Ho-Ni III

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Introducing Wiki 3.0
This page is about the Japanese tank destroyer Ho-Ni III. For the other vehicle of similar name, see Ho-Ni I.
Ho-Ni III
jp_type_3_ho_ni_iii.png
GarageImage Ho-Ni III.jpg
ArtImage Ho-Ni III.png
Ho-Ni III
AB RB SB
2.3 2.3 2.3
Research:4 600 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:16 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png

Description

The Type 3 Ho-Ni III (三式砲戦車「ホニIII」) was a tank destroyer developed by Japan during World War II. It was equipped with a Type 3 75 mm tank gun, which had a high muzzle velocity and could penetrate the armour of US tanks. Unlike its predecessors, the Ho-Ni III had a fully enclosed and armoured casemate that provided protection to the crew from ground and aerial threats. The vehicle was designed to supplement the newer Type 3 Chi-Nu tanks by converting the obsolete Type 97 Chi-Ha hulls into self-propelled guns. The production of the Ho-Ni III started in 1944, but only 31 units were completed due to material shortages and bombing. Most of these vehicles were stationed in the Japanese home islands and never saw combat.

The Ho-Ni III was introduced along with the initial Japanese ground tree in Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai". It is similar to the Type 1 Ho-Ni I, but improved: more crew members, a shorter reload time, and armour for the gun crew. However this comes at the cost of a lower top speed. The gun has high penetration and damage, so enemies can be easily sniped from afar. The armour is weak and most enemies can pierce it easily. Help allies by giving fire support, and use smoke shells to create temporary cover.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull25 / 25 / 20
Turret25 / 25 / 25
Crew5 people
Visibility75 %

Having 25 mm of armour coverage around the entire gun crew, the Ho-Ni III no longer needs to fear artillery shrapnel or strafing runs from fighter aircraft. Do note however that it's still vulnerable to bombs, rockets and direct artillery hits! However, if the Ho-Ni III takes a hit, likely to survive with more operational crewmembers, as three of them must be knocked out before the vehicle becomes inoperable.

Another small armour increase is seen on the front of the tank, with the driver and radio station protected with another 10 mm of armour, though with this added strength, it still leaves an undesirable total width of a lacking 35 mm.

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
Armour Front Sides Rear Roof
Hull 25 mm (12-31°) Front plate
17 mm (80-81°) Front glacis
15 mm (63°) Joint plate
15 mm (37-59°) Lower glacis
25 mm (40°) Top Left
20 mm (24-27°) Top Right
20 mm Bottom
17 mm (69°) Top
20 mm (4-58°) Bottom
12 mm
Superstructure 25 mm (15-16°) Front
25 mm (3-47°) Gun mantlet
25 mm (24-26°) 25 mm (10-11°) 10 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels and tracks are both 15 mm thick.
  • Driver's port on the front plate is 10 mm thick.
  • An extra 10 mm of armour is plated on top of the bow machine gun area, left from the driver's position.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB44 / 21 km/h
RB and SB40 / 19 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
2 back
Weight16.8 t
Engine power
AB324 hp
RB and SB170 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB19.3 hp/t
RB and SB10.1 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 44 21 16.8 241 324 14.35 19.29
Realistic 40 19 150 170 8.93 10.12

The only drawback of the Ho-Ni III compared to its previous version, is that the tank has a slight decrease in top speed. On flat terrain, it reaches a top speed of 32 km/h, compared to the Ho-Ni I's top speed of 36 km/h.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB600 → 742 Sl icon.png
RB660 → 816 Sl icon.png
SB801 → 990 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications8 390 Rp icon.png
9 380 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost640 Ge icon.png
Crew training4 500 Sl icon.png
Experts16 000 Sl icon.png
Aces160 Ge icon.png
Research Aces190 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
40 / 60 / 70 % Sl icon.png
118 / 118 / 118 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
560 Rp icon.png
Cost:
630 Sl icon.png
80 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
470 Rp icon.png
Cost:
530 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
470 Rp icon.png
Cost:
530 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
790 Sl icon.png
100 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
910 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 000 Sl icon.png
130 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
910 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 000 Sl icon.png
130 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
560 Rp icon.png
Cost:
630 Sl icon.png
80 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
470 Rp icon.png
Cost:
530 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement jp.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
790 Sl icon.png
100 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
560 Rp icon.png
Cost:
630 Sl icon.png
80 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
470 Rp icon.png
Cost:
530 Sl icon.png
70 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
790 Sl icon.png
100 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
75mm_jp_Smoke_ammo_pack
Research:
910 Rp icon.png
Cost:
1 000 Sl icon.png
130 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition46 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
7.1 → 5.5 s
Vertical guidance-10° / 20°
Horizontal guidance-10° / 10°
Main article: Type 3 (75 mm)

The Ho-Ni III features a modernized Type 3 75 mm tank gun, based on the 75 mm Type 90 field gun as on the previous Ho-Ni I, still being a great cannon, even with a slightly higher battle rating. With the addition of two dedicated loaders in a fully closed casemate, the gun also gets almost a second cut down on its reload time, making it capable of even more destruction.

