Artifact Friday: Type 97 Machine Gun

Among our vast collection of weapons and artifacts is one that American soldiers and marines once feared. The Type 97 machine gun once sprayed death from the skies mounted on to war machines like the Nakajima Ki-27 or the Ki-43 Hayabusa, deadly fighters that once tore the skies over the Pacific apart. The Type 97 was designed to meet Imperial Japan’s needs to expand their territory. The air-cooled, belt-fed design could fire 600 rounds per minute and was commended for its reliability. After all, a jam in an aircraft cannot be so easily fixed. However, Japan’s industrial might paled in comparison to its American counterparts, allowing the United States to quickly outpace Japan’s technology with newer, faster, and stronger airframes carrying the M2 Browning .50 machine gun. Japanese aircraft would carry their Type 97’s into the final major battle of World War II, Okinawa, fought from April and ending on June 22nd. Weather out of bravery against unbeatable odds or desperation to stop the American advance, the Japanese Army and Navy were to halt the United States at Okinawa. Japanese leadership knew that repelling the Americans was impossible so they were to inflict as many casualties as possible. Because of this, many of the Japanese aircraft were fitted for kamikaze missions, but some maintained their roles as fighters and interceptors. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned, the Japanese pilots put up one final fight with their now aged and outdated Type 97 machine guns. Okinawa caused the deaths of over 12,000 Americans and over 100,000 Japanese. This ultimately led to the United States opting not to invade the Japanese mainland and convinced American leadership to put the Manhattan Project to practice.