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before the end of world war i in 1918, because of the dazzling performance of the new weapon tank, japan ordered mk.iv female tanks from its ally britain. after the end of world war i, in 1919-1920, the japanese army imported french renault ft-17 tank and british awa greyhound tank. after the arrival of these equipment, the army established a special institution to study tank equipment and related tactics.

figure 1. the awa racing dog tank equipped by the japanese army when it established its tank force in the early days.

the emergence of tanks seriously challenged the army's cavalry, which was once the flower of the battlefield. during the russo-japanese war, the cavalry units of both sides performed well with the help of new weapons such as machine guns. however, they faced the large-scale trenches of world war i. in terms of war, the role of cavalry has been greatly suppressed. the emergence of cars and tanks not only have high mobility, armor protection and strong firepower, so as early as 1920, the japanese army set up an automobile research class in the cavalry unit. it began to receive french "renault" ft tanks, british "austin" armored vehicles and some ultra-light tanks, which kicked off the mechanized transformation of the army's cavalry armor. however, the reform of the cavalry force was not smooth sailing. in 1921, affected by the japanese military contraction, these armored convoys were not officially included in the establishment of the cavalry force. later, according to the expectations of the cavalry department, the development of special armored vehicles for the cavalry began.

figure 2. simple "renault" armored vehicle in the early stage of the transformation of the cavalry unit

on may 1, 1925, in the famous ugaki disarmament case, the japanese army abolished four permanent divisions, and at the same time established the "first tank convoy" in kurume, fukuoka, and the "infantry school" at the army infantry school in chiba "chariot team", and the cavalry force was ruthlessly eliminated with 6,000 horses.

faced with this situation, the japanese cavalry force has vigorously promoted the mechanization of cavalry. after research and testing of armored vehicles and ultra-light tanks imported from europe and the united states, the cavalry force believes that the carden-lloyd ultra-light armored vehicle is the most suitable. this is because a major role of the cavalry force at that time was still to maintain battlefield reconnaissance capabilities, which required sufficient cross-country capabilities, which could only be met by tracked armored vehicles. in order to maintain sufficient mobility, such armored vehicles should not be too heavy.

figure 3. the japanese cavalry unit. due to its outstanding performance in the russo-japanese war, the cavalry unit still has a certain say in the army.

figure 4. the british-made carden royd ultra-light tank purchased and used by the japanese army was also popular in europe in the 1930s. the vehicle in the photo has a naval flag painted on the side. it may be from the japanese navy's shanghai special marine combat team. equipment

figure 5. vickers-carden-loyd mk.vi ultra-light tank equipped by the british army (early version)

figure 6. a carden-loyd ultra-light tank displayed by the thai army at the military parade, which is likely to be used only for display and performance.

in 1929, the army technical headquarters began the development of domestically produced tracked armored vehicles at the request of the cavalry. in february 1931, the army contacted the ishikawajima automobile manufacturing works (now isuzu motors, which is also the earliest japanese armored vehicle design manufacturing unit) began trial production, and the prototype was completed in march 1932. it was internally codenamed "スミダtb type 92 light tank". the prototype vehicle was sent to the cavalry unit for testing, and several modifications were made based on feedback suggestions. the cavalry unit was satisfied with the modifications.

however, the cavalry troops had their own ideas as to how to name this vehicle. because the equipment of "chariot" belongs to the infantry, the cavalry force insists on calling this new type of tracked combat vehicle "armored vehicle". compared with the cars and armored vehicles equipped by the cavalry, this equipment can be called "heavy duty". in the end, the army named it the "type 92 heavy armored vehicle." such examples are not uncommon in other countries. for example, in france, cavalry tanks are also called "armored vehicles (armored vehicles)".Automitrailleuse)", infantry is called "tank (Char)"; in the united states cavalry tanks are called "combat vehicles (Combat Car)" instead of "tank (Tank）”。

the type 92 heavy armored vehicle has a total length of 3.94 meters, a width of 1.63 meters, a height of 1.87 meters, and a total combat weight of 3.5 tons. in order to reduce the weight, part of the vehicle uses welding technology and is reinforced with rivets. however, in order to reduce weight, the armor protection of the vehicle is only 6 mm. the car can accommodate a total of 3 crew members. the driver is on the left side of the front of the car, the machine gunner is on the right side of the car body, and the commander and machine gunner are in the turret.

