news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

the need to expand aggression

on september 18, 1931, the japanese kwantung army brazenly launched the "september 18th incident" and basically occupied the entire territory of northeast china in early 1932. however, just when the japanese army attempted to turn northeast china into its rear base for "conquering the world", the anti-japanese guerrillas active among the white mountains and black waters repeatedly dealt them heavy blows. in order to "cruel" the anti-japanese armed forces, the japanese army and the "puppet manchukuo army" used a large number of trucks and other motor vehicles to carry infantry to form "crusade teams", trying to take advantage of their high mobility to divide and encircle small groups of anti-japanese armed forces. however, the road conditions in the northeast are not ideal. japanese and puppet army trucks often get stuck in the snow and mud and are difficult to move. in addition, some vehicles with liquid-cooled engines often "lay down" in the severe cold environment of the northeast. therefore, these vehicles were originally used to strengthen mobile vehicles sometimes become a "burden" that hinders mobility, and even cause the "punitive team" to be ambushed by anti-japanese armed forces.

figure 1. a motorized "crusade team" of the "puppet manchukuo army" riding on a truck preparing to "cruel" the anti-japanese armed forces

figure 2. a convoy of japanese “punitive force” trucks driving on the snowy roads in northeast china

because they felt the "skin-stricken pain" in actual combat, and the all-out invasion of north china was "on the verge of imminent," the japanese army began to seek a small vehicle that could operate in cold conditions and have strong maneuverability. in 1934, the japanese army invited bids from major domestic automobile manufacturers to develop a high-mobility four-wheel-drive vehicle using an air-cooled engine for personnel transportation, liaison, and reconnaissance. including japan's internal combustion engine (today's nissan motor), toyota automotive loom automobile division (today's toyota motor), engine manufacturing (today's daihatsu motor) and okamoto bicycle automobile manufacturing co., ltd. have all come up with their prototype car. in order to win the order, japan internal combustion engine asked makita tetsuji to handle the overall design. as a technical talent who could be called a "pillar" in japan's internal combustion engine industry and even in the entire japanese automobile industry in the 1920s and 1930s, tetsuji makita made considerable achievements in the research and development of small vehicles such as small tricycles. it is natural that he designed this new car. well deserved. according to the requirements put forward by the japanese army, he quickly determined the overall design idea and took out the core four-wheel drive chassis sample. the test results were very satisfactory to the japanese army. in the end, the design launched by japan's internal combustion engine won the bid.

according to the final year of 1935, the new car was named 95-type small passenger car (japanese name: 95-type small passenger car), and was officially put into mass production in 1936.

technical performance

experts on the history of japanese technology once regarded the type 95 small passenger car as "the world's first four-wheel drive jeep". indeed, this vehicle is called "light siqi" (meaning light four-wheel drive vehicle) not only is it the first four-wheel drive light off-road vehicle developed and produced in japan, but it was also put into production earlier than the famous american-made willys jeep, soviet-made gaz 61 and german-made type 166 "bucket truck", which can be regarded as lackluster. a "wonderful flower" among the japanese-made combat vehicles of world war ii.

figure 3. three color views of the type 95 small passenger car

the car has a total length of 3600 mm, a width of 1300 mm, and a wheelbase of 2000 mm. compared with similar models from countries such as the united states and germany, the car has a higher center of gravity. the whole vehicle is a non-load-bearing body design, and the main body of the chassis is a steel frame beam structure. in order to improve the passing ability of the vehicle, the wheels are made of high-quality rubber, and a spare wheel is hung at the rear of the vehicle body so that it can be replaced at any time. this is similar to the design of a series of civilian off-road vehicles in later generations.

as one of the core designs of the car, the car's four-wheel drive device is actually a "part-time four-wheel drive". a simple double universal joint is used to connect the front and rear transmission devices. it can be used on relatively flat roads such as paved roads. relying on rear-wheel drive only when driving, switching to four-wheel drive when off-road maneuvering is required. from today's perspective, this design seems very primitive, but at the time it was considered an avant-garde design. in order to improve the problem of uneven rotation of the vehicle during four-wheel drive, the front wheels adopt double wishbone independent suspension, so that the steering angle of the two wheels can be controlled within a small range when turning.

figure 4. a 95-type small passenger car climbing a hill. it can be seen that the rotation angle of its front wheels is very small.

