Type 99 Light Machine Gun
Kokura Arsenal · Machine Gun · Out Of Production · 1939
Also known as: 99 Shiki Keikikanju, Nambu Type 99, Type 99 LMG
Overview
The Type 99 light machine gun was an improved derivative of the Type 96, rechambered for the more powerful 7.7x58mm Arisaka rimless cartridge introduced in 1939. Designed under the supervision of Kijirō Nambu and the Imperial Army Ordnance Bureau, it eliminated the troublesome internal oil-pump cartridge lubricator of its predecessors, added a conical flash hider, fitted a monopod under the buttstock, and refined the quick-change finned barrel. The Type 99 fed from 30-round top-mounted curved detachable box magazines and could mount a 2.5x telescopic sight on the right side of the receiver - a feature that made it accurate enough for designated marksman use at ranges out to 800 meters. Despite a planned wholesale replacement of the Type 96, both LMGs served alongside each other through the end of the Pacific War, with the Type 99 fielded primarily by frontline infantry while older 6.5mm Type 96s remained in second-line and reserve units.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 11400 g (402.1 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1181 mm (46.50") |
| Barrel Length | 550 mm (21.65") |
| Action Type | Gas Operated Long Stroke |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Trigger Type | Full Auto Only |
| Magazine Capacity | 30 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 701 m/s (2300 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 3185 J (2349 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 800 m (875 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 3700 m (4046 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 500 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.7x58mm Arisaka · primary — also known as 7.7 Japanese, 7.7mm Type 99, 7.7x58mm rimless
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: 30 Round Top Mounted Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety Lever
- Features: Top Mounted Box Magazine, Quick Change Barrel, Finned Barrel Air Cooling, Carrying Handle, Folding Bipod, Monopod Under Buttstock, Conical Flash Hider, Optional 2-5x Telescopic Sight, Bayonet Lug, No Oil Pump Lubrication
Variants
- Type 99 (base) — Standard Production
- Type 99 Paratrooper — Takedown Airborne
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Imperial Japanese Army · adopted 1939 · as Type 99
- Special Naval Landing Forces · as Type 99
- Wang Jingwei collaborationist forces · as Type 99
- People's Liberation Army (captured) · adopted 1945
- Republic of China Army (captured) · adopted 1945
- Korean People's Army (captured)
- Viet Minh (captured)
Conflicts
- Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
- World War II Pacific Theater (1941-1945)
- Chinese Civil War (1945-1949)
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- First Indochina War (1946-1954)
Production
Estimated total produced: 53,000 · Production years: 1939-1945
Production split between Kokura and Nagoya arsenals. Wartime shortages meant Type 96 production continued in parallel and Type 99s never fully displaced 6.5mm LMGs in service.
Origin
Country of origin: Japan
Designer: Kijirō Nambu
Discontinued: 1945
Notes
Source variance: muzzle velocity 700-730 m/s. The Type 99 LMG and the Type 99 rifle share the same 7.7x58mm Arisaka rimless cartridge, but the Type 99 LMG is mechanically unrelated to the Type 92 HMG (which uses the semi-rimmed 7.7x58mm SR Type 92 round). Most Type 99 LMGs encountered late-war suffered from material substitutions and quality control collapse.
Background
On Iwo Jima and Okinawa, US Marines reported that captured Type 99 LMGs frequently outperformed the Type 96 they replaced, primarily because the deletion of the oil pump finally solved the chronic dust-jamming problem that had plagued every previous Nambu design back to the Type 11. Postwar, Type 99 LMGs surfaced in Korea, French Indochina, and the early Vietnam War - Kokura's metalwork outlasting the empire that built it by twenty-five years.