Saipan Chi-ha pix

Hi, folks!
As promised over at GMD, here is the Japanese Type 97 Chi-ha I got close-up and personal with in Saipan last week. This particular vehicle had been on display up at the American Memorial Park's "Tank Plaza" last year when I visited Saipan, but apparently was moved down to the airport along with other items since then.
You can clearly see the cracked armor plate along the hull sides and turret, supposedly sustained when it tangled with a Sherman. The tour guide (who was Japanese) was quick to point out the superior Japanese craftsmanship of the period, as exemplified by the still free-wheeling return rollers. I jokingly pointed out to the guide that one roller was so free-wheeling, it actually free-wheeled itself right off the tank and onto the ground. The tracks, however, had rusted into solid structures.

I think you can see in the pix just how thin the armor was on these tanks. Any American in a Sheman must've felt like Whittman or Carius going up against these little fellas!
The crews of these Chi-has were brave souls, to be sure.

Here're the pix:




Behind the Chi-ha was a stack of what I reckon are LVT tracks, with some Chi-ha track remnants tossed on top:



That's all the armor-related digipix I have. I have some more pix of beach emplacements and bunkers I'll post later.

Stay tuned for more!