Japanese Forces

Chi-Ha Shinhoto

The shortcomings of the Type 97 with its low velocity 57 mm gun became clear during the Nomonhan Incident against the Soviet Union, where the 45 mm gun of the Soviet tanks outranged the Japanese tank gun, resulting in heavy Japanese losses. This convinced the Army of the need for a more powerful gun, and development of a new 47 mm weapon began in 1939 and was completed in 1941. This gun was based on Soviet 45 mm anti-tank guns captured during the Nomonhan conflict and was also influenced by the German PaK 36 37 mm anti-tank gun. Although it was a smaller-caliber weapon, the 47 mm gun's longer barrel generated much higher muzzle velocity, resulting in armor penetration superior to that of the 57 mm gun.