Japanese tank o i history. “Mi-To”\“O-I” Super-heavy tank. Equipment for O-I

2-07-2016, 01:58

Hello to all World of Tanks fans, especially those who love heavy tanks. Today we will talk about a real giant, a giant whose size and weight surpasses all of his classmates - this is the O-I guide.

You all know very well that this vehicle is a Japanese heavy tank of the sixth level and have repeatedly heard positive reviews about this heavy tank. Now we will look at the O-I performance characteristics and everyone can decide for themselves whether these rumors are true.

TTX O-I

To begin with, it’s worth saying that we have at our disposal a good margin of safety for our level and a good basic view of 370 meters, which can be overclocked, as shown in the screenshot above.

If we consider the O-I armor characteristics, then there are practically no complaints and the armor of the vehicle is very interesting. Our front and rear hulls are equally well armored, due to which we can easily tank most of our classmates and even some level seven tanks. But the sides are loose and can only be placed at a very steep angle. When the WoT O-I tank gets to the bottom of the list, armor stops deciding and the huge dimensions only harm us.

Everything is fine with the turret; it is equally well armored all around, so there’s nothing to talk about here.

Regarding mobility, everything is much worse. As you may have noticed, this Japanese weighs more than 150 tons and this figure is only good for ramming. Otherwise, this is a big minus, because due to the huge mass, mobility suffers greatly. So O-I World of Tanks reaches its maximum speed very poorly, has disgusting dynamics and frankly poor maneuverability, a real big turtle.

gun

In terms of weapons, this unit is very interesting and this aspect is considered its main feature. The thing is that we are given two guns to choose from, each of which has a full right to life.

First, let's look at the top O-I gun - it is a high explosive, very similar to the one on the legendary KV-2. This barrel is famous for its huge one-time damage, and you can shoot both AP guns and land mines, however, in the second case you will deal 100% damage no matter what enemy you shoot at.

This gun has poor armor penetration, but its main disadvantages are disgusting accuracy, huge dispersion, long aiming time and a very long reload. But, having loaded a landmine or even an AP, a heavy O-I tank can demolish even a classmate with one shot.

The second option is a stock gun, but don’t rush to write it off, because many people prefer it. The fact is that it has higher armor penetration, which is enough to penetrate all classmates, and for battles at the bottom of the list, there is a good golda.

The one-time damage of this barrel is also decent, and a more pleasant reload time allows you to develop more damage per minute than a high-explosive weapon due to more stable shooting.

At the same time, the World of Tanks O-I tank engages with this gun faster, and it has more pleasant accuracy and dispersion indicators.

Another very important and tricky nuance is that we have good vertical aiming angles (-10 degrees down). But don’t rush to rejoice, the gun lowers worse from the side, and even when “looking” back or forward, large machine-gun turrets prevent it from completely lowering, so not in all planes the O-I WoT is able to lower its gun by 10 degrees.

Advantages and disadvantages

Now it’s time to sum up the first results, because the analysis of the main parameters and characteristics of the guns is left behind. Now we will separately highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this unit, because everything here is very ambiguous. I would like to immediately note that the O-I World of Tanks ratings will be based on the fact that we will get into battle at the top or middle of the list, since fighting against tanks two levels higher is always not a pleasant pleasure.
Pros:
Good booking;
Powerful and variable weapons;
Not a bad review;
Decent safety margin.
Minuses:
Disgusting mobility;
Huge dimensions;
Poor accuracy and convergence time;
Problematic vertical aiming angles.

Equipment for O-I

Of course, when installing additional modules on any tank, you must take care to enhance the existing advantages of the vehicle or neutralize its weaknesses. In a situation with O-I, equipment is selected based on the same considerations:
1. – always be placed if there is such an opportunity, because it allows us to increase our DPM.
2. – everything is very clear here, you need to do something with poor accuracy and this is the only good way to speed up mixing.
3. – a comprehensive increase in important parameters, never superfluous.

As usual, there are several alternatives to the last point, the first of which will be, because with it the tank becomes more sighted. The second variation is, it is placed because the Japanese heavy tank O-I is slow and very large, so artillery will hit us often.

