Small arms of World War II - Japan. Rifles of the Second World War. Japanese Arisaka rifle General technical information

	Arisaka Type 99 Rifle

In 1938, the Arisaka rifle and carbine, converted to a 7.7 mm caliber cartridge, called M 92 (7.7x58), were transferred to the government department for testing small arms. This cartridge was designed for machine guns and was put into service in 1932.
Tests have shown that the M 92 cartridge is not suitable for Arisaka repeating rifles and carbines. The recoil and the flames escaping from the barrel were too strong. In addition, there were problems with feeding cartridges and ejecting cartridges.

By May 1939, a new cartridge with a reinforced powder charge was designed, as well as a modified rifle based on the Arisaka rifle of the 1905 model, which had a caliber of 7.7 mm. In accordance with the chronology system from the date of formation of the Japanese state, both the new cartridge and the rifle were named Arisaka Type 99 and immediately went into production.

	Complete disassembly of the Arisaka Type 99 rifle

However, both the 6.5 mm Arisaka repeating rifle and the 1905 cartridge remained in service until the end of World War II and even some time after that.
In addition, there was a version of the Model 38 with a weaker powder charge and special ammunition for the Arisaka Type 97 repeating sniper rifle, as well as another type of 7.7 mm cartridge, similar to the English .303 Lee-Enfield.
Such an unusually large number of types of cartridges, not only for rifles, but also for machine guns, as well as for other types of domestic and imported small arms, created many problems in production and supply. Old cartridges remained in circulation along with new ones, and for ordinary rifles alone, not to mention sniper rifles, there were no less than five types of ammunition in two different calibers, which posed impossible challenges for the Japanese industry.
When Japan, after a many-year war with neighboring China, on December 7, 1941, also became involved in a second world war, having attacked the American Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor, its reserves were completely exhausted after just a few months. This concerned not only the production of small arms and the ammunition necessary for them. The situation in the already very poorly developed industry became hopeless, especially in the metalworking industry.

	Arisaka Type 99 rifle on bipod with standard bayonet

The Arisaka Type 99 repeating rifle, like its predecessor, was designed on the basis of the Mauser system with a cylindrical bolt and a built-in 5-round magazine. The latter were inserted into the magazine in a clip. Although the modified rifle was, in principle, one of the oldest in the world by design, it, oddly enough, generally performed well during the war. If you do not take into account the typical shortcomings inherent in all Arisaka-type rifles, which were mainly caused by ammunition, then this rifle became the best standard weapon of the Japanese infantry.

The Arisaka Type 99 rifle differs from the Arisaka rifle of the 1905 model not only in caliber. There are also differences in the design of the chamber, barrel, bolt and sight. The safety design was improved, the rifle became not only shorter, but also lighter. A shooting rest made of durable profiled wire is fixed under the barrel. It can recline, but in the unfolded position it is not fixed. Such an emphasis was provided for all rifles, but was not installed on many.

The sight frame can be in a vertical position for shooting at low-flying air targets. There are two markings on the sight for guidance when shooting. Marking on outside designed for targets flying past, and on the inside for targets moving in the direction of the shooter at an angle. Firing at aircraft flying directly at the shooter is carried out in the usual way, using the rear sight and front sight, and auxiliary markings are also applied on the side surfaces of the latter to take into account the lead. However, firing at aircraft from rifles, as it turned out, was ineffective with rare exceptions.

Two versions of the Arisaka Type 99 rifle were produced: a long infantry rifle and a short version for cavalry, artillery and other special branches. It should be emphasized that the short version is not a carabiner. Already at the end of 1939, production of the long rifle was discontinued in favor of a shortened version, which was to become a standard weapon for all branches of the military. However, this still did not help satisfy all the army's needs for weapons. Therefore, not a single old model was withdrawn from service.

