The Arisaka Type 38 rifle (三八式歩兵銃, san-bachi-shiki hoheijū), or also know as the Type 38 Year Meiji Carbine, was a rifle used by Japan during the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Civil War, the First World War, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Second World War. It is the oldest Japanese rifle used in Forgotten Hope Secret Weapon! It entered in service during the 38th year of the Meiji Period (stands for 1905) as the successor to the Type 30 Arisaka.
The name Arisaka comes from the Japanese Colonel, Arisaka Nariakira, the inventor of the Arisaka Rifle who died on January 12, 1915. The design was a combination off the German Mauser and the Hungarian Mannlicher designs, with some Japanese innovations. The results was this beautiful rifle fired the 6.5×50mm Arisaka bullet, this round was less powerful than most rifle rounds and was also used in the Russian Fedorov Avtomat. This relatively small caliber ensures that there is a low recoil. Like the Mle 1886 Lebel It was a long rifle which might give the edge in bayonet fighting but made it cumbersome. However, it not only entered Japanese service but was also exported to other countries including Russia, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Through Russia Arisaka rifles also ended up in Finland, Estonia and Poland. Because there were was a need to have something handier, in a different calibre or to produce something similar domestically many variants of the design were made. For the Japanese military, some rifles were redesigned with the new 7,7mm rounds and become the Arisaka Type 99 rifle. Atleast 3,400,000 rifles had been produced between 1905 and 1945. While the Japanese military would not use Arisaka rifles after the war they were still used after the war in countries that had been occupied by Japan like China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
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Type 97 Sniper[]
Type 97 Sniper
General Historical Information
Place of origin
Japan
Type
Scoped rifle
Rate of Fire
Around 30 rpm
Magazine
5 rounds
Ammunition
6.5x50mm Arisaka
General Ingame Information
Used by
Japan Finland
Scope
The Type 97 Sniper rifle was a variant of the rifle. Its length was useful in that it limited the muzzle flash which made it harder to track down the sniper. The rifle could also mount a monopod but the feature was removed in later production.
Leftovers from the Finnish Civil War Arisaka rifles were actually the first scoped rifles of the Finnish armed forces. They mostly underwent testing and with various types of scopes but due to chronic shortages of scoped rifles would see use during the wars in Finland. Designated Sniper Rifle M/28 by the Finnish military (not to be confused with the M/28 rifle, a Finnish variant of the Mosin Nagant. Found on Suomussalmi ingame.
The Japanese Arisaka Type 38 Carbine (三八式騎銃 Sanpachi-shiki kijū?) was a short barreled version of the bolt-action Type 38 rifle, it was used by the Japanese cavalry, engineers and artillery troops during the First- and Second World War. It entered service in 1905. It was very accurate, and the rifle barrel was 310 mm shorter than the standard rifle. Unlike the rifle it can not fit a bayonet. The Type 38 carbine was introduced at the same time as the Type 38 rifle but the later Type 44 carbine which was produced from 1912 onwards had a under folding spike bayonet and other extra features. All weapons were produced atleast until 1942 in various arsenals but the Type 38 carbine remained in production until 1944 likely because it was less expensive.
