WWII Japanese 6.5mm and 7.7mm question

R

Roamin_Wade

Moderator
I collect ammunition. Part of this collection is where I have a stripper clip collection that have the ammo in them. I have the Garand Enbloc, the English SMLE and the German 8mm stripper clip. I just ordered the Russian clip to fill with ammo and put in my display. I’ve looked for the Japanese rounds but I couldn’t find any stripper clips for either of the two rounds they used in WWII. Does anyone reading this know if they used them like all others did in WWII?
 
Most people use Swedish Mauser stripper clips for their Type 99 and Type 38 rifles. They fit perfidy and can be found relatively affordable on eBay, that's where I got mine.
 
yes, the did use stripper clips, pretty much the same as other Mauser type rifles used. I can't give you details, but I know they used them.

One thing I can tell you is that they had a light machinegun that used the 5rnd rifle stripper clips. I'd have to look in my references to name the type/model but it is known.

A rather ingenious design, with a critical flaw. The gun had a "hopper" on the side, and the loaded 5rnd strippers were dropped in, 4 or 5 laying on top of each other. The idea was that the gun could be fed from the regular infantry strippers as needed.

However, it didn't work well. The complicated mechanism to feed from the strippers actually did work ok, however, the gun's designer made it to run on lubricated ammunition, and the regular infantry ammo, wasn't lubricated. Technically brilliant, tactically, a piece of crap.
 
I have never been to a gun show that didn't have a table full of stripper clips, I have never not found what I needed at gun show that's the place to start !!!!
 
Ok, good, I have a quart size ziploc bag full of the Mauser type. Thank you! Now I’ll go to the Italian and French ones (if they had them).
 
There was a guy on another forum who posted an ad for 'em in 2009. He was asking $10 each, then, for brass stripper clips. $15.00 each for steel clips that were intended for a Type 92 hopper fed LMG but also worked in a Type 99.
Use the Mauser clips for a display. Nobody will check.
 
Stripper clips

Yes they did use them. Although Japanese weaponry was in reality primative compared to most other countries arms, they did have a light machinegun that the infantry could pass down their clips and they could be feed into a magazine hopper so the machinegun could lay down cover fire. To me that was a pretty innovative feature especially since most folks think of their infantry tactics as banzai charges.
 
Thank you all very much! Great information from great folks in a great forum that is head and shoulders better than the others...
 
There was a guy on another forum who posted an ad for 'em in 2009. He was asking $10 each, then, for brass stripper clips. $15.00 each for steel clips that were intended for a Type 92 hopper fed LMG but also worked in a Type 99.
Use the Mauser clips for a display. Nobody will check.
Click to expand...

I still have German 8MM57 in their original CLIPS WITH 3 to the box for 15 (15) rounds. And then there is this box of long clips that have to be for 223/NATO.

F. Guffey
 
"One thing I can tell you is that they had a light machinegun that used the 5rnd rifle stripper clips. I'd have to look in my references to name the type/model but it is known."

That was the Type 11 Light Machine Gun, designed by Kijiro Nambu, and adopted into service in 1922.

As originally designed it was to provide commonality of ammunition with the rifle squad it supported. In theory, that's a great idea. Supply is simplified with everyone using same ammo on the same clips.

In practice, however, the rifle round proved to be too powerful and a special cartridge, the 6.5x50 Genso, was adopted, which was supplied on 5-round stripper clips, just like the rifle ammo.

The feed mechanism, while odd, worked well.

The gun did require lubricated cartridges because Nambu never quite figured out the importance of slower primary extraction so that the case head wouldn't come off, leaving the case body in the chamber. And that lubrication (via a small reservoir on top of the receiver) was an invitation for stoppages due to accumulated dirt and powder fouling.

All in all, however, the gun proved to be quite reliable when kept clean. Otherwise, not a great gun.



There's a LOT of very good information about the gun, its operation, and its ammo here: http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=2868

Included about 2/3rds of the way down the page is a REALLY neat photo of an ammo case containing 24 5-round stripper clips.
 
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