Taisho 11 light machine gun

[Cutaway]

Calibre: .25 cal(6.5mm Arisaka)

Weight: 10.2kg

Lengh: 1105mm

BBL Lengh: 480mm

Effective Range: 5000ft

Configuration: Gas operated, Hopper fed

Cyclic rate of fire: 500rpm

Muzzle Velocity: 760mps

Country of Origin: Japan

[Kyt]

Cutaway, you're posting some interesting weapons but could you please add details of their use etc so as to put the weapon into context. A pretty picture and general specs don't really give us any idea about how, when and where it was used, or how effective it was.

[Cutaway]

Some nice images here:
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/2...pe11lmgxm0.jpg

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/3...1hopperbg0.jpg

A Kijiro Nambu modification of the French Hotchkiss machine gun, the Type 11 was the first light machine gun that Japan produced in large quantities and the oldest Japanese LMG design to see service in the Pacific war. The Type 11 used a non-detachable hopper magazine that held six cartridge clips as used for the Type 38 Arisaka Rifle. The clips were stacked lying flat above the receiver, an unusual but surprisingly reliable feed system, although the gun was liable to jam in muddy or dirty conditions. This system also made speedy reloading during assaults impossible. Type 11 machine guns were also available with a special mounting for anti-aircraft use.

[tom!]

Hi.

Some additions:

One of the main problems regarding reliability and accuracy was the empty cartridge as it was ejected without lowering the chamber pressure causing a heavy recoil.

Another problem was that the bottom part of the rimmed case sometimes broke off during ejection leaving the upper part of the case inside the chamber. To minimise this problem the clips had to be oiled heavily. So an oiling system was placed between hopper and receiver. These mechanism mainly consisted of two wool pads with an oil reservoir.
As this was not enough to gather the necessary reliability the clips had to be oiled prior putting them inside the hopper, too.




Some pics of the tripod:


as captured by the Red Army during the Nomonhan incident, spring 1939


from the japanese manual


from the japanese manual, too

Yours

tom!