Type 94 Te Ke Tankette
Based on the Carden-Loyd Mark VIb which Japan had purchased earlier. It entered service in 1935. The engine was in the front with the driver to the right, the commader stood at the back with his own small (unpowered) turret. Like many armoured vehicles intended to operate in hot conditions it was given asbestos insulation to protect the occupants.

Attached to each infantry division with a tracked trailer that could be towed behind. Saw action in Burma and were in service until 1945.

Type 97 Te Ke Light Tank / Tankette
A Japanese light tank (4.5 tons) of the Second World War designed as a replacement for the earlier Type 94 Te Ke.

Production began in 1937. It was Japan's most widely used tankette, and was produced in large numbers. As with the 94 it was also used for towing a trailer of supplies. Some vehicles were fitted with a 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun instead of the 37 mm gun. Typically, Type 97s were distributed in twos to support infantry units, and were very often used as armored tractors and supply vehicles. By 1943, most Type 97s had been withdrawn completely.

The Type 97 main gun was Type 94 37 mm Tank Gun with caliber of 37 mm, barrel length of 1.3585 m (L36.7),EL angle of fire of -15 to +20 degrees, AZ angle of fire of 20 degrees, muzzle velocity of 600 m/s,penetration of 45 mm/300m.

In spite of improvements, the Type 97 was ill-suited as a combat tank. The hull was still much too small to accommodate more crew members, which left the loading and firing of the main gun to the commander.

Another shortfall was the armor. The Type 97 suffered from severely deficient armored protection - to the point that small arms fire could penetrate the hull. In addition to these two flaws, the 37 mm cannon was ineffective against any Allied tank.

Type 98 So Da
A variant of the Type 97 Te-Ke was the Type 98 APC "So-Da." The Type 98 APC "So-Da" was designed as ammunition carrier and was also used as a troop transport.