World War II Database

Country of Origin	Japan
Type	Field Gun
Caliber	105.000 mm
Length	5.000 m
Barrel Length	3.294 m
Width	1.350 m
Weight	2594.000 kg
Ammunition Weight	17.98 kg
Range	10.800 km
Muzzle Velocity	540 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War, 20 Krupp-built 10.5-millimeter field guns were imported into Japan from Germany. Finding their performance satisfactory, the Japan and Krupp arranged for local production under license at Japanese Army's Osaka Arsenal, under the direction of General Nariakira Arisaka. Production began in 1907, and the first weapons entered service in 1911 with the designation Type 38 10-centimeter guns. They saw service during the Siege of Qingdao (Postal Map Romanization: Tsingtao) in China against German forces in WW1, among other engagements. By the time WW2 began in Asia in 1937 these guns remained in active service despite having already reached obsolescence. They saw combat against Chinese units, deployed to Japanese and Manchurian defense garrisons in northeastern China (ie. "Manchukuo"), and deployed at several coastal artillery batteries in the Japanese home islands. A number of them were captured by the Chinese during WW2, and were used in anger by both Nationalist and Communist sides of the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s.

A total of 102 examples of Type 38 10-centimeter guns were built.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Mar 2025

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