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Nambu Type 96 / 99 light machine gun
The Nambu Type 96 and Type 99 were two light machine guns used during World War II by the Imperial Japanese Army. In 1936, Kijiro Nambu designed the Type 96 and three years later, he modernized it, eliminating many of the problems found in the original design and changing the caliber, which gave us the Type 99. Even though it externally resembles the ZB vz. 26 and the design was inspired after evaluations of vz. 26s captured from Chinese forces, it was not a direct copy of it and different internally. The Nambu Type 97 was a true, license-built copy of the Zbrojovka Brno design.
Nambu Type 96
The Nambu Type 96 was introduced in 1936 and served with the Imperial Japanese Army until the end of the Second World War. It is based on the earlier Type 11 light machine gun, but did not fix the dimensional tolerance issues that plagued the Type 11, which led to jams caused by cartridge casings getting stuck in the chamber. Due to the weak 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridge and high unreliability, by 1939 it was replaced with a newer design for a newer cartridge, the Type 99 that fired the 7.7x58mm Arisaka cartridge. Despite the introduction of a newer model, the Type 96 was not phased out due to the use of the same ammunition as the Arisaka Type 38 rifle which was very common among the infantry. It was produced in the years 1936–1943, with a total number of approximately 41,000 units.
Specifications
(Production: 1936 – 1943)
- Type: Light machine gun
- Country of Origin: Empire of Japan
- Caliber: 6.5mm
- Cartridge: 6.5x50mm Arisaka (Type 30 / Type 38)
- Weight: 19.8 lbs (9 kg)
- Length: 42.1 in (107 cm)
- Barrel length: 21.7 in (55 cm)
- Capacity: 30-round detachable box magazine
- Rate of fire 550 rpm
The Nambu Type 96 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fighting Seabees | Japanese soldier | 1944 | ||
| Sands of Iwo Jima | Japanese soldiers | 1949 | ||
| Daughters of China (Zhong Hua nu er) | Japanese soldiers | 1949 | ||
| Halls of Montezuma | Japanese soldiers | 1951 | ||
| Flying Leathernecks | Japanese soldiers | 1951 | ||
| Men in War | Aldo Ray | Sgt. Montana | 1957 | |
| North Korean soldiers | ||||
| Hell to Eternity | Japanese soldiers | 1960 | ||
| None But the Brave | Tatsuya Mihashi | Lt. Kuroki | 1965 | |
| Japanese soldiers | ||||
| Beach Red | Japanese soldiers | 1967 | ||
| Japan's Longest Day | Japanese soldiers | 1967 | ||
| Too Late the Hero | Japanese soldiers | 1970 | ||
| Listen on the Other Side (Daisny tserguudee sonsotsgoo!) | Japanese soldiers | 1971 | ||
| 1941 | Japanese sailors | 1979 | ||
| Across the Gobi and the Khingan (Govi Khyangand tulaldsan ni) | Nikolay Penkov | Votintsev | 1981 | |
| Imperial Japanese Army Soldiers | ||||
| The Thin Red Line | Japanese soldiers | 1998 | ||
| Windtalkers | Simon Rhee | Japanese soldier | 2002 | |
| Imperial Japanese Army Soldiers | ||||
| Unbroken | Japanese Prison Guard | 2014 | ||
| Hacksaw Ridge | Imperial Japanese soldiers | 2016 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parer's War | Japanese soldiers | 2014 | ||
| Gyeongseong Creature - Season 1 | Japanese soldiers | "Tear" (E10) | 2023 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deadly Dozen Pacific Theater | "Type 99 Light Machine Gun" | 2002 | ||
| Forgotten Hope | With Type 30 bayonet | 2003 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault | "Type 96 LMG" | With Type 30 bayonet | 2004 | |
| History Channel: Battle for the Pacific | "Type 96 LMG" | 2007 | ||
| Men of War | 2009 | |||
| Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm | "Nambu Type 96" | 2013 | ||
| Enlisted | "Type 96 LMG" | with Type 30 bayonet | 2021 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cockpit | Private Utsunomiya | Ep. 3 "Knight of the Iron Dragon"; mounted on motorcycle | 1993 |
| Private Kodai |
Nambu Type 99
In 1937-1939, Japan developed the new 7.7x58mm HR cartridge to replace the older and weaker 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridges. The army ordered the creation of weapons firing this cartridge, both a bolt-action rifle and a light machine gun. The results was the Arisaka Type 99, based on the Arisaka Type 38 rifle, and the Nambu Type 99 based on the Nambu Type 96. The 7.7x58mm HR cartridge used was too powerful regularly use in the Arisaka Type 99 rifle, so its power was reduced from 3,500 J to 3,000 J and introduced into service as the standard 7.7x58mm Arisaka rifle cartridge. The Type 99 could use both cartridges, but HR cartridges were preferred. The Type 99 never replaced older productions. Although introduced into service in 1939, it served alongside the older Type 11 light machine gun and Type 96. The Type 99 was produced at Kokura, Nagoya Arsenal, and Mukden, with total production of approximately 53,000 weapons.
