Japanese Militaria at Castle-Thunder.com

Mudruck · Joined: Dec 06 2010 Posts: 1

Picked these up a number of years ago and looking for an ID on the item on the far left of the pic.

Thought it was a Model 96 anti-aircraft round, but those appear to be rimmed.

Anyone know what exactly it is?

1gewehr · Joined: Nov 30 2010 Posts: 10 Location: Middle TN

Well, since you have a nice 81mm Type 100 mortar shell for size estimates, my guess would be a 37mm HE round for the Type 94 or Type 1 37mm antitank gun. Both guns used the same cartridge. The later Type 1 had a better recoil system and longer barrel for a whopping extra 50fps.
As antitank guns go it was pretty anemic, with a muzzle velocity of only 2300fps. By comparison, the US M3A1 37mm fired it's shot at 2900fps, and the German PAK36 37mm shot a slightly heavier projectile at 2500fps. While it was fairly effective against the early US M3 light tanks, it was useless against the Sherman medium tanks and needed skill to disable the M5 Stuart.