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The Type 99 was principally offered in a “Long” infantry version with a total of some 49 ½ inches (about the same as the 38) and a “Short” cavalry configuration, which had a total length of 44 inches.Īn original Type 99 sling is extremely rare The rear was looped through an swivel, while the front was buttoned with a post. For comparison, the 6.5x50mm had a muzzle velocity of 2,500 fps and energy of 1,930 ft.-lbs. Though employing the same basic action as its predecessor, the 99’s caliber was upped to the more potent 7.7x58mm cartridge, which fired a 175-grain bullet at some 2,400 feet per second (fps) for a muzzle energy of 2,237 foot-pounds (ft.-lbs.). As noted, it was created to simplify production and handling, as well as to improve knock-down power. The Type 99 appeared in 1938, its designation derived from the Japanese calendar year 2599. Instead, the two served side-by-side slightly before and during World War II. Though the Type 99 was regarded as something of an improvement over the Type 38, it never replaced its progenitor in the service. The Type 99's safety is an ornamented knob at the rear. It is estimated that around 3,500,000 38s were manufactured at several arsenals from its inception in 1905 until 1945.
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It was chambered for a proprietary, semi-rimmed, relatively effective 6.5x50mm round. Perhaps the major features in which the 38 differed from the Mauser was that it cocked on closing and the safety, unlike the Mausers three-position paddle-style, involved a knurled knob that was set by rotating it to the right with the palm of the hand. The Type 99 bolt features front locking lugs and a one-piece extractor. Named in honor of the 38th year of the Japanese Emperor Meiji’s reign, it was long, had a five-round box magazine, could be fitted with the long-bladed Type 30 knife bayonet, and employed an extremely strong Mauser-style action with front locking lugs and a one-piece collar-mounted extractor. The Type 38, which was a follow-on to the circa-1897 Type 30, was not unlike many other military bolt-actions of the period. It was something of a simplified, cost-effective continuation of the popular Type 38 first issued to Imperial forces in 1905. Though seen in great numbers, the Type 99 sometimes referred to as the “Type 99 Arisaka,” was by no means a particularly revolutionary rifle.
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Despite these setbacks, Allied forces still found themselves facing an indomitable, if somewhat diminished, foe. Fit and finish suffered greatly, but the men and arms continued to soldier on. Wherever economies could be taken, they were.įor example, a once-proud arm such as the Type 99 Arisaka rifle was fitted with wooden buttplates, given simple non-adjustable peep rear sights and stripped of a number of its expendable features. Finish, amenities and overall workmanship suffered greatly. Rifles and handguns emerging from the armories were spartan in the extreme, nothing like the superb pieces issued to troops only a few years previously. Manufacturing, when accomplished at all, was catch as catch-can, and the institution of shortcuts and “make-do” (especially in the armament industry) became the norm. Raw supplies were waning, or in some instances, non-existent. These pivotal events, combined with the virtual destruction of its merchant fleet and bombing of the homeland, rightly caused many to think Japan’s fall was inevitable, but not to some in the stubborn Japanese hierarchy. Despite crushing defeats, drastic shortages and diminishing material, an intransigent Japanese military continued to present a dogged resistance.įor almost two years, Imperial forces had been on the defensive with the loss of the Philippines in February 1945, and disastrous earlier dire setbacks in the Marianas campaign. August 14, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of V-J Day and the end of World War II.