Japanese Small Arms Ammunition

One of the joys of collecting Japanese items is the vast array of varieties among items. So many different variations can be had for one type of item that it becomes a never-ending search for that hard-to-get version of that particular piece. Japanese ammunition offers an almost endless hunt for scarce variations and offers a great perspective into how Japanese weapons and industry changed throughout the war. The most common types of ammunition encountered are 6.5x50mm semi-rimmed, 7.7x58mm semi-rimmed, 7.7x58mm rimless, and 8x22mm Nambu. Two lesser-known and rarely encountered types of Japanese pistol ammunition are the 7x20mm Nambu and 9x22mm rimmed cartridge. The 9mm rimmed was fired by the type 26 revolver, Japan’s first domestic military sidearm. The 7mm Nambu was only used in the ‘baby’ Nambu style of pistols and was never military issue. The 6.5mm was used in the standard Type 38 rifle, Type 11 light machinegun, and Type 3 heavy machinegun (predecessor to the Type 92). 7.7mm ammunition would be fired from the type 99 rifle, type 92 heavy machinegun, and various aircraft armaments.

Rifle and Machine Gun Ammunition

Early versions of 6.5mm used a 160gr (10.4g), cupronickel jacketed round nose bullet, but later was changed to a 139gr (9g) Spitzer-type pointed bullet. The first 7.7mm cartridge was developed for the Type 92 heavy machinegun with a semi-rimmed case and was fed by the use of Hotchkiss-style feed strips. The Japanese were pleased with the performance of the 7.7mm round during the Russo-Japanese war, finding it to be more effective than 6.5mm against Russian infantry and the Japanese army requested an infantry rifle be developed in 7.7 caliber. This new rifle, the Type 99, was adopted in 1939 with a 7.7mm rimless cartridge firing a 162gr (10.5g) jacketed bullet. Rimless cases were desired in rifles to ensure reliable feeding, while semi-rimmed cases were desired in machine guns to ensure reliable extraction under sustained firing. However, machine guns could still fire the rimless design when needed.

Type 92 machine gun with feed strip loaded with armor-piercing ammunition.

Rifle and machinegun ammunition came in full metal jacket (FMJ), armor piercing (AP), incendiary, and tracer. The different types were designated by colored bands around the base of the bullet at the case mouth, and sometimes colored lacquer was applied over primers to aid in identification. Ammunition marking can be quite confusing. It doesn't seem that there was a ridged system in place for denoting ammunition types by colors, but generally, the Japanese army used red lacquer for FMJ, black for AP, purple for incendiary, and green for tracer. The Japanese Imperial Navy followed essentially the same marking scheme for ammunition but instead used white lacquer over the primers to denote armor-piercing ammo and black for FMJ. The system begins to get confusing when encountering other specialty types of ammo, such as explosive 7.7 and 7.92 ammunition used by the Japanese army air corps.

Late in the Second World War, the Japanese began to make cartridge cases out of steel due to the lack of brass; however, the author has only ever encountered steel-cased 7.7mm rifle ammunition, and never 6.5mm rifle or any pistol ammunition. Interestingly, the Japanese did not normally mark the base of their small arms ammunition with a headstamp as almost all other armies had. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however; the Japanese copy of .303 British ammunition used in the Type 92 aircraft machinegun (a clone of the Lewis gun) did use headstamps

(Left) Steel cased 7.7mm rifle ammunition. (Right) Japanese navy .303 caliber armor-piercing ammunition.

Chinese manufactured 6.5mm ammunition.

After the second world war, the Chinese were left with huge stockpiles of Japanese rifles and used them to arm the Communist Revolution as well as supplied the communists of North Korea during the Korean War. Chinese-manufactured 6.5mm ammunition is very commonly encountered and is easily distinguished from wartime Japanese-produced ammo. The Chinese ammunition was marked with a green lacquer band around the case mouth, similar to Japanese tracer ammunition but is head stamped with a factory code and year of production.

