Type 93 Armoured Car

The Type 93 Armoured Car (九三式装甲自動車) was an armoured car used by the Empire of Japan both before and during World War II.

Type 93 Armoured Car
A Type 93 Armoured Car of the Special Naval Landing Forces
Place of originEmpire of Japan
Production history
Designed1933
ManufacturerIshikawajima Motorcar Factory (Isuzu)
Produced1933
No. builtlimited
Specifications
Mass4.5 tons
Length4.80 meters[1]
Width1.80 meters[1]
Height2.30 meters[1]
Crew4 to 6
Armor8-11 mm[1]
Main
armament
1x 7.7mm Vickers Mk I Medium Machine Gun
Secondary
armament
4x 6.5mm Type 91mm Machine Guns or Nambu Type 11 machine guns
Enginegasoline (petrol)
85 hp[1]
Suspensionwheeled
Operational
range
170 km (110 mi)
Maximum speed 40 km/h road, 59.5 km/h rail

Design and history

The Type 93 was specifically designed to be operated on rail or roads.[2] For that purpose, it was equipped with two kinds of wheels: flanged steel wheels for railroad use, and solid rubber tires for roads. The vehicle had three axles; to provide better balance and pitch control, a pair of auxiliary metal wheels were mounted behind the front axle.[3] It could be switched from the steel rail wheels to the road wheels in ten minutes time. Armament consisted of one 7.7 mm machine gun and four 6.5 mm Type 91 machine guns or four Nambu Type 11 machine guns. Its anti-aircraft machine-gun mount could be stowed inside the top turret.[4][5] It is also known as the Type 2593 "Hokoku" or Type 93 "Kokusan" Armored Car. It has also been incorrectly referred to as a Type 92, when the "right designation is Type 93".[5]

The Type 93 was originally made for use by the Japanese Navy marine units of the Special Naval Landing Forces.[6] They were used extensively in China. The armored cars being used in the coastal regions of China near ports and Japanese bases. The vehicle was considered a superior design to the Chiyoda armored car. The "gable-roof bonnet" was designed to deflect grenades and the front sloping plate of its turret allowed it to fire at the high angle needed to reach the top floors of buildings on the narrow Chinese streets.[7]

Japanese armored cars in the Battle for Shanghai. Vickers Crossley Armoured Cars and a Type 93 Armoured Car (second from left) are shown

Notes
  1. Tomczyk 2002, p. 80.
  2. Daugherty 2002, p. 90.
  3. Tomczyk 2002, p. 79.
  4. Tomczyk 2002, pp. 79, 80.
  5. Taki's Imperial Japanese Army: Type 93 Armored Car
  6. Tomczyk 2002, pp. 79, 87.
  7. Tomczyk 2002, pp. 78, 79.

References
  • Daugherty, Leo J. (2002). Fighting Techniques of a Japanese Infantryman 1941-1945: Training, Techniques and Weapons. St. Paul, Minn.: MBI. ISBN 0-7603-1145-5.
  • Tomczyk, Andrzej (2002). Japanese Armor Vol. 1. AJ Press. ISBN 83-7237-097-4.
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