Arisaka Type 38
Kokura Arsenal · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1905
Also known as: Type 38 Rifle, 38 Shiki Hoheiju, Sanpachi-shiki hoheiju, Meiji Type 38, Arisaka 6.5, Japanese Rifle Model 1905
Overview
The Arisaka Type 38 was the standard service rifle of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy from 1906 through the end of World War II, designed by Colonel Nariakira Arisaka with assistance from Kijiro Nambu at Koishikawa Arsenal in Tokyo. A Mauser-derived bolt-action rifle with distinctive Japanese modifications including a large knurled cocking-piece safety knob, a sliding steel dust cover, and the imperial chrysanthemum crest (the 'Mum') stamped on the receiver, the Type 38 was chambered in the mild-recoiling 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridge and fed from a five-round internal magazine via stripper clip. Its exceptionally long 797mm barrel and low-recoiling cartridge made it famously accurate and controllable, though critics noted its mediocre terminal ballistics against determined opponents. The Type 38 served in every conflict Japan fought during the first half of the twentieth century and, remarkably, was purchased in enormous numbers by Imperial Russia during the First World War to equip its desperately undersupplied armies.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3950 g (139.3 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4250 g (149.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1280 mm (50.39") |
| Barrel Length | 797 mm (31.38") |
| Sight Radius | 686 mm (27.01") |
| Action Type | Bolt Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Trigger Pull | 25 N (5.6 lbf) |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 762 m/s (2500 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 2613 J (1927 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 500 m (547 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 2400 m (2625 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 200 mm (7.87") |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 6.5x50mm Arisaka · primary — also known as 6.5x50mm SR, 6.5mm Japanese, 6.5x50mm Meiji 30, 6.5x50mmSR Arisaka
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Internal Box Magazine, Stripper Clip
- Safety mechanisms: Bolt Safety, Cocking Piece Safety Knob
- Features: Dust Cover, Stripper Clip Loading, Chrysanthemum Mum Crest, Tangent Leaf Rear Sight, Bayonet Lug, Hook Safety Knurled
Variants
- Type 38 Carbine — Shortened Carbine
- Type 44 Carbine — Cavalry Carbine Folding Bayonet
- Arisaka Type 97 — Sniper Derivative
Service history
Operators
- Imperial Japanese Army · adopted 1906 · as Type 38 Rifle (38 Shiki Hoheiju)
- Imperial Japanese Navy · adopted 1906
- Imperial Russian Army · adopted 1914 · as Vintovka Yaponskaya Arisaka
- British Royal Navy · adopted 1914 · as Rifle, Magazine, .256-inch Pattern 1900
- Republic of China
- National Revolutionary Army
- People's Liberation Army
- Republic of Korea Army · adopted 1948
- Viet Minh
- Finnish Defence Forces · adopted 1917
- Estonian Defence Forces · adopted 1918
- Manchukuo Imperial Army · adopted 1932
Conflicts
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Russian Civil War (1917-1923)
- Siberian Intervention (1918-1922)
- Finnish Civil War (1918)
- Mukden Incident and Manchurian Occupation (1931-1932)
- Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
- Battles of Khalkhin Gol (1939)
- World War II (Pacific Theater) (1941-1945)
- Chinese Civil War (1945-1949)
- Indonesian National Revolution (1945-1949)
- First Indochina War (1946-1954)
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- Vietnam War (1955-1975)
Production
Estimated total produced: 3,400,000 · Production years: 1905-1945
Approximately 3.4 million Type 38 rifles and carbines produced across Koishikawa Arsenal (Tokyo), Kokura Arsenal, Nagoya Arsenal, Mukden Arsenal (Manchuria), and Jinsen Arsenal (Korea). Imperial Russia purchased over 600,000-800,000 Type 38s between 1914-1917 through emergency contracts, making Russia one of the largest foreign users. Additional production included Type 38 Carbines and Type 44 Cavalry Carbines.
Origin
Country of origin: Japan
Designer: Nariakira Arisaka
Discontinued: 1945
Notes
The Type 38 took its name from the 38th year of the Meiji era (1905). It was a refinement of the earlier Type 30 (Arisaka) and Type 35 rifles, incorporating lessons learned from the Russo-Japanese War. The action is a modified Mauser design with a two-piece cock-on-closing bolt and a distinctive large circular safety knob on the rear of the bolt that must be pushed in and rotated to engage - a design intended for use with gloved hands in cold weather. The sliding sheet-steel dust cover, fitted over the bolt and receiver, rattled audibly during operation and was often discarded by troops in the field. Wartime 'last-ditch' Type 38s produced in 1944-1945 show progressively crude finishing, simplified sights, and lower-quality wood. After Japan's surrender in 1945, many captured Type 38s had the 16-petal chrysanthemum crest (kiku no gomon) defaced by grinding or scrubbing - a symbolic protection of the Emperor's dignity demanded before the rifles left Japanese hands. Rifles surrendered directly by Imperial forces typically have intact Mums, while those handed over to Allied occupation troops almost universally have the crest defaced.
Background
In 1914, Imperial Russia - desperate for rifles to arm its mobilizing millions - negotiated massive emergency purchases of Arisaka Type 38s from its recent enemy, the very nation that had humiliated it at Tsushima and Port Arthur less than a decade earlier. Over 800,000 Japanese rifles flowed into Russian service, and by 1917 entire divisions on the Northern Front were armed with 6.5mm Arisakas. The chrysanthemum crest - the sixteen-petal Mum marking each rifle as the Emperor's property - was so sacred that surrendered Type 38s had the emblem ground off before being handed to Allied occupation troops in 1945, producing the defaced receivers that fill surplus racks to this day.