Type 89 machine gun
Encyclopedia
Type 89 refers to two families of unrelated Imperial Japanese Army
aircraft machine gun
s. The first family is the recoil-operated Vickers gun. The Type 89 FIXED gun was a license-built Vickers E
class gun chambered for the Type 89 cartridge (see below). It was used in synchronized applications in fighter cowls and in wing gun applications. It was belt-fed
, using a steel link disintegrating belt.
The Type 89 FLEXIBLE gun was a gas-operated twin gun. That is, it was made up of two mirror-image Year 11 Type LMG
actions lying on their sides supported by a tubing cradle. The guns were fed from quadrant magazines loaded with cartridges on five-round clips.
The Type 89 (special) was the Type 89 flexible with the magazines modified to use a captive belt made up of five-round clips joined edge-to-edge. This is the version used in the Pacific War
, having replaced the Type 89 flexible in 1937.
The Type 89 (modified single) is the flexible gun most often (erroneously) called «Type 89.» It is a single Year 11 Type action laid on its side and fed from a flat pan magazine. It also was used throughout the Pacific War in applications where the (special) was too bulky to fit.
The flexible guns were used as backseat guns and bomber defense and were pressed into ground and AA use, though their small caliber made them ineffective in all roles during much of the Pacific War.
When any reference is made to a 7.7 Type 89, it is impossible to tell which gun is indicated without more information.
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
aircraft machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s. The first family is the recoil-operated Vickers gun. The Type 89 FIXED gun was a license-built Vickers E
Vickers 6-Ton
The Vickers 6-Ton Tank or Vickers Mark E was a British light tank designed as a private project at Vickers. It was not purchased by the British Army, but was picked up by a large number of foreign armed forces and was copied almost exactly by the Soviets as the T-26. It was also the direct...
class gun chambered for the Type 89 cartridge (see below). It was used in synchronized applications in fighter cowls and in wing gun applications. It was belt-fed
Belt (firearm)
A belt or ammunition belt is a device used to retain and feed cartridges into a firearm. Belts and the associated feed systems are typically employed to feed machine guns or other automatic weapons...
, using a steel link disintegrating belt.
The Type 89 FLEXIBLE gun was a gas-operated twin gun. That is, it was made up of two mirror-image Year 11 Type LMG
Type 11 Light Machine Gun
The was a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the interwar period and during World War II.-History:Combat experience in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 had convinced the Japanese army of the utility of machine guns to provide covering fire for advancing infantry...
actions lying on their sides supported by a tubing cradle. The guns were fed from quadrant magazines loaded with cartridges on five-round clips.
The Type 89 (special) was the Type 89 flexible with the magazines modified to use a captive belt made up of five-round clips joined edge-to-edge. This is the version used in the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, having replaced the Type 89 flexible in 1937.
The Type 89 (modified single) is the flexible gun most often (erroneously) called «Type 89.» It is a single Year 11 Type action laid on its side and fed from a flat pan magazine. It also was used throughout the Pacific War in applications where the (special) was too bulky to fit.
The flexible guns were used as backseat guns and bomber defense and were pressed into ground and AA use, though their small caliber made them ineffective in all roles during much of the Pacific War.
When any reference is made to a 7.7 Type 89, it is impossible to tell which gun is indicated without more information.