The Rifle Type 99 used a 7.7mm cartridge and had a folding monopod for stability when firing at troops (some are thought to even have been used to engage low-flying aircraft).Īs all service rifles and bayonets were the property of the Japanese Emperor, each were stamped with the sixteen petal chrysanthemum on the receiver (for the rifle) and on the blade (for the bayonet). The Rifle Type 97 utilized a telescopic sight and was issued to specialist sniper units for precision ranged fire. Similarly an airborne / paratrooper model was produced but with a folding buttstock to give an even more compact form. In this form, the overall length was reduced to 966mm. These design problems lead to different versions of the same rifle being produced that included the shortened Type 38 Carbine issued to "non-combat" troops. The small stature of the average Japanese soldier also required a comparatively small caliber cartridge of less powder charge to help contain recoil when the weapon was fired from the shoulder. However, the average Japanese infantryman still only stood at about 5 feet, 3 inches and thus there would be inherent difficulties when handling such a long weapon. The additional 20-inches gained by the installed bayonet gave the Japanese soldier a definitive reach against a target when close-quarters fighting ensued. In all, the rifle measured some 4 feet, 2 inches long and was one of the longest such weapons still in service by the time of the Second World War (1939-1945). The Type 38 rifle was a "long gun" and optimized to use the Type 30 infantry bayonet set at the barrel. The Type 38 was adopted into Imperial Japanese Service in 1905.
#Arisaka type 38 carbine screws series#
Wartime records would go on to show that some 3,400,000 of the guns were ultimately produced and the series saw active service with elements outside of the Empire - including those belonging to Britain, Thailand, the Russian Empire / Soviet Union, and China. The rifle had an inherently high accuracy rate and proved very reliable in even the most adverse conditions found on the modern battlefield - particularly in the jungle fighting of Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Theater. The Arisaka Type 38 (Rifle, Meiji 38th Year) was the standard rifle issued to the Imperial Japanese infantry by the time of the fighting of World War 1 (1914-1918).
0 kommentar(er)