	Arisaka Type 99 rifle sighting frame

Among other things, the Arisaka Type 99 rifle was produced in airborne and sniper versions. Shortly before the end of the war, the so-called reservist version of the Arisaka Type 99 rifle also appeared.
The sniper rifle, also called 99, was developed in 1941, put into service in June 1942, and its industrial production began at the same time. It had the following technical data: total length 1115 mm, barrel length 662 mm, unloaded weight 4.42 kg. The rifle was equipped with a four-fold optical sight with a viewing angle of 7°. Sight calibration begins at a distance of 300 m. As in the multi-shot sniper rifle Arisaka Type 97, discontinued mid-1942, with sight on the left side. The rifle uses standard 7.7 mm cartridges rather than special ones. Presumably, no more than 10 thousand of these sniper rifles were manufactured.
Another version of the Arisaka Type 99 rifle of the 1939 model was an airborne rifle that could be disassembled into two parts. It may have been designed already in 1940, but it entered service with the troops only a year later. Produced in small quantities.

	Arisaka Type 99 rifle, airborne version

This rifle had a total length of 1120 mm, a barrel length of 657 mm and weighed 4.34 kg when unloaded. The barrel and front part were attached to the body in a special way. True, this connection was fragile: it often came loose after just a few shots.
A modernized model of the airborne rifle was presented in May 1943. The connection of both parts in it is already much stronger. The total length of this rifle is 1115 mm, barrel length 645 mm, weight without cartridges 4.05 kg.

In this regard, it is interesting that for the needs airborne troops The Arisaka Meiji Type 38 carbine, designed for a 6.5 mm cartridge, was also modified. Its total length is 875 mm, barrel length is 487 mm, and its unloaded weight is 3.7 kg. It has a hinge where the butt attaches to the body. There is evidence that the Arisaka Meiji Type 44 cavalry carbine with a folding bayonet, which was put into service in 1911, was also converted to an airborne version. Prototypes were made, but they did not go into mass production.

	An upgraded example of the Arisaka Type 99 airborne rifle

Since December 1943, production of the so-called Arisaka Type 99 reservist rifle of 7.7 mm caliber began. Its total length is 1115 mm, barrel length is 660 mm and weight is 3.8 kg. Sometimes it is also called model 99/2 or 99/3. These weapons, made of low-quality materials, are similar to the rifles and carbines produced in Germany for the Volkssturm militia. A large number of such weapons were captured as trophies by American troops.
The build quality of all these rifles was extremely low. Welding seams and traces of metalworking tools are visible everywhere. Instead of an adjustable sight, a regular rear sight was installed, and the butt plate was made not of metal, but of plywood.
The Arisaka Type 99 repeating rifle and all its modifications were adopted as standard weapons. There is no data on the size of their supplies to the troops. According to experts, by the end of the war at least 10 million Arisaka rifles were manufactured. This number includes rifles of all types since 1897, when the very first model was adopted.

In addition, Italian-made rifles were used in battles, and special versions of the Arisaka model of 1905 were used for testing.

The rifle was produced in 1897-1905. and was equipped with a bayonet. A total of 554 thousand rifles were produced. Rifle performance characteristics: caliber – 6.5 mm; length – 1270 mm; barrel length – 800 mm; weight – 3.9 kg; Magazine capacity – 5 rounds of 6.5x50 mm; rate of fire - 10-15 rounds per minute; initial bullet speed – 765 m/s; sighting range shooting – 2 km.

The carbine was a cavalry version of the Tour 30 rifle. A total of 40 thousand units were produced. Performance characteristics of the carbine: caliber – 6.5 mm; length – 962 mm; barrel length – 480 mm; target firing range – 1500 m.

The rifle was developed for arming the Japanese Navy on the basis of the Tour 30 and was produced since 1902. Performance characteristics of the rifle: caliber - 6.5 mm; length – 1270 mm; barrel length – 800 mm; weight without cartridges - 3.9 kg; Magazine capacity – 5 rounds of 6.5x50 mm.

The rifle was built in Italy in 1937-1943 under the Japanese cartridge. A total of 120 thousand rifles were built. Rifle performance characteristics: caliber – 6.5 mm; length – 1260 mm; barrel length – 790 mm; weight without cartridges - 4.1 kg; Magazine capacity – 5 rounds of 6.5x50 mm; initial bullet speed – 765 m/s.