Crew training

The choice of skills for the crew is no less important, and in our case everything is again ambiguous, since for some reason they put a second radio operator in the tank. However, you still need to make the most of everything and learn the following from O-I perks:
Commander - , , , .
Gunner – , , , .
Driver mechanic - , , , .
Radio operator - , , , .
Radio operator - , , , .
Loader – , , , .

Equipment for O-I

In terms of selection of consumables, everything is standard. In order to save money, the best option would be to carry, and. If you want reliability and increased survivability, because we will have to tank often, it is better to take premium equipment for O-I, where the fire extinguisher can be replaced with.

Tactics for playing O-I

The last but not least important point concerns how to play this giant. Regardless of which weapon you choose, on O-I, combat tactics come down to who you're fighting.

If you get into a fight at the top of the list, you can feel like a king. Our defense is strong, and our place is the first line where all the fun happens. Of course, the ideal option would be a city map, where we can hide behind the houses and there won’t be enough art for us. At the same time, the O-I WoT heavy tank can tank either with its forehead, turning the hull quite a bit, or with its side, moving out from behind cover in a reverse diamond shape, but at a serious angle. In such realities, everyone is afraid of our gun, and the emotions from one-shots (if a high explosive is selected) are indescribable.

As for battles against the eighth levels, everything is much worse. The armor no longer seems so good, the safety margin is quickly running out and the huge dimensions of O-I World of Tanks are playing against us. In this case, it is better to stay away, try to completely close down and deal damage, peeking from behind the covers and backs of your comrades.

In any case, remember, our worst enemy is artillery, so you always need to take a position wisely. In addition, due to limited mobility, a heavy O-I tank can rightfully be considered a one-way vehicle, choosing which one you will have to go to the end. Try to analyze the situation, deceive the enemy, trick him into shooting, and better not be left alone. With a superior number of enemies, we are like a mammoth that has been driven into a corner.

Otherwise, the O-I tank is worth upgrading, it is rightfully considered the pearl of its development tree and brings a lot of fun in every battle in the top, especially if you play with a high explosive.

In this video from Homish you will find a description of Japan's future heavy tank - the Type 100 O-I.

About the tank

Hello everyone guys, Homish is here and today I would like to talk to you about the top tier ten tank of Japan, which will be introduced into the game in the future: Type 100 O-I.

Information about the appearance of Japanese TTs has been confirmed, but it is still unclear when exactly this will happen.

This is a very interesting tank, I would like it to be in the game. Firstly, this is not just a heavy tank, but a super-heavy one. The vehicle weighs approximately 120-130 tons.

The tank was developed in 1944-1945 and was damn huge - the length was 10 meters, which is a lot in my opinion. The width was four meters, as was the height. The tank is really huge, it even seems a little larger than the E-100.

Now let's talk about booking this car. You might think that it would be a huge barn with weak armor, but this is not the case, the protection is very good. The forehead will be at least 200mm, and if we take into account the slope of the armor, the resulting protection will be even greater. However, the Type 100 O-I will also have weak points that will break through. The tower is also very well protected - 200mm in the forehead, no less. The sides of the tower will be thinner - up to 200mm.

The sides of the Type 100 O-I are also interesting. Not only are they armored, they are also equipped with bulwarks.

O-I is a Japanese Tier 6 heavy tank in World of Tanks.

Review

O-I is a mid-tier land dreadnought. The Japanese have everything necessary to confirm this title: excellent armor (frontal armor - 150 mm at level VI!), large caliber guns with excellent penetration and high one-time damage.

Separately, it is worth noting the “stock” gun: in terms of its characteristics, it is in no way inferior to the “top” guns of its classmates, so the heavily armored samurai is quite combat-ready even in the basic configuration.

Starting with this fighting vehicle, the Japanese heavyweights began to display characteristic features: heavy armor, excellent guns and modest mobility. The O-I is a one-way tank.

Its main task is to push through or restrain a specific area of ​​the map. Therefore, at the beginning of the battle, you should carefully consider your own actions, because this mid-level monster has extremely limited opportunities to influence the development of events on other flanks.

Firepower

The tank has two excellent weapons to choose from: a 10cm, available in the basic configuration, and a “top” 15cm high explosive.

