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Type 10 (Grenade)

1921 WORLD WAR 2

History of the Type 10 (Grenade)

The Type 10 grenade proved to be the first indigenous grenade designed and introduced for Imperial Japan. The weapon originated from observational experience with grenades during the First World War (1914-1918) and became a rather interesting dual-use system for the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) in Empire of Japan 2 (1939-1945) - until the first A world war. The Type 10 grenade can be fired in traditional grenade style, from the muzzle of a simple service rifle, or in a mortar style from a Type 10 grenade launcher.

Design of the Type 10 grenade began in 1914 and led to the service's launch in 1921. The Type 10 continued combat operations until the surrender of the Japanese Empire in 1945.

Fragmentation grenades have a relatively simple function - the operator simply pulls on the safety/activation system attached to the grenade body and throws the device in the general direction of the target. From there, the grenade will terminate its time-delay fuse and explode, throwing jagged shards of metal into a large kill range and beyond.

If the grenade does not directly kill its intended target, maiming or excellent psychological impact is guaranteed.

For the Japanese army, a homegrown grenade solution was a priority. The weapon had to support firing from the muzzle of the IJA service rifle at the time - the Arisaka Type 38, a bolt-action design that originated in 1905. Using grenades as "rifle grenades" will increase tactical value and range. The shooter is remarkable.

However, early grenade programs failed in part because of the inherent limitations of the rifle (short barrel, small caliber 6.5mm) and the gaseous propellant used by the grenade itself.

The failure of this initial effort pushed Japanese engineers in the direction of German signal mortar designs derived from World War I. From this proven lineage was born the Type 10 grenade and Type 10 grenade launcher - essentially a handheld 50mm mortar-type grenade launcher system that could be issued to riflemen when needed. Due to their design, the launch tube (with the base plate attached) was worn on the gunner's belt and hung from his thigh, freeing his hands during the march.

U.S. GIs in World War II encountered examples of the Type 10 grenade launcher in the Pacific, misunderstood that the weapon was fired from the thigh, and referred to the design as a "knee mortar."

However, the Type 10 grenade launcher is only one part of the Type 10 system - the other key component is the Type 10 grenade itself. Externally, the grenade has a cylindrical design with a grooved segmented body (often called a "pineapple".) for good grip. With an internally threaded base, the detonation is triggered by a fuze-activated shock system by removing a safety pin and hitting the top of the cover. The internal filling consists of 50 grams of TNT, which is part of the weapon's total weight of 530 grams.

The design allows the grenade to be fired in the normal way, or in two other ways - the first via a Type 10 grenade launcher (as in a conventional indirect fire mortar), whose propellant casing is screwed into the drive's grenade base . The second is from the muzzle of a Japanese military rifle in traditional rifle grenade action, this version has a fin assembly bolted to the grenade's base for flight stability.

In practice, the Type 10 round proved sufficient for early IJA engagements in the Pacific. However, a rather long ignition delay of around 7 seconds has led to unpredictable success in the field. If enough time passes, the grenade will roughly explode on impact.

If the time is too short, the enemy has a chance to collect and throw the shells back. If the fuze was completely unstable, the grenade could detonate near the operator when fired, with predictably lethal consequences.

Undoubtedly, the shrapnel portion of the weapon is solid and has a proven impact on the target area through its blast radius and metal fragmentation effect.

It was these limitations that led to the development of the Type 91 series of grenades, which retained the same throwing/firing characteristics as the Type 10. In addition, the Type 91 was incompatible with the Type 10 grenade launcher, so that IJA logistics and inventories were affected.

Almost identical in appearance to the Type 10 grenade, the Type 91 series eventually came in the form of useful grenades, smoke, flares, signals, pyrotechnics and voids. However, the Type 10 remained in service until the end of the war in 1945, and was also used in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945) and the Soviet-Japanese Frontier War (1932-1945).