Comparing: Type 2597 Chi-Ha vs. M3 Light

Developed by Mitsubishi from 1935 through 1937. The vehicle was mass-produced from 1938 through 1942, alongside an upgraded Shinhoto Chi-Ha for the last two years, with a total of 1,220 vehicles of both types manufactured. The Chi-Ha and Shinhoto Chi-Ha tanks were widely used by Japanese forces in China, and after Japan capitulation, these vehicles were used by both the PLA and Kuomintang forces in the Civil War of 1946.

The most famous light tank of World War II, with a total of 13,859 vehicles manufactured from 1941 through September 1943. 1,576 tanks (mostly of the M3A1 version) were supplied to the U.S.S.R. under Lend-Lease, and many more to the British.