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Type 38 75 mm field gun
Type 38 75 mm field gun
	Side view of the Type 38 with its ammunition
Type	Field gun
Place of origin	Empire of Japan
Service history
In service	1905–1945
Used by	Imperial Japanese Army, North Vietnam, Taiwan (Kuomintang), China,
Wars	World War I; Second Sino-Japanese War; Soviet-Japanese Border Wars; World War II; First Indochina War
Production history
Designer	Krupp
Manufacturer	Osaka Arsenal
No. built	~3,059 all types.
Variants	Type 38 (improved)
Specifications
Mass	947 kg (2,088 lb) (Type 38); 1,135.7 kg (2,504 lb) (improved Type 38)
Length	5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) (Firing); 8.94 m (29 ft 4 in) (traveling)
Barrel length	2.286 m (7 ft 6 in) L/31
Width	Track 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m) maximum. 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Height	4 ft 10 in (1.47 m)
Shell	Fixed QF 75 x 294mm R
Shell weight	6 kg (13 lb)
Caliber	75 mm (2.95 in)
Breech	Interrupted screw (Type 38); horizontal sliding-wedge (improved Type 38)
Recoil	Hydro-spring
Carriage	Box trail
Elevation	-8° to +16° 30' (Type 38); -8° to +43° (improved Type 38)
Traverse	3°30' right, 3°30' left
Rate of fire	2 minutes 15 rpm; 15 minutes 4 rpm; continuous 100-120 rph
Muzzle velocity	510 m/s (1,673 ft/s)
Effective firing range	8,350 m (9,130 yd) (Type 38)
Maximum firing range	11,600 m (12,700 yd) (improved Type 38)
Feed system	Hand
Sights	Panoramic

The Type 38 75 mm field gun (三八式野砲, Sanhachi-shiki yahō) was a 1905 German design which was purchased by the Empire of Japan as the standard field gun of the Imperial Japanese Army at the end of the Russo-Japanese War. The Type 38 designation was given to this gun as it was accepted in the 38th year of Emperor Meiji's reign (1905).^[2]

History and development

Although Japan had extensive experience with artillery, as the result of its war with Russia in 1904-05,^[3]^[4] and had the technology and industrial infrastructure to construct medium or large caliber naval weapons prior to World War I, planners at the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff turned to Krupp in Germany, for the latest trend in artillery design. Initial units of Krupp 7.5 cm Model 1903 were imported, and then eventually over 2,000 units, designated "Type 38" in Japan, were produced under license by the army’s Osaka Arsenal.^[5]

The original Type 38 gun had a conical interrupted screw, a single box type trail which limited gun elevation to only 16°30'. Also, there were no equilibrators as the trunnions were at the gun barrel's center of balance. All of these shortcomings were remedied with a redesign following World War I.^[6]

After World War I, these weapons were considered largely obsolete. However, by this time, Japanese production capabilities had improved, and the Type 38 underwent a re-design in Japan to improve the carriage, with a corresponding increase in elevation, range and rate of fire to 10-12 rounds per minute.^[7]

Design

The Type 38 75 mm field gun was a thoroughly conventional design for its day, complete with crew seats on the gun shield and a solid box trail. It had a hydrospring recoil system, interrupted screw type breechblock, and a 1/16-inch gun shield.^[7]

Side view of the improved Type 38 with an inset shot of the breech

Many Type 38 field guns were extensively modified at the Osaka arsenal between 1926 and 1935. The piece was trunnioned forward and equilibrators were added to compensate for muzzle heaviness. It was given a hollow box trail that allowed elevation to 43°. The new version was called the "improved Type 38".^[5] Some 400 units were produced in Japan, and it is unclear exactly how many Type 38s were upgraded to the improved version. However, both types were still in service by the start of World War II, despite efforts to replace the design with the Type 90 75 mm field gun.^[1]

The Type 38 75 mm field gun (improved) was capable of firing high-explosive, armor-piercing warhead, shrapnel, incendiary, smoke and illumination and gas shells.^[8]

Shaped charge anti-tank rounds were developed specifically for the Type 38 75mm field gun during World War II, however, it is unclear if the HEAT round actually entered service before the end of the war. ^[9]

Combat record

Despite its obsolescence, the Type 38 75 mm field gun was found in theatres of operation in the Second Sino-Japanese War, Soviet-Japanese Border Wars and in the Pacific War.^[10]

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b Taki, Imperial Japanese Army
^ War Department TM-E-30-480 Handbook on Japanese Military Forces September 1944 p 400
^ Neuffer
^ (British) General Staff, p. 106 & 117
^ ^a ^b Meyer, The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan. page 97
^ US Department of War Special Series No 25 Japanese Field Artillery October 1944
^ ^a ^b US Department of War. TM 30-480, Handbook on Japanese Military Forces
^ Bishop. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II
^ Ness, Leland. Rikugun: Volume 2 - Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces (p. 74). Helion and Company.
^ Chant, Artillery of World War II

Bibliography

Bishop, Chris (eds) The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Barnes & Nobel. 1998. ISBN 0-7607-1022-8
(British) General Staff, War Office. "The Russo-Japanese War"; Reports From British Officers Attached To The Russian Forces In The Field. Vol. III, July 1907.
Chamberlain, Peter and Gander, Terry. Light and Medium Field Artillery. Macdonald and Jane's (1975). ISBN 0-356-08215-6
Chant, Chris. Artillery of World War II, Zenith Press, 2001, ISBN 0-7603-1172-2
McLean, Donald B. Japanese Artillery; Weapons and Tactics. Wickenburg, Ariz.: Normount Technical Publications 1973. ISBN 0-87947-157-3.
Mayer, S.L. The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan. The Military Press (1984) ISBN 0-517-42313-8
Neuffer, William LT. "What Lessons In The Employment Of Field Artillery Should Be Deduced From The Experiences Of The Russo-Japanese War?" The Field Artillery Journal (Artilleristische Monatshefts. No. 35 November 1909); by William Neuffer, Lieutenant of the 3rd Bavarian (Prince Leopold) Regiment of Field Artillery
US Department of War Special Series No 25 Japanese Field Artillery October 1944
US Department of War, TM 30-480, Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, Louisiana State University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8071-2013-8