Type 38 rifle

The Type 38 rifle Arisaka (三八式歩兵銃, san-hachi-shiki hoheijū) was a bolt-action rifle that supplemented the Type 99 Japanese standard infantry rifle during the Second World War. The design was adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1905 (the 38th year of the Meiji period, hence "Type 38") and served from then until the end of 1945.

History and development

The Imperial Japanese Army introduced the Type 30 rifle in 1897. However, the weapon had numerous shortcomings, which were highlighted by combat experience in the early stages of the Russo-Japanese War. These included bursting cartridges, a poorly designed lock in which excess gunpowder tended to accumulate, burning the face of the shooter, frequent misfires, jamming, difficulty in cleaning, and cartridge extraction. Major Kijiro Nambu undertook a redesign of the Type 30 rifle, which was introduced in 1906. Nambu reduced the number of parts making up the Type 30's bolt from nine to six and at that same time simplified and manufacture and disassembly of the bolt without the needs of tools. A dust cover was added because of experiences in the Russo-Japanese War that left rifles inoperable from dust. The weapon was produced in several locations: