Chi-Ha Kai (China)

␗Chi-Ha Kai

␗M4A4

␗Chi-Ha Kai

␗M4A4

China

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:7 900

Purchase:10 000

Description

The ␗Type 97 Chi-Ha Kai is a rank II Chinese light tank with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".

General info

Survivability and armour

The Chi-ha Kai has little to no armor against its common opponents like the Pz.II. It has only 25mm of armor on the turret cheeks and the frontal plate, and 20-25mm at the hull sides. Its thin armor might only, with some luck, bounce off some auto-cannon shells while angling, or block the low penetration shells from a distance. Unfortunately, when being hit and penetrated, the Chi-ha is usually destroyed with one or two shots. However, this tank has a fairly small frontal profile, making it harder to be hit. Also, for the guns lacking post-penetration damage, the Chi-ha has an okay survivability, as it has a total of 5 crews and they are not too cramped together due to the long hull. The huge transmission system at the front of the tank can absorb a good amount of shells without hurting the crew members, at the price of making the tank immobile and vulnerable.

Mobility

In general, this tank can get to pretty much anywhere an average medium tank can get to. The engine of the Chi-ha Kai is not powerful at all with its 170 hp power output, but luckily the tank itself only weights 15 tons, therefore giving it an average power-to-weight ratio of 11.33. The 40 km/h top speed is pretty useful as it reaches this speed easily. The turning ability is not ideal, as its tracks are long, narrow and close to each other, making it slow and sluggish in a turn.

Armaments

Main armament

The Chi-Ha Kai is armed with a Type 1 (47 mm) cannon with a maximum of 104 rounds. The 75 mm penetration at 100 m makes it easy to penetrate most of its opponents at its BR, and if penetrated, the damage is usually big enough to destroy a tank. The fast reload time (about 4 seconds) allows it to quickly fire the second shell if the first one missed or didn't penetrate. It has an amazing depression of 15 degrees and a vertical stabiliser that works when your tank is slower than 11 km/h, which are always the advantages. However the shells drop dramatically at long distances, making it hard to snipe the enemies far away.

Machine guns

The Chi-Ha Kai has a 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun mounted on the left side of the hull. While it has enough ammunition, this MG is just simply not good enough. The rate of fire is below average, the penetration is bad, it can only fire forward, and there are only about 25 bullets in each magazine, making it impossible to provide a continuous machine-gun fire. The one thing this MG can do is to kill the fully exposed crews on some vehicles, as even a bit of armor might block out the weak bullets.

Usage in battles

The Chi-ha Kai is best used as a front line support vehicle. Although it has its down sides, a player who knows this tank well can utilise its interesting potentials. Stay close to your teammates, and try to use its maneuverability to flank the enemies when possible, while being careful and sneaky as it can be one-shotted by a lot of tanks.

For two types of terrains there are two good tactics for the Chi-ha Kai. The first is commonly known as the hull-down position, best suited for hilly terrains. It requires you to find a slope/hill to cover up your hull, only exposing a small area of the turret and use the amazing gun depression to shoot the enemies. This way it is hard for the enemies to accurately hit your small turret while you lay behind the hill and fire comfortable shots at them.

The next tactic is better in the towns, involving the use of your stabiliser. Travel in the areas where the enemies are most likely to appear while looking around. If you see an enemy, move out of cover at about 10 km/h (the stabiliser will only work if the tank is slower than 11 km/h), quickly aim and shoot while keeping the tank moving. For the enemy it is very hard to keep his guns on you if you are moving, but for you, with the gun being stabilised, it is pretty much as accurate as firing stationary, making it an easy kill. The stabiliser will also surprise you in a close-quarter encounter as you will be ready to fire first while the enemy is still waiting for his gun to stop wobbling.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good top speed
• Impressive 15 degrees gun depression
• Good penetration and damage
• Good rate of fire
• Has a stabiliser
• Armor is slightly better than the previous Chi-ha
• Small profile

Cons:

• Weak armor
• Sluggish in a turn
• Shells drop a lot at long distances

History

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Media

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See also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• encyclopedia page on the tank;
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