Japanese armour
As one of the Allies during the First World War, Japan was able to monitor closely the early development of armoured warfare. Its first armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) was an Austin armoured car, which was used for operational trials by the Japanese detachment supporting the anti-Bolshevik forces in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. Britain later supplied a few Whippet tanks and a single Mark IV, while France sent a small number of Renault FTs for comparison trials. The results of these trials prompted the 1925 specification for the very first Japanese tank, the Prototype Number 1, which was completed in 1927.
The potential of this prototype was clear, and an improved version appeared in 1932 as the Type 91, with a 70mm gun, slightly thicker armour, and better automotive performance. Further improvements were gradually made, which were standardised in the last of the series, the Type 95 Heavy Tank, which was produced in very small numbers from 1935.
While the Prototype Number 1 and its derivatives were good vehicles, they were too complex for large-scale production, which prompted a redesign to produce a smaller tank incorporating features of the contemporary Vickers Medium Mark C. This appeared in 1929 as the Type 89 and was not only the first Japanese tank to be produced in quantity but also the first to go into action (during the fierce five-week struggle between China and Japan in early 1932 known as the Shanghai Incident). In the same year, Japan also ordered its last batch of foreign-made tanks: ten Renault NC-27s.
Scanning the Elgin Marbles