Rare Type 97 Te-Ke Light armored car - 九七式軽装甲車 テケ - Footage.

The Japanese Type 97 Te-Ke was designated by the Japanese as a light armored car, it was developed by the Japanese in 1936, as a replacement for the Type 94.

The design of the Type 94 began in 1932 and it would be developed by Tokyo Gas and Electric Industry and in 1934 the first prototype was finished.
The production started in 1935 and it would enter service the same year.
It would be used for reconnaissance, supporting infantry attacks and transporting supplies.

The Type 97 looked similar in appearance, but the design of the Type 97 was different from the Type 94. To give the crew a better position to communicate with each other, the engine was moved to the rear and the gun turret moved to the middle of the vehicle, with the driver located to the left side of the hull.

The early 97 would have a 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun and the later one would have had the 37 mm Type 94 tank gun, because of shortest of the 37mm gun.

The Type 97 would replaced the Type 94 in 1939, it was primarily assigned to reconnaissance regiments, and was not designed to engage enemy tanks.
It would see action in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1938–1945, and it would do great against the smaller Chinese Italian CV33 tankettes. Their light weight enabled them to be transported easily across the sea or rivers.
But they would be decimated in the Battle of Nomonhan during the months of May through August in 1939 against the Red Army.

During WW2 they were used in the Battle of Malaya and the Battle of the Philippines, as its light weight enabled the tank to traverse unsupported bridges and ferry crossing that would be unable to take heavier tanks, and its small size allowed it to travel along the long winding and narrow roads in the area, with great success.

Even due they were obsolete they would be used still used until as late as 1945.
With the vehicle being extremely cheap to make, the production number reach 616 at the end of 1937.

九七式軽装甲車 テケ（きゅうななしきけいそうこうしゃ -）は、1930年代中後期に開発・採用された大日本帝国陸軍の装甲車。
日中戦争（支那事変）当時まで、手軽な豆戦車として使用され陸軍の機械化に大いに貢献した九四式軽装甲車（TK車）であったが、様々な欠点があった。そこで、後継となる改良型として開発されたのが本車（テケ車）である。

試作は、池貝自動車（現在の小松製作所川崎工場）が担当した。これは日本陸軍が戦車を三菱と日立にのみ作らせる方針のため、装甲車を他の企業に任せたためである。試作車は二形式が製造された。第一案は、操縦席右側に並列配置のフロントエンジン型（1937年9月完成）、第二案は通常のリアエンジン型（1937年11月完成）であった。フロントエンジンにすると、エンジンの高さに制約を受けること、車長と操縦手の連携が（騒音で）悪くなること、夏季に車内が（特に操縦席が）熱くなりすぎること、などから、リアエンジン型となった。

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■ Information obtained from several sites.
■ Wikipedia
■ tanks-encyclopedia
■ the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Panzers
■ preservedtanks
■ pantser.net
■ the.shadock.free.fr/Tanks_in_France

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