The date on which the construction of the tank resumed is unknown, although active testing of the tank was scheduled for late 1943. The total weight of the vehicle at the time was 96 tons, due to the lack of remaining structural plates and absent 75mm bolted-on armor. Thus, the project was put on standby, until further development could continue. Due to this, the primary turret was removed as it lacked a 35-millimetre-thick roof plate, which had not yet arrived. However the project once again did not have the necessary resources needed for the few remaining parts required for the final assessment. Initial assembly of the tank’s armament took place soon after the turret’s superstructures were completed. Mitsubishi built the four turrets for the tank in May of the same year. The tank had reached near-completion and was being prepared for mobility testing. The construction of the Mi-To was postponed until January 1942, a delay of nine months.Īfter the Mi-To’s construction was resumed, the hull was completed on February 8th 1942. By the first month of construction, essential construction resources had been depleted and the issues with the vehicle’s cooling system further caused delays. Due to the limitation on material consumption by the government, the amount of parts that could be secretly shipped-in began to dwindle. This, ultimately, did not come into fruition as technical issues on the project began to arise. Colonel Murata’s original concept was to complete the super-heavy tank three months after the initiation of Mi-To’s construction. This entailed privately-made mechanical parts and equipment being shipped to the construction zone. On April 14th 1941, the engineers began the construction of the Mi-To under secretive means. However, with the threat of a second Russo-Japanese conflict becoming more apparent, the project continued despite the engineer’s doubts on the size and mobility of the vehicle.įour engineers who survived to record the dealing had with the project Issues that had been noted with heavy tank experiments in the years preceding the Mi-To showing Japan’s generally unsuccessful testing on multi-turreted vehicles exceeding the weight of standard armored vehicles. The chosen engineers voiced their concerns regarding the Mi-To’s design noting that previously, the largest-sized Japanese tank had been the prototype Type95 Heavy in 1934. The name originated from a collection of the Mitsubishi industry and the city, Tokyo given to the vehicle to uphold secrecy of the tank’s project. Each officer present possessed a portion of the project’s blueprint, which, when assembled, projected the full design of the tank, labelled "Mi-To". Towards the end of the barracks facility was a fully-enclosed room devoid of windows, with soundproofed walls to prevent external personnel from overhearing discussions related to the project. There, they were guided through a barracks containing multiple small fitting rooms, where they were to conduct meetings and reports on the progress of construction of the super-heavy vehicle. One recorded engineer was Shigeo Otaka, who stated they were sent to the 4th Technical Research Group’s previous headquarters in Tokyo. The following month, a group of pre-selected engineers were chosen to partake in the building of the super-heavy tank. By March 1941, the research group had finished initial tank design and was ready to begin construction. The 4th Technical Research Group began designing the super-heavy vehicle throughout 1940, attempting to meet Colonel Iwakuro’s vague instructions on the ultimate goal of the project. “ Make the dimensions twice that of today’s tanks.” “ I want a huge tank built which can be used as a mobile pillbox in the wide open plains of Manchuria. Colonel Murata noted Iwakuro’s words as described Iwakuro assigned Colonel Murata of the 4th Technical Research Group to design and construct the super heavy tank in 1939. Iwakuro opposed Japan’s advances towards the Soviet Union in 1939, and with the Japanese defeat, he decided to initiate a project to construct a heavily armored tank capable of withstanding large-calibre field cannons. After 1939, the Imperial Japanese Army quickly came to realize that previous forms of mechanized warfare were proved inefficient after their defeat at Khalkhin Gol.ĭevelopment of the super-heavy project was spearheaded by Colonel Hideo Iwakuro, the head of the Ministry of War of Japan (陸軍省 Rikugun-shō).
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