Japanese Type 38 12 cm howitzer
Type 38 120mm Howitzer of the 4th Battery at Geiyo Fortress in Ehime Prefecture.
Type	Howitzer
Place of origin	Empire of Japan
Service history
In service	1905-1945?
Used by	Imperial Japanese Army
Wars	World War I Second Sino-Japanese War World War II
Production history
No. built	187[1]
Specifications
Mass	Travel: 2,164 kg (4,771 lb) Firing: 1,260 kg (2,770 lb)
Length	Travel: 4.90 m (16 ft 1 in) Firing: 3.76 m (12 ft 4 in)[2]
Barrel length	1.32 m (4 ft 4 in)
Width	1.47 m (4 ft 10 in)
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Caliber	120 mm (4.72 in)
Breech	Interrupted screw
Recoil	Hydro-spring
Carriage	Box trail
Elevation	-5° to +43°
Traverse	-2° to +2°
Muzzle velocity	276 m/s (910 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	5.6 km (3.5 mi)[2]

The Type 38 12 cm howitzer (1905) is an obsolete Japanese field piece used by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War I, Second Sino-Japanese War, and World War II. The Type 38 designation was given to this gun as it was accepted in the 38th year of Emperor Meiji's reign (1905). It was encountered by Allied forces for the first time on Iwo Jima, and it may have been used as an emergency or substitute weapon.^[3]

Description

It is characterized by a very short barrel, box trail, and large wooden wheels. It has an interrupted screw breech block and Hydro-spring recoil-mechanism. No gun shield is used with this weapon.^[4]

Elevating and traversing hand wheels, and panoramic sight are at the left of the breech. The firing mechanism is a lanyard actuated percussion type.^[4]

Armor-piercing, Armor-piercing High Explosive, HEAT, and Shrapnel shells have been recovered. The projectiles have the usual color markings and are similar in appearance to 75mm APHE and shrapnel shells. The APHE shell weighs 20 kg (44 lb) while the shrapnel shell contains 300 lead balls.^[4]