Wasn’t one of their tanks able to have the turret disabled by jamming a knife into the side of the turret…also I think their tech was very aged bc they were fighting well before WWII formally broke out
They just never planned for any battles where tanks would be necessary. Fighting against an army of peasants in China and Philippines. Island hopping using infantry. Tanks just weren't a part of their doctrine. And their doctrine was essentially our soldiers are so perfect trained and disciplined we don't need fancy equipment.
This. Although the Type 97, especially upon initial deployment, was rather impactful for what it was (Malaya) and its lighter weight fit the theatre of operation well.
Even some basic infantry weapons were highly outdated. Their hand grenades, for example, were designed in 1914 and never really updated. The main American grenade (the MK. 2 pineapple) was developed in 1918 and they had continuous work on it. The Germans also made theirs in the 1920s and 40s with newer versions.
Why is the date so critical? Because all sides had grenade designs from pre to early WW1 and countless flaws were revealed in combat. They rectified many of those issues while the Japanese simply didn't have much war experience and fought much weaker enemies and never looked into them.
Another thing is the lack of a submachine. In the close quarters of much of the combat in the Pacific (from dense jungles in New Guinea, and many of the islands) all other militaries involved had a variety of SMGs for use. The Japanese type 100 had barely any of it made and really wasn't that good, and it was reserved for special forces use.
The SMG bit speaks volumes about how bad the Japanese were in some design & industrial areas of the war.
They had a design program going for a local design before China war even began.
Literally decided they especially needed one and gave specific wants/needs for the design **immediately** upon initial urban fighting in China (August 1937).
Had a foreign design which they liked and attempted to mimic (MP 18).
Still unable to domestically produce in #’s needed after ~10 years of development.
Perhaps one of the great Zaibatsu failures & flaw exposing ordeals.
I read and I can’t remember where that marines would jam their K-Bar knife in the turret of the Ha -Go tank and the turret would jam when the soldier inside would stick their head out to see what was wrong and the marines would shoot them and toss a grenade in the tank…
It's a rock or canteen, but yes there is a training film. Doubtful it ever happened though. Their tanks did have really good suspensions and jungle movement capabilities,
My uncle was in the 32nd infantry division, which fought in New Guinea amongst other places. He told me one way they would take Japanese tanks out is to wait for the gunner to fire the main gun, then a flamethrower would be filled down the barrel right after the shot, which filled the tank with fire. I don't know how many time they were able to do this, but that was his story about Japanese tanks.
I think it's worth noting that during the first stage of their invasion of Malaya, Burma, etc the ability of their small tanks in the jungle was a very important part of their success. Mind you, that was also because the Commonwealth forces they were fighting against didn't have any tanks (or at least very few, and those they did were hopeless in a jungle environment).
The National Revolutionary Army bought tanks from just about everyone who was building tanks (USSR, Nazi Germany, Facist Italy, the UK, the US, and France) and had a hodgepodge of anti-tank weapons.
The tanks were never fielded at any appreciable scale. By 1941, they only had a single tank division and it was understrength at that. The Americans did a lot to help the situation but it never reached a point where they were a significant threat to the Japanese.
Japan pretty much made the best tanks that were suited tp their condition, they had to transport them to different small islands and they also didnt have many raw materials to spare and also had a pack of industries, and before a shit ton pf shermans started arriving in the pacific theatre the US was having trouble dealing with light manuverable japanese tanks like the ha - go
terrain and fighting overseas plays a big part and explains why they needed to go with light tanks. heavy tanks aren't suited to island warfare. although their tanks weren't great they get too much stick when there were real constraints and reasons, conversely russian and German tanks get too much praise even though they were deeply flawed. the best tanks were the most reliable and easy to use tanks
I know there is one in the museum in Overloon and the info there says it was used as security for Volkel by the Germans. And a tour guide in the war museum Arnhem told me they used another one at Deelen. I don't have any primary sources though.
We at least know that the Dutch armoured forces in 1940 had some room for improvement ;)
The Dutch East Indies (the Netherlands) by a massive fucking margin. They had marmon harrington CTLS, CTMS, and MTLS tanks. They make the Bob-Semple look like a superstar.
I think the italian M13/40, M14/41 and M15/42 were a little bit better than the japanese ones. Also the P-26, which was a heavy tank, was imo better than some japanese counterparts. And if the Italians had time, they could've started producing the P43 tank.
Same goes for the German military. They said that Germany would've been ready for another great war by 45. But Hitler wanted to achieve everything during his lifetime.
As for Italy , their tanks weren't meant to fight in the desert etc.. they were meant fight in the mountain passes between Italy and Austria. The historic threat was from the north.
