The
Type 38 rifle Arisaka (三八式歩兵銃
Sanpachi-shiki hohējū) is a bolt-action rifle. For a time it was the standard rifle of the
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese infantry. It was known also as the Type 38 Year Meiji
CarbineA carbine is a firearm similar to a rifle or musket. Many carbines, especially modern designs, were developed from rifles, being essentially shortened versions of full rifles firing the same ammunition, although often at a lower velocity...
in Japan. An earlier, similar weapon was the
Type 30 Year Meiji RifleThe Type 30 Rifle Arisaka was a bolt-action rifle that was the standard infantry rifle of the Japanese infantry from 1897 to 1905. It was the first rifle in the Arisaka family as well as the first to chamber the 6.5x50mm Arisaka round...
, which was also used alongside it. Both of these weapons were also known as the
ArisakaArisaka is a family of Japanese military bolt-action rifles, in production from approximately 1898, when it replaced the Murata rifle, until the end of World War II in 1945. The most common specimens include the Type 38 rifle chambered in the 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridge, and the Type 99 rifle...
, after the inventor.
It used the Japanese designed 6.5×50mm Arisaka calibre cartridge.
The
Type 38 rifle Arisaka (三八式歩兵銃
Sanpachi-shiki hohējū) is a bolt-action rifle. For a time it was the standard rifle of the
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese infantry. It was known also as the Type 38 Year Meiji
CarbineA carbine is a firearm similar to a rifle or musket. Many carbines, especially modern designs, were developed from rifles, being essentially shortened versions of full rifles firing the same ammunition, although often at a lower velocity...
in Japan. An earlier, similar weapon was the
Type 30 Year Meiji RifleThe Type 30 Rifle Arisaka was a bolt-action rifle that was the standard infantry rifle of the Japanese infantry from 1897 to 1905. It was the first rifle in the Arisaka family as well as the first to chamber the 6.5x50mm Arisaka round...
, which was also used alongside it. Both of these weapons were also known as the
ArisakaArisaka is a family of Japanese military bolt-action rifles, in production from approximately 1898, when it replaced the Murata rifle, until the end of World War II in 1945. The most common specimens include the Type 38 rifle chambered in the 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridge, and the Type 99 rifle...
, after the inventor.
It used the Japanese designed 6.5×50mm Arisaka calibre cartridge. This cartridge produces little recoil when fired. However, while on par with the Norwegian and Italian 6.5mm military cartridges of the time, the 6.5×50mm was not as powerful as several others in use by other nations. The Arisaka Rifle at 1280 mm (50 inches) was the longest rifle of the war, due to the emphasis on bayonet training for the Japanese soldier of the era who stood 160 cm (5 feet, 3 inches on average). The rifle was even longer when the 400 mm (15.75 inch)
Type 30 bayonetThe Type 30 bayonet was designed to be used with the Japanese Type 38 Rifle and later used on the Type 99 rifle. The weapon was a sword-type bayonet with a 16 inch/400 mm long blade and an overall length of 514 mm . The weapon was manufactured from 1897 to 1945 by the Matsushita National, the...
was fixed.
These two concerns (among others) led to the Japanese Army adopting the
Type 99 RifleThe Type 99 Rifle was a bolt-action rifle of the Arisaka design used by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.-History:...
, a shorter rifle using more powerful ammunition. Japanese authorities also wished to adopt a new long arm that needed fewer machining steps to be produced given Japan's then-existing metallurgic capacity.
The
Type 38 Cavalry CarbineThe Japanese Type 38 cavalry rifle was a short barreled version of the bolt-action Type 38 rifle, it was used by the Japanese cavalry, engineers and artillery troops during World War II. It entered service in 1905. The rifle was very accurate. The rifle barrel was 310 mm shorter than the standard...
is a short-barreled version of the Type 38. It was used not only by cavalry, but also by engineer, quartermaster and other non-frontline troops. It was introduced into service at the same time as the Type 38. The barrel was shorter at 487 mm, giving an overall length of the rifle of 966 mm and a weight of 3.3 kg.
