Type 97 Ki-To SPAAG

Automatic Goober

Historical Overview:

With the introduction of the 20mm Type 98 AA gun in 1937, the decision was made to mechanise them to ease their deployment and otherwise aid the Army’s overall mechanisation efforts at the time. The gun was initially mounted on the Type 94 six-wheeled truck, similar to the ZIS-12 “Milk Truck”.

Wanting to further these capabilities, the Army decided that the Type 98 should be mounted on a tracked chassis, increasing off-road mobility, for this the Type 97 Te-Ke was chosen. Modifications began somewhere between 1938 and 1941, with the hull lengthened, the turret and side-mounted muffler was removed, and an extra road wheel added.

Despite these modifications, the Te-Ke's chassis limited the Ki-To’s potential to be an effective SPAA, a gun shield could not be added as it would block the Driver’s hatch or decrease crew space. What armour there was, was still minimal, and stability was understandably quite poor.

Source(s):

WT Forums - The Ki-To