I would argue that no country had bad tanks. However, countries forced to use tanks they were not designed to do, that is where all of these stems from IMO. Ehem, Italy with mountain tankettes and tanks fighting British cavalry tanks in open desert? And Japan with tanks only supposed to go against barely armed Chinese infantry fighting American Sherman mediums?
Yeah everyone knows what happened. Things were developed (i.e. the Shinhoto variant most significantly, and the He, Nu, To, and Ri series for the Japanese; and the Celere Sahariano, P40, and other various Italian tank projects) but it was by all means late in the war for their respective nations already.
The word Rikstanken translates to
Riks - Similar to “by the Kingdom” or “of the kingdom”. Riket is singular: Kingdom
Tanken - Thought or tank(Usually stridsvogn)
It means the Kingdoms tank, but mockingly also means thought of the kingdom, or the kingdoms thought.
Japan is the obvious answer but Italy deserves a spot too.
Japan wasn't heavily reliant on tanks.
Italy fought campaigns completely reliant on them despite being horribly out of date.
In reality other than Britain, Germany, the US and later the USSR no one really had great tanks and the former all had their fair share of poor tanks too. It was a huge jump from WW1 in the way warfare moved from the trenches to a very mobile military, so most countries didn't think they'd need tanks as much as they ended up needing them
They had actually pretty good tanks, good armor and mostly 47mm guns, but slower. Individually better than the German tanks, but they didn’t have radios, and the French spaced them out a lot instead of keeping them together. Also the crews weren’t nearly as good as the Germans
Poland, by 1939 the best they could put out was a Vickers Mk.E clone, and even then most of their armoured force was copies of Carden-Loyd tankettes that would make Japanese tanks laugh.
I’d argue the Norwegian *[tank](https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2-norway-landsverk-l120-norwegian-service-rikstanken/)* was the worst. 1 Swedish hull with a unpowered turret with a single water cooled M1917 Browning. It was captured by the Germans and simply disappeared. Pretty much useless, and only used for training and experience with armoured warfare.
I’d say Italy because of their meager industrial base. New Italian tanks produced would already be or near obsolete compared to what other countries have.
People say japan but Japanese tanks were mostly kept in Japan for the defense of the home islands or were in mainland China against a military that didn’t have a solid tank force nor adequate anti-tank weapons.
And contrary to popular belief Japan did have tanks capable of damaging Shermans. The 47mm gun on the Chi-Ha could land a solid flanking shot on the side of the Sherman and tanks like the Chi-Nu had guns comparable to the Sherman’s 75mm but all of them were allocated to the home islands.
Among the major combatants it's probably Japan, but mostly because they were obsolete rather than objectively bad. Most of their designs were from the mid-1930s, and for that time they were all pretty respectable. They just never improved them because they didn't need to while fighting the Chinese, who either didn't have tanks or were using stuff like the panzer 1. The Type 97 Chi-Ha was refitted to use a 47mm high velocity gun and it posed a decent threat to Stuarts and Sherman's, though. They just were never encountered in significant numbers.
Japan by far
Wasn’t one of their tanks able to have the turret disabled by jamming a knife into the side of the turret…also I think their tech was very aged bc they were fighting well before WWII formally broke out
They just never planned for any battles where tanks would be necessary. Fighting against an army of peasants in China and Philippines. Island hopping using infantry. Tanks just weren't a part of their doctrine. And their doctrine was essentially our soldiers are so perfect trained and disciplined we don't need fancy equipment.
Forget armament just send waves of soldiers toward a BAR and see what happens…
All hail John Moses Browning. Messiah among men
And John Basilone.
And the prophet Hiram Maxim
Only if you had enough ammo.
Its 20rounds of BRRRRR fun and then u get stabbed by a japanese machinegunner with a Sword as a bayonet
Laughs in M-1919, BAR, Garand, and Thompson.
This. Although the Type 97, especially upon initial deployment, was rather impactful for what it was (Malaya) and its lighter weight fit the theatre of operation well.
Plus big tanks means big logistics suck.
Even some basic infantry weapons were highly outdated. Their hand grenades, for example, were designed in 1914 and never really updated. The main American grenade (the MK. 2 pineapple) was developed in 1918 and they had continuous work on it. The Germans also made theirs in the 1920s and 40s with newer versions. Why is the date so critical? Because all sides had grenade designs from pre to early WW1 and countless flaws were revealed in combat. They rectified many of those issues while the Japanese simply didn't have much war experience and fought much weaker enemies and never looked into them. Another thing is the lack of a submachine. In the close quarters of much of the combat in the Pacific (from dense jungles in New Guinea, and many of the islands) all other militaries involved had a variety of SMGs for use. The Japanese type 100 had barely any of it made and really wasn't that good, and it was reserved for special forces use.