Another Type 38 variant was the Type 38 Cavalry Rifle which were merely Type 38 Infantry Rifles with their barrels shortened from 31 and a quarter inches to 23 and one half inches. All Cavalry Rifle receivers carry the arsenal and proof-marks of Tokyo Artillery Arsenal—the source of the original infantry rifles.
Other variants developed from the Type 38 were the
Type 44 Cavalry RifleThe Type 44 Cavalry Rifle（四四式騎銃Yonyon-shiki kijū or Yonjūyon-shiki kijū) is a Japanese bolt-action rifle. This rifle is also often referred to as a Type 44 Carbine. It was a development of the Arisaka Type 38 Cavalry Rifle, the main difference being the bayonet is a needle type and it can be folded...
,
Type 97 Sniper Rifleis a Japanese bolt-action rifle, based on the Type 38 Rifle. Following the standard practice of the time, it was adapted from an existing infantry rifle. The only difference between this rifle and the original Type 38 is that it had a lightened stock, a longer, bent bolt, a 2.5 power telescopic...
. The Japanese Imperial Navy also purchased a number of
Type I RifleThe Type I rifle was produced by Italy for the Japanese Empire prior to World War II. After the invasion of China, all Arisaka production was required for use of the Imperial Army, so under the terms of the Anti-Comintern pact, the Imperial Navy contracted with Italy for this weapon in 1937.The...
s from Italy at the beginning of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Italian-built rifles were chambered for the same 6.5×50mm cartridge as the Type 38 rifle. The Type I Rifle were similar in appearance and length to the Type 38 rifle, but were based on the Italian
CarcanoCarcano is the frequently used name for a series of Italian bolt-action military rifles and carbines. Introduced in 1891, this rifle was chambered for the rimless 6.5x52mm Mannlicher-Carcano Cartuccia Modello 1895 cartridge. It was developed by the chief technician Salvatore Carcano at the Turin...
action.
Post-war inspection of the Type 38 by both the
U.S. militaryThe United States armed forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States.The history of the United States armed forces dates to 1775, even before the Declaration of Independence marked the establishment of the United States...
and the
National Rifle AssociationThe National Rifle Association of America, or NRA, is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization which lists as its goals the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the...
proved that the Type 38's receiver was the strongest bolt action of any nation and capable of handling more powerful cartridges.
Users
: Limited: Captured Japanese and Nationalist Chinese examples were re-chambered for
7.62×39mm M43The 7.62x39mm rifle cartridge was designed during World War II and first used in the SKS carbine by the Soviet Union.The cartridge was likely influenced by a variety of foreign developments, especially the pre-war German GeCo, 7.75x39mm experimental round, and possibly by the late-war German...
rounds supplied with Russian-made weapons: Captured Japanese weapons after surrender and used in Indonesian Independence War: Limited and first used by Hagannah in 1948 Arab–Israeli War: Limited
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Malayan UnionThe Malayan Union was a federation of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements excluding Singapore. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government so as to simplify administration....
: Limited and captured from Japanese forces: Limited: Captured examples were re-chambered for the more readily-available 7.92mm Mauser rounds: Captured from Japanese forces in Russo-Japanese WarThe Russo-Japanese War or the Manchurian Campaign in some English sources, was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
and got by Japanese land-lease in World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
(728 000 rifles): Captured from Japanese forces in Soviet–Japanese Border Wars: Limited: Limited: Occasionally captured from Japanese POWs and modified for use in United States forces in Pacific WarThe Pacific War was the part of World War II—and preceding conflicts—that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia. The war began as a conflict with the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China on July 7, 1937, but by December 1941, became part of the greater World War II,...
: Occasionally used by Vietcong in Vietnam War (limited service)
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