Type 4 150 mm howitzer

type of heavy howitzer

The Type 4 150 mm howitzer (四年式十五糎榴弾砲, Yonenshiki Jyūgosenchi Ryudanhō), also known as a "15-cm" gun,[1] was a field gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA).[2] It

Type 4 15 cm Howitzer
Type 4 15 cm Howitzer
Typeheavy howitzer
Place of origin Empire of Japan
Service history
In service1915-1949?
Used by Imperial Japanese Army
 Republic of China (NRA)
 People's Republic of China (PLA)
WarsSecond Sino-Japanese War
Soviet-Japanese Border Wars
World War II
Chinese Civil War
Production history
DesignerOsaka Arsenal
Designed1915
ManufacturerOsaka Arsenal
No. built280
Specifications
Mass2,797 kilograms (6,166 lb)
Barrel length2.169 m (7 ft 1 in) L/14.6

Shell35.9 kilograms (79 lb)
Caliber149.1 mm (5.87 in)
Breechvertical sliding
Recoilhydro-pneumatic
Carriagebox trail
Elevation-5° to +65°
Traverse
Rate of fire3-4 rounds/minute
Muzzle velocity410 m/s (1,345 ft/s)
Maximum firing range9,575 metres (10,471 yd)
SightsPanoramic

History change

Type 4 was available to IJA forces after 1915.[3]

Combat record change

This artillery piece was used during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.[3] This gun was designed to be moved by horses; and it continued to be used until 1945.

Type 4s were used by the IJA on Saipan in World War II.[4]

Related pages change

References change

  1. Rottman, Gordon L. (2005). Japanese Army in World War II: Conquest of the Pacific 1941-42, p. 50[permanent dead link]; 15-cm = 150-mm
  2. This howitzer type was named "four" because it was ordered in 1915; and 1915 was the 4th year of the reign of Emperor Taishō -- 1915 (Taishō 4).
  3. 3.0 3.1 US War Dept. (1944). "Model 4 (1915) 150-mm howitzer," Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, pp. 226-227.
  4. Goldberg, Harold J. (2007). D-Day in the Pacific: the Battle of Saipan, p. 35; Denfeld, D. Colt. (1992). Japanese Fortifications and Other Military Structures in the Central Pacific, p. 56.

Other websites change