Type 99 light machine gun
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Type 99 light machine gun | |
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Type 99 light machine gun seen at the New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. | |
Type | Light machine gun |
Place of origin | Empire of Japan |
Service history | |
In service | 1939–1945 |
Used by | See Users |
Wars | Second Sino-Japanese War World War II Indonesian National Revolution Hukbalahap Rebellion[citation needed] Korean War Chinese Civil War First Indochina War Vietnam War (limited) |
Production history | |
Designer | Kijiro Nambu |
Designed | 1939 |
Unit cost | 1,350 yen ($316 USD) in December 1941[1][2] |
Produced | 1939–1945 |
No. built | 53,000 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 10.4 kg (22.9 lbs) |
Length | 1181 mm (46.5 in) |
Barrel length | 550 mm (21.7 in) |
Cartridge | 7.7×58mm Arisaka |
Caliber | .311 in (7.9 mm) |
Action | Gas-operated |
Rate of fire | 550 rounds per minute[3][4][5] |
Muzzle velocity | 2,346 feet per second (715 m/s) |
Effective firing range | 2,000 m (2,200 yd) |
Maximum firing range | 3,500 m (3,800 yd) (7.7×58mm Arisaka) |
Feed system | 30 round detachable box magazine |
The Type 99 light machine gun (九九式軽機関銃, Kyūkyū-shiki Kei-kikanjū) was a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. It was similar in design to the earlier Type 96 light machine gun, but designed to fire the new and more powerful 7.7 mm Arisaka cartridge, which improved energy by over 50%. Like the Type 96, the Type 99 traces its history to the ZB vz. 26, which also inspired the British Bren light machine gun.
History and development
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/First_Liutenant_Hajime_Asai_and_His_ten_men_4.jpg/170px-First_Liutenant_Hajime_Asai_and_His_ten_men_4.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Marine-in-Saipan-Type-99-LMG.jpg/170px-Marine-in-Saipan-Type-99-LMG.jpg)
Prior to the Type 99's development, the Japanese Army was using the Type 96 light machine gun, an improvement over the previous Type 11 light machine gun. The Type 96 had been introduced into combat service in 1936, and quickly proved to be a versatile weapon to provide covering fire for advancing infantry.[6] Both the earlier Type 11 and current Type 96 light machine guns used the same 6.5x50mmSR Arisaka cartridges as the Type 38 infantry rifle.[7] Using similar ammunition in both guns simplified supply and had the added advantage that any squad member could supply ammunition for the light machine gun, or vice versa.
However, in 1939 the Japanese army was in the process of switching to a larger and more powerful 7.7 mm cartridge which also had no rim, which improved cartridge handling. This more powerful cartridge: 3,136 J energy, compared to the earlier 6.5x50mmSR Arisaka cartridge: 1,966 J energy, required a firearm that had more steel, bigger springs and a heavier bolt to handle the extra forces involved. This required a switch from the Type 38 rifle to the Type 99 rifle which could handle the more powerful round. Similarly, it was necessary to develop a new version of the Type 96 light machine gun that would also be able to use this new larger caliber; thus the advantages of common ammunition between riflemen and machine gunners could continue. The Type 99 light machine gun was produced at Kokura, Nagoya Arsenal and Mukden with a total production of about 53,000 weapons.[8]
Design
The Type 99 was basically the same design as the Type 96, and had a number of parts in common. However, it dispensed with the oiler and had better primary extraction, increasing reliability over its predecessors. Early models had a monopod at the stock and a flash suppressor on the muzzle, which was screwed onto a threaded portion of the gun barrel.[7] A top-mounted curved detachable box magazine held 30 rounds, and the finned gun barrel could be rapidly changed to avoid overheating. Like its predecessor, the Type 96, the Type 99 bears a distinct resemblance to the British Bren gun.
