The 20mm Type 98 was the most common light anti-aircraft gun of the Imperial Japanese Army and was a Japanese version of the Swiss 20 mm Oerlikon. The Type 98 designation was given to this gun as it was accepted in the year 2598 of the Japanese calendar (1938) About 80% of IJA light AA guns were Type 98. It entered service in 1938 and first saw combat in Nomonhan. It was used until the end of World War II. After World War II this gun is used by Indonesian Army in Indonesian National Revolution.
The gun can be emplaced in about 3 minutes by an experienced crew or fired inaccurately from its wheels. The gun could also be fitted on the back of the Type 94 Isuzu Truck for mobile fire support.
This weapon and its variants were based on the French design of the 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun of the 1930s, which the Japanese forces had bought and further developed at home.
The Type 98 was also one of the two armament options for the IJA's Submersible Gun Mount Model 1.
