Comparing: Type 5 Ke-Ho vs. Pz.Kpfw. II Luchs

By 1945 the design of the Type 95 Ha-Go was already obsolete. In 1942 the Hino Jidosha company started to develop a new tank. A prototype designated the Type 5 Ke-Ho was built in 1944. The design of the tank was similar to that of the Czech LT vz.38 and the Japanese Chi-Ha. However, the vehicle did not go into mass production.

As compared to the Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. C, the vehicle featured a new hull and turret, as well as a chassis with a staggered arrangement of roadwheels. The reconnaissance tank had strong characteristics, but only 131 vehicles of the L modification were built, after manufacture proved to be too expensive.