Type 4 Ka-Tsu

Type 4 Ka-Tsu
Place of origin	Empire of Japan
Production history
Designed	1942-1943
Specifications
Mass	16 tons
Length	11m
Width	4m
Height	2.25m
Crew	5
Armor	-
Main armament	2 45cm torpedoes
Secondary armament	2 13mm MG's
Engine	Gasoline engine in a water-tight pressure box 62 HP
Power/weight	1 ton/3 HP
Suspension	-
Operational range	-
Maximum speed	(sea)5 knots

The special Type 4 Launch Ka-Tsu (特四式内火艇 カツ, toku-yon-shiki uchibitei Ka-Tsu) was a Japanese amphibious tank during World War II.

History

This type, though relatively obscure, would have played a major role in the planned second sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Five submarines, equipped with four Ka-Tsu's armed with aerial torpedoes, were to release the tanks near Pearl Harbor in conjunction with several other attacks. However, the Ka-Tsu was plagued with problems from the start. Crew noticed the engine was not entirely water-tight, and after a time would completely flood. Another factor was that the Ka-Tsu's had no dedicated tank crewmen, but were drafted from the members of midget submarines and trained for about two weeks on Nasake Jima. It also took some 20 minutes for the tanks to deploy from their mother submarine, thanks in part to their sadly lacking engine, which was also quite noisy. Finally, the tracks had the alarming tendency to slip or give out upon meeting the slightest obstacle.

External links

• Template:Ru icon Type 4 Ka-Tsu from DogsWar.ru