Specifications
(Production: 1939 – 1945)
- Type: Light machine gun
- Country of Origin: Empire of Japan
- Caliber: 7.7mm
- Cartridge: 7.7x58mm Arisaka (Type 92 / Type 97 / Type 99)
- Weight: 22.9 lbs (10.4 kg)
- Length: 46.5 in (118.1 cm)
- Barrel length: 21.7 in (55 cm)
- Capacity: 30-round detachable box magazine
- Rate of fire 750-850 rpm
The Nambu Type 99 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Thin Man Goes Home | Edward Brophy | Brogan | 1944 | |
| William Powell | Nick Charles | |||
| Lloyd Corrigan | Dr. Bruce Clayworth | |||
| Daughters of China (Zhong Hua nu er) | Japanese soldiers | 1949 | ||
| Retreat, Hell! | Japanese soldiers | 1954 | ||
| Never So Few | Japanese soldiers | 1959 | ||
| Merrill's Marauders | Japanese soldiers | 1962 | ||
| MacArthur | Japanese soldiers | 1977 | ||
| Across the Gobi and the Khingan (Govi Khyangand tulaldsan ni) | Imperial Japanese soldiers | 1981 | ||
| Farewell To The King | Japanese soldiers | 1983 | ||
| Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence | Japanese soldiers | 1983 | ||
| The Last Emperor | Puyi's bodyguard | 1987 | ||
| Farewell To The King | Japanese Soldiers | 1989 | ||
| Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah | Imperial Japanese Soldiers | 1991 | ||
| The Thin Red Line | Japanese soldiers | 1998 | ||
| Windtalkers | Nicolas Cage | Sergeant Joe Anders | 2002 | |
| Japanese soldiers | ||||
| The Great Raid | Japanese soldiers | 2005 | ||
| Flags of our Fathers | Japanese soldiers | 2006 | ||
| Letters from Iwo Jima | Japanese soldiers | 2006 | ||
| Kokoda | Japanese soldiers | 2006 | ||
| City of Life and Death | Japanese soldiers | Anachronistic, standing in for the Type 96 | 2009 | |
| Oba: The Last Samurai | Mao Inoue | Chieko Aono | 2011 | |
| The Wolverine | Japanese soldiers | 2013 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baa Baa Black Sheep | Japanese soldiers | 1976-1978 | ||
| Kokoda | Japanese soldiers | 2010 | ||
| The Pacific | Japanese soldiers | 2010 | ||
| The Spoils of Babylon | Brian Takahashi | Japanese Soldier #2 | "The War Within" (E2) | 2014 |
| Bosch - Season 4 | hanged on the wall, "The Wine of Youth" (S4E06) | 2018 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield: 1942 | 2002 | |||
| Forgotten Hope | Man-portable, mounted in bunkers and machine gun nests and on the Daihatsu landing craft | 2003 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | "T-99" | 2003 | ||
| Call of Duty: World at War | "Type 99" | 2008 | ||
| Call of Duty: World at War - Final Fronts | "Type 99 LMG" | 2008 | ||
| Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm | "Type 99" | can be equipped with Type 30 bayonet | 2013 | |
| Far East War | "Type 99 light machine gun" | 2013 | ||
| Call of Duty: WWII | "Bren - Royalty" | Cosmetic variant of the Bren gun | 2017 | |
| Enlisted | "Type 99 LMG" | with Type 30 bayonet | 2021 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Momotaro: Sacred Sailors | Imperial Japanese army soldiers | 1945 |