World War II Database

Country of Origin	Japan
Type	Launcher
Caliber	50.000 mm
Length	610.000 mm
Barrel Length	254.000 mm
Weight	4.700 kg
Ammunition Weight	0.53 kg
Rate of Fire	25 rounds/min
Range	120.000 m

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseType 89 grenade launchers entered service with the Japanese Army in 1929 to extend the range of grenades. Initially, they fired Type 89 impact-detonated high explosive or incendiary shells; starting in 1932 the Type 91 fuse-delayed (about 7 to 8 seconds) grenades were also made available. The rifled barrels of the Type 89 grenade launchers had an effective range of 120 meters and a maximum range of 670 meters. Ideally, each launcher was manned by a crew of three, but they were designed so that they each could be operated by an individual. Their firing angle was fixed at 45 degrees. They first saw combat in China in 1937, and eventually were used throughout the entire China-Burma-India and Pacific theaters.

Type 89 grenade launchers had curved base plates. When Allied servicemen studied captured examples, they misunderstood the design, thinking they were to be used against the thighs of kneeling infantrymen, thus arriving at the inaccurate nickname of "knee mortars" for these launchers. This inaccurate nickname led to a number of Allied servicemen attempting to fire them against their thighs, and severely bruising thighs or breaking bones from the recoil.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Jul 2011

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