Portable Weapons [Keitaiyou-Heiki]
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Japanese infantry troops planned
to move on foot. They did not think seriously of using vehicles,
trains, and boats, so many Japanese weapons were designed
to be carried by hand. Hand grenades, portable mortars, and
grenade launchers fit into this category of weapons.
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Grenades
[Teryudan]
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Hand grenades were used quite
often in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 -1905, but the first
hand grenade officially was adopted in 1921 as the M-10. This
grenade could be thrown by hand, but it also was designed
to be discharged from 50mm M-10 grenade launchers. This grenade
had a booster on the bottom to propel it from the launcher,
and this grenade was developed to become the M-91 (1931) hand
grenade. A Japanese soldier carried three hand grenades.
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| The
M-97 Hand Grenade (1937) |
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| The M-91 grenade made without
the booster became the M-97 hand grenade, the most popular
grenade used by Japan. The M-97 used 62g of TNT and it
had a 4-5 second fuse. |
| The
M-99 Hand Grenade |
| It appeared in 1939 with
a body smaller than the M-97, and with a smooth exterior.
This grenade used pcric acid explosive rather than TNT.
The M-99 was encountered by Allied Forces initially on
Aleutian island of Kiska, so it was called the " Kiska
Grenade." An M-99 grenade could be thrown about 40m, whereas
M-97 grenade could be thrown only to about 30m. |
| The
M-98 Hand Grenade (with a wooden stick
throwing handle) |
| t was made and sent to
the China front. |
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M-10 production was about
100,000.
M-91 production was about 1 million; the M-91 was 125mm
in length, 50mm in diameter, and it weighed 530g.
M-97 production was about 7.9 million; its length was
70mm, its diameter was 50mm, it weighed 450g.
M-98 production was about 100,000; its length was 200mm,
its diameter was 50mm, and it weighed 300g.
M-99 production was 11million; its length was 90mm,
its diameter was 45mm,and it weighed 300g.
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Portable
Mortars [Tekidan-Tou]
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Japanese troops often used portable
mortars and grenade dischargers. There were two models of portable
mortars and both could be used with signal projectiles.
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| The
M-10 Grenade Discharger (1925) |
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| It was often
called a light (KEI) mortar. It discharged M-10 or M-91
grenades, which had boosters. M-10 was smoothbore and
a spin upon the grenade being launched was created by
six angled gas holes in the booster. The overall length
of the M-10 was 525 mm, its barrel length was 240mm, its
caliber was 50mm, and its weight was 2.6kg. When the M-10
was carried the support shaft with enclosed firing mechanism
and the base plate were contained in the barrel of this
discharger. Adjustment of range was effected by opening
or closing a gas port in the base of the barrel. |
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| The
M-89 (1929) |
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| It used special
50mm explosive shells five times as powerful as a hand
grenade. This discharger had rifling and a copper band
on the base of the projectile expanded upon firing to
catch the rifling and to impart a spin on the projectile.
Adjustment of range was made by the positioning of the
shell in the barrel with a screw-jack mechanism in the
support shaft which held the firing mechanism. The overall
length of the M-89 was 60cm, its barrel length was 25cm,
and its weight was 4.7kg. |
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The total production of the M-10 was about 7000 during 1925
-1937, and it was made by state arsenals and by Nambu. The total
production of the M-89 was about 120,000, and it was made from
1932 - 1945 by Nambu Shimazu, Aisan, Riken, and Hikari-Seiki.
The typical progress of a private manufacturer of weapons.
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Grenade
Lauchers [Tekidan-Ki]
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There were two or three models
of simple rifle grenade or smoke grenade launchers which had
been developed by 1930. The M-91 rifle grenade launcher was
a simple tube type. In the WW II period two different models
of rifle grenade launcher were developed and used; the M-100
and the M-2.
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| The M-100
(1940) rifle grenade launcher |
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M-100
7.7mm(Left) 6.5mm(Right)
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It was made for launching the M-99
hand grenade. The launcher was attached to the muzzle of an
infantry rifle and it consisted of a smoothbore pipe, which
became an extension of the barrel, and a cup for the grenade
located on top and aligned parallel to the pipe; when a standard
ball cartridge was fired from the rifle, propellant gas behind
the bullet was bled off into a gas port under the grenade which
propelled it out of the cup and towards the target. Three types
of this M-100 launcher were made - for the M-38 rifle, for the
M-99 long rifle, and for the M-99 short rifle. The launcher
was held to the rifle barrel by a clamp and fixture pin which
used the bayonet hand guard. The grenade traveled 30m to 100m
and hit a vehicle-size target quite easily. The range could
be adjusted by varying the size of a gas port.
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| The M-2
Anti-tank Rifle Grenade Launcher |
It was a German development transferred
to Japan. It used a wooden bullet to shoot explosive projectiles
of 30mm or of 40mm diameter. The cloth belt pouch used for this
weapon contained the launcher, a takedown tool, a pad for the
shooter's shoulder and a wood bulleted launching cartridge.
A clamp with a screw handle was used to fix the launcher to
the rifle's barrel. The launching pressure of the cartridge
against the rear of the projectile was very great; this was
called Tateki, and the shell was called Tate-Dan.
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