Type 11 Light Machine Gun

Infobox Weapon
name= Type 11 Light Machine Gun


caption= Type 11 Light Machine Gun
origin=flagcountry|Empire of Japan
type=Light machine gun
is_ranged=yes
service=1922-1945
used_by=
wars=Second Sino-Japanese War Soviet-Japanese Border Wars World War II
designer=Kijiro Nambu
design_date=1922
manufacturer=
production_date=1922-1941
number=29,000 units
variants=
weight= 10.2 kg (22.49 lb)
length= 1,100 mm (43.3 in)
part_length= 443 mm (17.44 in)
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge=6.5x50mm Arisaka
caliber=
action=Gas-operated
rate= 500 rounds/min
velocity=730 m/s (2,400 ft/s)
range=
max_range=
feed=30-round, hopper system
sights=

The nihongo|Type 11 Light Machine Gun|十一年式軽機関銃|Jyūichinen-shiki Kei-kikanjū was a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the interwar period and in World War II. [Bishop, The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II ]

History and development

Combat experience in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 had convinced the Japanese army of the utility of machine guns to provide covering fire for advancing infantry. [Meyer, The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan. pg.53 ] This was reinforced by the first-hand observations of European combat tactics by Japanese military attachés during the First World War, and the Army Technical Bureau was tasked with the development of a lightweight machine gun, which could be easily transportable by the infantry squad. The resultant “Type 11 light machine gun” (named after the 11th year of the reign of Emperor Taishō, or 1922) was the first light machine gun that mass produced in Japan [ [http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/mg.htm] Taki’s Imperial Japanese Army page ] and the oldest Japanese light machine gun design to see service in the Pacific War. It was superseded by the Type 96 Light Machine Gun in 1936.

Design

The Type 11 Light Machine Gun was a design by famed arms designer Kijiro Nambu, based on a modification of the French Hotchkiss machine gun. It was an air-cooled, gas-operated design, using the same 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridges as the Type 38 rifle infantry rifle. [ [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9.html#III] TM-E 30-480 (1945) ] A remarkable feature of the Type 11 machine gun was its non-detachable hopper magazine. Instead of a belt or removable magazine, the Type 11 was designed to hold up to six of the same cartridge clips were used on the Type 38 rifle. The five-round clips were stacked lying flat above the receiver, secured by a spring arm, and the rounds were stripped from the lowest clip one at a time, with the empty clip thrown clear and the next clip automatically falling into place as the gun was fired. The system had the advantage that any squad member could supply ammunition, and that the hopper could be replenished at any time. The disadvantage was that the open hopper allowed dust and grit to enter into the gun, which was liable to jam in muddy or dirty conditions due to issues with poor dimensional tolerances, which gave the weapon a bad reputation with Japanese troops. [Meyer, The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan. pg.55 ]

Another issue was that the weight of the rifle cartridges in the side-mounted magazine unbalanced the weapon when fully loaded.

The Type 11 was also available with a special mounting for anti-aircraft use. [ [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9.html#III] TM-E 30-480 (1945) ] >

Combat record

The Type 11 came into active service in 1922, and some 29,000 were produced by the time production stopped in 1941. It was the primary Japanese light machine gun through the Manchurian Incident and in the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Although superseded by the Type 96 light machine gun in production in 1936, it remained in service with front-line combat through the end of World War II.

References

*cite book|author= Bishop, Chris (eds) |title= The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II |publisher= Barnes & Nobel |year=1998|id= ISBN 0760710228
*cite book|author= Mayer, S.L. |title= The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan |publisher= The Military Press |year=1984|id= ISBN 0517423138
*cite book|author=Morse, D.R. |title=Japanese Small Arms of WW2; Light Machine Guns Models 11, 96, 99 97 & 92 |publisher=Firing Pin Enterprizes |year=1996|id= ASIN: B000KFVGSU
*cite book|author=Popenker, Maxim |title=Machine Gun: The Development of the Machine Gun from the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day|publisher=Crowood |year=2008|id= ISBN 1847970303
*cite book|author=Rottman, Gordon L. |title=Japanese Infantryman 1937-1945|publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2005|id= ISBN 1841768189
*

External links

* [http://www.dragonsoffire.com/aircraft-jarmy.htm dragonsoffire.com]
* [http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/mg.htm Taki’s Imperial Japanese Army page]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9.html#III US Technical Manual E 30-480]

Notes