Type 99 light machine gun

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Type 99 light machine gun
Kijiro Nambu
Designed1939
Manufacturer
  • Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company
  • Kokura Arsenal
  • Nagoya Arsenal
Unit cost1,350
Gas-operated
Rate of fire550 rounds/min[3][4][5]
Muzzle velocity2,346 feet per second (715 m/s)
Effective firing range2,000 m (2,200 yd)
Maximum firing range3,500 m (3,800 yd) (7.7×58mm Arisaka)
Feed system30 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 7.7×58mm Arisaka cartridge, which improved energy by over 50%. Other improvements included the omission of the oiling mechanism which resulted in a better all-round weapon. The Type 99 never fully replaced the previous models of Japanese light machine guns, and served alongside the Type 11 and Type 96 until 1945.

History and development

Japanese soldier using his comrade as an anti-aircraft bipod for his Type 99
U.S. Marine posing with a captured Type 99 with bayonet

Prior to the Type 99's development, the Japanese Army was using the Type 96 light machine gun, a successor to the previous

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 7.7mm cartridge which also had no rim, which improved 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

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

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

IJA paratroopers armed with the Type 99 during the Battle of Palembang

The Type 99 came into active service in 1939, and was used alongside the 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.

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

See also

  • Type 97 light machine gun

Notes

  1. ^ Military catalogue of the Japanese military - Showa 16, p. 7
  2. ^ Banking and Monetary Statistics, 1914-1941, Part I, p. 673
  3. ^ Sayama Jiro (2000) "Primer of Rifle, Pistol and Machine Gun" p.441
  4. ^ Ministry of Army (1945) "8. Specification table of weapons; Specification table of main weapons"
  5. ^ Tateyama Naval Artillery School "Land Combat Reference - No. 1, Land Combat Weapon List"
  6. ^ Meyer, The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan. pg.53
  7. ^ a b c [1] TM-E 30-480 (1945)
  8. ^ [2] JapaneseWeapons.net
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Morse, Japanese Small Arms of WW2; Light Machine Guns Models 11, 96, 99 97 & 92
  11. ISBN 978-1-85109-849-1
    .
  12. ^
    OCLC 1036801376
    .
  13. ^ 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.
  14. hdl:2027/uiug.30112064404368. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on August 4, 2020.
  15. ^ "Guns Of The Rising SunGuns Magazine.com - Guns Magazine.com". gunsmagazine.com.
  16. ^ Weeks 1980, pp. 237, 671.

References

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Type 99 LMG.
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