Note that the vehicle is quite combat-ready with a “stock” gun, but only the installation of a “top-end” barrel makes the steel super-heavyweight a truly dangerous opponent, capable of knocking out a same-level enemy with one hook.

After all, the damage caused when armor is penetrated is comparable to that of self-propelled guns. Due to the low accuracy of the “top” gun, the O-I will be most effective at medium and close ranges.

Booking

Oddly enough, the Japanese can boast of a really strong rear: the rear armor, as well as the frontal projection, is 150 millimeters. For a Tier VI tank, this is an almost prohibitive value.

Forehead armoring
Aircraft reservation

Stern reservation

Strength

When armor doesn't help, strength points come to the rescue. The Japanese have as many as 970 of them - this is the best indicator at its level, not counting the premium tank TOG II*.

Mobility

For its size, the O-I boasts surprisingly good mobility.

With a maximum speed of 30 km/h, the heavyweight is able to quickly reach and maintain 24–26 km/h. It should also be noted that, despite its size, it has good maneuverability: the chassis turning speed is 22 degrees/s.

Great review

Without installed additional modules, the tank's visibility is 370 meters. This value makes it possible to “shine through” the direction chosen for combat operations.

Dimensions

O-I is a huge tank. Due to its size, it may have difficulty finding suitable hiding places. Standing in the bushes will not work, since the dimensions of the vehicle nullify all camouflage efforts.

However, there are also advantages to such gigantomania: since the gun is located high, in a clinch the “Japanese” can fire at the vulnerable spots of vehicles with a lower silhouette - for example, on a weakly armored turret roof.

Characteristics

Characteristics
gun

Tower
Chassis

Engine
Radio station

Crew skills and abilities

Equipment and equipment

How to play

To conduct the battle on O-I most effectively, you should alternately use landmines and armor-piercing shells. If you're at the top of the team's list, your choice of ammo type depends on the opponent within O-I range.

When shooting at long distances, it is better to fire with land mines, since the accuracy of the gun is low and it is almost impossible to target vulnerable spots at a distance of over 200 meters.

In the middle of the list, you should behave a little more carefully - shoot mainly with land mines, do not attack on your own, stay close to your allies.

In battles against Tier VIII tanks, you should adhere to the “hit and run” tactic, that is, “hit and run” (rather, tried to evade retribution). Move with groups of allied tanks and try to avoid open spaces.

O-I armor is capable of repelling shots from some Tier VIII vehicles, but you can't rely on chance. You shouldn’t expose yourself to enemy fire again.

Wait for the moment when the big guys are busy shooting among themselves, and only then deal damage. This is how you will bring the most value to the team.

Historical reference

The design of a super-heavy tank began after the battles on Lake Khalkhin Gol in 1939. The vehicle was intended to be used as a mobile firing point. The tank was named Mi-To (from Mitsubishi-Tokyo).

One prototype was built in structural steel without a turret. The tests ended with failures of the chassis, and at the end of 1944 the tank was dismantled for scrap.

We plan to test a comprehensive change to mid- and top-level cars. The purpose of reworking Japanese heavyweights is to improve the balance of the branch, maintain the combat effectiveness and relevance of Japanese heavyweights and at the same time create equal conditions in battle for equipment of other nations.

The armor of Tier IX and X tanks will be revised: in the frontal projection we will add seats with armor of 240–260 mm for Tier X and 220–240 mm for Tier IX. The maneuverability and speed of these vehicles will be brought to a level slightly superior to the Maus. The frontal armor of these vehicles, unlike their German classmates, had no weak points and was guaranteed to be penetrated only with the use of premium ammunition. We have made changes to small areas of the frontal projection armor to allow opponents to fight Japanese heavyweights on equal terms.

The Tier VIII O-HO tank will receive premium ammunition with armor penetration of about 250–260 mm for the 10 cm Experimental Tank Gun Kai. Previously, this weapon did not have an armor-piercing shell with penetration sufficient to guarantee damage, which is why players did not have the opportunity to choose their play style - the tank was played only as a “high explosive”.

The Tier VI O-I tank will have slightly reduced rear hull armor to reduce its superiority in combat, especially over lower tier tanks. Previously, low-level equipment could not cause damage to the Japanese even after entering the stern; now the roundabout maneuver will be beneficial.

