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Thanks to the National Museum of the U.S. Marine Corps., the American Heritage Museum has added the last known WWII Japanese Ho-Ro self-propelled gun to the Pacific War exhibit.
The Type 4 Ho-Ro was a self-propelled 150mm gun that saw limited service with the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific War. Japanese engineers based the Type 4 Ho-Ro on the German “Grille” (German for “Cricket”) using the chassis from Type 97 Japanese tanks. The Type 4 Ho-Ro was rushed into service and typically deployed in batteries of four, that saw combat as part of the 2nd Tank Division during the Philippines campaign. The remaining units were deployed to Okinawa for island defense but were quickly decimated by American artillery during the Battle of Okinawa.
This Ho-Ro saw its last action at the Battle of Luzon near Clark Airfield in the Philippines, January 1945. It was under command of an Independent Gun Company alongside the Japanese 8th Infantry Division with
additional support by the Japanese 2nd Tank Division with units of Chi-Ha Kai medium tanks. The battle was short-lived with the crew abandoning the cannon and forced to retreat into the forest.
Even though the Type 4 Ho-Ro was designed as an offensive weapon, because of its late introduction in the war, it was forced to become a defensive one. In the end, its limited quantity and outdated design led many Type 4s to be destroyed by Allied artillery.
The Type 4 was never mass-produced. As a result, only 12 Type 4 Ho-Ro’s were made. This Type 4 Ho-Ro was captured at Luzon and is the only example that remains. The Ho-Ro is a fascinating addition to the LVT(A)-4 landing vehicle, M29 Weasel personnel carrier, Daimaler Mk.2 personnel carrier, M3 A75mm gun motor carriage and Model 97 towed gun in the Pacific War exhibit.
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
