Type 95 rail armored car So-Ki

Type 95 So-Ki
Type 95 So-Ki on rails
General properties
crew	6th
length	Tower 12 o'clock 4.9 m
width	2.56 m
height	2.54 m
Dimensions	8.7 t
Armor and armament
Armor	6-8 mm
Main armament	no
Secondary armament	Crew with infantry weapons
agility
drive	Diesel engine 63 kW (84 PS)
Top speed	20 km / h (terrain) 30 km / h (road) 40 km / h (rails, with trailer) 72 km / h (rails)
Power / weight	approx. 7.3 kW / t (9.66 PS / t)
Range	120 km (terrain) 235 km (rails)

The Type 95 rail armored car So-Ki ( Japanese 九五 式 装甲 軌道 車 Kyūgo-shiki sōkō kidōsha ) was a Japanese light tank in World War II , which was off-road and could also be used as a rail vehicle . It was used by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1935 ( Kōki 2595, hence the type designation) to 1945 .

history

Type 95 So-Ki with an outside crew

The Type 95 So-Ki was in 1935 as a two-way vehicle designed to protect railway lines in unsecured or risk areas and monitor. For this purpose, an armored vehicle was developed that had both caterpillar tracks and railway wheels .

The main area of ​​application of the So-Ki was the monitoring of the railways in Manchukuo and the occupied territories in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War . Some So-Kis were also used in Japanese-occupied Burma .

technology

Preserved copy with the registration number of the Red Chinese Army in the Beijing Military Museum

Inside the armored car there was a device with which the rail wheels could be raised and lowered. In order to switch from rail to terrain mode, the So-Ki took about a minute. Conversely, extending the rail wheels and placing them on the rails took about three minutes. The track width of the rail wheels could be set to three different widths: narrow , standard and wide . The armored car had a range of approx. 120 km in the field. This increased to 235 km when using the rails. A maximum speed of 20 km / h was achieved in the field, which could be increased to 30 km / h on the road. If the Type 95 So-Ki pulled wagons behind it on rails , the top speed was 40 km / h. Up to 72 km / h could be achieved on rails without a trailer.

The armor of the vehicle was 8 mm at its thickest point. The So-Ki had no armament; the crew, consisting of the commander and up to five soldiers, had to use their handguns for defense .

A total of 121 Type 95 So-Kis were produced.

See also

• Japanese military vehicles of World War II

literature

• Steven J Zaloga: Japanese Tanks 1939-1945. Osprey Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84603-091-8 .

Web links

Commons : Type 95 rail armored car So-Ki  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Type 95 Armored Railroad Car "So-Ki". Taki's Page, accessed May 22, 2015 . 
• Тип 2595 “Со-Ки”. aviarmor.net, accessed May 23, 2015 (Russian). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Type 95 Armored Railroad Car "So-Ki". Taki's Page, accessed May 22, 2015 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Тип 2595 “Со-Ки”. aviarmor.net, accessed May 23, 2015 (Russian).