the 92 heavy equipment adopted the common rear-mounted engine and front-mounted power transmission arrangement at that time. the engine used the franklin air-cooled 6-cylinder gasoline engine equipped on american tanks, with a power of 67 horsepower. the engine was initially imported from the united states, and was later produced by ishikawa island company. licensed, produced directly in japan, the exhaust pipe is arranged on the left side of the engine compartment.

the suspension system has been modified in many rounds. the initial type uses 4 pairs of road wheels to form two double-knots and 3 pairs of supporting pulleys; the mid-term type (also called the early type) uses 6 pairs of road wheels to form 3 double-knots and 3 pairs. supporting pulleys; the later model has 4 pairs of road wheels and 2 pairs of supporting pulleys; the road wheels are arranged in pairs and are suspended by leaf springs. the maximum speed of the vehicle is 40 km/h, and its maneuverability is much better than the 89, which was the main force at the time. chinese style chariot.

figure 7. the prototype of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle (initial version) adopts a symmetrical design of two pairs of two knots, with a total of 4 small rubber road wheels, somewhat similar to the reference prototype carden-lloyd ultra-light tank or later the load-bearing system of the type 95 light tank

figure 8. three views of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle (early version), where the weak firepower of two 6.5mm machine guns is still used.

figure 9. an early-model type 92 heavy armored vehicle with "patriotic 6" painted on the side

figure 10. the type 92 heavy armored vehicles "patriot 4" and "shizuoka" are early models with 6 pairs of small road wheels and 3 pairs of towing wheels.

figure 11. pre-production version of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle, with the words "patriot iv (shizuoka)" visible on the side

figure 12. model cg: type 92 heavy armored vehicle "patriotic 4 (shizuoka)". note that compared with the previous historical photo, this one uses 4 pairs of large road wheels and 2 pairs of towing wheels. the vehicle body carries later version of the 13.2 mm heavy machine gun

figure 13. the later version of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle, using large road wheels

in terms of weapons and equipment, this type of vehicle was initially equipped with two type 91 6.5mm light machine guns, but the power was obviously insufficient. later models upgraded the front machine gun to a 13.2mm machine gun, which greatly improved the power. however, it has the disadvantages of too slow rate of fire and insufficient ammunition supply.

however, the biggest problem with the type 92 heavy armored vehicle is insufficient protection. in addition, due to the low level of welding technology, there have even been reports of cracks in the welding part under severe bumps. moreover, the suspension system is also relatively primitive.

the 92 heavy equipment began mass production in 1933, and a total of 167 vehicles were produced by the time production was discontinued in 1939. the main equipment targets were cavalry units and some light armored vehicle squadrons. in addition, the manufacturing of this vehicle has a high proportion of handcrafting, but the cost is only one-third of that of the type 89 tank. due to the shortage of weapons, a variety of vehicles with mixed weapons have appeared, and some have switched to diesel engines.

with the production and installation of new equipment, the japanese army also made adjustments in its cavalry units. the direct consequence of the "september 18th" incident in the autumn of 1931 was that zhang xueliang's northeastern army retreated into the guanzhong, and since then it lost its foundation and wandered around. with the support of the kwantung army in its hometown in the northeast, the puppet manchukuo state was established with puyi as a puppet. in order to make the puppet manchukuo look decent, the kwantung army allowed it to have certain military capabilities. the former northeastern army general who was too late to escape during the september 18th incident, and ma zhanshan, who took office as the commander of the 1st puppet manchukuo cavalry brigade, was dissatisfied with the japanese-dominated manchukuo state, so on march 1, 1932, he used the title of "inspection troops" to the name disappeared from the headquarters in qiqihar and launched guerrilla warfare against japan in various parts of heilongjiang.

in april 1932, the kwantung army decided to attack mazhanshan and sent the 8th and 10th infantry divisions to the area. in june, the 1st cavalry brigade also received an order to attack. the newly equipped type 92 heavy armored vehicles have just been put into production in small batches. under the promotion of the cavalry director, lieutenant general yanagawa heisuke, a temporary car squad was put together for the 1st cavalry brigade, equipped with 7 type 92 heavy armored vehicles (some say only 3 ), 15 automatic trucks and 1 carden-loyd mk.iv ultra-light combat vehicle. this move is considered to be the beginning of the mechanization of the army cavalry force.

