The Type 96 (九六式軽機関銃, Kyūroku-shiki Kei-kikanjū) was a Japanese light machine gun designed by Kijirō Nambu. Widely issued to the Imperial Japanese Army during the late 1930s, the Type 96 saw extensive use during World War II.
History[]
The Type 96 was designed to replace the outdated Type 11 machine gun, which was still in service upon Japan's invasion of China in 1936. Development of the Type 96 was headed by Kijirō Nambu at his private Tokyo-based firm, but the production rights were granted to the state-owned arsenals at Kokura and Nagoya. In designing the weapon, Nambu examined Czech Zb.26 light machine guns that had been captured from the Chinese. Upon completion, the Type 96 was quickly pressed into Japanese service and was issued from 1936 onward.
The Type 96's use of a reduced-load 6.5×50mm cartridge led to ordnance issues, since not only was it not compatible with the standard 6.5×50mm round, but most other weapons in Japanese service were now using the more powerful 7.7×58mm Arisaka cartridge. This also led to criticisms that the weapon was underpowered, and thus in 1939, the Type 96 was re-chambered and improved as the Type 99, which replaced it in IJA service.
Production of the Type 96 was slower than anticipated and ultimately only around 40,000 units were completed from 1936 to 1943, ensuring that it never completely replaced the Type 11 as planned.
Design[]
The Type 96 was a gas-operated light machine gun derived from the Zb.26. The internal operation was basically copied directly from the Zb.26, as were many of the external features. It utilized a finned quick-change barrel and fed from 30-round box magazines, which were inserted into the top of the receiver. It also had provisions for attaching a bayonet or a telescopic sight, although neither of these features were commonly used by Japanese troops, as they proved to be rather ineffective in practice.
The magazine of the Type 96 was interesting in that it featured a combination oil pump/magazine loader, which lubricated the cartridges as they were loaded into the magazines. This was supposed to ease feeding and extraction of the cartridges, but could potentially cause stoppages if the cartridges were not kept clean before loading, as the oil lubrication could cause dirt to stick to the bullets. In addition, the breech of the Type 96 was slightly mismatched with the dimensions of the 6.5×50mm cartridge, which often caused extraction issues and jams.
Gallery[]
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