Type 4 Heavy

Type 4, also known as Type 2604 or as Type 4 O-Ro ("second super-heavy"), was a mysterious super-heavy tank that was supposedly developed by Imperial Japanese Army during the World War 2. Whether it was built, partially built or if it even existed is current unknown. Only some very vague sources even hint at the possible existence of the tank, and as the information is incredibly limited, it currently impossible to tell whether the Type 4/5 super-heavy tanks actually existed or not.

The only source that directly references the Type 4/5 super-heavy tanks is some vague report from Soviet archives, referencing to cooling systems of Japanese vehicles. According to it, the Type 4 (referred as "Type 2604" in the report) had two 12 cylinder BMW marine engines with a rather complicated cooling system of three radiators per engine and one oil radiator, cooled by two central massive ventilators, powered by the drive train. The air was to be sucked in via massive grilles, positioned in the center over the engine compartment. The main advantage of the design was high protection of the engine from overheating. The document also mentions the Type 5 super-heavy tank (referred as "Type 2605"), a successor to the Type 4 with engine compartment lowered by 35% to save weight, possibly with some other improvements. The report also has a vague sketch of the Type 5, showcasing the suspension, which was similar to that of some German vehicles like the Panther and Tiger tanks, as well as the general shape of the tank, engine, it's cooling system and transmission, which was placed in the front, unlike the O-I, which had it's transmission in the back of the vehicle. In addition, the Type 4/5 seemingly lacked the multiple turrets the O-I had, going back to a single-turret design and in general resembling a huge, upscaled Chi-To or Chi-Ri. The Type 4/5 would've carried a very powerful armament, most presumably a 14 cm naval gun (14 cm/50 3rd year type), and in general was meant to be very large, around the same size or even bigger than the O-I and German Maus. Other details like weight, armor and mobility are completely unknown.

A massive turret with a 14 cm naval gun that bears a strong resemblance to the sketch of the Type 4 was used in a fortification(s) in Manchuria by Japan at end of the war. This turret is often speculated to be the turret of the Type 4. One of these fortifications was photographed by Red Army after the war, which were showcased in the same report with the information of the super-heavy tanks. There's a common belief of this image being photoshopped with World of Tanks in mind, but this picture actually could be found from internet before the game even existed. However, despite the strong resemblance to the turrets of the Japanese tanks, whether the turret was an actual tank turret or just a mere fortification turret is unknown.

According to now outdated sources that refers to the "2nd O-I variant", the "120 ton O-I" (or as known in World of Tanks, the O-Ho) was built in 1944 and shipped to Manchuria. In addition, the tank was stated to have "200 mm armor". While this information is now outdated and some of it come from the actual O-I, which for example had four turrets just like the "120 ton O-I" was stated to have, some of the information doesn't fit the description of the O-I at all. The O-I project was cancelled in 1943, never known to be shipped outside from Japan and even if it had all planned armor plates mounted, O-I's maximum armor was noticeably thinner than the stated 200 mm. Because of this, it is possible that this information actually refers to the possible Type 4 super-heavy tank, as the fortification turret, which is often speculated to belong to the Type 4, was found from Manchuria in late 1945, which would indeed imply that the turret belonged to the tank. However, it also could just be results of wrong information.

It is important to note that Japanese sources have absolutely no information of another super-heavy tank project aside from the O-I being developed. It is also important to keep in mind that a lot of Japanese tank-related documents were lost after the war, however. The available information regarding the Type 4/5 super-heavy tanks are far too limited, and whether the tanks actually existed or not remains debatable.

click to read more...

The following are consensus errors or inconsistencies which have been identified with the configuration of the vehicle in question and conflict with information available on the public record. The causes for these divergences in the game are normally not disclosed and may be rooted in game balance.

Type 4 super-heavy tank is a speculated 2nd Japanese super-heavy tank design that succeeded the O-I. It's existence is debatable, as the only available information of the tank comes from some vague Soviet report of Japanese tanks. Because of this, it is possible that the Type 4 Heavy never even existed.

However, due to the very limited information, some parameters of the Type 4 Heavy are guaranteed to be inaccurate in-game:

• The hull shape differs from the vague sketch drawn by Soviets. For instance, the drawing doesn't show hull cheeks, the upper front plate is completely unsloped, doesn't extend beyond the turret front, and the lower front section is also different, being more similar to that of the O-I. The general design of the in-game Type 4 Heavy is closer to that of the Chi-Ri.
• Due to very limited information, many specifics like top speed, weight and armor are all speculation. Armor in especial is most likely thicker in-game than what it actually was, done mostly due to balance purposes.
• In-game description is somewhat inaccurate - the Type 4 Heavy's design is far too different for it to be a modification of the O-I. While somewhat similar, the suspension design, hull shape, turret and gun are all significantly different, and the tank has only one turret as opposed to the O-I's 4.
• The shape of the turret is slightly erroneous. As seen on both the drawing and the picture of the bunker turret, the front section of the in-game Type 4 turret is too short, while the rear section is too long. In addition, the in-game Type 4 turret lacks the elevated section at top of the turret, which is most presumably an armor plate.
• The Type 4 had neither the 12.7 cm or 15.2 cm guns it has in the game. While the exact gun model is unknown (most commonly assumed to be a 14 cm naval gun), neither the 12.7 cm or 15.2 cm guns have the matching shape to the sketch and picture of the bunker turret.
  • The 15.2 cm/45 41st year type gun had AP shells and no HESH shells, unlike the model in the game.

click to read more...