in the "crusade" operation, the cavalry troops had a high evaluation of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle. due to continuous forced marches, mounted troops fell down due to fatigue or lost their horseshoes, but heavy armored vehicles could travel for a long time as long as they were well prepared and fueled. however, no battle occurred during this "crusade", and mazhanshan was not found. however, taking this as an opportunity, the high praise of the frontline troops promoted the accelerated deployment of type 92 heavy armored vehicles.

figure 14. the early version of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle. the original equipment included two 6.6 mm type 91 light machine guns, one of which was installed on the vehicle body. it participated in the "crusade" against mazhanshan in 1932.

figure 15. a type 92 heavy tank driving side by side with a type 89 chinese tank. the time and location of the shooting are unknown.

figure 16. type 92 heavy armor (late version). there is a japanese soldier standing on the rear of the vehicle body operating an anti-aircraft machine gun. this is equivalent to the third main weapon.

in 1933, the 1st cavalry brigade and the 4th cavalry brigade were merged into a wartime unit, the cavalry group. the temporary car squad affiliated with the 1st cavalry brigade was also renamed the group armored convoy. at this time, the group armored convoy was it has jurisdiction over two armored vehicle squadrons and a materials factory, equipped with a total of 9 type 92 heavy armored vehicles.

at the end of february 1933, the kwantung army formulated a jehol battle plan to capture chengde, the capital of jehol province. however, there was no railway network in jehol province and the road conditions were not good, so the movement of cars and combat were taken seriously. to this end, the japanese army's first motorized infantry unit, the kawahara advance team, was specially formed in the 8th infantry division of the japanese army, and was incorporated into the temporarily dispatched first battle convoy commanded by captain hyakutake shukichi, including 5 89s. type 92 tanks and 2 type 92 heavy armored vehicles (organized into the 4th squad). however, on the road to the battlefield, the type 89 medium tank vehicles with poor maneuverability fell behind one after another, while the type 92 heavy armored vehicle maintained good mobility because it was lighter.

from march 1st to 2nd, the japanese army carried out the first tank night attack (one tank, two armored vehicles). the next day, from the 2nd to the 3rd, in addition to two armored vehicles (one belonging to the 17th company), the japanese army pursued the retreating 1st battalion commander of the 101st artillery regiment with the weak combat effectiveness of cars and 1 truck. it reached 140 kilometers, causing 500 chinese casualties (japanese records) in exchange for 2 japanese wounded (captain hyakutake and 1 soldier). furthermore, he served as the vanguard towards the final target of chengde, which fell on march 4. in this battle, the mobility of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle was also brought into play. the pursuit distance was 280 kilometers in 3 days, which was 3-4 times the speed of the infantry unit.

figures 17 and 18. the temporarily dispatched first battle convoy during the jehol campaign in february 1933. two type 92 chiyoda armored vehicles and a type 92 heavy armored vehicle appear in the photo.

figure 19. the early version of the heavily armed type 92 heavy armored vehicle, with a 13.2 mm heavy machine gun on the body. the 8th infantry division temporarily dispatched the first battle convoy to participate in the battle of jehol in march 1933.

on march 17, 1934, the japanese army formed the first truly mechanized mixed force, the first independent mixed brigade. among them, the 2nd squadron of the combat convoy was equipped with type 92 heavy armored vehicles, and the heavy armored vehicle squadron of the division search team was also equipped with type 92 heavy armored vehicles. the 1st independent mixed brigade entered the customs and participated in actual combat, but the japanese army did not seem to have a high evaluation. in the "february 26" incident that occurred in 1936, the type 92 heavy armored vehicle was dispatched together with the type 89 medium tank and the navy's vickers armored vehicle to deter the rebels.

figure 20. the type 92 heavy armored vehicle convoy during the 226 incident in 1936. note that the body of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle has been replaced with a 13.2 mm machine gun. compared with the prototype vehicle, it can be clearly seen that the vehicle body is much more heavily armed.

figure 21.226 type 92 heavy armored convoy in the incident

figure 22. it is estimated to be the type 92 heavy armored vehicle (early model body) that participated in counterinsurgency in the 226 incident. the words "patriot 28" appear to be painted on the side of the vehicle body.

figure 23. the early version of the type 92 heavy armored vehicle equipped with two machine guns, with the words "patriotic 11" and "tianjin" on it. judging from the sun flag on the front of the vehicle, it may have been taken during the 226 counter-insurgency period.

figure 24. two type 92 heavy armored vehicles with the navy flag and japanese flag at the same time. the first one is the "patriotic no. 5", which may have been taken during the 226 incident.

