I found a weird bottle of 500ml tea at a super cheap price of 60 yen, and was attracted to the price and tried it...
the taste is weird and currently withering atm, Tomeko here. Hi everyone.
First impression: Oolong tea 20%, while drinking: black tea 30%, after taste: scent of mysterious herb 20%... is what it was like... the reason the total doesn't even reach 100% is due to it lacking in flavor...
So anyway, today I will share a surprising mecha!
IJA Type 92 Heavy Armored Vehicle (Late Production)
...
......
.........an armored vehicle?
It's just a slightly cute tank, however you look at it, really.
I have thought about the difference between an armored vehicle and a tank, but I couldn't work it out.
It doesn't seem like there is a specific difference between them...
But according to my personal impression...
Tank: Heavily armored, high firepower, low maneuverability, equipped with continuous track (the tank belt)
Armored Vehicle: light armored, low firepower, high maneuverability, have wheels rather without belt (*though that's not always the case)
Well that's what I think, anyway.
Pretty broad I guess, so don't take it too seriously.
I stand to be corrected, so please enlighten me if someone actually knows the difference.
Right.
The
type 92 in the name actually means it was used in the AD1932, which is the year 2592 of the Japanese Imperial Year (which begins its calendar from the initial Emperor), and has taken the last two digits from
it.
The direct reason for them being named armored vehicle is not due to the machines potential, but rather due to places they were dispatched and the circumstances around that. This type 92 was placed under the cavalry squad,
rather than infantry.
The Cavalry squad, used to be literally troops pulled by war horses.
There were two types of them, one as mobile combat force, the other as infantry support, and given scouting missions.
The most famous cavalry squad is probably that which got through the Russian army, in the periods of Russo-Japanese War.
The commander back then was Akiyama Yoshifuru Major General, and is seen in [Saka no ue no kumo] (Cloud above the hill), a historical novel.
However. Even this cavalry squad has been hit with the wave of technological advancement. At the first World War, a new weapon was introduced which spread violence in the trench warfare, the tank.
So yeah.
The Cavalry squad that was already getting behind times had started using new weapons to replace the warhorses.
And that is the type 92.
Truthfully speaking, I don't think there is any real difference to a tank in what it actually does, but it seems that
due to reasons of something like fighting over territory between the assigned post, the
name armored vehicle has been given.
So basically, the name TANK is for the Infantry squad! Cavalry squad was created afterwards, so don't use the name, ALL RIGHT?? Are we CLEAR???
......that kinda situation, I would imagine.
Now, the important part is the specifications of the machine. As it's for the Cavalry squad, it doesn't have as much firepower, but designed with maneuverability as its main priority. The top speed is 40km/h. The type 89
tanks, which was released around the same time has top speed of 24km/h, so you can see that there was quite a large difference in speed.
BUT, there are negatives to this too.
Regarding defense, you may as well call it a paper shield.
To lighten the vehicle, the joints, which would have normally used rivets, were replaced with unorthodox wielding structure. However, this was apparently super weak, and apparently there were reports that it broke just by
bumping into things a little.
Rivet joints were strong, but the weight increased for each rivet used. But there was a problem with weilding; that the metal used would be weak to impact when using thermal pressings. The type 92 challenged with
ambition...but the defense wasn't its strong point.
And firepower wasn't the best either; with the main cannon equipped being 13mm machine gun, which happen to have slow shooting speed, yet not very effective against targets with thick armors due to lack of firepower... it
was kinda half-arsed, I have to say.
But yeah, the camouflage paint... one would wonder what's up with the yellow lines on the thing... I mean, I wonder what its trying to blend into...
Oh and by the way, its top speed was worth praising, but traverse itself wasn't all that good. Although the cost to assign them was quite cheap, apparently.
You can make an army man figure ride it.
I have written quite negatively about its spec, but it seems it wasn't rated too badly at the time of its use.
Warhorses were animals, thus were delicate (which equals inconveniences), but the machines generally runs quite well, given proper maintenance and fuel, which seemed to have been very appreciated.
It may not have been in use for too long, but there are many stories about its speed and greatness achieved in pursuits etc.
It never got sad nicknames like 'coffin', so it must have been quite useful as a weapon, I assume. The army man looks abit nervous, but im sure its not due to the type 92.
Oh and also, the production of these were by a company called 'Ishikawa jima Automobile manufacture', which is later known as 'Isuzu Auto' these days.
So anyway, sorry for explaining stuff with my shallow knowledge everytime, but that was it for today's topic, the type 92 armored vehicle.
Hope to see you next week, here at Hobby Search!
By Tomeko, who dislikes that tea.