The infantry rifle is a modification of the Tour 30 rifle and was produced in 1905-1945. The low-recoil caliber used significantly increased shooting accuracy. The location of the handle on the back of the bolt made it possible to reload the rifle without releasing it from the shoulder and without losing sight of the target. The magazine hidden inside the stock is protected from impacts and deformation. A total of 3.4 million pieces were produced. Rifle performance characteristics: caliber – 6.5 mm; length 1275 mm; barrel length – 800 mm; weight – 3.9 kg; Magazine capacity – 5 rounds of 6.5x50 mm; initial bullet speed – 760 m/s; rate of fire - 20 rounds per minute.

The carbine is a 487 mm shorter version of the Arisaka Type 38 rifle. It was used by cavalry, engineer and other support units. TTX carbine: 6.5 mm; length 970 mm; barrel length – 480 mm; weight without cartridges - 3.5 kg; Magazine capacity – 5 rounds.

The carbine was the result of a modernization of the Toure 38 carbine and was produced in 1912-1942. in three versions. The main difference from the old carbine was a needle-shaped bayonet, which could be located under the barrel. Also included with the carbine is a special compartment in which a cleaning rod consisting of two parts is stored. A total of 92 thousand copies were produced. Performance characteristics of the carbine: caliber – 6.5 mm; mm; length 978 mm, length with bayonet 1315 mm; barrel length – 469 mm; weight without cartridges - 3.5 kg; number of barrel rifling – 6; magazine capacity - 5 rounds of 6.5x50 mm; initial bullet speed - 685 m/s; sighting range - 1500 m.

Based on the Tour 38 rifle in 1939-1945. A rifle was produced chambered for the M-92 machine gun cartridge (7.7x58 mm). It had the following differences from the basic version: the caliber was increased to 7.7 mm; reduced length and weight; equipped with a folding bipod and a sight for firing at air targets. The rifle was produced in two versions: a long rifle for infantry and a short rifle for cavalry, artillery and other special forces. The rifle was produced at the factories of nine companies, and the total output reached 3.5 million units. Rifle performance characteristics: caliber – 7.7 mm; length – 1120/1270 mm; barrel length – 656 mm; weight – 3.7 kg; Magazine capacity – 5 rounds of 7.7x58 mm; initial bullet speed – 730 m/s.

On the basis of the "Ture 99" rifles, in 1942 the production of the "Ture 02" collapsible assault rifles began, in which the barrel was attached to the receiver using a massive transverse wedge inserted from the side through the fore-end, below the barrel bore. Often such rifles were also equipped with a folding wire bipod under the forend. All rifles were equipped with a detachable blade-type bayonet, worn in a sheath. A total of 25 thousand rifles were produced. Rifle performance characteristics: caliber – 7.7 mm; length – 1150 mm; barrel length – 620 mm; weight – 4 kg; Magazine capacity – 5 rounds of 7.7x58 mm.

The sniper rifle was created in 1937 on the basis of the Type 38 infantry rifle by installing 2.5X or 4X optical sights. A special feature of the Arisaka rifles was a movable bolt cover to protect the bolt from dirt and moisture. Another feature was a very long barrel, which extinguished the muzzle flash. The rifles were equipped with a detachable blade-type bayonet, worn in a sheath. From 1938 to 1943, 22.5 thousand rifles were produced. The total number of produced Arisaka rifles of all models is estimated at 10 million units. Rifle performance characteristics: caliber – 6.5 mm; length – 1280 mm; barrel length – 797 mm; weight without cartridges - 3.95 kg; Magazine capacity – 5 rounds of 6.5x50 mm; initial bullet speed – 762 m/s; effective firing range - 1 km.

This time I would like to talk about one of the most beautiful cartridges of my time. Proportional, as if drawn, it really was quite good and left a big mark on our history. We will talk about the 6.5x50 cartridge for Arisaka rifles.

The Japanese, like many who “hurried” with rearmament, did not avoid repeated rearmament with a replacement cartridge. Moreover, the Murata type 20 rifle (model 1887), which had a caliber of 8mm, was at least no worse than the same Lebel, who fought in the First World War and had not undergone any changes before.