75 mm Type 3 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 46 -10°/+20° ±10° N/A 14.09 19.50 23.68 26.20 27.86 7.15 6.33 5.80 5.50
Realistic 9.52 11.20 13.60 15.04 16.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
Type 1 APHE APHE 103 101 92 82 73 65
Type 94 HE HE 12 12 12 12 12 12
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
Type 1 APHE APHE 668 6.56 1.3 15 84.8 47° 60° 65°
Type 94 HE HE 522 6.02 0 0.1 810 79° 80° 81°
Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Screen radius
(m)
Screen deploy
time (s)
Screen hold
time (s)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Type 90 Smoke 570 5.72 13 5 20 100

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Ho-Ni III
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
46 44 (+2) 40 (+6) 36 (+10) 23 (+23) (+46) No

Notes:

  • Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
  • Turret flanks empty: 36 (+10) shells

Usage in battles

The Ho-Ni III plays very similar to the Ho-Ni I with the added benefit of two extra crew which cuts down on the reload time for the 75 mm gun.

The starting Japanese player will also be quite accustomed to the handling of the hull, as it still is based on the Chi-Ha. But due to the added weight of the fully enclosed casemate, it is slower compared to its brother Chi-Ha.

With the added benefit of the casemate and crew, the Ho-Ni III sports better survivability, though, most shells will not knock you out in one shot due to having a total of five crew members. The crew isn't out in the open anymore and has sufficient armour from machine-gun fire from both ground & air enemies. Knowing this, you can stand to take more chances of sitting in one location and not have to worry about aircraft making a single pass and taking the vehicle out.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Effective 75 mm gun with APHE can penetrate all enemies at its rank
  • The -10° of gun depression allows the Ho-Ni III to shoot from the cover of ridgelines or downwards from an elevated position
  • Fully enclosed crew compartment provides better protection from strafing aircraft
  • Five-man crew allows three members to be knocked out and still allows the tank to function
  • Has access to smoke shells which can help hide yourself or blind an enemy

Cons:

  • The thin armour makes the vehicle less effective in close-quarters engagements
  • Four of the crew are close together leaving them vulnerable to being knocked out by a single shot
  • Having no machine gun, the Ho-Ni III will have difficulty to disable vehicles without armour like the GAZ-MM (72-K)
  • Limited traverse of the gun forces you to turn the vehicle to cover wider fields of fire

History

The Type 3 Ho-Ni III is a self-propelled anti-tank artillery gun. The Ho-Ni III was the third of the Japanese 'tank destroyers', which Japan developed based on inspiration from the German tanks of this class. This SPG was very similar to the previous models of this series, the Ho-Ni I and Ho-Ni II, but surpassed them in multiple ways, embodying all the very best of each of them. The chassis of the medium Type 97 Chi-Ha Kai tank was used as a base, while the Ho-Ni I and II used a simple, unmodernized version of the Type 97 Chi-Ha. The powerful 75 mm Type 90 field cannon was chosen as a gun. In its design, this was a counterpart of the French 85 mm Schneider cannon (85 mle 1927 Schneider). After a small redesign for installation on the tank, this gun was designated the Type 3. The cannon was installed in an armoured non-rotating superstructure which, in contrast to the Ho-Ni I and Ho-Ni II, was fully enclosed on all sides and provided optimal protection for the crew. Additional ammo took the place of the machine gun in the hull, and the SPG's crew was reduced to four (in comparison to the five of the previous vehicles in this series).

Ho-Ni series SPGs went into production in 1942, and the order to design and produce the upgraded Ho-Ni III was received by the Hitachi firm in the beginning of 1944. Due to a shortage of resources and constant bombings, the Japanese industry was only able to produce roughly 35 Ho-Ni III SPGs before the end of the war. Most of them were distributed among divisions tasked with defending Japan itself, while only a few were sent to areas of active military operations such as Okinawa and the Philippines. No records survive of military clashes between the Ho-Ni III and American tanks.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

See also

Related Development
Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

External links


Hitachi, Ltd. (株式会社日立製作所)
SPG  Ho-Ni I · Ho-Ni III

Japan tank destroyers
Ro-Go Derivatives  Ro-Go Exp.
Chi-Ha Derivatives  Ho-Ni I · Ho-Ni III · Ho-Ro · Chi-Ha LG
Ho-Ri  Ho-Ri Prototype · Ho-Ri Production
Other  Na-To
JGSDF 
SPRG  Type 60 (C)
SPH  Type 75 · Type 99
ATGM  Type 60 ATM
Rocket  Type 75 MLRS
USA  ▅M36