The Type 96 and Type 97 were Japanese caliber mortars used during the Second World War. The Type 96 designation was given to this mortar as it was accepted in the year 2596 of the Japanese calendar (1936).War Department Special Series No 30 Japanese Mortars and Grenade Dischargers 1945

Japanese , , and mortars were labeled as "trench mortars" and were effectively controlled by Imperial Japanese Army artillery units instead of infantry units. Initially Japanese trench mortars where primarily developed as chemical-delivery weapons, but would mainly see service in conventional roles during the Greater East Asia War.

Design

The Imperial Japanese Army initially designed a trench mortar in the late 1920s which was accepted as the Type 90 trench mortar. Production never commenced outside of two units in 1932. Ness, Leland. Rikugun: Volume 2 - Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces (p. 53). Helion and Company.

The Type 97 mortar was essentially the Type 96 mortar but with the recoil mechanism eliminated. Ness, Leland. Rikugun: Volume 2 - Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces (p. 64). Helion and Company. Both models where produced side-by-side as the Type 97 mortar proved to be lighter but less stable than the slightly older Type 96 mortar. Ness, Leland. Rikugun: Volume 2 - Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces (p. 64). Helion and Company. A short barrel mortar, the Type 99 experimental short trench mortar was trialed, but range was considered to be unsatisfactory at 220 meters.

Uses The Type 96 mortar was never encountered by American or British troops, although it was used in China. The Type 97 mortar was notably used in both Iwo Jima and China. Both types were produced from 1937 to late 1943, with records indicating a total of 201 units delivered to the Imperial Japanese Army.Ness, Leland. Rikugun: Volume 2 - Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces (p. 53). Helion and Company. Both types were nominally replaced by the lighter and more portable Type 2 trench mortar. Ness, Leland. Rikugun: Volume 2 - Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces (p. 54).

Those mortars were also used as anti-submarine mortars for the Army's warships. Ships like the landing craft carriers were equipped with two single mortars on platforms at the bow and stern.Lengerer, pp. 261, 276 They fired shells to a range of .Campbell, p. 213

Specifications Designation Type 96 Type 97 Number Built 201 (mix of Type 96 and Type 97) Barrel length 8.6 cal 8.6 cal Elevation +45° to +80° Shell weight Reported between Muzzle velocity Weight Range

References Notes

Bibliography US War Department Special Series No 30 Japanese Mortars and Grenade Dischargers 1945

External links https://takihomepage.web.fc2.com/mortar.htm#96