But.. what is good for a European is not very good for a Japanese.
During the Meiji period, Japan made a breakthrough from a semi-colonial country, including in military affairs. The army, created according to Western standards (but also taking into account national characteristics), was armed with fairly modern weapons and kept up with the armies of Europe and America. However, the anthropological characteristics of the Japanese still had to be taken into account... Back in the early 1880s, the Japanese began to heavily feed recruits with meat, the share of which in the traditional daily diet was relatively small. Undoubtedly, protein diet contributed to the growth of the soldier’s endurance, but nevertheless, the “European” weapon systems were too heavy for the average soldier, and their recoil was difficult to bear.
This was one of the reasons for the quick replacement of the quite successful and relatively modern rifle Murat on a new “small” caliber weapon - 6.5 mm.

Experiments with small caliber were carried out not only by the Japanese, but also by the Italians and Austrians (who sold licenses to the Romanians and the Dutch). But the Japanese followed their own path, keeping pace with the advanced “weapons” countries.
As a result, already in 1897, the Arisaka “type 30” rifle was adopted (i.e., the model adopted in the 30th year of the Meiji era).

The design of the rifle was very advanced for its time: it was structurally reminiscent of the German rifle mod. 1898 (Mauser).

The design of the magazine was practically the same as the German weapon, and the bolt was also very close to it. The rifle also received clip loading similar to the same Mauser - a plate clip, when the bolt was open, was installed in the grooves of the receiver, from where the cartridges were fed into the magazine with the movement of a finger.

One of the “tricks” of that time was the use of segmented rifling in rifles, which somewhat reduced the friction of the bullet in the barrel and ensured better entry of the bullet into the rifling.
But most interesting feature The rifle had a cartridge - a new 6.5 mm. ammunition with a case length of 50 mm. A sleeve with a small welt and a groove, which made it possible to combine the advantages of welted cartridges (greater tolerances when processing the chamber due to fixation not with a sleeve slope, but with a welt) and without a welt (compact design of the magazine and no risk of the cartridges getting caught by the welts when feeding).
The described cartridges had a blunt-pointed bullet weighing 10.4 g and a charge of smokeless powder weighing 2 g and a muzzle velocity of 730 m/s.

This was more than 100 m/s higher than the initial speed of all 7-8 mm caliber cartridges before the adoption of pointed bullets. Coupled with a solid lateral load, this gave a huge gain in flatness, increasing the range of a direct shot by at least a third. In fact, such ballistics in “normal” caliber cartridges was achieved only ten years later...
During the Russo-Japanese War, when analyzing the nature of the wounds, it was found that wounds from 6.5 mm bullets of Japanese rifle cartridges heal faster than wounds from 10.67 mm bullets from the Berdan No. 2 rifle, but in general they are practically no different from wounds caused by a 7.62 mm bullet from a Russian rifle cartridge.
Japanese rifles were superior to Russian weapons in terms of shooting accuracy, but the difficult conditions of Manchuria revealed the shortcomings of the weapon itself - the rifle suffered from dust, just like other weapons. In the future, already on the fronts of the First World War, in the Russian trenches, this rifle did not cause any particular complaints.
However, even then it was discovered that Japanese bullets lag behind Russian ones in terms of penetration and long ranges have insufficient energy due to its faster loss.
However, the pedantic Japanese, already 8 years after the adoption of the Type 30 rifle, adopted its modification - Type 38.

Arisaka carbine type 38. The bolt cover and trigger in the form of a cylindrical cap are visible.

This weapon, basically repeating the prototype, received an anti-dust bolt cover that moved along with the reloading handle, the trigger new form and a slightly improved shutter.
Soon a new cartridge was adopted - with a pointed bullet.

The case is quite rare, since the excellent ballistics of 6.5 mm cartridges was considered sufficient even against the background of new cartridges with a pointed bullet, and most states did not accept new small-caliber bullets for service.
These cartridges had a pointed bullet weighing 9 g with a powder weight of 2.5 g and a muzzle velocity of 770 m/s. It is not difficult to understand that the increase in the speed of the new bullet had a purely positive effect on the combat qualities of the cartridge, allowing it to provide excellent flatness with moderate recoil. It is noteworthy that the bullet was equal in mass to the Russian bullet model 1908, that is, it had a large lateral load.

In terms of terminal ballistics, the long bullets of the old and new Arisaka were in no way inferior to their large-caliber counterparts, and when they encountered dense bones they often simply collapsed or went head over heels, causing severe injuries.

