Type 74

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Type 74
Type 74 on the open day of a JGSDF base in Itami City, October 2005
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	Japan
Service history
In service	1975–2024
Production history
Designer	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Designed	1962
Manufacturer	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Unit cost	350-400 Million Yen (~3.2 - 3.6 Million USD)
Produced	1975–1988
No. built	873
Specifications
Mass	38 tonnes (42 short tons; 37 long tons)
Length	9.41 m (30 ft 10 in)
Width	3.18 m (10 ft 5 in)
Height	2.25 m (7 ft 5 in)
Crew	4
Armor	189–195 mm (7.4–7.7 in)[citation needed]
Main armament	JSW Royal Ordnance L7A1[1] 105mm L/51 rifled gun 55 rounds
Secondary armament	M2HB 12.7 mm machine gun 660 rounds Type 74 7.62 mm machine gun 4,500 rounds
Engine	Mitsubishi 10ZF Model 21, 10 cylinders diesel, 21.5 L 750 hp (560 kW)
Power/weight	19 hp/tonne
Suspension	hydropneumatic
Operational range	300 km (190 mi)
Maximum speed	53 km/h (33 mph)

The Type 74 (74式戦車, nana-yon-shiki-sensha) was a main battle tank (MBT) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). It was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a supplement to the earlier Type 61. It was based on the best features of a number of contemporary designs, placing it in the same class as the US M60 Patton or German Leopard 1. Like these designs, it mounted the L7 rifled 105 mm gun. The design did not enter widespread use until 1980, by which point other Western forces had introduced more capable designs.

It was followed by the heavier Type 90, and the Type 74 was withdrawn from service in 2024.