Type 5 Na-To

The Type 5 Na-To (五式砲戦車, Go-shiki hōsensha), officially known as the Experimental 7.5cm self-propelled anti-tank gun Na-To (試製七糎半対戦車自走砲 ナト, Shisei nana-senchimētoru hantaisensha jisōhō Na-To) was the penultimate tank destroyer developed by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1945, during the closing stages of World War II.

Type 5 Na-To
Experimental 7.5cm self-propelled AT gun Na-To
Typetank destroyer[1]
Place of originEmpire of Japan
Production history
No. built2[1]
Specifications
Mass15 tons[1]
Length5.80 meters[1]
Width2.40 meters[1]
Height2.75 meters[1]
Crew7[1]
Armor12 mm max[1]
Main
armament
Type 5 75 mm gun[1]
Secondary
armament
Type 97 7.7 mm machine gun
Enginediesel 165 PS/2000 rpm
150 HP
Suspensionbell crank
Maximum speed 40 km/h[1]

History and development
Side view of the Type 5 Na-To

Towards the end of the Pacific War, Japanese field commanders realized that nothing in the inventory of the Japanese Army would be able to withstand the increasingly advanced tanks and armored vehicles fielded by the Allies, and that a more powerful version of the Type 3 Ho-Ni III was necessary. Development was rushed through on a new design, which was completed in 1945.[2] The Japanese Army immediately issued an order for 200 units to be completed in 1945.[1] However, by that time production was impossible due to material shortages, and by the bombing of Japan in World War II, and testing was not yet completed by the end of the war.[3]

Design
Rear view of the Type 5 Na-To, with compartment doors open

The Type 5 Na-To made use of the chassis and superstructure of the Type 4 Chi-So armored medium tracked carrier. The superstructure had an open top and rear, with an enclosed armored drivers cab. For the Type 5 Na-To there was added a "shielded platform" for its main gun.[4] Its main anti-tank armament consisted of a Type 5 75 mm tank gun, which was the same gun mounted in the Type 4 Chi-To medium tank. The gun was a variant of the Japanese Type 4 75mm AA Gun.[1][2][5]

Service record
Type 5 Na-To during field testing in 1945

Although the Type 5 Na-To tank destroyer was intended to become part of the defenses of the Japanese home islands against the projected Allied Invasion, only two units were completed by the surrender of Japan.[1] Neither one was used in combat.

Notes
  1. Taki’s Imperial Japanese Army: 75mm SP AT Gun "Na-To"
  2. Tomczyk 2007, p. 10.
  3. Zaloga 2007, p. 20.
  4. Tomczyk 2007, pp. 10, 12–13, 38.
  5. Tomczyk 2005, pp. 22, 30.

References
  • Tomczyk, Andrzej (2005). Japanese Armor Vol. 4. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371676.
  • Tomczyk, Andrzej (2007). Japanese Armor Vol. 5. AJ Press. ISBN 978-8372371799.
  • Zaloga, Steven J. (2007). Japanese Tanks 1939-45. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-8460-3091-8.
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