Type 89 Chi-Ro Platoon (x5)

Includes five Type 89 Chi-Ro Medium tanks & five Tank Commander figures.

In 1929, the Type 89 (1929) tank was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Initially is started life as a light tank design, but was re-designated a medium tank once its weight had gone over 10 tons. Production of the Type 89 began in 1931 and it became the main tank of the Imperial Japanese Army.

The Type 89 entered combat in Manchuria in 1931, and saw action during the battle of Shanghai in 1932, all against various Chinese forces. It fought strictly in the infantry support role where its 15mm of armour protected it from small-arms fire and its short 57mm Type 90 gun proved effective at knocking out Chinese machine-gun nests. It continued to be used in China throughout the 1930s.

During the Nomonhan Incident the Type 89 equipped the entire 3rd Tank Regiment (Shesha Rentai, actually a battalion-sized unit) and one company of the 4th Regiment. The two regiments attacked the Soviet line on 2 July 1939, punching thorough a Soviet infantry regiment under cover of a thunderstorm, only to be stopped once they had reached a Soviet artillery position.

The Type 89 tanks used at Nomonhan were a mix of the original petrol and a new diesel-engine model. The diesel version proved more reliable and was made standard in later medium tanks such as the Type 97 Chi-Ha which superseded the Type 89 Chi-Ro.

Designed by Evan Allen
Painted by James Brown