The Japanese rifle was quite good, so much so that Japan received its first foreign order for 40,000 rifles from Mexico in 1910. True, the Mexicans preferred to order rifles with a cartridge already in their arsenal, the 7-mm “Spanish Mauser”. The difficult political situation in Mexico, however, did not allow the order to be fulfilled: after the delivery of 5,000 rifles, the contract was canceled. These rifles were acquired by Great Britain in 1914, since with the outbreak of the First World War the need for weapons forced the transfer of naval rifles to the army, and the fleet, which rarely fired rifles, was armed with what they could get.
This same war became the “finest hour” of the Arisaka rifles. The Russian army, experiencing a severe “rifle famine,” demanded rifles already, literally “for yesterday,” and therefore, along with placing orders for the production of new rifles, an opportunity was sought to purchase existing ones.
Already in 1914 V.G. Fedorov conducted a full cycle of tests of the Arisaka rifle and became convinced of the safety, rationality and thoughtfulness of the design of this weapon. He carried out strength tests of the weapon and determined the pressure developed by the cartridge at the moment of firing (less than 3500 atm). Fedorov noted that, despite the excessive accuracy indicators, the rifle is cheaper than the Mosin rifle.
The commission chaired by the same V.G. Fedorov, an agreement was reached on the purchase of old Type 30 rifles and, later, newer Type 38 rifles, as well as carbines based on them, for the army. Almost 600,000 rifles ended up in Russia, where, along with the Mosin rifle and captured Mannlichers, they became the top three in terms of quantity. Rifles were used almost everywhere at the front, especially on the Northern Front, where the Arisaki had entire divisions. And these rifles performed well in the Southwestern Federal District...
Naturally, such a number of rifles with front-line ammunition consumption standards required a huge amount of ammunition. Some of the ammunition was supplied with the rifles, but this was not enough, and Russia placed orders for ammunition in both Japan and the UK. Loans were attracted, generous payments were made in gold, but at first the British from the Kaynok company were forced to make cartridges with an old-style bullet and even without clips, the stamping of which had not yet been established. The Russians did this too, despite the obvious decrease in the combat capabilities of the rifles... In particular, orders for the supply of Arisaka cartridges were literally enormous: 660 million Japanese 6.5-mm rifle cartridges were ordered with funds from the English loan, and another 124 with funds from the Japanese loan million rounds.
British cartridges were marked with the letter “K” on the bottom, so it is impossible to confuse them with Japanese ones. Japanese cartridges had no markings on the cartridge case at all, and the bottom had only two deep marks from the punching, which secured the slightly old-fashioned “convex” shaped primer.

Information about the cartridge was contained only on the capping of the cartridges; the cartridges were supplied loaded in clips of 5 pieces, 2 clips in a cardboard box. The only exception is the Kainok cartridges manufactured in 1915, which initially came without clips.
Rifles and cartridges fought not only in WWI, but also in the Civil War, and, dispersed among the fragments of the former Empire, served in various armies after the war. Some of the rifles became sawn-off shotguns, they are still being found... And the Arisakis that ended up in warehouses were used for training, for example, by OSOAVIAKHIM. Instructions for them were even republished in the 20s and 30s.
Rumor has it that some of the “Russian Arisaks” were transferred to Spain, where they fought against the Francoists: by 1941, there were already few of them in the RAO warehouses, because if there were more of them, there would be something to arm the militias with. One way or another, some of the rifles were still fired at the Germans in the second war of this century...

However, the cartridge not only fought on the fronts of the First World War as a rifle. Due to its excellent ballistics and successful design, it became the cartridge for the first serial self-loading rifle Russian Empire- Fedorov assault rifle.
The automation system used by Fedorov was based on the use of a short barrel stroke with locking by a vertically moving wedge (or rather, a pair of wedges).

V.G. Fedorov, having studied the situation, realized that the future of the infantryman’s personal weapons lay with reduced-caliber cartridges. The use of such cartridges made it possible to lighten the weapon, increase the ammunition capacity, and reduce the fatigue of the shooter: the strong recoil of the rifle cartridge made frequent shooting uncomfortable and inaccurate, and increasing the weight of the weapon, solving the problem of recoil, placed a burden on the shooter.
Before WWI, Fedorov developed a very promising cartridge - 6.5x57.

