m/s (1,900 ft/s) and armor penetration was 36 mm (1.4 in) at a distance of 275 m (902 ft).

Secondary armament was originally two 6.5 mm Type 91 machine guns, but these were replaced with two 7.7 mm Type 97 light machine guns, one mounted in the hull front and the other in the back of the turret, facing to the rear right (that is, in the five-o-clock direction).