Heavy machine gun type 97
| Heavy machine gun type 97 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| general information | |
| Military designation: | 九七 式 車載 重 機関 銃 |
| Country of operation: |
 Imperial Japanese Army
|
| Development year: | 1937 |
| Manufacturer country: |
 Japan
|
| Production time: | 1937 to 1945 |
| Weapon Category: | Machine gun |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 1145 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 12.4 kg |
| Barrel length : | 700 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 7.7 x 58 mm |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 20 cartridges |
| Ammunition supply : | magazine |
| Cadence : | 500 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Continuous fire |
| Number of trains : | 4th |
| Twist : | right |
| Visor : | In tanks: telescopic sight On tower hatch tripod: open sight |
| Charging principle: | air-cooled gas pressure charger |
| Lists on the subject | |
The heavy-board machine gun Type 97 ( jap. 九七式車載重機関銃 , Kyūnana-shiki shasai jū-kikanjū ) was the standard tanks - machine gun that from 1937 the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy for installation in tanks was in use. The designation type 97 refers to the year of introduction within the Japanese calendar scheme in the year 2597 - in the Gregorian calendar the year 1937.
development
In 1937 the Japanese Empire developed a new machine gun to replace the Type 91 armored machine gun for installation in their tanks. To do this, they revised the Czech MG ZB vz captured by the Chinese . 26 , which had already served as a template for the Type 96 light machine gun .
design
The ZB vz. 26 was originally built in 8 mm caliber , but worked perfectly with the Japanese 7.7 × 58 mm cartridge. A 20 round magazine could be inserted from above , while the cartridge cases were ejected downwards. To fire, the gunner pressed the wooden butt against his shoulder and pressed his right eye against the telescopic sight with a thick rubber ring . The rubber ring protected the shooter's eye from recoil when firing the weapon. The short butt was the ideal length to be able to place the shooter's eye on the scope. If the Type 97 was not used, the wooden piston could be folded forward 180 °, thus saving space inside the tank. The riflescope had a relatively low 1.5x magnification, but this was compensated for with a relatively large field of view of 30 °. The field of view was thus 536 meters wide at a distance of 1000 meters.
The Type 97 was located in a ball cover and was attached to it with a single iron pin. Alternatively, the Type 97 could be taken out of the spherical screen and attached to the commander's tower hatch with a short, approximately 10 cm long tripod, where it could cover a larger fire area. The telescopic sight was removed and the commander could aim with the help of an open sight . For the correct angle at different distances, a rotary wheel could move the open sights up and down.
Use as an infantry weapon
Due to a lack of machine guns for the infantry , the Type 97 was reverted to during the Pacific War by making small modifications to it.
literature
- Steven J Zaloga: Japanese Tanks 1939–45. Osprey Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84603-091-8 .
Web links
- Model 97 (1937) 7.7-mm MG. Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, accessed July 3, 2015 .
- TYPE 97 tank machine gun. DragonsOfFire.com, accessed July 3, 2015 .
- TYPE 97 tank machine gun. ForgottenWeapons.com, accessed July 3, 2015 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Model 97 (1937) 7.7-mm MG. Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, accessed July 3, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c TYPE 97 Tank Machine gun. ForgottenWeapons.com, accessed July 3, 2015 .