Type 100 Submachine Gun

The Type 100 Submachine Gun(in Japanese 一〇〇式機関短銃 Hyaku-shiki kikan-tanju) was a somewhat prevalent Japanese submachine gun used extensively during World War II, and to date, the only submachine gun produced in and by Japan in any quantity.

By: blackpearl Posted: July 11, 2007

Built and designed by the Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company, the Type 100 Submachine gun was a robust, if unremarkable, submachine gun that was first utilized by the Imperial Army, in 1942. Japan was very late to introduce the submachine gun to its armed forces; the MP40 had been ubiquitous throughout the Wehrmacht since 1939.

Design

The Type 100 Submachine Gun was a solidly constructed weapon, however the Nambu 8mm round was extremely underpowered. This round is the equivalent to a .380 ACP round and therefore not very common in a submachine gun. The weapon had a bayonet lug fixed just under the barrel.

Despite the complexities and the shortcomings of the Type 100, the weapon had an extremely high quality barrel that was chrome plated which assisted in reducing wear to the weapon. Some of the Type 100 models also had a complicated muzzle brake or a bipod.

Variants

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Three distinct variants of the weapon were produced and manufactured throughout the course of the war. The first variant had an extendable bayonet lug and a bipod, but came with a folding stock designed for paratroppers. Also there was a 1944 version of the weapon which greatly simplified production at a time when demand was very high. This 1944 version featured simiple iron sights and was slightly longer. The Type 100 was considered to be a very low recoil, light and accurate machine gun.

Japan, however did not have the industrial workforce to continually manufacture the Type 100 in order to equip its troops against the Allied forces. In 1945, 30,000 Type 100s had been built. This number is relatively low compared to the 1,300,000, plus United States built Thompson submachine guns.