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= Type 98 20 mm AA machine cannon =
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Introduction
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A drawing of a Type 98 20 mm gun from a US Army field manual
The Type 98 20 mm AA machine cannon was the most common light
anti-aircraft gun of the Imperial Japanese Army. It entered service in
1938 and was used until the end of World War II. After World War II
this gun was used by the Indonesian Army in the Indonesian National
Revolution and North Vietnam in First Indochina War.
Design and use
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The Type 98 20 mm AA machine cannon was the most common light
anti-aircraft gun of the Japanese military. The Type 98 designation
was given to this gun as it was accepted in the year 2598 of the
Japanese calendar (1938). It entered service that same year and first
saw combat in Nomonhan. It was used until the end of World War II.
About 80% of the Imperial Japanese Army light AA guns were Type 98s.
The gun could be emplaced in about three minutes by an experienced
crew or fired inaccurately from its wheels. It was also used as an
anti-tank weapon, it was considered to be robust, light, and easily
portable.
This weapon and its variants were based on the French design of the
13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun of the 1930s, which the Japanese forces
had bought and further developed at home. The Type 98 was also one of
the two armament options for the IJA's Submersible gun mount Model 1.
Ammunition
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*Type 100 armour piercing tracer. Weight 162 g projectile and 431 g
complete round.
*Type 100 high-explosive tracer (with self-destruct). Weight 136 g
projectile and 405 g complete round with 890 m/s.
Variant
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Two of the guns mounted together formed a variant known as the Type 4
20 mm twin AA machine cannon. Approximately 500 to 548 of these guns
were produced.
See also
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* 20 mm AA machine cannon carrier truck
* Type 98 20 mm AA half-track vehicle
* Type 98 Ta-Se
* Type 97 automatic cannon
Bibliography
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*
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050219144251/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9-2.html
US Army field manual at hyperwar.org]
* [http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/jp_type98/ Intelligence briefing
at lonesentry.com]
*
* McLean, Donald B. 'Japanese Artillery Weapons and Tactics',
* Ogata Katsuichi technological general manager of army "Matter of
13mm "Hotchkiss-type" anti-aircraft gun semi-adopted types enactment"
1934 Japan Center for Asian Historical Record Ref.C01001317200
* Army technological headquarters "Examination report of type 98
anti-aircraft gun and dummy cartridge" 1940 Japan Center for Asian
Historical Record Ref.A03032139400
* War Department TM-E-30-480 'Handbook on Japanese Military Forces'.
September 1944.
External links
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* [http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/aa.htm Taki's Imperial Japanese
Army Page: Type 98 20mm AA Machine Cannon - Akira Takizawa]
* [http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/aa.htm#4 Taki's Imperial Japanese
Army Page: Type 4 20 mm twin AA Machine Cannon - Akira Takizawa]
* [http://www.inert-ord.net/jap02h/t100aa/index.html "Type 100" AP and
HE-T rounds at inert-ord.net]
License
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_98_20_mm_AA_machine_cannon