The is a box-fed
bolt-action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
repeating rifle that was the standard
infantry rifle of the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
from 1897 (the 30th year of the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, hence "Type 30") to 1905.
History and development
The Imperial Japanese Army began development of a new rifle in December 1895 to replace the
Murata rifle, which had been in use since 1880. The project was handled by the
Koishikawa arsenal in Tokyo under the direction of Colonel
Arisaka Nariakira
was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army. The inventor of the Arisaka Rifle, he is regarded as one of the leading arms designers in Japanese history, alongside Kijirō Nambu.
Biography
Arisaka was born in Iwakuni, Suo province ...
,
[Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 437–438.] and was the first in
a series of rifles which would be used through
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. By 1900, the Imperial Japanese Army had most of its divisions fully equipped with the rifle.
The Type 30 was first designed for the semi-rimmed
6.5×50mm Arisaka cartridge. The sights could be set up to . Besides the standard rifle, there was also a carbine version, 962 mm (37.9 in) long, which was intended for the cavalry and other troops who needed a shorter or lighter weapon. It had a sight that could be set up to . The prototype was called the "Type 29 rifle" and, after enhancements, was redesignated as the "Type 30". It went into production in 1899. This weapon could be equipped with the
Type 30 bayonet
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
* File type
* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
* ...
.
The Type 30 was used by front-line Japanese forces in the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
. Although it was a major improvement over the Type 22 rifle (also known as "Murata"), it had some reliability and safety issues. Based on combat experience, an improved version, the
Type 38 rifle
The is a bolt-action service rifle that was used by the Empire of Japan predominantly during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Second World War. The design was adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1905 (the 38th year of the Meiji period, hence ...
, was introduced in 1905, although not all units received the new version and, as a result, a mixture of models was retained by the Japanese Army into
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and later into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Aside from Japan, the Type 30 was supplied to numerous nations during and after World War I. The most predominant user was the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, who ordered up to 600,000 Arisaka rifles, with at least half of those being Type 30 rifles and carbines.
[Allan; White; Zielinski. p. 90]
Early in World War I Britain ordered around 150,000 Type 30, and Type 38 rifles and carbines from Japan as a stopgap until the manufacture of their own
Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...
rifles caught up with demand. Some of these rifles were handed over to the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
and to Arab forces fighting with
Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...
. The majority of these weapons (Type 30s and Type 38s) were handed over to Russia in 1916, who were far more desperate for arms. Russia in turn also bought many more thousands of Type 30s rifles and carbines, Type 35 rifles and Type 38 rifles and carbines from Japan. A number of these rifles ended up being left behind in Finland or captured from Red Finns in the
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
as the Soviets armed them with Arisakas. Later on Finland gave some of these rifles to Estonia who also received them from other sources. Estonia later converted some or all to take
.303 British
The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...
as Britain had also supplied Estonia with
Vickers machine guns
The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and o ...
and
P14 rifles. The
Czechoslovak Legion
, image = Coat of arms of the Czechoslovak Legion.svg
, image_size = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Czechoslovak Legion coat of arms
, start_date ...
fighting in the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
was also armed with Japanese Arisakas, including the Type 30.
[Allan; White; Zielinski. p. 90-95]
Variations and modified types
The main production version was the long rifle but carbine versions were available for cavalry and mounted troops.
Carbine
The is a modified version made 300 mm (11.8 in) shorter than the infantry model (the carbine's barrel measures 480 mm (18.9 in) against 790 mm (31.1 in) for the standard infantry issue).
[ (56pp)] Intended to equip cavalry troops with a modern carbine. Differences other than the shorter barrel and stock from the standard infantry rifle is that it lacked a handguard over the barrel, the rear sight ladder only went up to 1,500 meters (compared to the rifles 2,000 meters), the front sight had protection guards on each side, and slight changes to the bolt stop latch and the sling swivels were moved to the left side of the gun to prevent the bolt from digging into the cavalry trooper's back. The pre-production version lacked a bayonet.