at the beginning of the design, the r&d team once considered introducing a horizontally opposed engine, but it was not possible due to issues such as the engine development progress. what was finally installed on the car was a v-twin ohv air-cooled engine with an inclination angle of 45°. working with the engine was a manual transmission with three forward gears and one reverse gear. the engine is developed based on the "xymas" single-cylinder 650cc engine developed by japan internal combustion engine's mikuni shop for motorcycles and tricycles, which in turn is based on the 600cc engine used by the british motorcycle brand sunbeam and several other models. . although the prototype single-cylinder engine was naturally air-cooled, the installed twin-cylinder engine was changed to forced air-cooling by a fan due to the sharp increase in heat generation, and there was no engine guard to enhance heat dissipation. the displacement of the initial model was 1.2 liters. however, due to the large thermal load during operation, the engine power decreased. in order to make up for the loss of performance, improved models with increased displacement were installed on later production models, including 1.3 liters and 1.4 liters. models, of which the 1.4-liter model has a maximum power of 33 horsepower. since the engine is located above the front wheel differential, the center of gravity is higher, and it vibrates more than a horizontally opposed engine, which is a major drawback of the car.

figure 5. actual view of the engine installation in the engine compartment of the type 95 small passenger car

although the vehicle does not have armor protection and does not include fixed weapons in the original design, the vehicle's crew position can be equipped with light machine guns (models include taisho 11-type light machine gun, type 96 light machine gun and type 99 light machine gun). machine guns, etc.) to provide certain self-defense capabilities. at the same time, the crew can also use sidearms to shoot based on the vehicle.

figure 6. a japanese soldier relying on the body of a 95-type small passenger car to carry out surveillance

model list

from the start of production in 1936 to the discontinuation of production in 1944, a total of 4,775 type 95 small passenger cars were produced. during this period, the following subtypes were derived:

prototype car:

a full series of prototypes born in 1935, with an engine displacement of 1.2 liters, a roadster shape, a rectangular engine air intake grille, and no bumpers.

type a production type:

produced between 1937 and 1938, it had an engine displacement of 1.3 liters and a three-seater roadster style with an oval grille and bumpers.

four-door prototype:

as the front line reported that the vehicle had insufficient passenger capacity, a four-door prototype was launched in 1939. based on the original design, the vehicle had a longer wheelbase and a pair of guanyin doors on each side. the engine model used in this car is either an air-cooled engine or a liquid-cooled engine, and the air intake grille is square.

type b production type:

produced from 1939 to 1943, it has an engine displacement of 1.4 liters, can carry 4 passengers, and has a square air intake grille. it is the most produced model in the entire series.

type c production type:

the model produced in 1944 was characterized by the change of model to a two-seat cargo vehicle, which is quite close to today's "pickup truck". the biggest feature of the appearance is that the air intake grille is changed to a butterfly shape.

figure 7. data map of a type c production model of a 95-type small passenger car.

in addition to these main models, the car also had improvements to the assault vehicle. at the end of the war, in order to prepare for the "decisive battle on home soil", the japanese army mobilized elites to form an "air support force" (i.e. airborne force). among them, the "gliding infantry company" (i.e. glider airborne wing) planned to use a machine gun equipped with a cannon. the type 95 small passenger car was used as a mobile assault vehicle to attack us military positions on the okinawa battlefield. however, since the glider airborne troops did not implement airborne operations on a large scale, this transformation plan was not implemented.

figure 8. the ク8-ii glider equipped by the japanese army is planned to be carried by an improved model of the type 95 small passenger car.

battlefield application

since the vehicle was initially developed to cope with the environment in the northeast region, the japanese kwantung army became one of the largest users of the vehicle. the vehicle has withstood the test in the northeast region, especially its air-cooled engine and four-wheel drive capability, which gave it stronger maneuverability than other wheeled vehicles. it became the "violent weapon" of the kwantung army in its "crusade" against the anti-japanese armed forces. won a "famous reputation" within the military. as the pace of japanese aggression accelerated, the ruts of the type 95 small passenger cars spread all over china. since the type 95 small passenger car lacked armor protection, a small number of this type of car was destroyed and injured by the chinese anti-japanese military and civilians.

