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Japanese Empire (1944) Medium Tank protoype The last medium, designed to kill the Sherman. The Type 5 Chi-Ri (五式中戦車 チリ Go-shiki chusensha Chi-ri) was one of the last Japanese tank model to reach the prototype phase during WWII. Not a heavy tank, but a medium, it was designed to be more heavier and powerful than the Type 4 Chi-To. It was designed to be a Killer of Shermans, and would have been the closest Imperial Japan would get to a vehicle as deadly as the German Tiger or Panther. Development and Design The Type 5 Chi-Ri was based on a lengthened version of the Type 4 Chi-To chassis (8 road wheels), with thicker sloped welded armor. This included 75 mm (2.95 in) on the frontal glacis, and from 25 to 50 mm (0.98-1.97 in) on the sides, rear and turret. Initially, it was to be powered by a Mitsubishi diesel engine, but a 800 hp V-12 gasoline-fueled aircraft engine designed by BMW, licence built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, was selected instead. There were ...

ISU-152 Soviet Union (1943-1947) Heavy Self-Propelled Gun – 4635 built A 152 mm “beast killer” The ISU-152 was an absolute nightmare for the Wehrmacht. Much like the SU-152, it was capable of blowing Tiger, Ferdinand, and Panther turrets/casemates open. However, what made the ISU-152 inherently better than the SU-152 was its superior armor and towing power. It had three major roles – assault gun, tank destroyer and mobile artillery, which made it one of the most versatile heavy vehicles of the war. After the war, it remained in service well until the 1970s, and some even saw some unconventional action at the Chernobyl liquidation, 1986. A very dramatic photo of a pair of ISU-152s fording a river. Design process The ISU-152 came about for two main reasons – the success of the SU-152, and the arrival of the IS heavy tank hull. Seeing as though the IS was an upgrade of the KV series, which the SU-152 was based on, it made perfect sense to mount the same we...

March 28, 2017 7147 Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter Nearing the end of WWII, Germany maintained the belief that super tanks could reverse the war’s outcome and help them emerge victorious. The Panzerkampwagen E-100 was one of the super tank designs. It had the ability to be used as a heavy artillery system platform, a heavy tank destroyer, and even an anti-aircraft vehicle. The Waffenamt ordered the basic design making it a parallel development to the Maus during June 1943. The Maus, weighing in at 188 tons, never saw military service as only two were built and only one was finished. Plans were for the E-100 to be the heaviest of the Entwicklung (E) vehicle series. The two tanks development had the goal to standardize the components. Adlerwerke Company from Frankfurt Auf Main submitted a blueprint in March 1944 for their ...