Training rifle
Approximately 10,000 rifles were converted into blank-firing training rifles around 1905–1921. The weapon's rifled barrel was bored out to make the barrel smooth bore and most of the receiver markings were removed, including the Imperial Chrysanthemum. In its place were the characters 空 放 銃, which mean 'blank firing gun'.
Manchu Arisaka
The "Manchu Arisaka" is a Chinese contract of the Type 30 rifle. Collectors refer to them as "Manchu Arisakas"; the actual Chinese military designation is unknown. Two versions are known to exist and are named from the markings on the receiver that are in Chinese. Kuang-Hsu 29 year made (光绪二十九年製) and the Kuang-Hsu 31 year made (光绪三十一年製). Instead of the Japanese Imperial Chrysanthemum stamped on the receiver as the Japanese version had, the receiver is stamped with a coiled dragon that represents the reign of the Manchu emperors. Named for the nominal Emperor of China at the time,
Kuang-Hsu, and the years of his reign when they were produced (29th and 31st). While Kuang-Hsu's name appears on the rifle, the real person that behind the contract of these rifles from Japan was General
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...
. Very little is known about them because so few of the approximately 31,000 rifles are known to exist and most of those were badly worn rifles imported to the United States from mainland China in the 1980s.
North China carbine copy
A crude copy of the Japanese Type 30 carbine was made in China to arm
puppet troops of Japan. Believed to have been made mostly in the Chinese city of
Tientsin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
, the main difference between this carbine and the Japanese Type 30 carbine is that the copy is made in
7.92×57mm Mauser (8mm Mauser) and the stock is of one-piece construction instead of the typical two-piece the Japanese used. The receiver is marked with a cherry blossom instead of the usual Japanese Imperial Chrysanthemum found on Japanese arms and the Japanese characters 北支一九式 which translate as 'North China Type 19'. The ''19'' may mean the 19th year of
Showa Era or 1944. The true military designation is unknown. Also, there is
another "North China Type 19" that is based on the Type 38.
Type 35 naval rifle
A modified and
improved Type 30 made for the Imperial Japanese Navy.
7.62x39 conversion
A few Type 30 carbines were converted to use 7.62x39 ammo with minimal changes.
They are rarely seen since the Type 38 is most commonly used weapon converted by China after World War II.
Users
* : Some captured on the
Eastern Front during World War I. When ammunition was running out some were converted to the
6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer
The 6.5×54mm Mannlicher–Schönauer also known as 6.5×54 Mannlicher–Schönauer Greek or simply 6.5 Greek is a 6.5 mm (.264" cal.) rimless rifle cartridge used in the Mannlicher–Schönauer rifle. It is the direct descendant of the 6.5 ...
cartridge and their rear sight leaves were possibly replaced with
Mannlicher M95 type ones.
* : Used by Czechoslovak Legion during the Russian Civil War
*
*: Most Type 30s converted to take the .303 British cartridge
*: Some used by the Finnish Army
*
Kingdom of Hejaz
The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz ( ar, المملكة الحجازية الهاشمية, ''Al-Mamlakah al-Ḥijāziyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah'') was a state in the Hejaz region in the Middle East that included the western portion of the Arabian Penins ...
: Supplied by Royal Navy to Lawrence of Arabia for Arab Forces during Arab Revolt
*: Made licensed copies in Yongsan Military Factory
* : Type 30s used by Chang Tso-lin's Fengtian Army. Some obtained from the Soviet Union from old Tsarist stockpiles.
* : Supplied from Britain as military assistance in World War I and bought from Japan
*
*: Used by the Royal Navy and home defenses 1914-1916 as stop gap, along with Type 38s, later shipped as military aid to Russia.
References
* Honeycutt Jr., Fred L. and Anthony, Patt F. ''Military Rifles of Japan.'' Fifth Edition, 2006. Julin Books, U.S.A. .
* Allan, Francis C.; White, Doss H.; Zielinski, Dr. Stanley. ''The Early Arisakas'' 2006. AK Enterprises, U.S.A. .
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
Pictures of a Type 30 rifle()
()
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Bolt-action rifles of Japan
World War I Japanese infantry weapons
Russo-Japanese war weapons of Japan
World War II infantry weapons of Japan