figures 25 and 26. photos of the japanese army dispatching type 92 heavy armored vehicles to counter the rebellion after the 226 mutiny. below are photos of modern road scenes in similar locations.

after 1934, the cavalry units under each class a division were equipped with an armored vehicle squadron consisting of 7-12 vehicles of this type to enhance the mechanization capabilities of the cavalry units. during the nomenkan conflict in 1939, japanese armored vehicle squadrons suffered poor results due to low protection when fighting soviet tanks.

in 1936, the japanese army added a rapid-fire artillery team and a wireless communication team to the cavalry force, and opened a training course for armored vehicle personnel at the narashino army cavalry school. at this time, the japanese mechanized cavalry had begun to move toward scale.

with the emergence of the domestically produced type 95 light tank, the japanese cavalry began to undergo a large-scale "replacement" in 1937. the type 92 heavy armored vehicles in the cavalry brigade armored convoy were mostly replaced by the type 95 light tank. replacement, the name of the unit was also changed to squadron-level brigade combat convoy.

with the full outbreak of the sino-japanese war, the japanese army's funding increased significantly. the japanese army established sixteen additional divisions within a year. at the same time, a division search team was added. the responsibilities of the division search team were to cover the original japanese divisions. the responsibilities of the regimental cavalry wing and cavalry brigade. in 1938, seven additional guard divisions were added. the guard division search teams were adapted from the cavalry wings of previous divisions. the establishment of the security division search team during this period consisted of a horse-riding squadron and an armored vehicle squadron. the armored vehicle squadron included five type 92 heavy armored vehicles and two squads of mounted cavalry. in addition, there were type 94 light armored vehicles to replace the type 92 armored car squadron of heavy armored vehicles.

figure 27. type 94 light armored vehicles accompanying the japanese infantry. these tracked light armored vehicles are generally equipped with independent light armored vehicle squadrons or division search teams (adapted from the original cavalry regiment). they experienced the all-out war of aggression against china. after the first two years, many independent light armored vehicle squadrons were gradually merged and promoted into new combat vehicle wings.

figures 28 and 29. type 92 heavy armored convoy (late model) of the 15th division infantry regiment, nanjing, 1941

figure 30. late model of type 92 heavy armored vehicle, equipment of the kwantung army in april 1942. improvements to later models included a new transmission system, new observation holes and sight slits, and a new turret machine gun - a 7.7 mm (0.3 in) type 96 machine gun.

type 92 heavy armored vehicle (jyu sokosha) specifications

dimensions: 3.95 x 1.63 x 1.92 meters (12.95x5.35x6.3 feet)

total weight: 3.5 tons

weapons: 1 13.2 mm (0.52 inch) type 92 heavy machine gun

one 6.6mm (0.25in) type 91 machine gun

armor: 6 to 12 mm (0.24-0.47 in)

total crew: 3 (commander/gunner, driver, hull gunner)

propulsion: mitsubishi/ishikawajima 6-cylinder inline engine, 45 hp (34 kw)

speed: 40 km/h (25 mph)

range (on/off-road): 200 kilometers (120 miles)

total production: 167

figures 31 and 32. type 92 heavy armored vehicles "patriot 12" and "katakura" (early model)

figure 33. model painting: type 92 heavy armored vehicle (early model)

figure 34. model painting: type 92 heavy armored vehicle (late model). this scene is obviously on the battlefield of the invasion of china‍

figure 35. cg work: type 92 heavy armored vehicle (late model)

figure 36. a type 92 heavy armored vehicle using an early model body

figure 37. two type 92 heavy armored vehicles (early version) during the exercise.

figure 38. it may be a type 92 heavy armored vehicle in a combat exercise‍‍‍‍

figure 39. the film and television works may be the two japanese armored vehicles that appeared in "nanjing, nanjing". the prototype in the front seems to be the army's type 93 armored vehicle (the navy's type 92 armored vehicle), and the prototype in the back seems to be the type 92 heavy armored vehicle‍

figure 40. model work: type 92 heavy armored vehicle (late model)

figure 41. model work: late version of the 92 heavy equipment, the turret is equipped with a 6.5 mm machine gun, and the hull is equipped with a 13 mm heavy machine gun.

figure 42. model works: type 94 light armored vehicle and type 92 heavy armored vehicle. it can be seen here that the type 92 heavy armored vehicle is still taller than the type 94 light armored vehicle.