Type 5 Ke-Ho
- For the Japanese Tier X Super-Heavy tank, see Type 5 Heavy.
- For the Japanese Tier VII Medium tank, see Type 5 Chi-Ri.
Type 5 Ke-Ho
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[Client Values; Actual values in
140,000  Cost |
| 520104 HP Hit Points |
| 9.96/106.46/12.5 t Weight Limit |
- Commander (Loader)
- Gunner
- Driver
- Radio Operator
| 150150 hp Engine Power |
| 50/22 km/h Speed Limit |
| 5460 deg/s Traverse |
| 15.0623.22 hp/t Power/Wt Ratio |
| YesYes Pivot |
| // mm Hull Armor |
| 30/20/1630/20/16 mm Turret Armor |
AP//HE
AP//HE Shells |
20/1600/20
0/2000/26 Shell Cost |
| 70/70/9075/75/100 HP Damage |
| 81/122/2587/131/29 mm Penetration |
|
25 r/m ▲
25 r/m Standard Gun ▲ Rate of Fire Standard Gun |
|
1750 ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲
1875 Standard Gun ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲ Damage Per Minute Standard Gun |
|
0.42 m ▲
0.42 m With 50% Crew: 0.52 m ▲ Accuracy With 50% Crew: 0.52 m |
| 2.1 s 2.3 s Aim time |
| 3636 deg/s Turret Traverse |
| 360° Gun Arc |
| -10°/+20°-10°/+20° Elevation Arc |
| 16090 rounds Ammo Capacity |
| 1515 % Chance of Fire |
| 340 m 340 m View Range |
| 350 m 550 m Signal Range |
IV
140000
The Type 5 Ke-Ho is a Japanese tier 4 light tank.
By 1945 the design of the Type 95 Ha-Go was already obsolete. In 1942 the Hino Jidosha company started to develop a new tank. A prototype designated the Type 5 Ke-Ho was built in 1944. The design of the tank was similar to that of the Czech LT vz.38 and the Japanese Chi-Ha. However, the vehicle did not go into mass production.
The Type 5 Ke-Ho marks the end of its Japanese light line.
Modules / Available Equipment and Consumables
Modules
Guns
| Tier | Gun | Penetration (mm) |
Damage (HP) |
Rate of fire (rounds/minute) |
Dispersion (m/100m) |
Aiming time (s) |
Weight (kg) |
Price (  )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | 47 mm Gun Type 1 | 81/122/25 | 70/70/90 | 25 | 0.42 | 2.1 | 411 | 21000 | |
| IV | Experimental 57 mm Tank Gun Shin | 87/131/29 | 75/75/100 | 25 | 0.42 | 2.3 | 543 | 27500 |
Engines
| Tier | Engine | Engine Power (hp) |
Chance of Fire on Impact (%) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| III | Type 100 Kakyuu V-6 | 150 | 15 | 630 | 5750 |
Suspensions
| Tier | Suspension | Load Limit (т) |
Traverse Speed (gr/sec) |
Rmin | Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| III | Type 5 Ke-Ho | 10 | 54 | 0 | 3300 | 2000 | |
| IV | Type 5 Ke-Ho Kai | 12.5 | 60 | 0 | 3300 | 4500 |
Radios
| Tier | Radio | Signal Range (m) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IV | Type 94 Mk. 4 Hei | 350 | 90 | 2350 | |
| V | Hei | 400 | 130 | 3800 | |
| VI | Type 96 Mk. 4 Bo | 425 | 50 | 14000 | |
| VIII | Type 3 Otsu | 550 | 240 | 22000 |
Compatible Equipment
Compatible Consumables
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Small size and good agility
- Great firepower for a Tier IV light
- Premium AP round receives full five degrees of normalization and less loss of penetration over distance
- Good gun depression
- Very good concealment, the best on the move for its tier
Cons:
- Virtually no armor
- Mediocre gun handling
- Inaccurate gun makes sniping and hitting weak spots difficult
- Relatively slow acceleration for a light tank
Performance
The Ke-Ho behaves much like the British Tier IV Covenanter light tank, yet out performs it in most ways. It is small in size, rather quick, with good agility and camo values, and a fast firing cannon makes it a mean opponent to assassinate lone enemies with. It also doubles as a support tank very capable of picking off enemies from around 100 meters. Or you can work in a light wolf pack punching holes in tanks in a not so dissimilar way to the Matilda. Its small size can also make it suitable for ambush duties should the situation arise.
The tank can take a hit but avoid brawling with anything other than lower tiers or badly wounded tanks as the armor is so thin a swift breeze could go through it; do however take advantage of the tiny turret and excellent gun depression to fire shots from behind cover.
This tank has one of the meanest guns at Tier IV, the 57mm Experimental. It's capable of more than 1875 DPM and its aim time is a little slow but you need not wait to fire if you are close enough to your target. The penetration can get through targets easily up to Tier V, and the damage is about average for its tier.
