A medium tank is a classification of tanks , particularly prevalent during World War II , which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks . A medium tank's classification is not actually based on weight, but off of tactical usage and intended purpose; for instance the German Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank has a mass similar to contemporary Allied heavy tanks. The most widely produced, cost effective and successful tanks of World War II (the German Panzer IV , the Soviet T-34 , and the American M4 Sherman ) were all medium tank designs. Many of the medium tank lines became what are called main battle tanks in most countries.
24-401: Type III or Type 3 may refer to: Japanese weapons [ edit ] Type 3 Chi-Nu , a Japanese medium tank Type 3 mine , a Japanese land mine 8 cm/40 3rd Year Type naval gun , a Japanese weapon Type 3 12 cm AA Gun , a Japanese weapon Type 3 Chū-SAM , a Japanese medium-range surface-to-air missile Type 3 heavy machine gun ,
48-562: A Type 3 75 mm tank gun , one of the largest Japanese tank guns during the war. The Chi-Nu did not see combat during the war. All produced units were retained for the defense of the Japanese Homeland in anticipation of an Allied invasion . At the outbreak of the Pacific War , the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank and Type 95 Ha-Go light tank designs comprised the mainstay of the armored units of
72-505: A Japanese heavy machine gun of World War I Type 3 aircraft machine gun , a Japanese aircraft machine gun of World War II Biology and medicine [ edit ] Hyperlipoproteinemia type III , a risk factor for cardiovascular disease Nitric oxide synthase 3 , an enzyme Type III intermediate filaments , structural proteins Type III secretion system used by pathogenic bacteria Mathematics [ edit ] Type III von Neumann algebra Type III sums of squares ,
96-411: A distribution mechanism for unsupported IBM mainframe software such as CP/CMS PostScript fonts Type 3 , a format of Postscript fonts Motorola Type IIi Hybrid , a trunked radio system IEC 62196 Type 3 connector type (alias Plug Alliance) R-Type III: The Third Lightning , a video game IEC Type III , one of the four "type" classifications of audio cassette formulation Type-3 language in
120-430: A limited post-war arms race of progressively more heavily armed and armoured designs. With the rise of more sophisticated anti-tank missile weapons, to which heavy tanks had demonstrated high vulnerability, these too were eventually phased out. With advances in technology, aspects such as mobility, armour and weaponry pushed the medium tank to form the core of a country's armoured fighting capability, eventually merging into
144-525: A measurement of the explanatory power of a variable after accounting for all other variables in the model in statistics Type III error , any of several proposed extensions to the concept of Type I and type II errors in statistics Other [ edit ] Type-III Civilization on the Kardashev scale, a way to classify civilizations British Railways Type 3 Diesel locomotives The Volkswagen Type 3 Peugeot Type 3 The IBM Type-III Library ,
168-813: A successor to the BT tank series, they combined its excellent mobility with thick, sloped armour and the unprecedented firepower of a 76.2 mm high-velocity gun. The result was the T-34 medium tank , whose superb capabilities shocked the German Wehrmacht when it invaded the Soviet Union. The lessons of Blitzkrieg , first employed by the Germans and eventually adopted by other nations, found their best expression in formations of mutually-supporting medium tanks and motorised infantry . The traditional view of infantry and cavalry tank roles
192-511: A total of between 144 and 166 units were produced. The Type 3 Chi-Nu was the last tank that was fielded by the Imperial Japanese armed forces, and was still in production at the end of the war. The Type 3 Chi-Nu retained the same chassis and suspension of the Type 1 Chi-He, but with the addition of an enlarged turret ring for the new large hexagonal gun turret with a commander's cupola. It
216-536: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Type 3 Chi-Nu Type 3 medium tank Chi-Nu ( 三式中戦車 チヌ , San-shiki chū-sensha Chi-nu , "Imperial Year 2603 Medium tank Model 10") was a medium tank of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II . Like the Type 1 Chi-He , this tank was an improved version of the Type 97 Chi-Ha . It incorporated
240-455: The Cruiser tank class, while other tank doctrines formed around the medium tank making the main advance. In this later use, medium tanks represent the designer's intent of producing a successful balance of firepower, mobility, and protection. Medium tanks aim to be suitable to the widest variety of roles, with less reliance on other types of tank during normal operations. Background: History of
264-497: The Imperial Japanese Army . As the war progressed, these tanks started to face significant challenges posed by Allied tanks. In the Burma and Philippines Campaigns , the firepower of the 57 mm cannon mounted on the Type 97 was proven to be insufficient against Allied tanks. The Imperial Japanese Army therefore developed the Type 1 47 mm tank gun , which used a lighter high-explosive round with greater armor penetrating power. This gun
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#1732844301532288-572: The Leopard 1 and T-72 each of which weigh around 40 short tons, while third and subsequent generations have increased markedly in weight and have included some of the heaviest main battle tanks such as the M1 Abrams which is over 60 short tons. In the 1990s the "medium" main battle tanks still proved useful, such as the Canadian Leopard 1 tanks deployed to Kosovo in 1999 which were much better suited to
