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Samurai Katanas. Many
Japanese swords were brought to Australia during and after WWII. The
majority of these swords were machine made |
military weapons made for
use in the field and they were of little commercial value; a few were
older or well-made hand forged swords of great value. A Samurai warrior had
two sets of blades. Each was a sword and dagger combination. One set was
ceremonial. The other set was what he carried into battle. The sword designed
for military service use was called a Katana. In WWII most Officers carried Katanas
that were factory mass produced and were really only cheap imitations of the
originals. |
Type 14 (Nambu) Revolver |
Length |
23 cm |
Weight |
1 kg |
Calibre |
8 mm |
Magazine |
8 rounds |
Muzzle Velocity |
290 metres per second |
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The
Type 14 can probably be considered the 'standard' Japanese sidearm,
though in fact a great many pistols were in use. Its chief rival was the
Type 94, a weapon generally regarded as being the worst of its class in
service during the war. The Type 14 carried the Nambu title
over from its predecessor, of 1909 vintage. The same 8 mm round was used
by both models, and while the Type 14 was more reliable neither weapon
was of much use in the field. As Japanese Officers preferred the Samurai
style sword, even those flying in aircraft or cramped in tanks, it
was probably of little import to the user. |
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Bullets
as used with the Arisaka rifle. Brass cartridge case with a brass
clip. It held 5 bullets of calibre 6.5 x 50 mm. Fairly good
stopping power. |
Type
38th Year Rifle
(Arisaka)& Bayonet
One of the Arisaka series rifles. They
all bore the same general appearance whether chambered for the original
6.5 mm round or later 7.7 mm version
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Length |
127 cm |
Weight |
4.2 kg |
Calibre |
6.5 mm |
Magazine |
5 rounds |
Muzzle Velocity |
730 metres per second |
The Arisaka was named after
the Colonel who oversaw its adoption in 1897. The 38th Year designation
referred to the uniquely Imperial Japanese practice of basing a calendar
on the length of time a particular Emperor had ruled. When the original
model was amended in 1905, the Emperor Meiji had been on the throne for
thirty eight years.
The Arisaka was a reliable
and popular weapon in the East, its low recoil 6.5 mm round being
appreciated for its ease of handling. It was, however, also its greatest
weakness. The 6.5 mm round was known to be less effective than the 7.62 mm
or higher rounds used elsewhere, especially by Japan's foes. A revised
model, the Type 99 was produced in 1939. It fired the 7.7 mm round used in
the Japanese heavy machine gun. It supplemented the earlier version in
service, but production was too limited to replace it. Its statistics were
roughly similar to the Type 38 given above.
Both models came in a
shortened carbine form, the Type 38 at around 87 cm in length and 3.3 kg
in weight, while the Type 99 was 112 cm and 3.9 kg. Ammunition was carried
in two pouches, each holding a half dozen five rounds clips for a total of
sixty rounds for the average soldier. |
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Type
97 Hand Grenade
This
was the standard grenade for the Japanese armed forces. Construction
consisted of grooved iron casing. The top unscrewed to expose the firing
mechanism and explosive charge.
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The Type 99, light machine gun, the final entry in the
series. It is identical in appearance to the Type 96, but fired the larger
7.7 mm round. Better photo
Length |
105cm |
Weight |
9 kg |
Calibre |
6.5 mm |
Magazine |
30 round box |
Muzzle Velocity |
730 metres per second |
Rate of Fire |
550 rpm |
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The
Type 96 was preceded in service by the Type 11 which was responsible for a
great many of the problems in the Type 96.The Type 11 used the five round
rifle clip as the basis for its feed system. Six clips were placed on a
side mounted 'hopper' and fed into the chamber minus the metal strip. This
approach was supposed the make the weapon easier to maintain by its
attendant rifleman, but it caused no end of problems. Chief among these
was the need to oil each round against the effects of dust and dirt from
the exposed mechanism. In fact, the debris simply mixed with the oil to
create an even worse gunge. This flaw was only eliminated by using an even
less powerful 6.5 mm round, which negated the envisioned co-operation with
the rifleman who used the standard munitions.
The Type 96 appeared in 1936. It
abandoned the hopper for a straightforward thirty round box magazine and
introduced a barrel change. However, it retained the low powered 6.5 mm
round and the oiling mechanism, but this latter device was at least
improved upon. It overtook but never replaced the Type 11 in service.
As with the Arisaka Bolt Action Rifles a
revised version of the Type 96 appeared to fire the 7.7 mm round. The Type
99 needed no lubrication device and was statistically similar to the Type
96, though probably a little heavier. All these weapons could fit the
standard infantry bayonet for 'close assault' use. |
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Type 92 and Type 99 Heavy machine
gun. More photos
Length |
120 cm |
Weight |
29 kg (gun) 27 kg (tripod) |
Calibre |
7.7 mm |
Feed |
30 round metal strip |
Muzzle Velocity |
730 metres per second |
Rate of Fire |
500 rpm |
This image is actually the later Type 99. The two were mostly
similar, except for the grip which was a pistol version on the Type 92.
The cooling fins were also more pronounced around the barrel.
The Type 92 was a modified version of the Taisho
14, itself a version of the (French) Hotchkiss machine gun of World War One fame.
The Type 92 was re-barrelled to accommodate the
heavier 7.7 mm round and added a flash hider. It retained the unusual feed
system, which substituted the more common belt for a metal strip. Each
strip held thirty rounds and was fed independently into the gun. This must
have reduced the rate of sustained fire possible, but as the gun had no
facility to change an overheated barrel perhaps it was no great
disadvantage. The tripod mount had a hole at the base of each leg. This
was to enable poles to be fitted to allow the whole mass to be picked up
and carried by three or four men without need for disassembly. |
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