WW2 Japanese Heavy Tank O-I

Over at the Status Report is a new post about the history of the little known Japanese O-I super heavy tank project from WW2.  This vehicle never got past prototype stage and the one prototype constructed is no longer in existence.  Much of the information on this vehicle was kept secret until mid 2015 when the surviving documentation concerning the O-I was purchased by FineMolds Inc.  The article is written by Seon Eun Ae.

Excerpt: The O-I (オイ車 Oi-sensha) was a super-heavy tank prototype designed by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War after the Battles of Nomonhan in 1939. The O-I is one of the Second World War’s more secretive tank projects, with documentation regarding the tank being kept private for over 75 years at Wakajishi Shrine, Fujinomiya. Surviving files have been purchased by FineMolds Inc., and publicly previewed in mid-2015. The multi-turreted 150-ton tank was designed for use on the Manchurian plains as a supportive pillbox for the Imperial Japanese against the Soviet Union. The project was disbanded four years after the initial development began, deemed unsatisfactory for continuation in 1943 after the lack of resource material for the prototype.

Read the full article here.