Japanese WW2 Typ 1 Ho-Ki - Armored Personnel Carri

The Type 1 Ho-Ki was produced for the army as a heavy armored artillery tractor, which could also serve as a personnel transport. The Development began in 1941. This version is the fully tracked version.

The fully tracked Type 1 Ho-Ki was built by Hino Motors, but only in very small quantities. Although the Japanese Army ordered the vehicle, the general view of field commanders was that armored transports were too slow compared with the normal trucks, and thereby unable to keep up with the speed necessary for contemporary infantry tactics. In addition, with the priorities of Japanese military production focusing on aircrafts, warships and other offensive weaponry, most of the experimental APC and AFV designs never made it past the prototype stage. By the time the Type 1 Ho-Ki entered mass production in 1944, raw materials were in very short supply, and much of Japan's industrial infrastructure had been destroyed by US Bombing. The total number produced is unknown.