Type 99 light machine gun

File:First Liutenant Hajime Asai and His ten men 4.jpg

File:Marine-in-Saipan-Type-99-LMG.jpg

Prior to the Type 99's development, the Japanese Army was using the Type 96 light machine gun, a successor to the previous Type 11 light machine gun. The Type 96 had been introduced into combat service in 1936, and quickly proved to be a versatile weapon to provide covering fire for advancing infantry.{{sfn|Mayer|1984|p=53}} Both the Type 11 and Type 96 used the same 6.5x50mmSR Arisaka cartridges as the Type 38 infantry rifle.{{cite book|author=US Department of War |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9.html#III |title=Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, TM-E 30-480 (1945) |publisher= Louisiana State University Press |year=1994 |edition=reprint |isbn= 0-8071-2013-8}} 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 Type 99 rifle which could handle the more powerful round. Similarly, it was necessary to develop a new version of the Type 96 light machine gun that would also be able to use this new larger caliber; thus the advantages of common ammunition between riflemen and machine gunners could continue. The Type 99 light machine gun was produced at Kokura, Nagoya Arsenal and Mukden with a total production of about 53,000 weapons.{{cite web |title=Ground Guns |url=http://www.japaneseweapons.net/kikanjyu/shurui/english01.htm |website=JapaneseWeapons.net |archive-date=2003-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030304180344/http://www.japaneseweapons.net/kikanjyu/shurui/english01.htm}}

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 primary extraction, increasing reliability over its predecessors. Early models had a monopod at the stock and a flash suppressor on the muzzle, which was screwed onto a threaded portion of the gun barrel. A top-mounted curved detachable box magazine with a round counter held 30 rounds, and the finned barrel could be rapidly changed to avoid overheating. Like the Type 96, the Type 99 bears a distinct resemblance to the British 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. These were often issued to the best marksmen of the unit and occasionally employed like a sniper rifle.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} 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.{{cite web |url=http://world.guns.ru/machine/mg54-e.htm |title=Modern Firearms - Type 96 and Type 99 light machine guns |access-date=2008-01-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213103036/http://world.guns.ru/machine/mg54-e.htm |archive-date=2007-12-13 }} Modern Firearms

File:IJA-paratroopers-Palembang-4.jpg]]

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.{{sfn|Morse|1996}} The Type 99 was used by Communist forces (Chinese and North Korean armies) 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|year=2010}} It was used by the Viet Minh and the North Vietnamese forces during the First and Second Indochina Wars.{{cite book|title=Personal firepower|first=Edward Clinton|last= Ezell|publisher=Bantam Books |year=1988|series=The Illustrated history of the Vietnam War 15 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/personalfirepowe00ezel/page/47 47]-49 |url=https://archive.org/details/personalfirepowe00ezel|url-access=registration |isbn=9780553345490 |oclc=1036801376}}

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.

The Type 99 can be modified to fire 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition. Only a barrel replacement is required.{{cite web |last1=McCollum |first1=Ian |title=Shooting a Type 99 Nambu in 7.62mm NATO |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me-TwM3P19I |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/Me-TwM3P19I |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|website=YouTube (Forgotten Weapons) |date=2 February 2019 |access-date=27 December 2020}}{{cbignore}}

The first prototype of the Type 62 GPMG was completed in October 1956. The appearance of the prototype at that time was very similar to the Type 99 light machine gun, with a flash hider and a forward-facing carrying handle like the Type 99 LMG, and was like a Type 99 modified to belt-feed 30-06 (7.62x63 mm round) specifications. Afterwards, it was changed to 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition specifications (7.62x51mm round), and several prototypes were made, including the NITTOKU Type 14 in 1958 and Type 15 in 1960, and after various tests, it was provisionally adopted as the Type 62 7.62mm machine gun in 1962 (see :ja:62式7.62mm機関銃#開発).

• {{flag|Indonesia}}{{cite book|last1=Bloomfield|first1=Lincoln P.|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA324492.pdf#page=97|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804022404/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA324492.pdf#page=97|url-status=live|archive-date=August 4, 2020|title=The Control of local conflict : a design study on arms control and limited war in the developing areas|last2=Leiss|first2=Amelia Catherine|date=30 June 1967|publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for International Studies|volume=3|page=92|hdl=2027/uiug.30112064404368}}
• {{flag|Japan}}{{cite web|url=http://gunsmagazine.com/guns-of-the-rising-sun/|title=Guns Of The Rising SunGuns Magazine.com - Guns Magazine.com|website=gunsmagazine.com}}
• {{flag|North Korea}} − Limited use by the Worker-Peasant Red Guards as late as 1980{{sfn|Weeks|1980|pages=237,671}}
• {{flag|Vietnam}}

• Type 97 light machine gun

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Mayer |first=S.L. |title= The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan |publisher= The Military Press |year= 1984 |isbn= 0-517-42313-8 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/risefallofimperi0000unse }}
• {{cite book|last=Morse |first=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= 1-84176-818-9}}
• {{cite book|first=佐山二郎|last=Jiro Sayama |title=小銃 拳銃 機関銃入門 |trans-title=Primer of Rifle, Pistol and Machine Gun |publisher=光人社 (Kojin-sha) |year=2000 |isbn= 4-7698-2284-7 |language=ja}}
• {{cite book |editor1-last=Weeks |editor1-first=John |title=Jane's infantry weapons, 1980-81 |date=1980 |publisher=Jane's Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-531-03936-6 |language=en}}

• [https://takihomepage.web.fc2.com/mg.htm Imperial Japanese Army Page - Akira Takizawa]
• [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9.html#III US Technical Manual E 30-480]
• [http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt07/japanese-model99-mg.html Japanese Model 99 MG Tactical and Technical Trends No. 35, U.S. War Department]
• [http://www.japaneseweapons.net/kikanjyu/shurui/english01.htm JapaneseWeapons.net]

{{Commons category|Type 99 LMG}}

{{Japanese WWII infantry weapons}}

Category:Light machine guns

Category:Machine guns of Japan

Category:World War II infantry weapons of Japan

Category:World War II machine guns

Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1930s