Specialty Ammunition

The Japanese also utilized specialty ammunition such as paper blank cartridges, dummy rounds, and wood bullet blanks for training. There were also wooden bullet cartridges used for grenade launching, and stubby 'gallery' rounds for indoor and short-range target practice. Dummy rifle and pistol ammunition are identified by two knurled rings around the bottom of the case and are sometimes seen with the addition of two rings around the bullet. Aircraft armament also had special ammunition such as high-explosive 7.7mm ammunition for offensive aircraft machineguns used in fighters, and Japanese bombers were armed defensively with the license-built copy of the German MG15 and fired high-explosive 7.92mm (8mm Mauser) ammunition. Explosive ammunition was also found loaded into stripper clips for infantry use. Explosive ammunition is easily distinguished by its blunt tip and white or purple band. Take caution! This ammunition should be handled with extreme care. The January 1945 edition of the 'U.S. Intelligence Bulletin' states, "Because of the unusual characteristics of this ammunition, serious injuries sometimes have resulted when soldiers have tampered with it out of ignorance or curiosity.", so use your best judgment when handling or storing these cartridges. The Japanese navy also directly copied the British Lewis gun (designated the Type 92) for defensive aircraft use and fired the standard British .303 caliber ammunition.

From left to right: Paper bullet blanks, gallery practice round, 6.5mm dummy, wood bullet grenade launching blank.

(Left) 7.7mm army high-explosive ammunition. (right) 7.92mm navy high-explosive. Note the flat tips denoting high-explosive and the somewhat confusing color marking scheme.

Packaging

Type 38 and Type 99 rifle ammunition as well as Type 11 machine gun ammunition were packaged and issued in 15-round wedge-cardboard boxes already on 5-round stripper clips. The lids of ammunition boxes are labeled with the ammo information as well as the factory it was made in. Most, but not all rifle ammunition packets are marked on the bottom with production dates and lot numbers. The boxes had pull tabs to tear off the lid and the soldier would then insert the box into the standard ammunition pouch. Each infantryman would have two primary ammunition pouches on the front of his belt and a reserve ammunition pouch on the rear. The primary pouches had two pockets for ammunition boxes and the rear pouch held 60 rounds for a total ammunition loadout of 120 rounds. Quite a lot of ammunition for a bolt-action rifle.

Standard Japanese ammo load was 120 rounds carried in two front pouches, and one rear pouch.

Wedge-shaped ammunition packets contained 15 rounds on stripper clips.

(Left) Type 38 rifle ammo. (Right) Type 11 Machinegun ammo. Note the 'G' stamped on both boxes.

A note about 6.5mm packaging: Early on, Type 11 machinegun and Type 38 rifle ammunition were packed specifically for the weapon it was intended to be used with. Type 11 ammunition used a reduced pressure powder loading compared to standard rifle ammunition. This ensured reliable extraction and kept the gun from beating itself to death from firing full-power rifle cartridges. Later, all Type 38 rifle ammunition would also switch over to this reduced pressure loading. This greatly simplified ammunition logistics, and instead of trying to get specific Type 11 ammunition, you could now permanently feed both the machine gun and rifle with the same ammunition. The new reduced-load ammunition boxes will have a 'G' stamped onto the label. It's unknown exactly what the 'G' stands for, except that it identifies the new powder type.

Pistol ammunition was packed in a similar manner to rifle ammo. Normally, pistol ammunition was packed loose in rectangular 15-round packs with a tear-off lid. Many Japanese pistol holsters such as the Type 14 Nambu have a pocket designed to hold two packets of ammunition. Early on, pistol ammo was packaged in 50-round boxes, and some ammunition continued to be packaged this way for the duration of the war. Early 8mm Nambu was packed in 50-round boxes and later changed to 15-round boxes to make issuing and carrying ammo easier. 7mm Nambu, .32 ACP, and 9mm Japanese were always packed in 50-round boxes. Later in the war, loose or leftover 8mm Nambu ammunition was packed in small 8-round paper packets. these small packets are rarely encountered and often lack markings. Sometimes they are found with handwritten labeling. Similar to rifle ammunition, pistol ammo packets have factory and other information stamped onto the lid and are often found with production dates on the bottom, but not always.

