Type 10 grenade discharger

Infobox Weapon
name= Type 10 Grenade Discharger


caption=
origin=flag|Empire of Japan
type= Grenade launcher
is_ranged=yes
is_bladed=
is_explosive=
is_artillery=yes
is_vehicle=
is_UK=
service= 1921 - 1945
used_by= Imperial Japanese Army
wars= Second Sino-Japanese War,
World War II
designer=
design_date=
manufacturer=
production_date=1921-
number=
variants=
weight= 2.6 kg (5.7 lb)
length= 525 mm (20.7 in)
part_length= 240 mm (9.5 in)
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge=
caliber= 50 mm (1.97 in)
action=
rate=
velocity=
range= (Type 91 grenade): 65 m (71 yd)
max_range= (Type 91 grenade): 175 m (191 m)
feed=
sights=
breech=
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=
traverse=
blade_type=
hilt_type=
head_type=
haft_type=
diameter=
filling=
filling_weight=
detonation=
yield=

:"This article is about a Japanese World War II infantry mortar. For the main battle tank, see Type 10 tank."

The Type 10 50 mm grenade discharger was a Japanese smoothbore, muzzle loaded weapon used during the Second World War. It first entered service in 1921. The Type 10 has a range of 175 meters, greater than other grenade dischargers of the times. It had a range control device at the base of the barrel in the form of a graduated thimble by which a gas port at the base of the tube can be varied in size. For shorter ranges, part of the propellant gases escape to the side. Due to a translation error, the Type 10 was called the "knee mortar" by the Americans. The manual for the mortar instructed the troops to carry the mortar on the upper thigh, with the baseplate attached to the belt and the barrel running down the thigh. American troops on Guadalcanal became aware of the name "knee mortar" and thought the light design allowed it to be fired with the baseplate resting on the thigh. If the Type 10 were fired in this manner, it would result in serious injury due to recoil. However, once a few troops injured themselves, the mistranslation was discovered and further experimentation discouraged.

Contemporary US intelligence thought that the weapon was primarily used to discharge flares, the heavier Type 89 Grenade Discharger being used to fire explosive rounds instead.

Ammunition

* Type 91 Grenade
* Type 11 Smoke shell
* Type 10 Flare shell
* Type 10 Signal shell
* Type 91 Pyrotechnic grenade
* Type 10 Blank

References

* [http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/grenade.htm#10GD Taki (Type 10)]
* http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJA/HB/HB-9-2.html
* "Leo J. Daugherty III", Fighting Techniques of a Japanese Infantryman 1941-1945, ISBN 1-86227-162-3

ee also

*Grenade launcher