The Tier V O-I Exp tank will receive improved frontal armor to more effectively withstand high-tier vehicles and serve as a breakthrough tank. At the same time, the 105 mm gun, which was disproportionately effective at Tier V, will be removed from it, and mobility will be reduced.

Please note: the screenshots show the booking shown!

Official designation: “O-I”
Alternative designation: “Mi-To”, Type 100
Start of design: 1939
Date of construction of the first prototype:
Completion stage: one prototype has been built, the project was subsequently canceled due to high technical complexity.

The history of the creation of Japanese super-heavy tanks cannot be called fully disclosed, if only because almost no documentary evidence related to this topic has survived. For a long time, so-called “reconstructions of the appearance” of these machines “roamed” on the Internet, most of which had nothing to do with real projects. The Japanese themselves could have shed light, but their sources, until recently, did not provide complete clarity. So it turned out that Japanese super-heavy tanks were called Type 100, O-I, O-1, etc. Very sparse texts, both in print and on the Internet, were accompanied by drawings where the tanks were depicted in different “modifications”, markedly differing in the configuration of the hull, chassis and number of turrets.

Of course, the online game “World of Tanks” contributed to the popularization of Japanese super-heavy tanks. Despite the fact that after its appearance the number of “experts” in the field of world tank building increased in arithmetic progression, we must give credit to the Wargaming company - it was able not only to captivate people with another “toy”, but also to show many projects of tanks and self-propelled guns that were previously unavailable in open sources. The most interesting story happened with Japanese armored vehicles.

When the idea arose to introduce Japanese tanks into the game, the main concept took shape on three branches of development: light, medium and heavy (self-propelled guns and tank destroyers for some reason were not introduced into the game, although the exhibits there were more than interesting). But if there was no shortage of materials with the first two types of combat vehicles, then there was simply no reliable information on super-heavy tanks starting with “O-I”. By this time, a series of consultations had been held with Japanese technology advisor Tadamasa Miyanaga and Kunihiro Suzuki, president of Japanese plastic model manufacturer Fine Molds Corp. As it turned out, Mr. Suzuki is the owner of the drawings of a super-heavy tank, which we used to call Type 100 “O-I”(it is not entirely clear where the number 100 came from, although there is a version that this is a transformation from 2600 - the year of development according to the Japanese calendar). But regarding the progress of development and testing, only fragmentary information has been preserved. The following article is based on online publications based on translated Japanese materials.

The development of super-heavy tanks began in the second half of 1939, when Japan suffered a major defeat from the Soviet-Mongolian forces at the Khalkhin Gol River. Despite the fairly active actions of Japanese armored vehicles, their overall effectiveness turned out to be frankly low, since the main Type 89 and Type 95 Ha-Go tanks at that time had very mediocre combat characteristics. The founder of the idea to create a super-heavy tank was Colonel Hideo Iwakura, appointed in the same year as head of the Department of Army Affairs in the Bureau of Army Affairs). Having assessed the experience gained, he formulated a very unusual and vague tactical and technical task, which literally sounded like this:

“I want to see a huge tank built that can be used as a mobile bunker in the wide open steppes of Manchuria. Top secret."

“Make it twice the size of modern tanks.”

Why Iwakura needed a “mobile bunker” is difficult to say, since hardly anyone then imagined how to combine the thickest armor with acceptable mobility - in the open steppes of Manchuria, such a tank would have been an excellent target for enemy artillery and aircraft. Considering that Soviet pilots began to successfully master dive bombing, the viability of the Japanese tank now seems very doubtful. However, there is reason to believe that Iwakura did not make strict demands precisely because of the high complexity of the super-heavy tank, literally giving the designers a free hand. This approach guaranteed a rapid pace of development, subject to the use of a number of components and design solutions already used on other combat vehicles, in particular, on the Type 97 “Chi-Ha” tank.

To design a super-heavy tank, the 4th Technical Research Department was allocated under the leadership of Colonel Murato (it is from his words that Iwakura is quoted). Mitsubishi employees also provided active assistance during the development process. The work, carried out in special secrecy, continued throughout 1940. It cannot be said that the Japanese specialists were in a hurry somewhere - the preliminary design was ready only by March 1941.

