This article is about the real world Type 61 Tank, for the fictional weapon mentioned in the Gundam Universe, please see Type 61 Tank, for the British Frigate, please see Type 61 frigate This article is about the fictional weapon Type 61 Tank, for the real world Type 61 tank, please go to Type 61 instead. ... HMS Chichester, 1960 The Type 61 Salisbury class were a class of British aircraft direction (or radar picket) frigates built for the Royal Navy. ...

Type 61
General characteristics
Crew	4
Length	8.19 / 6.03 m
Width	2.95 m
Height	2.49 m
Weight	35 tonnes
Armour and armament
Armour	64 mm
Main armament	90mm Rifled cannon
Secondary armament	7.62mm Browning M1919A4 machine gun 12.7mm M2 Browning machine gun
Mobility
Power plant	Mitsubishi 12HM21WT 4 stroke V type 12 cylinder vertical Air cooled diesel 570hp / 2100rpm
Suspension	torsion bar
Road speed	45 km/h (paved roads)
Power/weight
Range	200 km

The Type 61 (Japanese: ろくいちしきせんしゃ Kanji: 61式戦車) was a main battle tank (MBT) developed and used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Development started in 1955 and the vehicle was first deployed in April of 1961. The type number follows the year of deployment. A total of 560 type 61's were manufactured between 1961 to 1975, when production ceased. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixel Image in higher resolution (2840 × 1890 pixel, file size: 3. ... Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets or shells, protecting the soldiers inside from enemy fire. ... The Browning M1919 was a . ... This article is about the . ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji Kanji (Japanese:  ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... The US M1A1 Abrams tank is a typical modern main battle tank. ... JGSDF Central force head office in Itami, Japan Tank Type 74 of Japan Ground Self Defense Force The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force ), or JGSDF, is the name of the military ground forces (army) of Japan. ... Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd (MHI) (三菱重工業, Mitsubishi JÅ«kōgyō) TYO: 7011 is a Japanese company. ...

History

After World War II, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (A.K.A. GHQ in Japan) ceased all military manufacturing and development plants in Japan, making Japan lose the technology to build and manufacture tanks and armoured vehicles (even though the technology was not well developed.) However, due to the Korean War, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers ordered Japan to re-militarize, forming armed police forces (National police reserve, later called National security force, then finally Japan ground self defence force) and provided M4A3E8 Sherman and M24 Chaffee tanks. However, the average height of a Japanese person at the time was too small for the M4A3E8, and drivers had difficulty reaching the clutch pedal with their foot. In addition, the M4 was becoming obsolete. The M24, though it was popular amongst the Japanese crews, was inadequate when facing Soviet T-34/85s, as seen in Korea. Thus, as the tanks in JGSDF service at the time were obsolete/inadequate, the JGSDF was provided with the option of either purchasing the new American built M46 and M47 tanks or develop their own MBT in 1954. Due to the high cost of purhcasing american made tanks, and because the M47 did not meet their requirements, the JGSDF decided on developing their own main battle tank, resulting in the development of the Type 61. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) was the title for Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following WWII. The title did belong to Dwight David Eisenhower during WWII, however, he had nothing to do with the attacks on Japan. ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... WWII foreign variants and use: Lend-Lease Sherman tanks Post-WWII foreign variants and use: Postwar Sherman tanks The Medium Tank M4 was the main tank designed and built by the United States for allied forces in World War II, totaling roughly 50,000 tanks plus thousands more derivative vehicles... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ...

Development

The original development targets are:

1. In order to effectively use a small number of tanks to cover up a large area, the size and weight of the tank has to be light enough for trains to carry.
2. Due to the above target, the weight of the armour has to be limited around 25 tons yet as heavily armoured as possible.
3. Main cannon has to be 90mm.

The weight was one of the main concerns since if the first contraint was met, the tank could also be transported by a specially modified truck through most major highways and tunnels. The second contraint couldn't be met due to the mock up development team finding out that the armour would be too thin to protect the vehicle. As a result, the armour weight contraint was lifted up to 35 tons for a while. However, due to the delay of the planned diesel engine did not provide enough power, the type 61 had to conpensate for the power loss with lighter armour. The last contraint was due to the body built of the Japanese people at that time, after examining the M36 Jackson, 90mm is the upper limit of what a Japanese at that time can handle effectively. Also, due to the complicated landscape of Japan, it was understood that long range combat would be very difficult and that a 90mm gun would be sufficient within Japan. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... M36 during the Battle of the Bulge in January, 1945 The Gun Motor Carriage M36 was an American tank destroyer in World War II. It was often referred to as the Jackson or Slugger. ...

The first test vehicles, ST-A1 and ST-A2 were built and tested. The results were used to develop the ST-A3 and ST-A4 in 1960. More improvements were made in 1961 and the deployment of the Type 61 started in the same year.

The main weapon is a 90mm rifled cannon, with a co-axial 7.62mm machine gun and a 12.7mm anti aircraft machine gun mounted on the commander's cupola.

All type 61s were decommisioned in 2000, 39 years after their first deployment. During this period, the type 61 was not improved even once.

Variants

• Type 67 AVLB (Armored vehicle launch bridge) (67式戦車橋)
• Type 70 ARV (Armored Recovery Vehicle) (70式戦車回収車)

External links

• http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_type61japan.html