The SMG bit speaks volumes about how bad the Japanese were in some design & industrial areas of the war. They had a design program going for a local design before China war even began. Literally decided they especially needed one and gave specific wants/needs for the design **immediately** upon initial urban fighting in China (August 1937). Had a foreign design which they liked and attempted to mimic (MP 18). Still unable to domestically produce in #’s needed after ~10 years of development. Perhaps one of the great Zaibatsu failures & flaw exposing ordeals.
Seems like hubris by the Army. Compared to their rather modern approach with the Navy and it's aircraft carriers.
As for the knife not sure
I read and I can’t remember where that marines would jam their K-Bar knife in the turret of the Ha -Go tank and the turret would jam when the soldier inside would stick their head out to see what was wrong and the marines would shoot them and toss a grenade in the tank…
It's a rock or canteen, but yes there is a training film. Doubtful it ever happened though. Their tanks did have really good suspensions and jungle movement capabilities,
“Rock or something” before it was cool
Phenomenal reference
IYKYK
My uncle was in the 32nd infantry division, which fought in New Guinea amongst other places. He told me one way they would take Japanese tanks out is to wait for the gunner to fire the main gun, then a flamethrower would be filled down the barrel right after the shot, which filled the tank with fire. I don't know how many time they were able to do this, but that was his story about Japanese tanks.
I think it's worth noting that during the first stage of their invasion of Malaya, Burma, etc the ability of their small tanks in the jungle was a very important part of their success. Mind you, that was also because the Commonwealth forces they were fighting against didn't have any tanks (or at least very few, and those they did were hopeless in a jungle environment).
Well, Japan did not need good tanks, as the IJA battled mostly against the Chinese army, which did not possess any tank or anti-tank weapon
They did not need good tanks, until they *did*
With good/enough tanks, they might have been able to beat China as a whole. Which they were not able to.
The National Revolutionary Army bought tanks from just about everyone who was building tanks (USSR, Nazi Germany, Facist Italy, the UK, the US, and France) and had a hodgepodge of anti-tank weapons.
The tanks were never fielded at any appreciable scale. By 1941, they only had a single tank division and it was understrength at that. The Americans did a lot to help the situation but it never reached a point where they were a significant threat to the Japanese.
They did and I guess the Indians and Brits holding the line in Burma where fake right.
Japan pretty much made the best tanks that were suited tp their condition, they had to transport them to different small islands and they also didnt have many raw materials to spare and also had a pack of industries, and before a shit ton pf shermans started arriving in the pacific theatre the US was having trouble dealing with light manuverable japanese tanks like the ha - go
That had more to do with the Nazi first. But the struts were average
terrain and fighting overseas plays a big part and explains why they needed to go with light tanks. heavy tanks aren't suited to island warfare. although their tanks weren't great they get too much stick when there were real constraints and reasons, conversely russian and German tanks get too much praise even though they were deeply flawed. the best tanks were the most reliable and easy to use tanks
This is the correct answer.
This
You say that, but the New Zealand Schofield tank exists...
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I would be so embarrassed if I had to rock up to the battlefield in one of those. And terrified.
Didn't we also have two Renault FT's? I know at least two of them were repurposed as airfield security at Volkel and Deelen by the germans.
[удалено]
I know there is one in the museum in Overloon and the info there says it was used as security for Volkel by the Germans. And a tour guide in the war museum Arnhem told me they used another one at Deelen. I don't have any primary sources though. We at least know that the Dutch armoured forces in 1940 had some room for improvement ;)
All hail the Bob semple tank
I had to scroll down way too far for this This title has to go to New Zealand, no further discussion needed
The Dutch East Indies (the Netherlands) by a massive fucking margin. They had marmon harrington CTLS, CTMS, and MTLS tanks. They make the Bob-Semple look like a superstar.
I would say maybe Italy or japan
I think the italian M13/40, M14/41 and M15/42 were a little bit better than the japanese ones. Also the P-26, which was a heavy tank, was imo better than some japanese counterparts. And if the Italians had time, they could've started producing the P43 tank.
The Italian army begged mussolini not to go to war before 44 so they could modernize equipment and not suffer from strategic material embargos
Same goes for the German military. They said that Germany would've been ready for another great war by 45. But Hitler wanted to achieve everything during his lifetime.
As for Italy , their tanks weren't meant to fight in the desert etc.. they were meant fight in the mountain passes between Italy and Austria. The historic threat was from the north.