This cartridge made it possible to accelerate a pointed bullet weighing 9 grams to 660 m/s and obtain muzzle energy at the level of 1960 J. This is only slightly less than the muzzle energy of the 7.62x39 cartridge, and the ballistics of both cartridges are quite close, which led many researchers to call the Fedorov cartridge the first intermediate cartridge in history.
Nevertheless, the cartridge was structurally closer to rifle cartridges, both in size and design, however, compared to the cartridge for the Mosin rifle, the Fedorov cartridge actually looked weakened.
The assault rifles went through almost a full test cycle, but the outbreak of war put an end to the Fedorov cartridge: restructuring the industry to produce new ammunition was impossible due to the fact that the main task was to provide the army with the main rifle cartridge.
It would seem that the end has been given to the machine gun: no cartridges, no weapons. But the massive purchase of Arisaka rifles and cartridges for them prompted Fedorov to think about converting the machine gun to a Japanese cartridge, very close in design to the original Fedorov.

The machine gun was produced in a small series, in fact, it underwent military tests on the Romanian front, and although it received a lot of flattering reviews, the industry did not have the resources for mass production of this weapon. The problem should have been solved new plant in Kovrov, but by the 1917 revolution the plant had not reached its designed capacity.
However, the production of the Fedorov assault rifle under the Japanese cartridge began after the October Revolution, and in the 20s the assault rifle entered service with the troops. Moreover, light and tank machine guns were produced on its basis, which to some extent predetermined the emergence of light machine guns based on the design of assault rifles/machine guns.
However, during the general revision and modernization of weapons in the 30s, it was decided to abandon the second cartridge for economic and logistical reasons. In addition, Simonov and Tokarev were actively working on “regular” caliber rifles, and this work was considered promising. As a result, Fedorov’s machine guns and machine guns ended up in warehouses, and were removed from there only during the days of the Soviet-Finnish War, when a catastrophic shortage of lungs was discovered automatic weapons. Specially formed squads of skiers and scouts received machine guns, and they used them quite effectively.
However, the machine gun did not survive a renaissance, since during 1936-40 Simonov automatic rifles and Tokarev reloading rifles began to enter service. However, the same problem of excessive recoil of a rifle cartridge made automatic firing from the ABC-36 practically useless. And, nevertheless, in the first year of the Second World War, when the shortage of light machine guns became critical, the SVT-40 was already “forced” to fire in bursts, however, with the same success. But economics weighed heavily on everything: they came to the need for a “second cartridge” based on the experience of the war, and returned to a reduced caliber already in the 60s...

At the same time, patron Arisaka lived in his homeland for at least interesting life, having fought almost until the end of World War II, the Japanese never finally switched to the new 7.7x58 cartridge, although they began this process back in the 30s.
The reason for switching to a normal caliber cartridge was the same as in other countries: the use of 6.5mm cartridges with regular bullets covered almost all the tasks of a shooter armed with a rifle. However, the main consumer of cartridges was machine guns that fired at ranges of up to 3,000 meters, and often with cartridges with special bullets.
At long ranges, prohibitive for rifles but quite workable for a heavy machine gun, bullets of 6.5 mm cartridges were inferior in kinetic energy to bullets of 7-8 mm caliber. The penetrating power of the bullets was also insufficient, and an attempt to create special bullets (tracer, armor-piercing) ran into the impossibility of “packing” an effective filling into a small bullet. For example, if a fairly heavy armor-piercing core of 6 mm diameter was placed in a 7-8 mm bullet, then the diameter of the core of a 6.5 mm bullet rarely exceeded 4.5 millimeters. Naturally, due to its low mass and caliber, it was practically ineffective. This is what predetermined the disappearance of small-caliber rifle cartridges from the arena.
However, despite the fact that in 1939 the production of Type 99 rifles chambered for the new 7.7 mm cartridge began, a huge number of rifles and machine guns chambered for the 6.5 mm cartridge did not go away. The cartridge continued to be produced until 1945, and even then the Arisaki fought in new wars in Southeast Asia.

