Type 41 75 mm mountain gun

Type 41 75 mm mountain gun
General Information
Military designation:	四 一 式 山砲
Manufacturer country:	Japan
Developer / Manufacturer:	Krupp , Osaka Arsenal
Development year:	1908
Production time:	1908 to 1945
Number of pieces:	3300-3800
Weapon Category:	Mountain gun
Technical specifications
Pipe length:	1.3 m
Caliber :	75 mm
Caliber length :	L / 17.3
Weight ready for use:	540 kg
Elevation range:	–8 ° to +25 degrees
Side straightening area:	2.5 ° to the right, 3.5 ° to the left
Furnishing
Closure Type :	Screw lock
Ammunition supply:	individually

The Type 41 75 mm Mountain Gun ( Jap. 四一式山砲 , Yon'ichishiki Sanpo ), also called regiment gun ( Japanese 連隊砲 , Rentaihō ) denotes was a mountain gun that from Japanese Imperial army , the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Army of the Manchurian Empire in the Second Sino-Japanese War , the Japanese-Soviet border conflict and the Pacific War from 1908 to 1945. The designation Type 41 indicates the year the troops were introduced, the 41st year of the rule of Emperor Meiji or 1908 according to the Gregorian calendar.

history

A Type 41 firing

The Type 41 75 mm mountain gun was designed by the Krupp company as the M.08 mountain gun and produced under license from the Osaka Arsenal . The gun became the standard weapon for the mountain gun regiments in the same year. When the successor to the Type 41, the Type 94 75 mm mountain gun , was introduced to the troops in 1934 , the Type 41 were introduced at regimental level. From then on, the Type 41 regimental gun was called and remained in service until the end of the war in 1945. The Type 41 had an interrupted screw lock . The gun crew consisted of 13 men - 12 gunners and a gun leader. If the gun in firing position was, the team divided into gunner , loader , contactors for the actuation of the firing mechanism, contactors on the handlebar to the gun to the right or align left shooter who made the grenades sharply and gave them to the gun loader and two gunners that were in reserve to the side of the gun. The gun leader stood to one side to direct the fire. The remaining five men were responsible for bringing the 75 mm shells. The gun could fire high-explosive, shrapnel , high-explosive armor-piercing and shaped charge shells. The 75 mm shells of the Type 41 could not be used with 75 mm field guns.

A horse drawn type 41 of the Japanese cavalry, Manchuria, 1939

The gun was easily and quickly dismantled into several parts and could thus be transported by pack animals in parts, each with a maximum weight of approx. 90 kg . The gun was carried by soldiers in rough terrain. An unusual spar (in the shape of a tuning fork ), at the end of which was a ground spur , gave the gun stability when firing. The maximum range of the gun was about 7000 meters, but fire tests showed that with a range of 3000 meters 75% of the shell impacts were within a rectangle of 15 × 25 meters. At maximum range, 75% of the impacts were in a rectangle 10 meters wide and almost 200 meters long.

technology

Illustration of the division of the Type 41 mountain gun to six pack animals. Figure 5 shows a metal container that could hold six grenades. Figure 7 shows a pack animal carrying an ammunition container on each side.

Technical specifications

• Caliber: 75 mm
• Caliber length: L / 17.3
• Pipe length: 1.3 m
• Elevation range: −8 ° to +25
• Side straightening range: 2.5 ° to the right, 3.5 ° to the left
• Gun weight: 504 kg
• Bullet weight: 5.71 kg
• Muzzle velocity V ₀ = 360 m / s
• Maximum range: 7000 m
• Effective range: approx. 3000 m

Partial loadability

A Type 41 is carried to the next position by its crew.

The Type 41-75 mm mountain gun was used in light divisions of the mountain artillery regiments of the respective army divisions. It was moved in a horse-drawn train or could be transported in six loads by pack animals. In the figure on the right, the distribution of the loads is shown as follows:

1. Pack animal: The cane cradle on the back of the saddle
2. Pack animal: Folded front shield on the back of the saddle with two tool boxes on each side
3. Pack animal: screw locking mechanism on the back of the saddle
4. Pack animal: axle on the back of the saddle and wheels on the side
5. Pack animal: Standard 75 mm mountain gun ammunition container made of steel
   1. Weight without bullets: approx. 14 kg
   2. Weight with grenades: approx. 55 kg
6. Pack animal: gun barrel on the back of the saddle
7. Pack animal: Pack animal that carries an ammunition container on each side
8. Pack animal: handle on the back of the saddle

Here donkeys were used as draft animals.

Where the terrain did not permit the use of draft animals or where they were not available, the Type 41 was transported by soldiers.

Ammunition penetration

In August 1944, soldiers of the Australian 2nd Battalion of the 14th Field Regiment captured a functioning Type 41 in Papua New Guinea . Under the direction of the Australian Army Operational Research Section , members of the 2nd Battalion of the 83rd Paramedic Unit attempted to shoot a broken-down Matilda II - Tanks through. The shots were fired from a distance of about 135 meters on the front armor of the Matildas. Armor- piercing, high-explosive and shaped charge grenades were fired.

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  The riflemen S. Germein, WJM Hall and DB officer shortly before firing.

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  Bullet holes from three armor-piercing rounds fired.

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  Inside view of the Matilda II. A bullet hole can be seen above the viewing slit.

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  Bullet hole of a shaped charge grenade.

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  Bullet hole of a high-explosive shaped charge grenade.

Preserved copies

There are still numerous surviving examples of the Type 41. The following examples are only a small selection.

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  Yasukuni Shrine , Tokyo

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  Close to the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum in London , Ontario .

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  Rear view

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  Malaysia

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  Surasakmontree Army Camp, Lampang, Thailand

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  Vietnam Military History Museum

literature

• Gordon L Rottman: "Japanese Army in World War II 1941-42" Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84176-789-5 .

Web links

Commons : Type 41 75mm Mountain Gun  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Type 41 75mm Mountain Gun. Taki's homepage, accessed December 22, 2014 . 
• Chapter h. Model 41 (1908) 75-mm infantry gun. Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, September 1944, accessed December 22, 2014 . 
• Japanese 75mm Mountain Gun Type 41 (1908). PacificWrecks.com, accessed December 23, 2014 . 
• 7.5cm mountain cannon M1908. Landships.info, accessed December 23, 2014 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Japanese 75mm Mountain Gun Type 41 (1908). (No longer available online.) PacificWrecks.com, archived from the original on December 24, 2014 ; accessed on December 23, 2014 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Type 41 75mm Mountain Gun. Taki's homepage, accessed December 22, 2014 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Chapter h. Model 41 (1908) 75-mm infantry gun. Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, September 1944, accessed December 22, 2014 . 
4. ↑ Rottmann, p. 48.
5. ↑ 7.5cm mountain cannon M1908. Landships.info, accessed December 23, 2014 . 
6. ↑ Captured Japanese Type 41 Mountain Gun fire test 1st Australian War Museum, accessed December 23, 2014 . 
7. ↑ Captured Japanese Type 41 Mountain Gun fire test 2nd Australian War Museum, accessed December 23, 2014 . 
8. ↑ Captured Japanese Type 41 Mountain Gun fire test 3rd Australian War Museum, accessed December 23, 2014 . 
9. ↑ Captured Japanese Type 41 Mountain Gun fire test 5th Australian War Museum, accessed December 23, 2014 . 
10. ↑ Captured Japanese Type 41 Mountain Gun fire test 6th Australian War Museum, accessed December 23, 2014 .