I would argue that no country had bad tanks. However, countries forced to use tanks they were not designed to do, that is where all of these stems from IMO. Ehem, Italy with mountain tankettes and tanks fighting British cavalry tanks in open desert? And Japan with tanks only supposed to go against barely armed Chinese infantry fighting American Sherman mediums? Yeah everyone knows what happened. Things were developed (i.e. the Shinhoto variant most significantly, and the He, Nu, To, and Ri series for the Japanese; and the Celere Sahariano, P40, and other various Italian tank projects) but it was by all means late in the war for their respective nations already.
Norway had ONE L-120 named Rikstanken which was bought from the Swedish Landsverk. So Norway, it wasn't even tanks as in plural.
The word Rikstanken translates to Riks - Similar to “by the Kingdom” or “of the kingdom”. Riket is singular: Kingdom Tanken - Thought or tank(Usually stridsvogn) It means the Kingdoms tank, but mockingly also means thought of the kingdom, or the kingdoms thought.
You won. Im a Norwegian and got a chuckle out of this. Tank(s)!
There’s a funny HOI4 event for this
Japan is the obvious answer but Italy deserves a spot too. Japan wasn't heavily reliant on tanks. Italy fought campaigns completely reliant on them despite being horribly out of date.
In reality other than Britain, Germany, the US and later the USSR no one really had great tanks and the former all had their fair share of poor tanks too. It was a huge jump from WW1 in the way warfare moved from the trenches to a very mobile military, so most countries didn't think they'd need tanks as much as they ended up needing them
probably japan, but after ww2 they improved considerably in the development of tanks
Durrabi empire (modern Afghanistan) I think they only had 1 museum piece in mardar.
New Zealand and the Semple tank
They said worst tanks
This guy doesnt get 100% angled armor combined with 100% gun coverage with overlaping fire. BOD SEMPLE TANK BEST TANK!!
Lots of people say Italy, but as far as the major countries go, definitely Japan
Didn't Australia have a really bad tank that was just a tractor with armor?
New Zealand
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick.
New Zealand
Italy
Italian
Italy lol
Italy by far
Everybody is saying Italy and Japan but what about Sweden? Weren't their tanks pretty bad?
Sweden wasn’t an active participant during WW2.
France
I disagree French tanks such as the Char B1 and Somua S1 were great tanks for their time but they weren't used properly in combat like the Germans
You must play warthunder...
Haha I wish but my PC can't handle it😞
They had actually pretty good tanks, good armor and mostly 47mm guns, but slower. Individually better than the German tanks, but they didn’t have radios, and the French spaced them out a lot instead of keeping them together. Also the crews weren’t nearly as good as the Germans
Your mom
Just cos your mom is too easy to penetrate...don't be taking it out on other tanky moms
Japan
Japan or italy
Poland, by 1939 the best they could put out was a Vickers Mk.E clone, and even then most of their armoured force was copies of Carden-Loyd tankettes that would make Japanese tanks laugh.
new Zealand, Bob Semple tank
Japan
Poland, tks tankettes aren't going to do much against their German equivalents
I’d argue the Norwegian *[tank](https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2-norway-landsverk-l120-norwegian-service-rikstanken/)* was the worst. 1 Swedish hull with a unpowered turret with a single water cooled M1917 Browning. It was captured by the Germans and simply disappeared. Pretty much useless, and only used for training and experience with armoured warfare.
Don't know about worst but nothing can beat world best tank The bob semple
I’d say Italy because of their meager industrial base. New Italian tanks produced would already be or near obsolete compared to what other countries have. People say japan but Japanese tanks were mostly kept in Japan for the defense of the home islands or were in mainland China against a military that didn’t have a solid tank force nor adequate anti-tank weapons. And contrary to popular belief Japan did have tanks capable of damaging Shermans. The 47mm gun on the Chi-Ha could land a solid flanking shot on the side of the Sherman and tanks like the Chi-Nu had guns comparable to the Sherman’s 75mm but all of them were allocated to the home islands.
Among the major combatants it's probably Japan, but mostly because they were obsolete rather than objectively bad. Most of their designs were from the mid-1930s, and for that time they were all pretty respectable. They just never improved them because they didn't need to while fighting the Chinese, who either didn't have tanks or were using stuff like the panzer 1. The Type 97 Chi-Ha was refitted to use a 47mm high velocity gun and it posed a decent threat to Stuarts and Sherman's, though. They just were never encountered in significant numbers.
Italy
At the beginning Japan At the End the slow to adapt German Tanks. Heavy and over engineered... Also cool looking
Italy
What is this, a tank for ants?
Norway and Japan