Type 91 105mm

History

In order to modernize their armed forces to keep pace with foreign powers, the Japanese were forced to rely on external support to hone their engineering skills and manufacturing skills. This resulted in many indigenous weapons inspired by existing designs brought to mainland Japan from as far away as Europe.

This is an influence on the Type 91, a 105mm towed howitzer weapon system, the Japanese version of the French Type 1913 "Schneider" - a proven World War I (1914-1918) veteran. The French gun was adopted by the Japanese for testing, which eventually formed the basis for the local design.

The Type 91 replaced the older 150mm Type 38 howitzer with the same battlefield role. These weapons had their own origins in the early 1900s, and they themselves were veterans of the Russo-Japanese War (Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905). As howitzers, these guns provide effective indirect fire against infantry units and light armoured vehicles, as well as significant high-explosive (HE) lethality at a distance.

At this point the Type 38 series had reached its peak and was quickly overtaken by emerging models emerging elsewhere.

The Type 91 uses a 105mm projectile weighing 35 lbs and is loaded via an interrupted helical breech arrangement. The barrel is supported by a full hydropneumatic recoil mechanism to ensure accuracy in repeated shots, and the component and barrel are located on a two-wheeled frame with a gun guard - the latter providing some localized defense. A typical operator consists of six people, and thanks to its two-wheel arrangement, the gun can be moved with a loaded beast or a mobile vehicle.

If necessary, workers can also move or rotate parts over short distances.

Barrel mounting hardware allows an elevation range of -5 to +45 degrees and 20 degrees to the left or right of the centerline. Well-trained and disciplined rifle crews can fire up to 8 rounds per minute.

The ejected shells have a muzzle velocity of 1,790 feet per second and a maximum range of 11,800 yards, depending on the charge used. Optical panorama group for distance measurement / aiming.

Design work on the later Type 91 began in 1927 and continued until the early 1930s. Production was moved to the Osaka Arsenal, producing approximately 1,200 examples. 100 of them became in "motorized" form, as rubber tire steel wheels replaced the earlier original wood spoke designs.

This change was necessary to accommodate the growing reliance on mechanized warfare, but made the weapon system significantly heavier.

The Type 91 saw extensive combat operations prior to World War II and remained in service until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. It was first widely used in the Battle of Manchuria before being used against the Soviet Union. The expanding Pacific campaign ensures that the show will also be used against British, American and other Allied forces before it ends.

Since then, some stocks fought for both sides of the Chinese Civil War (1946-1950) and were eventually abandoned after a while.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Depends on the ammunition carrier. Ammunition types include high-explosive, armor-piercing, shrapnel, and chemical munitions.

Changes