Various pistol ammunition boxes.

Rifle clips

(Left) brass and steel 6.5mm clips. (Right) steel 7.7mm clips.

Rifle clips were originally made of brass, but steel was also used for both 6.5 and 7.7 ammunition early after the introduction of the Type 99 rifle. Rifle clips are practically identical and mostly interchangeable. The collector can differentiate between the two types by looking at the convex side of the clip. 7.7mm clips will have a hole in the center and 6.5mm do not. This makes the task of identifying two brass or steel clips easy. Many ammunition clips are also marked with an arsenal inspection stamp in one corner, but not all clips bear these markings.

9mm Japanese

9mm Japanese.

The Japanese developed the proprietary 9x22mm rimmed cartridge for use in their Type 26 revolver. It fired a 150gr (9.72g) solid lead bullet, with a velocity of roughly 500 feet per second (152 meters per second). The 9mm Japanese cartridge is similar in performance to the .38 Smith & Wesson cartridge. Although considered quite anemic by today’s standards, the 9mm Japanese cartridge was on par with other popular military loadings of the day. The Japanese 9mm ammunition was originally loaded with black powder but was later adapted for smokeless powder at the turn of the century. Ammunition was packed in 50-count cardboard boxes and sealed with a paper strip around the perimeter.

8mm Nambu

8mm Nambu was the standard ammunition for the Type 14 and Type 94 pistols. These pistols and ammunition replaced the older Type 26 9mm revolver. 8mm Nambu is considered to be quite wimpy by today's standards. It has about the same energy as .32 ACP, but like most militaries of the time, pistols were intended to be more of a status of rank, and not primarily a combat weapon. 8mm Nambu was issued in 15-round boxes, whereas 9mm revolver ammunition was packed in 50-round boxes. Some very early 8mm Nambu ammunition was issued and privately purchased in 50-round boxes. Pistols were issued to NCOs, officers, and other soldiers who had specialty roles (machine gunners, knee mortars, tank crewmen, etc.). Officers would be issued a pistol or had the option to purchase their own.

8x22mm Nambu pistol ammunition in 15-round packages.

7mm Nambu

7mm Nambu compared to 8mm.

7mm Nambu pistols, and European .32 ACP pistols were available to Japanese officers for private purchase on the civilian market. These pistols are very rare and often quite expensive. 7mm and .32 ammunition were sold in 50-count boxes on the civilian market. 7mm Nambu ammunition is roughly half the size of 8mm Nambu, and was fired from the Nambu automatic pistol type B, better known to collectors as the 'baby' Nambu. 7mm Nambu is essentially a scaled-down version of 8mm Nambu and is quite anemic. 7mm Nambu can be ballistically compared to .25 ACP.

.32 ACP

European .32 caliber pistols were available in Japan in the prewar years and were sold in limited quantities to Japanese officers. Generally, baby Nambu and other small .32 ACP pistols were carried as a status of rank, and not necessarily intended to be used as a combat weapon. .32 ACP ammunition appears to have only been manufactured by the Tokyo army arsenal based on surviving examples of ammunition boxes. Japanese .32 caliber ammunition is marked with a red band at the case mouth and lacks any headstamp information similar to other Japanese produced ammunition.

(Left) Japanese produced .32 ACP with red band. (center) 50-round box of .32 ammunition. (right) FN M1910 in Japanese service.

Overall, supply issues were a constant plague on Japanese logistical services and the great variety of Japanese ammunition in military service certainly aided in supply headaches. Can you imagine ordering 10,000 rounds of rifle ammo only to receive 10,000 rounds of machine gun ammo you cant use? Manufacturing volume was constantly stressed as well. Not having a single rifle or pistol cartridge dedicated to military service meant stretching your manufacturing capacity in order to meet demand, and oftentimes creating manufacturing shortfalls.