In late 1919 IJA bought 13 MG or gun (exact number of each version is unknown) eqipped Renault FT 17 tanks from the french army as cavalry tanks. They received the designation "Renault Kou(A) Gata Sensha" = "First Tank (Model)". IJA cavalry school was very impressed by these tanks due to the thick armour and good mobility even in rough terrain. Only the low maximum speed was criticized. Until 1922 several tests and exercises were done leading to the decision to equip at least cavalry recon units with armoured vehicles within 10 years.
In 1922 IJA decided to refuse this demand and also that only infantry units should be allowed to have tanks, mainly because they realized that the Japanese industry would not be able to built the necessary numbers of tanks within 10 - 15 years. Therefore the Kou Gata were removed from cavalry school and handed over to infantry school where they were issued to the small tank school unit.
Around 1925 the Renault tanks were rearmed with Type Taisho 3 MGs or "Sogekiho" 37 mm infantry guns but the gun made problems as the turret was too small to operate it properly. Until 1929 all tanks were rearmed with the MG. During the 1929 Mukden Incident a small tank unit (around 10 FT-17 and NC1/NC27 tanks) were sent to Manchuria. While the NC1/NC27 tanks had massive suspension problems the FT 17 operated with good success. In 1931 a provisional tank unit was formed which used FT 17 tanks, NC1/NC 27 tanks with modified suspension and the first domestic Type 89 Medium Tanks. During several incidents in northern China and Manchuria and during the 1932 Shanghai Incident the Kou Gata's again showed their value but it became also clear that they were outdated. So they were withdrawn from active service in late 1932 and issued to the enstrengthened IJA tank school where they were used for drivers training until they were worn out. Until 1937 all FT17 had been scrapped.
The file contains the unit and pcx files. Model is not my own creation. Information was provided by tom!. Wyrmshadow helped with the animation files. I merely put the pieces together and cleaned up the model for CivIII and added some what if pieces. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!
In 1922 IJA decided to refuse this demand and also that only infantry units should be allowed to have tanks, mainly because they realized that the Japanese industry would not be able to built the necessary numbers of tanks within 10 - 15 years. Therefore the Kou Gata were removed from cavalry school and handed over to infantry school where they were issued to the small tank school unit.
Around 1925 the Renault tanks were rearmed with Type Taisho 3 MGs or "Sogekiho" 37 mm infantry guns but the gun made problems as the turret was too small to operate it properly. Until 1929 all tanks were rearmed with the MG. During the 1929 Mukden Incident a small tank unit (around 10 FT-17 and NC1/NC27 tanks) were sent to Manchuria. While the NC1/NC27 tanks had massive suspension problems the FT 17 operated with good success. In 1931 a provisional tank unit was formed which used FT 17 tanks, NC1/NC 27 tanks with modified suspension and the first domestic Type 89 Medium Tanks. During several incidents in northern China and Manchuria and during the 1932 Shanghai Incident the Kou Gata's again showed their value but it became also clear that they were outdated. So they were withdrawn from active service in late 1932 and issued to the enstrengthened IJA tank school where they were used for drivers training until they were worn out. Until 1937 all FT17 had been scrapped.
The file contains the unit and pcx files. Model is not my own creation. Information was provided by tom!. Wyrmshadow helped with the animation files. I merely put the pieces together and cleaned up the model for CivIII and added some what if pieces. A big thanks to everyone that helped out!