There's no perfect premium crew trainer for the Ke-Ho, but you have it you can place your commander and driver in the Tier II Type 97 Te-Ke.
The Ke-Ho might be a difficult drive to begin with, learning not to engage with enemies until its guaranteed you're not gonna get hit is maybe frustrating at first, but it's the right way to drive this tank, and most other tanks in the Japanese tree. Once you've overcome this tank's weakness you'll quickly become one of the deadliest tanks at Tier IV.
Early Research
- Equip top radio.
- Research and equip the upgraded suspension.
- Research the Experimental 57mm gun.
Suggested Equipment
Gallery
Historical Info
Following this the IJA decided to try again and work started on the Ke-Ho.
Design and Development
A scale drawing of the Ke-Ho (Source: ftr.wot-news.com)
Development of this new light tank began in 1942. Up till then the Ha-Go had performed well against American M3 Light tanks, but suffered dreadfully against the larger M4 Sherman. Its last successful engagement was against US forces on the Bataan Peninsula in December 1941 who only had M3 Stuart Light tanks.
Of course, the name “tank” should be applied loosely to any Japanese armored vehicle of World War II. One of the major shortcomings of the Ha-Go was the fact that a .50 cal (12.7mm) machine gun could effectively knock one out. The Type 98 Ke-Ni and Type 2 Ke-To had somewhat of an armor upgrade, at least enough to defend against .50 cal rounds. They still lacked a gun capable of even scratching a Sherman. These vehicles were not produced in substantial numbers, with only 104 Ke-Ni's and 34 Ke-To's built by the end of the war.
The Ke-To experimented with a slightly better main armament in the form of Type 1 37mm (1.46 in) gun. This offered a much-needed improvement over the Type 94 37mm (1.46 in) used on the Ha-Go. Though a step in the right direction, this weapon still was not enough to combat the M4 at any angle.
As such, the Ke-Ho was to be armed with the Type 1 47mm (1.85 in) Tank Gun II. This was a planned variant of the Type 1 47mm found on the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank. The performance of the Type 1 Gun II is unknown, however the performance of the standard 47mm is. Penetration of the weapon's Type 1 APHE shell at 30 degrees was 55mm at 100m, 40mm at 500m and 30mm at 1,000m. This was still only enough to penetrate the side of a Sherman, leading to the ambush style of combat used by Chi-Ha crews. An experimental long-barreled 57mm gun was also tested on the Ke-Ho.
The cannon was mounted in a turret based on the Type 1 Chi-He's. It had a raised commander’s cupola, next to which was a mounting point for a Type 97 machine gun. This turret was mounted on an enlarged Ke-Ni/Ke-To chassis, slightly off to the right of the center line. It had a Type 97 MG mounted in the front right left of the bow. The vehicle had a short wheel base, with a bell crank suspension using a similar layout out to the Chi-He’s. The Ke-Ho was powered by a 150hp air-cooled diesel engine that would crank out a decent top speed of 50 km/h.
Variants
Ku-Se SPG
Drawing of the Ku-Se variant (Source: ftr.wot-news.com)
A planned variant of the Ke-Ho was the Ku-Se (自走砲 Jisōhō クーセ) self-propelled gun/tank destroyer. It was to be armed with a Short Type 99 75 mm mountain gun, in a similar open case mate to the planned Ho-Ni and Ho-Ro SPGs.
Fate
In 1942, a prototype vehicle was built, and the project was cancelled soon after. As with most new tank designs the Japanese came up with, it was low on the list of importance. Resources and construction efforts were instead being focused on warships and warplanes. Mass production was approved in 1945 however, but this was of course too late and the one prototype remained the only one built. This also meant that the Ku-Se variant never left the drawing board.
A post war drawing of the the Ke-Ho. Source: – N/A
What happened to the prototype is unknown. It was likely taken back to the USA for analysis and later broken down.
Historical Gallery
Sources and External Links
| Light Tanks | IRenault Otsu • IIType 95 Ha-Go • IIType 97 Te-Ke • IIIType 97 Chi-Ha • IIIType 98 Ke-Ni • IVType 5 Ke-Ho |
| Medium Tanks | IIChi-Ni • IIType 89 I-Go/Chi-Ro • IVType 1 Chi-He • VType 3 Chi-Nu • VType 3 Chi-Nu Kai • VIType 4 Chi-To • VIIType 5 Chi-Ri • VIIISTA-1 • VIIISTA-2 • IXType 61 • XSTB-1 |
| Heavy Tanks | IIIType 91 Heavy • IVType 95 Heavy • VO-I Experimental • VIHeavy Tank No. VI • VIO-I • VIIO-Ni • VIIIO-Ho • IXType 4 Heavy • XType 5 Heavy |
| Tank Destroyers | |
| Self-Propelled Artillery |