The modifications of the cartridge of the 1920-30s are interesting, because the Japanese were original here too. However, what could be more original than machine guns, which were loaded with rifle clips placed, literally, in a stack?! But not only that, the apparent versatility was sacrificed - the cartridges had to be weakened. A unique case!
The characteristics of the pointed cartridge remained unchanged until 1922, when the Type 11 light machine gun was adopted. This machine gun originally used standard five-round infantry rifle clips with blunt bullets. Accordingly, when using new cartridges, it turned out that they lead to rapid wear of parts and breakdowns of the machine gun, since new cartridges develop higher pressure in the barrel, which ultimately affects the operation of the automation. This problem was solved by the release of a special series of cartridges with a reduced amount of gunpowder. On the packaging of these cartridges there was a special stamp with the Latin letter “G” (Genso (Japanese: 減少) - reduced, depleted). Such cartridges were also issued to soldiers with the Type 96 light machine gun and to snipers with the Type 97 rifle. The advantage of using these cartridges for snipers was lower recoil (which was less tiring for the shooter) and a weak muzzle flash when fired (which made it difficult to detect the sniper when firing).
There were also cartridges with wooden or paper bullets, and training (brass or wood with a red lacquer coating and a metal bottom) dummy cartridges were produced. The cartridges used when firing from a rifle grenade launcher had paper bullets and can be identified by the reinforced fastening of the primers (so that they do not fly out of the cartridge case when high blood pressure in the trunk).

One way or another, "Arisaka" and its cartridge have become a kind of weapons legend both in Asia and in the territory of the former Russian Empire. As fate would have it, the patron fought both in the North and in the humid Asian jungles, always doing his job well. And to this day, “sharp” and “blunt” Arisaka cartridges are a frequent find at former positions of the First World War.

Article. Arisaka rifle type 30. 三十年式歩兵銃
Author Tsvershits A
The Arisaka rifle type 30 (model 1897) was an attempt to create, based on the developments of the Mauser company in 1891-96, a design superior to European models. And it is a striking example of how you can overdo it in achieving inflated parameters and overcomplicating the parts of the shutter and trigger mechanism.
Along with the high quality of manufacturing and metalworking, the presence of small tolerances and the difficulty of disassembling the bolt group (the number of main parts was 8 and the mainspring) and the trigger (consisted of 5 parts) were noted. Also noted were breakdowns of the wire feeder spring (due to overheating), ease of accidentally releasing the magazine lid latch with subsequent loss, and a weak ejector (if the bolt was not operated vigorously, the cartridge case simply fell out).
The frame sight, when manufactured very carefully, was prone to bending when spontaneously tilted into a vertical position. The safety hook in the form of a hook, designed to make it easier to place and remove the rifle in a position for shooting or carrying a rifle, was a constant obstacle (it clung to clothing and ammunition).
When parts of the shutter became dusty or dirty, it caused not only misfires, but also jamming of the shutter (too precise manufacturing and small tolerances affected), excessive lubrication or out-of-season lubrication (too thick) also caused malfunctions.
So, according to reviews of Siberian shooters, sometimes Arisaka jammed after two or three shots at grease, in winter, when riding for a long time, the rifle or carbine, covered with perspiration, froze (despite the canvas back cover) and could be fired from it, at best, only once. In the future, the bolt could only be opened by hitting the handle with the edge of the palm or with a boot.
At the same time, it was noted that the rifle, when carefully lubricated and wiped dry, in a winter fur case, had a minimal number of malfunctions and misfires, mainly due to the quality of the cartridges. The arrows indicated low recoil, low sound and excellent accuracy; at 400 steps, eight out of ten bullets in the target were covered with the palm of the hand (approximately 5 by 10 cm) when shooting lying down or sitting, some vertical scatter is characteristic of errors in aiming (distances in steps are accepted and the aiming rifle scale in meters), good lethality and penetration of winter clothing.
Performance characteristics of the Arisaka rifle type 30 (model 1897): caliber 6.5 mm, five-shot, overall length 1270 mm, barrel length 789 mm, length with bayonet 1660 mm, rate of fire 30-35 rounds per minute, weight 3900 g. The sight is graduated up to 2000 meters.

