Type 11 light machine gun

Combat experience in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 had convinced the Japanese of the utility of machine guns in providing covering fire for advancing infantry.Meyer, The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan. pg.53 This was reinforced by 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 transported by an 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 to be mass-produced in Japan{{cite web|url=https://takihomepage.web.fc2.com/mg.htm|title=MG|website=Taki's Japanese Imperial Army website}} 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 It was superseded by the Type 96 light machine gun in 1936.

File:Type11LMG.JPG

File:Automatic Rifle (9885171694).jpg, Beijing]]

The Type 11 light machine gun was a design by famed arms designer Kijirō Nambu, based on a modification of the French Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun. It was an air-cooled, gas-operated design, using the same 6.5×50mm Arisaka cartridges as the Type 38 infantry rifle.

[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9.html#III TM-E 30–480 (1945)]

A feature of the Type 11 machine gun is its detachable hopper; it can be refilled while attached and does not require removal during operation. Instead of a belt or box magazine, the Type 11 was designed to hold up to six of the same cartridge clips used on the Type 38 rifle. The five-round clips were stacked lying flat above the receiver,{{cite book |last1=Rottman |first1=Gordon L. |title=Japanese Army in World War II - Conquest of the Pacific 1941-42 |url=https://archive.org/details/japanesearmyworl00rott_833 |url-access=limited |date=2005 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford, England |isbn=1841767891 |page=[https://archive.org/details/japanesearmyworl00rott_833/page/n45 46]}} secured by a spring arm, and the rounds were stripped from the lowest clip one at a time, with the empty clip dropped out the bottom 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 relatively short barrel (17.5 inches) produced excessive flash with standard ammunition (initially intended for Type 38 rifles with barrels more than a foot longer). A new load was introduced which burned much more completely in the Type 11's short barrel and produced much less flash as a result. This new round was called the 6.5×50mm Arisaka genso round and the ammunition cartons were identified by a circled "G".{{cite web|url=http://www.forgottenweapons.com/light-machine-guns/type-11-nambu-lmg/|title=Type 11 Nambu LMG|date=30 March 2012}}Segel, Robert G. (2015)

The inherent disadvantage of the hopper was that the open feeder box allowed dust and grit to enter 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 hopper unbalanced the weapon when fully loaded. To compensate, the buttstock was designed in a way that it bent to the right, leading to the Chinese nickname for the weapon as the "bent buttstock" ({{zh|歪把子}}). Reloading the weapon during an assault charge proved impossible due to the clip feeding system.

Type 89 "flexible" – Two Type 11 actions mounted on a flexible mounting for anti-aircraft use and as a rear-defense aerial gun. The machine gun was chambered for the 7.7x58mmSR Type 89 cartridge. It was equipped with a metallic Y-shaped stock and two spade grips, the barrels had no cooling fins. It was fed from two 45-round quadrant-shaped pan magazines (each magazine had a place for nine five-round stripper clips). The double-barrelled machine gun weighted about 28 kg and had a rate of fire of around 1,400 rpm.{{cite book|last=Mikesh|first=Robert C.|title=Japanese Aircraft Equipment 1940 – 1945|url=https://archive.org/details/japaneseaircraft00mike_087|url-access=limited|date=2004|publisher=Shiffer Publishing|isbn=978-0-7643-2097-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/japaneseaircraft00mike_087/page/n114 115]–116}}

File:Panzermg typ 91.jpg

Type 91 – was a modified Type 11 for use on tanks and armoured vehicles. The machine gun was equipped with an angled pistol grip, the stock and bipod were removed.{{cite web|url=http://dl.zhishi.sina.com.cn/upload/19/50/91/1220195091.1027914646.jpg |title=1220195091.1027914646.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427011545/http://dl.zhishi.sina.com.cn/upload/19/50/91/1220195091.1027914646.jpg |archive-date=April 27, 2014 }} Additionally, the machine gun was equipped with two brackets (on the right side) for mounting a 1.5x30 scope manufactured by Tomioka Kogaku.{{cite web|url=http://www.japaneseweapons.net/kikanjyu/sogu/english.htm|title=Machine Gun Equipment|publisher=Japanese Weapons.net|access-date=2015-12-11}}

Te-4 – A modified Type 11 which was designed to replace the Type 89 "flexible" due to the excessive weight of the latter. It used a different flexible mounting, had a shorter wooden stock and a straight pistol grip with an enlarged trigger guard, the barrel had no cooling fins. It was chambered for the 7.7x58mmSR Type 89 cartridge and fed from 70-round pan magazines. It is uncertain whether the Te-4 was made by splitting the Type 89 "flexible" or was a direct derivative of Type 11.

