Photo 2: "Arson destroyed one-third of Nanking during the massacre... Japanese troops set fire to a house in the suburbs"
"This photo is a fake. This tank was not in existence at the time of the Battle of Nanking, which took place in December 1937.
According to expert information,* the tank shown in the photo is a Model 97 light-armored vehicle, which was designed in 1937, but whose production began in 1939. Furthermore, the model was not equipped with a flamethrower.
The predecessor of Model 97 was the Model 94 light-armored vehicle, which are also shown in Iris Chang's book, and were used in the Battle of Nanking.
The differences between the two models are obvious. The photograph shows the light-armored vehicles, not technically "tanks" as Chang explains, proceeding toward Zhonghua Gate, viewed from the rear.
The design for Model 97 was accepted, provisionally, in September 1937. In November 1937, a prototype was manufactured. Subsequent production statistics are as follows:
| 1938 | 0 |
| 1939 | 274 |
| 1940 | 284 |
| 1941 | 0 |
| 1942 | 570 |
| TOTAL | 1,128 |
*former Army officer belonging to tank unit, Iwata Yoshiharu @