Hello Everyone I would like to reintroduce the Type 5 To-Ku Amphibious Tank in the new and improved suggestion format for you all! 
Type 5 To-Ku Type 1 side profile
The Type 5 To-Ku Amphibious Tank was intended to be the final Amphibious Tank project of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
It was to be built upon the chassis of the Type-5 Chi-Ri tank and out of the roughly 50 tanks commissioned, they were to be split into two categories; Type 1 & Type 2. The difference between these two versions of the To-Ku was that of switching around the hull and turret armaments.
Type 96 25mm Gun between the red borders.
Speaking of armaments, the main gun housed within the rotating turret (Type 1 configuration) would be a, Type 96 25 mm machine gun. It performed with a muzzle velocity of 870~m/s, with a maximum firing rate of 230 rounds per minute, and a fed via 15 round clips. The tank would carry 330 rounds of 25 mm machine gun ammunition, and 22 clips of 15 rounds were stored inside the vehicle.
Additionally, on top of the turret accessible via the gunner hatch would be a Type 97 machine gun (7.7 mm caliber) with around 5000 rounds of 7.7mm ammunition on board.
The secondary gun housed within the front of the hull would be the Type 1 47 mm tank gun, of which is already seen in the game featuring as the main gun of the Chi-He and Ka-Chi tanks. The Ka-Chi being representative to how much ammo would be carried in the To-Ku for the 47 mm gun.
The Type 2 configuration of the To-Ku switches around the orientation of the main and secondary gun.
models of the To-Ku Type 1 configuration
The armour of the Type 5 To-Ku Amphibious Tank, are varying thicknesses of the body being 50 mm at the front, 25 mm at the sides, 20 mm at the rear, 10 mm at the top, and 8 mm at the bottom of the body. As for the rotating turret the armour thickness; 50 mm at the front, 25 mm at the sides/rear, and 12 mm at the top of the turret. Very similar of that to the Ka-Chi, in terms of engine power it was the very same used in the Ka-Chi
Whilst the design was finalised, itâs likely the first Type 5 To-Ku didnât make it off the production line. Whilst the body was being produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industriesâ Tokyo Machinery Works, the war had drawn to a close in the Pacific.
Whilst some sources claim at least 1 was completed, thereâs nothing concrete to verify this claim. On the contrary to such, we have a document in favour of the likelihood it wasnât completed, as shown in this document stating as such, along with other technical information concerning the vehicle.
Following the logic of the already implemented Ka-Chi and considering the similar armour and shared 47 mm gun, even with the additional 25 mm gun, whether it be the Type 1 or Type 2 configuration of the To-Ku it should be no higher than BR2.
Due to the nature of the To-Ku having two functionally different versions, I believe it would be a suitable to implement the Type 1 as Tech Tree and the Type 2 as Premium, Iâll explain my thoughts.
The Type 1 To-Ku with the Type 96 25 mm gun housed in the turret and the Type 1 47 mm in the hull would have very limited antitank capabilities due to the position of the 47 mm. Though being amphibious it opens up a niche use case of being able to act as an AA platform out in the water of certain maps in the pacific; Naturally it would have a lead indicator for attacking aircraft too.
I believe due to it being a bit too niche it doesnât really warrant a price tag and instead should be a fun new vehicle to mess around with for those who like to target planes. Though in saying such itâll still be able to punch through tanks on occasion with the 25 mm gun or at the very least disable tracks.
As for the Type 2 variant of the To-Ku I would additionally remove the pontoons to reduce its size, increase manoeuvrability and free up the line of sight for both the 47 mm gun in the turret and the 25 mm gun in the hull, serving as primarily an anti infantry weapon whilst the 47 mm would be relegated to more effectively engaging enemy ground vehicles.
I believe this distinction in both looks and purpose would be suitable as a premium side grade option to those who wish to pay for it.
Type 5 To-Ku without pontoons
References
ă»âGrand Power September 2017 Japanese Army Amphibious Tanksâ by Masatoshi Kodaka and Okitaro Ayukawa, Galileo Publishing
ă»âImperial Army and Navy Combat Vehiclesâ by Delta Publishing
ă»âTanks of the World 1915-1945â by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, Dainihon Kaiga
ă»âJapanese Military Combat Vehicle Encyclopedia: All about Tracked and Armored Vehiclesâ by Dainihon Kaiga
ă»âEncyclopedia of Irregular Tanks: Visual History of Tank Developmentâ by Nobuo Saiki, Kojinsha
ă»âJapanese Tanks 1927-1945â by Argonaut Publishing
- Yes
- No
If No, do feel free to explain why you disagree, or what would make the suggestion better such as different implementation.
- Type 1
- Type 2
- Both
Thank you for reading and let me know your thoughts overall.
With much love from the Purple Samurai 
