JGSDF Type62 General Purpose Machine Gun20100418-02

The is the standard issue

general-purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for v ...

of the

Japan Self-Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...

, known as the Type 62 GPMG. When first issued it fulfilled both light and medium machine gun support throughout the

JGSDF The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

. Though the Sumitomo Heavy Industries' M249 firing the smaller

5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and ...

cartridge has largely replaced it in the

light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the sam ...

role at the squad level in the JGSDF, the Type 62 still plays the support role at platoon and company level for the infantry as a

medium machine gun A medium machine gun (MMG), in modern terms, usually refers to a belt-fed machine gun firing a full-powered rifle cartridge, and is considered "medium" in weight (). Medium machine guns are light enough to be infantry-portable (as opposed to a he ...

firing the more powerful

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...

cartridge. It also continues to be used as a co-axial weapon in various armored vehicles, including tanks and APCs. Like all modern Japanese-made firearms, it was never exported.

History

After years of using the Browning M1919A4 as its standard GPMG during the early days of founding the

, Sumitomo Heavy Industries had manufactured the NTK-62 GPMG, designed at Nittoku Metal Industry (NTK) by Masaya Kawamura's team. The GPMG was made to meet the requirements of the Japanese Defense Agency. The designation "62" was present due to the fact that first batches of the NTK-62 were made in 1962 after development started in 1954. It was specifically adopted on February 15, 1962, effectively replacing the

M1919 Browning machine gun The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and ...

in JGSDF service.

Overview

The Sumitomo NTK-62 is a gas operated machine gun chambered in the

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname) Ca ...

, belt fed with the use of M13 disintegrating links. It has an unusual feed tray as the pivoting lever is above the bolt in the receiver, rather than in the feed tray cover found on most machine guns.

Variants

Type 74

The is a fixed mount variant for AFV use, including the

Type 74 The is a main battle tank (MBT) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). It was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a supplement to the earlier Type 61. It was based on the best features of a number of contemporary designs, placing ...

, Type 90 and

Type 10 The is a fourth generation main battle tank of JSDF produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force, entering service in 2012. Compared with other currently-serving main battle tanks in the JGSDF, the Type ...

MBTs,

Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV The (89 FV ) is a Japanese infantry fighting vehicle that entered service with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in 1989. There were 58 vehicles in service and a total of 120 produced by 2014 with 300 planned. The main armament of the vehicle ...

and the Komatsu Type 87 Reconnaissance Vehicle. It weighs 20.4 kg (45.0 lb), unlike the Type 62 which weighs 10.15 kg (22.4 lb).

References

External links

Official J.G.S.D.F Page

NTK-62 sight

{{General Purpose Machine Guns 7.62×51mm NATO machine guns Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1962 Infantry weapons of the Cold War General-purpose machine guns Japan Self-Defense Forces Machine guns of Japan Cold War weapons of Japan Sumitomo Heavy Industries