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Remembered Today:

.303 British and 7.7mm Arisaka


Pete1052

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How similar are the .303-caliber British and 7.7mm Arisaka cartridges? On an American forum I read that the Japanese patterned the 7.7 round on the .303 British. I read somewhere else that the Japanese also had a 7.7 cartridge for rifles and another for machine guns, not be confused with each other. I realize the question may be post-Great War but if true it's part of the Enfield saga.

I have a Model 99 Arisaka in 7.7mm that my Dad brought back from Occupation Japan in 1946. It is crude in finish but said to be extremely accurate and reliable. In 1946 my step-grandfather, a Great War veteran of the 17th London, took the firing pin out of it and it was only about 15 years ago that I found a replacement. I still don't know how the cocking piece is supposed to be put onto the bolt to make the safety work. There's a lug on it that I assume has to be aligned in a certain way.

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From Smith and Smith ("The Book of the Rifle" 1963 3rd Ed.)

"The 7.7mm cartridge used with these weapons was rimless rather than the semi-rimmed 7.7mm used with the Type 92 machine gun. The 7.7mm rimless cartridge is usuable in the machine gun; however the 7.7mm semi-rimless is not usuable in the rifles" (p318)

There is an extremely convoluted description running to about 3 paragraphs regarding the operation/assembly of the safety which I can send you if you like.

This is in addition to the article I pm'ed you about. I share your feelings as I had a battle royal to correctly reassemble my Type 38.

Chris

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Just to add a little to Chris's reply regarding the Japanese 7.7 mm rimmed cartridge:-

Post WWI the Japanese Navy bought a number of British Lewis and Vickers guns in .303 inch calibre as part of their modernisation program. Ammunition for these was supplied by Kynoch in the UK and when the Japanese started manufacturing the guns and ammunition themselves, they simply copied the British ammo designs, including the aluminium tip of the core of the ball round. The tracer, AP and incendiary rounds are also direct copies of the British designs.

Called the Type 89 Machine Gun cartridge, they were made at Yokosuka and Toyokawa Naval Arsenals and at Asahi-Okuma.

The Type 89 is fully interchangeable with the .303 British.

Regards

TonyE

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