The tank they developed really resembled a mobile multi-turret firing point. Apparently, in order to ensure the best manufacturability, practically no bent profiles were used in the design, which gave the appearance of this machine its characteristic faceted shape. The final version of the project included the installation of four turrets: the main one with a large-caliber gun in the center, two small ones in the front part and another small one in the stern. Although it is possible that the original version provided for a different layout option.

It is worth assuming that the development of the 4th Division was approved by Colonel Iwakura, since in April 1941 a group of engineers was selected to build the first prototype of the tank. Further events are described from the words of engineer Shigeo Otaka, according to whom the “selected group” was sent to the previous headquarters of the 4th department in Tokyo. The specialists were placed in barracks, inside of which there were many small rooms intended for meetings and discussion of the progress of building the tank. The secrecy was so high that each specialist had only his own part of the drawings. The general discussion and integration of parts of the project into a single whole was carried out in a separate room equipped with soundproof walls to prevent any possibility of eavesdropping on the part of the service personnel. Presumably at the same time the tank received an unofficial name “Mi-To”, which is an abbreviation of the first letters of the company Mi Tsubishi and development cities That kio.

Assembly of the Mi-To prototype began on April 14, 1941. Due to the fact that the Japanese had no experience in developing such titanic machines, the necessary components were manufactured privately (in fact, we can talk about semi-handicraft production and fitting individual parts “on site,” although there is no documentary mention of this). Colonel Murata expected that the assembly of the Mi-To could be completed within three months, but the super-heavy tank was heavy not only in weight, but also from a technical point of view. The construction of the Mi-To required the allocation of huge investments and resources, which was very problematic in the conditions of preparation for the war in the Pacific Ocean.

Despite the determination of the specialists of the 4th department to complete their work, enthusiasm alone was clearly not enough. The tank assembly work was carried out under conditions of great material constraints, and in addition, suppliers were unable to quickly produce all the necessary components and assemblies. From the recollections of participants in those events, most of the resources allocated for the project were exhausted after a month and further construction was postponed until January 1942.

As of February 8th, it was possible to almost completely complete the assembly of the hull, but the work was constantly delayed due to a lack of supplies and resources. Nevertheless, the Japanese had something to brag about even then. The thickness of the front armor plates and the stern of the Mi-To was 150 mm, the upper part of the sides of the superstructure was 75 mm, the lower part of the sides of the superstructure was 35 mm, the roof was 35 mm (50 mm according to the design), the bottom was 30 mm. The layout of the hull was generally classic, with the exception of the location of the turrets: two small ones were located longitudinally in the front of the hull, the main turret was in the center and another small turret was located at the stern above the engine. Inside, the hull was divided into three separate sections by 20 mm armor partitions. The height of the ceilings in them was such that a person of average height could walk freely around the tank.

The prototype was equipped with a power plant consisting of two engines working on a common transmission, the main units of which were located between them. The steering control was located in the bow of the hull, in front of the small towers. Regarding the type of engines, it is indicated that they were 12-cylinder Kawasaki Type 98 with a power of 550 hp. every. It is also indicated that the transmission copied the design from the Type 97 medium tank, but consisted of larger components. The cooling system caused many problems, the development and production of which took a very long time.

The chassis, for one side, included four double-roller bogies, a front drive wheel and a rear guide wheel. The bogies were equipped with shock absorption on vertical spring springs. The caterpillar was large-linked and consisted of cast tracks. Almost all elements of the chassis, with the exception of the lower part of the road wheels, were protected by a 35-mm armored screen mounted on bolts.

The towers caused no less of a headache. In the project for them (including commander's domes), the thickness of the side armor plates was equal to 150 mm. It is alleged that Mitsubishi manufactured all four towers in May 1942, but the 35 mm roof was not ready for the main one. It is not specified what condition the others were in.

