Type 38 rifle
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| Type 38 Rifle | |
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| Type | Service Rifle |
| Place of origin |  Empire of Japan |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Japan, United Kingdom, Russia, China |
| Wars | World War I, World War II, Chinese Civil War, Korean War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1905 |
| Number built | 3,400,000 |
| Variants | Carbine & Cavalry rifle |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.95 kg |
| Length | 1,280 mm |
| Barrel length | 800 mm |
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| Cartridge | 6.5x50mm Arisaka |
| Action | Bolt action |
| Rate of fire | c.30 RPM |
| Muzzle velocity | 765 m/s |
| Feed system | 5 round |
The Type 38 rifle Arisaka (三八式歩兵銃 Sanpachi-shiki hoheijyuu) was a bolt-action rifle. For a time it was the standard rifle of the Japanese infantry. It was known also as the Type 38 Year Meiji Carbine in Japan. An earlier, similar weapon was the Type 30 Year Meiji Rifle, which was also used alongside it. Both of these weapons were also known as the Arisaka, after the inventor.
It used the Japanese designed 6.5x50mm Arisaka calibre cartridge. This cartridge produces little recoil when fired. However, while on par with the Norwegian and Italian 6.5mm military cartridges of the time, the 6.5x50mm was not as powerful as several others in use by other nations. The Arisaka Rifle at 1280 mm or (4 feet, 2 inches) was the longest rifle of the war, due to the emphasis on bayonet training for the Japanese soldier of the era who stood 160 cm (5 feet, 3 inches on average).[1] The rifle was even longer when the 400 mm (15.75 inch) Type 30 bayonet was fixed.
These two concerns (among others) led to the Japanese Army adopting the Type 99 Rifle, a shorter rifle using more powerful ammunition. Japanese authorities also wished to adopt a new long arm that needed fewer machining steps to be produced given Japan's then-existing metallurgic capacity.
The Type 38 Cavalry Carbine is a short-barreled version of the Type 38. It was used not only by cavalry, but also by engineer, quartermaster and other non-frontline troops. It was introduced into service at the same time as the Type 38. The barrel was shorter at 487 mm, giving an overall length of the rifle of 966 mm and a weight of 3.3 kg.
Another Type 38 variant was the Type 38 Cavalry Rifle which were merely Type 38 Infantry Rifles with their barrels shortened from 31 and a quarter inches to 23 and one half inches. All Cavalry Rifle receivers carry the arsenal and proof-marks of Tokyo Artillery Arsenal - the source of the original Infantry Rifles.
Other variants developed from the Type 38 were the Type 44 Cavalry Rifle, Type 97 Sniper Rifle. The Japanese Imperial Navy also purchased a number of Type I Rifles from Italy at the beginning of World War II. The Italian-built rifles were chambered for the same 6.50x50mm cartridge as the Type 38 rifle. The Type I Rifle were similar in appearance and length to the Type 38 rifle, but were based on the Italian Carcano action.
Post-war inspection of the Type 38 by both the US military and the NRA proved that the Type 38's receiver was the strongest bolt action of any nation and capable of handling more powerful cartridges.
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[edit] Other users
During World War I, the Type 38 Arisaka was one of the foreign-made rifles imported by the United Kingdom to alleviate its domestic production shorfalls. Most of these rifles were allocated to the Royal Navy and used for training purposes. 6.5x50mm ammunition for these rifles was produced domestically by Kynoch.
After World War II, Type 38 rifles were extensively used by both sides during the Chinese Civil War, and in the Korea War by the People's Liberation Army and the People's Volunteer Army. It was also widely used by Chinese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Many Type 38s used by Nationalist Chinese forces were rechambered for 7.92x57mm Mauser, while the People's Liberation Army converted others to fire the Soviet 7.62x39mm round.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "How Japs Fight" in Time Magazine, Feb 15, 1943
- Leo J. Daugherty III, Fighting Techniques of a Japanese Infantryman 1941-1945, ISBN 1-86227-162-3
[edit] External links
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