July 21, 2011
By Paul Scarlata
It never completely replaced the Type 38 in Japanese service, but was a rugged and reliable service rifle with many interesting variants. Watch for Paul Scarlata's report on it in the 9/20 issue of SGN.
Feed Australian prisoners examine a Type 99. It was greatly outnumbered in Japanese
service by the 6.5mm Type 38, but was captured in large numbers, regardless.
Advertisement
Until given a taste of nuclear weaponry and total war Soviet style, the Japanese
intended to fight to the last man, woman and child. These Home Guard women drill
Advertisement
with Type 99s.
Japanese soldiers, under the watchful eyes of M1 carbine-toting American sailors,
dispose of surrendered Arisaka rifles by dumping them into Tokyo Bay in 1945.
Japanese soldiers, armed with Type 99 rifles, surrender to American troops in 1945. In
places like Indonesia and Vietnam, surrender didn't come right away.
The Type 99's career didn't end in 1945. Here, South Korean Coast Guard troops drill
with them in 1948. Japanese arms were widely used during the Korean War.