figure 9. on june 17, 1938, a type 95 small passenger car got stuck in the mud while passing through the yellow river flood zone in henan. several japanese crew members were trying to drag it out. note that the symbol japan on its front grille army five-pointed star metal badge

if the vehicle can "protect itself" when facing the chinese army, which lacks anti-tank weapons, its fate will be called a "tragedy" when facing the highly mechanized soviet red army. the first time the type 95 small passenger car was involved in a large-scale battle with the soviet army occurred in the battle of nomenhan in 1939. in this battle, the kwantung army suffered a heavy blow from the soviet-mongolian coalition forces commanded by zhukov, and suffered heavy losses. there are a large number of technical weapons, and this vehicle is included in the list of captured weapons by the soviet army. in the far east campaign in august 1945, the soviet army defeated the main force of the kwantung army. some of the remaining type 95 small passenger cars became the possession of the soviet army, and were even used by the soviet army to pursue their former targets. owner.

figure 10. after the battle of nomonhan, several soviet officers and soldiers were inspecting a type 95 small passenger car abandoned by the japanese army. the car was in relatively good condition and should be a type a production model from the appearance.

figure 11. several soviet officers and soldiers who were chasing the escaping japanese army in a captured type 95 small passenger car during the far east campaign. from the appearance, it should be a b-type production model. the store sign in the background shows where they are. the location is probably tumen, jilin

in addition to the chinese battlefield, the type 95 small passenger car was also widely used by the japanese army and navy in the pacific battlefield. in the early days of the war, the japanese army swept through the allied forces in southeast asia. in order to lose the initiative on the battlefield, most of this type of vehicles were destroyed or abandoned. the u.s. military once seized a small number of type 95 small passenger cars on the battlefield, and became very interested in this vehicle that is quite similar to a jeep. it should be noted that due to differences in engine structures between american and japanese vehicles, the fuel used by the us military cannot be directly used in japanese vehicles, but often requires a mixture of multiple fuels in a certain proportion (for example, the us military is testing japanese-made vehicles) when using a tank, you need to mix no. 2 diesel and bunker c-type high-viscosity marine oil in a ratio of 1:1 before filling it into the tank tank and starting the engine). according to the test results of the us military, the type 95 small passenger car can travel 31 miles per gallon of fuel consumed, which was considered "fuel-efficient" at the time.

figure 12. after the recapture of attu island and kiska island, the us military on the islands found a type 95 small passenger car abandoned by the japanese army.

figure 13. several u.s. soldiers are "test driving and evaluating" a captured type 95 small passenger car. from the appearance, it should be a type b production model.

as the performance of the type 95 small passenger car gradually fell behind, it began to be replaced by the newer type 4 small cargo truck in 1944. however, since the japanese army was seriously short of vehicles, the remaining type 95 small passenger cars were still in service. japan was defeated.

influence of later generations

after the war, except for most of them destroyed and a few captured by the allies, almost no type 95 small passenger cars survived in japan. however, the car has always had a group of fans in japan. in recent years, these people have used various means to find and repair several dilapidated type 95 small passenger cars, and they have frequently appeared as "cultural relics". although the car is not it has too strong a "weapon" attribute, but this kind of behavior still makes people think of it as a "spiritual call" for militarism today when the right-wing forces in japan are gradually rising.

figure 14. the remains of a type a production model of the type 95 small passenger car recovered by the japanese non-profit organization "defense technology museum founding association" (japanese name: defense technology museum founding association) to raise funds for the restoration of the car funding the association launched a crowdfunding campaign for the private sector

because the 95-type small passenger car has a unique and even "beautiful" shape, it is quite famous in japan's "two-dimensional" world. in recent years, the popular military-themed anime "girls und panzer" "the car appeared in the film and became an easter egg-style "double act" in the drama.

figure 15. the production c-type model of the type 95 small passenger car based on the appearance in "girls und panzer" and comes with anime character dolls.

in addition to japan, in china, one of the main battlefields of the 95-type small passenger car combat, with the rise of anti-japanese film and television works, the demand for various japanese combat vehicle props including this car is increasing. some the film and television prop manufacturing factory has been able to mass-produce 95-type small passenger car props. of course, such a dramatic result must have been unexpected by the designers of the past.

figure 16. a 95-type small passenger car preserved somewhere in dongda university. i vaguely remember that there was one in the ancient city of qinglong county at the beginning of the burma highway in guizhou province. the 95-type jeep marked in the lower right corner of the photo is obviously a mistake, jeep is a trademark of the american jeep company, and only the company's products are called jeep