Type 1 Ho-Ni I
As the war progressed the Japanese were encountering more and more M4 Sherman tanks throughout the Pacific, which the Type 97 Chi-Ha was unable to deal with. To help fight the new American tanks the Type 1 Ho-Ni I tank destroyer was designed, it used the same basic chassis as the Chi-Ha but replaced the turret with an open topped superstructure with armour on the front and sides. Inside a modified version of the Type 90 75mm field gun was placed, which greatly increased the army's mobile anti-tank capability and gave them a fighting chance against the M4 Sherman.
The Type 1 Ho-Ni I is available in the Early/Mid-War time frame.
Type 3 Ho-Ni III
The Type 1 Ho-Ni I greatly added to the army's firepower but the open topped superstructure left the crew highly vulnerable. To fix this the new Type 3 Ho-Ni III was designed with a completely closed superstructure with thicker armour. By the time it was put into production the war situation had worsened and resources were becoming scarce, only 30-40 were built by the end of the war and all of them were station on the Japanese homeland in preparation for the expected invasion.
The Type 3 Ho-Ni III is available in the Late-War time frame.
Type 5 Ho-Ru
With the threat of invasion looming over the Japanese homelands in 1945 the army was doing everything possibly to prepare for the expected onslaught of American tanks. The Type 5 Ho-Ru was designed to upgrade the then obsolete ten year old Type 95 Ha-Go light tank by replacing the turret with an open superstructure and a 47mm cannon turning it into a light tank destroyer. Its believed that a single prototype was ready just before the war ended but no photographic evidence to support this has thus been found.
The Type 5 Ho-Ru is available in the Total-War time frame.
Type 5 Ho-Ri
The Type 5 Ho-Ri was a heavy tank destroyer based on the Type 5 Chi-Ri, the Ho-Ri was still in development when the war ended and none were built. The design of the Ho-Ri changed several times over the course of its development and there are four different known versions of the Ho-Ri, each having a different hull layout but the same track system and 105mm cannon. The one seen here is the most well known variant but not the most historical.
The Type 5 Ho-Ri is available in the Post-War time frame.
I had planed to also post the Japanese Artillery today too but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for them now.