Regarding weapons, the following scheme was chosen. The two frontal hexagonal turrets were to be equipped with 47-mm cannons, the barrels of which were modernized and protected by additional armor casings - their main purpose was to fight enemy armored vehicles. A turret at the stern of a similar type, designed for protection against infantry from the rear, provided only two 7.7 mm machine guns. It was planned to install a 149.1 mm Type 96 howitzer in the main seven-sided turret, the field version of which was put into service in 1937 and proved itself well in battles in China and Mongolia. High-explosive fragmentation shells of this weapon caused enormous damage to fortifications and unsheltered infantry, while having an initial speed of 540 m/s they pierced a 125-mm vertical armor plate at a distance of 230 meters. When installed on a tank, the howitzer received a massive armored casing that protected approximately 3/5 of the barrel length. Vertical guidance angles for the howitzer ranged from -5° to + 20°, for 47 mm guns - from -10° to + 20°.

The dimensions of the almost finished Mi-To tank were truly impressive: length - 10100 mm, height - 3595 mm (hull - 2530 mm, main turret - 1065 mm), total width - 4833 mm. The crew was to consist of 11 people:

- driver

- driver's assistant

- commander

- three gunners in the main turret

- two artillerymen in small towers

- machine gunner in the rear turret

- radio operator

- tank maintenance engineer.

The crew could only enter the tank through the turret hatches, since the placement of various components and assemblies did not allow for additional doors or hatches in the hull. So that the tankers could rise to a 3-meter height, 40 U-shaped handrails were attached to the sides and stern. In addition, during the assembly process of the Mi-To, another serious problem emerged - the Mitsubishi company was unable to produce 150-mm armor plates within the allotted time, and therefore a decision was made to introduce two-layer armor. Thus, the frontal and side parts of the hull were initially made of 75-mm armor plates, onto which armor plates of similar thickness had to be bolted in order to bring the armor to the design level. Thus, the mass of the prototype was only 96 tons, but after being equipped with all the equipment, weapons and ammunition, this figure should have risen to 150 tons.

The exact date of completion of the Mi-To remains unknown, but active testing of the tank was scheduled for the end of 1943. Shortly before this, the tank was “declassified” for display to representatives of the high command of the Japanese army, at the same time assigning it a standardized designation “O-I” (ABOUT- heavy, AND- first). How military officials, including Tomio Hara, who was the head of the Sagamiya army arsenal, reacted to the giant, now we can only guess, but it can be assumed that for “O-I” it still aroused great interest - sea tests were to begin in August of that same year. For testing, the tank was disassembled and on one June night it was sent to the Sagami Arsenal, which was located in the city of Sagamihara, 51 km from Tokyo. The assembly was carried out throughout July and on August 1st, “O-I” was almost ready, except for the absence of the main turret and mounted armor plates (that is, the small turrets were still installed).

The first day of testing caused conflicting feelings among both developers and army representatives. When driving on a hard surface, the ride quality did not cause any particular concern. It is claimed that the 96-ton prototype reached a maximum speed of 40 km/h, while the design was 30 km/h. However, in the second hour of testing, when we had to go out onto softer ground, the tank buried itself a meter deep. The driver tried to pull the car out with maneuvers, but this resulted in compression and subsequent jamming of the suspension elements. Ultimately, the tank was towed away and testing began on a concrete surface. Here, simply discouraging results were obtained - instead of the expected smooth ride, the suspension very quickly failed (apparently due to strong shaking, aggravated by the titanic weight and the specific design of the caterpillar tracks). There are also allegations that pieces of track tracks flew off the tank as it moved. As a result, the tests were first postponed, and the next day they decided to cancel them altogether.

Despite all these incidents, the overall result was assessed as positive. In principle, this conclusion was correct, since the Japanese were the first to build a super-heavy tank and even make it move under its own power. At the same time, maintaining the vehicle in running condition in the field and with very limited resources was extremely labor-intensive, and therefore on August 3, 1943, personnel began dismantling the O-I. The disassembly process was completed on August 8th, and two days later, engineers noted in the log that they had begun analyzing individual components of the tank in order to identify deficiencies and ways to eliminate them.

The further fate of “O-I” is mysterious and foggy. Most sources agree that by September 1945 the tank was scrapped, as was most of the documentation on it. Not even a single photograph or drawing has survived. The only artifacts confirming the existence of this machine are engineering journals and a drawing book, as well as parts of the track, currently stored at the Wakajishi Shrine. By the way, one interesting fact is connected with this place, which is actually a museum - the captions for the tracks contain the values ​​100t and 90t, while the captions for technical magazines show 150t.