Performance characteristics of the Arisaka carbine type 30 (model 1897): caliber 6.5 mm, five-round, total length 965 mm, barrel length 480 mm, without bayonet, rate of fire 30-35 rounds per minute, weight 3280 g. The sight is graduated up to 1500 meters.
In photographs, a rifle or carbine can be distinguished by the characteristic vertically protruding safety hook (the weapon is on the safety), and the round spherical bolt handle (subsequent models type 38, type 99 had an oval cross-section), as well as minor differences in the metal stock set (unfortunately often barely visible in photographs).





With the adoption of the Arisaka type 30 rifle and carbine, changes were made to the equipment.
The type 30 bayonet was adopted, which became one of the most recognizable elements of equipment of the Japanese infantryman, with a characteristic blade shape and a length of 350 mm, weighing 500 grams.
With a decrease in the weight of the cartridge (21 grams) used for a standard rifle, it was possible to increase the number of carryable cartridges to 120 pieces. To carry ammunition in clips, a set of German-type pouches (instead of the French “wallet” for loose cartridges or in 2 paper packs) type 30 was adopted for supply, consisting of two side (right and left) 30 rounds each (6 clips each), and rear “reserve” for 60 rounds (12 clips). For cavalry, a shoulder pouch for 30 rounds was adopted (instead of 10 rounds for the Type 22 carbine).
Bayonet type 30.

Ammunition type 30.




In total, 553 thousand units of type 30 rifles and 45 thousand carbines were produced; in addition to the Tokyo Arsenal, the Koishikawa Arsenal was used in production. The main type of small arms of the Japanese army during the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905.
After being withdrawn from service, the Type 30 was widely sold to Siam (Thailand) as a military model, to Europe (contracts between England and France (the contract was bought by England)) as an educational and training weapon, to Russia as an infantry weapon (during the “rifle famine” of 1914 -1917, civil war to the Semyonovites, Kolchakites, the Siberian Army, etc.), to China for the armament of the pro-Japanese warlords, to Manchukuo, the troops of Wang Jinwei, the army of Menjiang (Prince De Wang Demchigdonrov).
Type 30 rifles and carbines remained in service with the second line and rear units of the Japanese army throughout the entire period of World War II.
Author Tsvershits A

During the war in Manchuria, as well as during the Russo-Japanese campaign, many shortcomings were identified in Japanese rifles, the main ones being:

The bolt mechanism was susceptible to dust, which resulted in frequent breakdowns and the need, sometimes right during combat, to disassemble and clean the entire system.

Assembling and disassembling the rifle itself was quite a difficult task, especially in combat conditions.
Sights were often knocked out of alignment, and sometimes even completely deformed.
Taking into account military experience recent years, the Arisaka rifle of the 1906 model with a longitudinally sliding bolt and a 5-round magazine was adopted into service by Imperial Japan. Its design took into account all the shortcomings of previous models and made the necessary changes.
The main distinguishing feature of this rifle was the movable bolt cover, which moved along with the bolt itself. This solution made it possible to enhance the quality of protection of the shutter mechanism from environmental pollutants, such as dirt, dust, water, and so on. However, she and often the soldiers removed it.
One of the main advantages of this weapon was its low cost (the cost of one rifle was around 30 rubles, while the Mosin rifle cost 40 rubles and more), as well as ease of production. But, despite this, the rifle was distinguished by quite high power, although the bullet was relatively small, only 8.9 grams and a caliber of 6.5 by 50 mm, while for the same Mosin rifle, the bullet weighed as much as 13.6 g ., and had a caliber of 7.62 by 54mm.). Until 1942, the bullet was made of cupronickel, which has a lower density than lead, and this in turn made it possible to increase stability and bullet because its center of gravity shifted to the rear. But after problems with raw materials began, in 1942 the bullet was replaced with a bimetallic one. 2.15 grams of smokeless powder were placed in the sleeve, with the help of which a pressure of up to 3100 kilograms per m2 was created in the barrel, and the bullet flew out of the barrel reaching a speed of 750 km/h.
Walnut wood was used to make the body and butt, but during the economic crisis of 1944-1945, even low-grade plywood was used. But despite this, more than 3 million samples of these weapons were produced. And in the hands of a soldier, this rifle was truly a formidable force. The rate of fire could reach as many as twenty rounds per minute, and the aimed firing range was up to two kilometers, although it was most effectively used at a distance of up to 500 meters.