The Type 99 had a blade front sight and a leaf rear sight, with graduations from 200 to 1,500 meters, with a wind adjustment. A 2.5X telescopic sight with a 10 degree field of view could be attached at the right side of the gun.[7] These were often issued to the best marksmen of the unit and occasionally employed like a sniper rifle.[citation needed] A standard infantry bayonet could be attached to the gas block below the barrel, but on the battlefield this feature proved inconsequential due to the weight of the gun and the fact that the blade was largely obstructed by the flash hider when it was fixed on the muzzle.[9]
Combat record
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/IJA-paratroopers-Palembang-4.jpg/220px-IJA-paratroopers-Palembang-4.jpg)
The Type 99 came into active service in 1939, and was used alongside the older Type 11 and Type 96, as these models had been produced in large quantities and many front line troops continued to use the Type 38 rifles with their 6.5 mm ammunition. All three weapons remained in service until the end of the war.[10] The Type 99 was used by Communist forces (Chinese and North Korean armies) during the Korean War.[11] It was used by the Viet Minh and the North Vietnamese forces during the First and Second Indochina Wars.[12]
Variants
A limited production version of the Type 99 was produced for paratroopers, but had no known special designation. It had a detachable stock and a forward-folding pistol grip. For deployment, the barrel and butt were detached from the gun, the pistol grip and bipod folded, and the entire set packed into a carrying bag.[9]
The Type 99 can be modified to fire 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition. Only a barrel replacement is required.[13]
Users
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
Indonesia[14]
Japan[15]
Philippines[citation needed]
People's Republic of China[citation needed]
Republic of China[citation needed]
North Korea[16]
Vietnam[12]
See also
Notes
- ^ Military catalogue of the Japanese military - Showa 16, p. 7
- ^ Banking and Monetary Statistics, 1914-1941, Part I, p. 673
- ^ Sayama Jiro (2000) "Primer of Rifle, Pistol and Machine Gun" p.441
- ^ Ministry of Army (1945) "8. Specification table of weapons; Specification table of main weapons"
- ^ Tateyama Naval Artillery School "Land Combat Reference - No. 1, Land Combat Weapon List"
- ^ Meyer, The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan. pg.53
- ^ a b c [1] TM-E 30-480 (1945)
- ^ [2] JapaneseWeapons.net
- ^ a b "Modern Firearms - Type 96 and Type 99 light machine guns". Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2008-01-04. Modern Firearms
- ^ Morse, Japanese Small Arms of WW2; Light Machine Guns Models 11, 96, 99 97 & 92
- ^ Kinard, Jeff (2010). "Machine guns". In Tucker, Spencer C.; Pierpaoli, Paul G., Jr. (eds.). The Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Vol. 1. A-L (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 535. ISBN 978-1-85109-849-1.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - ^ a b Ezell, Edward Clinton (1988). Personal firepower. The Illustrated history of the Vietnam War 15. Bantam Books. pp. 47-49. ISBN 9780553345490. OCLC 1036801376.
- ^ McCollum, Ian (2 February 2019). "Shooting a Type 99 Nambu in 7.62mm NATO". YouTube (Forgotten Weapons). Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ Bloomfield, Lincoln P.; Leiss, Amelia Catherine (30 June 1967). The Control of local conflict : a design study on arms control and limited war in the developing areas (PDF). Vol. 3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for International Studies. p. 92. hdl:2027/uiug.30112064404368. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 4, 2020.
- ^ "Guns Of The Rising SunGuns Magazine.com - Guns Magazine.com". gunsmagazine.com.
- ^ "Mukden Arsenal after WWII". wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com. April 3, 2017.
References
- Mayer, S.L. (1984). The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan. The Military Press. ISBN 0-517-42313-8.
- Morse, D.R. (1996). Japanese Small Arms of WW2; Light Machine Guns Models 11, 96, 99 97 & 92. Firing Pin Enterprizes. ASIN: B000KFVGSU.
- Popenker, Maxim (2008). Machine Gun: The Development of the Machine Gun from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day. Crowood. ISBN 978-1-84797-030-5.
- Rottman, Gordon L. (2005). Japanese Infantryman 1937-1945. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-818-9.
- US Department of War (1994). Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, TM-E 30-480 (1945) (reprint ed.). Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-2013-8.
- "兵器臨時価格表(甲)昭和16年12月 Military catalogue of the Japanese military Showa 16". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Ministry of the Army.
- "Banking and Monetary Statistics, 1914-1941, Part I". Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). January 1943 [1943].
- "8.兵器諸元表/主要兵器諸元表 (Specification table of weapons / specification table of main weapons)". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Ministry of the Army.
- "陸戦参考-第1号・陸戦兵器要目表 (Land Combat Reference - No. 1, Land Combat Weapon List)". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Tateyama Naval Artillery School, Ministry of the Navy.
- 佐山二郎 (Jiro Sayama) (2000). 小銃 拳銃 機関銃入門(Primer of Rifle, Pistol and Machine Gun). 光人社 (Kojin-sha). ISBN 4-7698-2284-7.
External links
- Taki’s Imperial Japanese Army page
- US Technical Manual E 30-480
- Japanese Model 99 MG Tactical and Technical Trends No. 35, U.S. War Department
- JapaneseWeapons.net
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