Continuing with the Japanese defences, here are their fixed artillery weapons.  

To see more information and photos of these guns click on the images to go to their Wiki pages.

Type 91 105mm

During the 1920 the Japanese Army Technical Bureau bought several French Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider howitzers for evaluation purposes, impressed with the design a further 300 were ordered from Schneider. In 1931 a locally produced Japanese version was put into production as the Type 91 and became the standard Japanese Army light howitzer with over a 1,000 produced during the war.

Type 96 150mm

During the mid 1920 the Japanese started work on a new 150mm howitzer to replace the Type 4 15cm (model 1915). Development lasted for over a decade and went through several stages, the design was finally accepted in 1936 but some changes were still needed and mass production didn't start until 1937. The Type 96's protracted development proved to be beneficial as the end result was considered to be one of the most modern and effective howitzers of WW2. One the Type 96's main features was the ability to fire at an elevation of 65°, but this was only possible when a pit was dug beneath the breech.

Type 4 40cm


The development of a heavy spin stabilised rocket mortar was started in 1942 to replace the Type 98 32cm Spigot Mortar. The first prototypes used a large steel launch tube but this proved to be overly complex and a simpler triangular frame with wooden rails was designed. Mass production started in late summer 1943 and by early 1944 several Rocket Battalions had been formed and equipped with this new weapon. The Type 4 was used in combat for the first time during the Battle of Luzon where over a 1,000 were fired, it was also used during the fighting on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Many launchers and rockets were also stockpiled in Japan for the expected invasion.