The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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National Archives. Via Mikesh (2004)
| Ammunition |
13 x 64 B AP or HE |
| Projectile
Weight |
1.36 ounces (AP) 38.5 g (AP) |
| Velocity | 2460 feet per second 750 meters per second |
| Range | 2950 feet 900 meters |
| Rate of
fire |
900 rounds per minute |
| Weapon weight |
37 lbs 17 kg |
| Gun power |
45 |
The Type 2 machine gun was a license-built version of the German MG
131 in its original percussion-ignition form; the Japanese did not
feel
that the electrical ignition of later versions would be reliable
in the
tropics. It was the first belt-fed flexible weapon used on Navy
aircraft.
It had a short recoil rotating collar locked action. The gun used
one
of the
least powerful heavy machine gun cartridges of the war and was not
very successful. It nonetheless remained in use throughout the
war.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009 by Kent G. Budge. Index
