Type 38 Carbine
Kokura Arsenal · Carbine · Out Of Production · 1905
Also known as: Arisaka Type 38 Cavalry Carbine, Meiji 38th Year Carbine, 38 Shiki Kihei-ju
Overview
The Type 38 Carbine was the shortened cavalry variant of the Arisaka Type 38 rifle, adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1905 and chambered in the low-recoil 6.5x50mmSR Arisaka cartridge. With a 487 mm barrel it was issued to cavalry, engineers, artillery, quartermasters and other mounted or second-line troops. It used a Mauser-derived rotating bolt feeding from a five-round internal magazine loaded via stripper clip, and many examples carried the distinctive sliding sheet-metal dust cover over the bolt.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3300 g (116.4 oz) |
| Overall Length | 966 mm (38.03") |
| Barrel Length | 487 mm (19.17") |
| Action Type | Bolt Action |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Effective Range | 400 m (437 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 200 mm (7.87") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 6.5x50mmSR Arisaka · primary — also known as 6.5x50mm Arisaka, 6.5 Jap, 6.5mm Type 38
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Internal Box Magazine, Stripper Clip
- Safety mechanisms: Bolt Shroud Safety, Magazine Cutoff
- Features: Stripper Clip Loading, Sliding Dust Cover, Tangent Leaf Rear Sight, Imperial Chrysanthemum Crest
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Empire of Japan · adopted 1905
- Russian Empire · adopted 1914
- United Kingdom · adopted 1914
Conflicts
- Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)
- World War I (1914-1918)
- Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
- World War II (1939-1945)
Production
Production years: 1906-1942
Carbine is a subset of the ~3,400,000 Type 38 family total; no separate carbine-only count is published
Origin
Country of origin: Japan
Designer: Nariakira Arisaka
Discontinued: 1942
Notes
Carbine-specific muzzle velocity is lower than the rifle's 770 m/s figure (which is measured from an 800 mm test barrel) but is not authoritatively published, so it is left null. No separate production count exists for the carbine; the Type 38 family totalled roughly 3.4 million across all variants.
Background
The 6.5x50mm Arisaka was so notably low in recoil, flash and smoke that Allied troops who captured Type 38 carbines praised them as among the gentlest-shooting military bolt-actions of the era. Many surviving carbines have a ground-off chrysanthemum crest, defaced upon surrender because the mum was the Emperor's personal property.