Japanese O-1 Super Tank

By Crusader1307

The Imperial Japanese Army O-1 was a World War II proposed Heavy ''Super'' Tank, which was designed in 1940. Only (1) prototype was built by 1943, with no actual combat service or further production plans made. The O-1 Plan is as much ''speculation'' to Historians today, as it was to The Allied Armies in mid-World War II. Much of the documentation was lost during much of The Allied Bombing Raid of 1943-1944. That which did survive state that The O-1 was to be a massive weapon, possibly inspired by The German Plans to create a similar Super Weapon – the previously discussed ''Ratte'' Tank. Crewed by (11), The O-1 was around 120-tons. It would have been 115-feet in length with a possible width of 50-feet. It is estimated that The O-1 would have been 15 to 20-feet in height (a true ''Monster Weapon''). Possibly supporting between 35 and 75mm of Armor Plating, Twin Treads would have been driven by Twin V-12 German Benz Engines (Diesel). The O-1 would have been able to run at 18-miles per hour on open ground (an impressive speed given the size and weight). A Multi-Turreted Tank, the Main gun can only be speculated at. Record surviving show a Secondary Gun of the 47mm Type used. This allowed for penetration of 4-inches of Armor at a distance of 1,100-yards. The proposed Main Gun (then in experimentation) – would have had to double this. A series of purposed 7.7mm Machine Guns would have been mounted throughout it's Superstructure. Prior to having the Project scrapped by The Imperial Army High Command (Due to having to allocate resources to other Projects due to the course of The War), One prototype was rumored to have been built (but much smaller than intended). Many Historians agree this may have been purported propaganda for The Allies. The whereabouts of this prototype is unknown and it did not survive The War.