The story of “O-I” could have ended there, if not for one interesting nuance. More recently, “Reference: cooling systems of Japanese heavy tank projects” was found in former Soviet archives. In addition to very scant information about the Type 2604 and Type 2605 tanks, it stated the following:

“The wooden model of the O-I tank assumes, instead of a pair of BMW carburetor engines, a model of a Daimler-Benz engine,” a liquid-cooled twelve-cylinder diesel engine. The cooling system on the model involves the presence of two six-section radiators with ejector-type purging from engine exhaust gases. Air intake is carried out through casings in the upper part of the engine compartment. To provide air flow to the engine and purify the tank's fighting compartment, there is an auxiliary fan driven by a cardan shaft from the engine fuel pump.

The advantage of the layout is the simplicity of the device, providing ventilation for the tank turret, although only when the engine is running.

The disadvantage of the layout is the need to remove the sealed sections of the radiators covering the engine cylinder heads during maintenance and repair. The radiator section needs to be removed to gain access to the engine.”

From this certificate it is not entirely clear what kind of model of the “O-I” tank was meant. Obviously, it was full-size and even had a German engine (or a prototype copy of it) installed in it - there are suggestions that it could be an aircraft Daimler-Benz DB 601A, but no other sources confirm this. It is possible that in 1943-1944. work on “O-I” was still ongoing, and in the territory subsequently captured by Soviet troops - that is, in Manchuria. It is quite possible that the Japanese command did not abandon the idea of ​​“an armored bunker in the endless Manchurian steppes,” but this version has not yet been officially confirmed.

Information about other Japanese super-heavy tanks is still viewed with skepticism. For example, a number of foreign sources claim that in the development of “Mi-To”\“O-I” the first was the 96-ton project, which was soon redesigned into a 100-ton tank, then into a 120-ton tank and, finally, the apogee became a 150-ton sample. In fact, there is an overlap of real facts with the conjectures of historians. Thus, no other super-heavy tanks other than the Mi-To/O-I were built in Japan. If only because the Japanese could not afford it for purely material reasons.

Nevertheless, the theme of Japanese supertanks turned out to be very tenacious. In particular, Alexey Statsenko’s article “Giants of the Land of the Rising Sun” provides information about the construction of another tank in 1944. The development of the 120-ton vehicle was carried out by Mitsubishi engineers, and the layout scheme was completely borrowed from O-I: two small turrets with 47-mm Type 1 cannons in front, a main turret with a Type 92 in the center and another small turret with two machine guns on the stern The composition of the auxiliary weapons did not change, and the ammunition load was 60 rounds of separate loading (projectile weight - 16 kg, charge - 30 kg) for the 104.9 mm cannon, 100 unitary rounds for the 47 mm Type 1 cannons and 7470 rounds of ammunition for machine guns. Overall dimensions: length – 10 meters (according to the “Directory” – 11 m), width – 4.2 meters, height – 4 meters. The thickness of the frontal armor was supposed to be 200 mm, the width of the track tracks was 750 mm.

Sources:
P. Sergeev “Tanks of Japan in World War II.” 2000
S. Fedoseev “Armored vehicles of Japan 1939-1945” (“Historical series”, supplement to the magazine “Technology for Youth”). 2003
E. Pyasetsky “Japanese tanks” (“Rhombus” No. 1)
Steven Zaloga, Tony Bryan "Japanese Tanks 1939-45"
Warspot: Alexey Statsenko “Giants of the Land of the Rising Sun”
Status Report: O-I by Seon Eun Ae
Warthunder Forum: O-I: Japan's Super Heavy Tank
reddit.com (Warthunder): O-I Superheavy Tank (copies of plans from Fine Molds)
World of Warships: Wargaming at TGS15! Second day
thunder-games.livejournal.com: Post 1 of 3 about O-I from a Japanese consultant / Answers from FM and BVV / Other
ftr.wot-news.com: Superheavy Japanese tanks
Wakajishi Jinja (Museum at Wakajishi Shrine)
imgur.com: O-I (docs scan)

Articles about the O-I tank models:
1/72 Multiverse: O-I Super Heavy Tank
Henk of Holland: Info: Japanese 150 ton Super Heavy Tank “O-I”

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUPER HEAVY TANK
“O-I” model 1943