Liao Type 17 - A copy of the Type 11 design manufactured in small numbers at the Mukden Arsenal.{{cite book |last1=Shih |first1=Bin |title=China's Small Arms of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) |isbn=979-8473557848 |pages=161 |edition=2021}}

File:Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces in Battle of Shanghai 1937.jpg armed with the Type 11 during the Battle of Shanghai]]

File:Battle at Great Wall, Laiyuan, Hebei, autumn 1937.jpg

File:Indonesian youth practicing with weapons 1946.jpg

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. Many were captured by the Chinese and were used against the Japanese. The Manchukuo Imperial Army replaced its ex-Chinese ZB vz. 30s with Type 11s in 1936.{{cite book|title=Rays of the rising sun : armed forces of Japan's Asian allies, 1931-45|volume= 1, China & Manchukuo| publisher=Helion|year=2004|first=Philip S.|last= Jowett|isbn=9781906033781|page=15}} Both sides also used Type 11 machine guns during the Chinese Civil War{{cite web|title=Mukden Arsenal after WWII|date=April 3, 2017|url=https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/mukden-arsenal-after-wwii/|website=wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com}} and North Korea used Type 11 and Type 91 during the Korean War.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ZNxDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA535|title=The Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History|edition=2nd|editor-first1=Spencer C.|editor-last1=Tucker|editor-first2=Paul G. Jr.|editor-last2=Pierpaoli|page=535|volume=1. A-L|chapter=Machine guns|isbn=978-1-85109-849-1|publisher=ABC-CLIO|url=https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A1645C|first=Jeff|last=Kinard|date=9 April 2010|access-date=15 November 2018|archive-date=16 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116043249/https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A1645C|url-status=dead}} Indonesian nationalist forces used the Type 11 during the Indonesian National Revolution.{{cite book|last=Lohnstein|first=Marc|title=The Dutch–Indonesian War 1945–49: Armies of the Indonesian War of Independence|date=2023|publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1472-8547-42|pages=33}} The Viet Minh also used the Type 11 during the First Indochina War,{{cite book|title=Personal firepower|first=Edward Clinton|last= Ezell|publisher=Bantam Books|year=1988|series=The Illustrated history of the Vietnam War 15|oclc=1036801376|url=https://archive.org/details/personalfirepowe00ezel|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/personalfirepowe00ezel/page/47 47]-48|isbn=9780553345490 }} as did the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.{{cite web|title=Type 11 Light Machine Gun|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C236596|website=awm.gov.au|publisher=Australian War Memorial|access-date=4 February 2019}}

• 22px Republic of China: Purchased a small number before war with Japan began. Later captured Japanese examples were used by all Chinese armies including Nationalist, Warlord, Collaborationist and Communist.{{cite book |last1=Shih |first1=Bin |title=China's Small Arms of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) |isbn=979-8473557848 |pages=161 |edition=2021}}
• {{flag|Indonesia}}
• {{flag|Japanese Empire}}
• {{flagicon image|Flag of the Malayan National Liberation Army.svg|size=23px}} Malayan National Liberation Army
• {{flag|Manchukuo}}
• {{flag|North Korea}}
• 22px People's Liberation Army
• {{flagcountry|Philippines|1936}}: Captured from Japanese army
• {{flagcountry|South Korea}}
• {{flagdeco|Republic of South Vietnam}} Viet Cong
• 22px Viet Minh

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|author= Bishop, Chris (eds) |title= The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II |publisher= Barnes & Nobel |year=1998|isbn= 978-0-7607-1022-7}}
• {{cite book |author= Mayer, S.L. |title= The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan |publisher= The Military Press |year= 1984 |isbn= 978-0-517-42313-4 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/risefallofimperi0000unse }}
• {{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 |isbn=978-1-84797-030-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/machinegundevelo0000pope }}
• {{cite book|author=Rottman, Gordon L. |title=Japanese Infantryman 1937–1945|publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2005|isbn= 978-1-84176-818-2}}
• {{cite book|author=US Department of War|title=Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, TM-E 30–480 (1945)|publisher= Louisiana State University Press |year=1994|edition=reprint|isbn= 978-0-8071-2013-2}}

{{refend}}

• {{cite web|title= 兵器臨時定価、予価、表送付の件 Military catalogue of the Japanese military|url=https://www.jacar.archives.go.jp/aj/meta/listPhoto?LANG=eng&BID=F2006083120452299318&ID=M2006083120453599356&REFCODE=C01004699100|orig-date=August 1939|publisher= Ministry of the Army|website=National Archives of Japan}}
• {{cite web|title=Banking and Monetary Statistics, 1914-1941, Part I|url=https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/38#6408|orig-date=1943|publisher=Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)|website=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis|date=January 1943 }}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=3071|title=Japanese Taish? Type 11 (Model 1922) Light Machine Gun|last=Segel|first=Robert G|publisher=Small Arms Review|date=September 2015|access-date=June 13, 2021}}

{{Commons|Type 11 machine gun}}

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• [http://www.dragonsoffire.com/aircraft-jarmy.htm dragonsoffire.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928055441/http://www.dragonsoffire.com/aircraft-jarmy.htm |date=2007-09-28 }}
• [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9.html#III US Technical Manual E 30–480]
• {{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH9VQGht8CU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/JH9VQGht8CU |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Japanese Type 11 LMG Disassembly|publisher=Forgotten Weapons (YouTube)|date=2014-08-03}}{{cbignore}}

{{refend}}

{{Clip-fed firearms}}

{{Japanese WWII infantry weapons}}

Category:Clip-fed firearms

Category:Light machine guns

11

11

Category:World War II machine guns

Category:Machine guns of Manchukuo

Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1920s

Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1922