Type 100 submachine gun
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| 100 Shiki Kikan-tanju | |
|---|---|
 Type 100/2 |
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| Type | Submachine gun |
| Place of origin |  Empire of Japan |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1942-1945 |
| Used by | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Wars | Second Sino-Japanese War, Second World War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1939 |
| Produced | 1942-1945 |
| Variants | Type 100/1 (with solid stock) Type 100/1 (with folding stock) Type 100/2 (with solid stock & flash suppressor) |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.38 kg (empty) 4.40 kg (loaded) |
| Length | 900 mm |
| Barrel length | 228 mm |
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| Cartridge | 8x22mm Nambu |
| Action | blowback |
| Rate of fire | 800 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 335 m/s |
| Feed system | 30-round detachable box magazine |
The Type 100 (一〇〇式機関短銃 Hyaku-shiki kikan-tanju) was a Japanese submachine gun used during World War II, and the only submachine gun produced by Japan in any quantity.
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[edit] Design
Designed and built by the Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company, the Type 100 was a robust, if unremarkable, submachine gun that was first delivered to the Imperial Army, in 1942. Japan was surprisingly late to introduce the submachine gun to its armed forces.
The Type 100 was a well made gun, but the 8x22mm Nambu round was underpowered, roughly the equivalent to the .380 ACP. Atypically for a submachine gun but typical of Japanese small arms, a bayonet lug was fixed under the barrel.
Despite its shortcomings and complexities, the Type 100 had a high quality chrome plated barrel to aid cleaning and reduce wear. Some models also featured a bipod or a complicated muzzle brake.
[edit] Versions
Three variants of the Type 100 were produced during the course of the war: an early version with bipod and extendable bayonet lug, one with a folding stock for paratroopers (approximately 200 with the folding stock were made as it weakened the weapon's structure in combat situations), and a 1944 version that was greatly simplified in order to hasten production at a time when Japan was being pushed into retreat across the Pacific theatre and demand for submachine guns was at an all time high. The 1944 variant was slightly longer and featured simple iron sights. Corners were cut in production, leaving many Type 100s with roughly finished stocks and poorly welded parts. Despite this, the Type 100 is quite light, has low recoil, and is accurate.
Despite these simplifications, Japan lacked the industrial infrastructure to produce sufficient quantities of the Type 100 to stem the rapid Allied advance. By 1945, only 30,000 had been built, a comparatively low number to the more than 1,300,000 Thompson submachine guns built by the United States.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Chris Bishop et al. The Complete Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Brown Books, 1998.
[edit] See also
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