312-671: The Type 4 Chi-To medium tank as the counter to the M4 Sherman, but there were problems and delays in the program. As a result, a stopgap tank was required. The Type 3 medium tank Chi-Nu was developed to cope with the M4 Sherman. Development of the Type 3 Chi-Nu occurred in 1943. The low priority given to tank production meant that the Type 3 did not actually enter production until 1944, by which time raw materials were in very short supply, and in 1945 much of Japan's industrial infrastructure had been destroyed by American strategic bombing . This led to its production run being severely curtailed. Only
336-651: The interwar period included the British Vickers Medium Mark II and the Soviet multi-turreted T-28 . In the period leading up to World War II, the British stopped using the term Medium for their tanks as the new philosophy of ' Cruiser tank ' and ' Infantry tank ' which defined tanks by role rather than size came into use. There were medium tanks that focused on anti-infantry capabilities (such as in World War II:
360-460: The main battle tank . Simpler and more economical self-propelled guns , and later anti-tank guided missiles , came to fulfil some fire-support and anti-tank roles, thus shifting the tactical approach how tanks were used. Although the term "medium tank" classification has largely fallen out of use after World War II, the term is informally used to describe some first and second-generation main battle tanks which fall between 20 and 50 tons, such as
384-619: The Chomsky hierarchy of formal languages, a.k.a. regular language See also [ edit ] Class 3 (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Type III . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Type_III&oldid=1230212368 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
408-600: The Type 3 was never used in combat operations. The 4th Tank Division based in Fukuoka on Kyushu had a "significant" number of the Type 3 Chi-Nu tanks produced at its depot by the end of the war. One surviving Type 3 medium tank is on display at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Military Ordnance Training School at Tsuchiura, Ibaraki , Japan . Japanese tanks of World War II Medium tank The first tanks to carry
432-492: The initial short-barrel gun Panzer IV , and the initial 75 mm gun M4 Sherman ), and medium tanks which were more focused on the anti-tank role, mounting high-velocity tank guns . The French cavalry tanks ( Chars de Cavalerie ) such as the SOMUA S35 focused on speed in addition to power and protection of the other designs. They were similar to what other countries called medium tanks. When Soviet tank designers were preparing
456-578: The name "Medium" appeared in the First World War with the British Medium Mark A Whippet . It was smaller, lighter and faster than the British heavy tanks of the time and only carried machine guns. The medium tank doctrine came into use in the interwar period . Its existence outlasted the super-heavy tank and the heavy tank and gradually transitioned into the main battle tank . Medium tanks of
480-546: The poor roads and soft ground than the French armoured cars there, but were still able to move along narrow streets and over lighter bridge classifications than the much heavier M1 Abrams tanks used by the Americans. The role of medium tanks started with a prioritisation of speed. Medium tanks could travel faster, but needed help to cross trenches, where heavy tanks were large enough to cross unaided. In British use, this evolved into
504-532: Was a 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun . The Chi-Nu had the same engine as the Type 1 Chi-He, producing 240 hp and a top speed of 39 km/h. The Type 3 Chi-Nu was allocated to the Japanese home islands to defend against the projected Allied Invasion . They were to be part of the "Mobile Shock Force" to be used for counter-attacks against the Allied invasion. As the surrender of Japan occurred before that invasion,
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#1732844301532528-454: Was mounted on Type 97 Shinhoto Chi-Ha and Type 1 Chi-He medium tanks. At the later stages of the war, large numbers of American M4 Sherman tanks arrived at the front line and increased pressure on Japanese armored forces. The Imperial General Headquarters ( 大本営 , Daihon'ei ) decided to develop a new medium tank to counter the enemy threat as well as a replacement for the Type 97. The Army Technical Bureau had been working on
552-592: Was rendered obsolete. Both the Soviet Union and the United States benefited from their industrial capacity to manufacture a well-balanced medium tank in very large numbers — around 57,000 T-34 and 49,234 M4 Sherman tanks were built during the war. During and after World War II, the roles of light tanks were gradually taken over by less-expensive armoured cars and specialised reconnaissance vehicles. Heavy tanks, having shown their limitations in combat, experienced
576-583: Was the last design based directly on Type 97 lineage. The thickest armor used was 50 mm on the front hull; it also had 25 mm on the turret, 25 mm on the sides and 20 mm on the rear deck. The main armament of the Type 3 Chi-Nu was the 75 mm Type 3 tank gun . The gun could be elevated between -10 and +25 degrees. Firing a shell at a muzzle velocity of 680 m/s (2,200 ft/s) it gave an armor penetration of 90 mm (3.5 in) at 100 m (110 yd) and 65 mm (2.6 in) at 1,000 m (1,100 yd). Secondary armament
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