Type 11 light machine gun

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The Type 11 light machine gun

The Type 11 light machine gun (十一年式軽機関銃, Jyūichinen-shiki Kei-kikanjū) was Japan’s first mass-produced light machine gun. Designed by Kijirō Nambu, it entered service in 1922 and was used by the Imperial Japanese Army through World War II. About 29,000 were built before production ended in 1941.

How it fed ammunition was unusual: it used a detachable hopper fed by five-round clips stacked above the receiver. Up to six clips (30 rounds) could be in use, and each round was oiled as it entered the chamber. Any squad member could resupply, but the open hopper was vulnerable to dirt and grit, which could cause jams in dirty or muddy conditions. The gun’s weight with a loaded hopper also affected balance, earning it the nickname “bent buttstock” in some accounts.

Specifications in brief:
- Caliber: 6.5×50mm Arisaka
- Action: Gas-operated, air-cooled
- Weight: about 10.2 kg
- Length: 1,100 mm; Barrel: 443 mm
- Fire rate: about 500 rounds per minute
- Muzzle velocity: 736 m/s
- Effective range: 800 m; Maximum range: 3,700 m
- Magazine/feeds: 30-round capacity via five-round clips fed into a hopper

Although it was replaced in production by the Type 96 in 1936, the Type 11 remained in front-line service into the later stages of World War II. It saw extensive use in China and other theaters and was also employed by several other forces, often as captured weapons. Variants included anti-aircraft and tank-mounted versions, and a Chinese copy (Liao Type 17) was produced in small numbers.