Type 89 Knee Mortar
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- Опубліковано 22 вер 2015
- / forgottenweapons
The Type 89 grenade discharger, commonly known as the "knee mortar" was a Japanese light infantry weapon introduced in 1929 which blurs the lines between grenade launcher and mortar. Like a mortar, it fires propelled explosive bombs in a high-angle indirect fire role, but it has a rifled barrel and uses a range adjustment mechanism very different from most mortars.
The knee mortar proved to be a very capable and effective weapon in WWII against US forces. It was accurate, effective, and perhaps most importantly, light and very fast to put into action. The closest comparable US weapon was the 60mm light mortar, which had a more effective projectile but was significantly slower to use.
Of course, the "knee mortar" nickname was based on the theoretical belief that one was supposed to rest the curved baseplate of the weapon on a leg while firing, which would actually have resulted in a broken leg. The baseplate was curved to allow it to dig into soft soil and be used against objects like logs and roots.
A little note on WW2 Japanese military gear, specifically it's universal lightness.
Japanese military gear was specifically designed for the combat theatres the IJA and IJN would operate in and the lightness of the equipment was a fundamental characteristic of this. This went from infantry support weapons right up to their much-maligned tanks. For instance, the Japanese tanks were laughably inadequate against late war US M4 Shermans but those very M4s could rarely get where the Japanese tanks might be except in the islands campaign. Japanese tanks were designed to be able to cross the flimsy Asian bridges and consistently turned up where it was considered impossible for them to be, especially in the early war. Another example was at the Battle of the Kokoda Track where Australian troops encountered attacking IJA troops that actually didn't outnumber them as much as was originally thought but the IJA troops brought up mortars, heavy machine guns and light artillery that the Australians had left behind as their Commonwealth-pattern, like all other weapons bar Japanese ones, were simply too heavy to haul over the Owen Stanley Ranges' knife-blade ridges. Time and time again in that fight the Australians were forced out of their positions by accurate support fire for which they had no answer.
In conclusion its quite easy for us, especially knowing how the war turned out with hindsight, to deride Japanese equipment but it was all well thought-out gear that the Japanese simply didn't have the industrial power to change and re-equip when they came up against the massive industrial power of the US military.
Well said!
Nailed it. I hate when people bitching about Japanese tanks, thin armor, underpowered, sucks, etc. Yes, they sucks for western standards, but for asian landscape when terrain is hard to reach and the jungle is impenetrable, lightness is your bes friend
I've read that Japanese armour (at least at a point in the war where there was still a credible force available) frequently surprised allied troops by manoeuvring through apparently dense jungle, thought to be impassable by tanks (and for good reason, because nothing in the West was light or small enough to). Most especially in Malaya and Singapore.
On another note though - over estimating the ability of trees to defend against attack seemed to be a common theme in the allied armies...
@@dimdimbramantyo7666 What makes it worse is that Japanese tanks in the 1920s and through to the mid 30s were considered to be some of the most cutting-edge and high-quality in the world. And I'd argue that their performance against the Western Powers is a testament to how good they actually were because they were basically being used in almost the exact opposite of the conditions in which they had been developed for and yet were still remarkably effective in that role.
Commonwealth gear must work in Africa, Europe, India, Australia, all over the world. Japanese pretty much knew, where they will fight and they prepared for that. When it comes to ingenuity and adaptability, I think that Soviets nailed it better than Japanese. When they didn't have specialised machine tools and qualified work force, they improvised, made their weapons simpler, they went heavily into stamped machine guns. Why Japanese never did that? Germany and Soviet Union really learned their lessons during the war and improved, moved into new directions. British also did that, USA went into the war later, so they could built on experience of others. Japanese seems to just threw their hands into the air and never really improved. Soviets crushed their army and tanks in 1939, so they had plenty of evidence of their deficiency. Why there was so little drive to change that? British were fighting Germans on their doorstep, so no wonder their performance was luckluster early in the war. Japanese weren't stupid, they must knew that this luck would not last forever.
As a mortar man and forward observer, I will say, this a way more genius design than our 60mm, even with the bubble trigger. 10 pounds.? Come on, this thing has so much advanced technology for its time.
Yeah, this thing looks hella effective.
The Japanese had a lot of amazing military tech, the last ditch stuff is where it got janky
The Japanese could almost drop a grenade directly on top of your head with one of these.
This weapon is intended to provide fire power to the front line in a close battle instead of costly heavy machineguns.
This concept itself comes from Japanese doctrine limited by poor military budget.
The U.S. was so rich that they could prepare many machineguns. Many BARs, M1919s and even Garand rifles were severe threats for Japanese soldiers. And they outweighed Japanese fire power.
The French have a weapon similar to this
i used to be in the military like you but then i shot a mortar from my knee
YOU’RE IN THE ARMY NOW!!!
Erik Gustafson I hate you now
I wonder how many people actually got the Skyrim reference
@@matt1523 Considering how much Skyrim's been played, probably everyone. Possibly even their mothers and/or dogs too. XD
matt1523 I don't play computer games so I didn't. Thanks
I can confirm that they do indeed shatter your upper leg. My grandfather, a merchant Marine serving the Island campaigns saw some idiot do it. I dont recall the island and, sadly at his age, my grandfather doesnt either but he was on shore helping set up a supply outpost and someone who had one was collecting folks to watch him shoot it at a pond. He knelt down, placed the cup on his leg and pulled the trigger, not only did it shatter his femur but it also ripped his leg open severely.
+foughtwolf Ouch! Thanks for sharing.
+foughtwolf Yeah, i had heard of this weapon, yet never knew why it was called that way. I thought it was a feature...kind of shocking to find out that people actually considered to place them on any part of their bodies.
+foughtwolf There is never a shortage of stupid people
+foughtwolf Squid got to be, read my comment.
+foughtwolf Hmm, the recoil would be relative to the range you set though, I wonder if it might have been okay if you set it to the shortest range? I'm envisioning it could be used as a hand-held grenade launcher hehe.
After a series of accidents during testing, the Type 89 Mortar was refused certified by the Elbonian Munitions and Small Arms Ministry. How the testers managed to break their noses and jaws was not explained.
Those pesky Elbonians are at it again!
After switching to two man mortar teams, the Type 89 mortar gained notoriety as the Elbonian Butt Splitter!
I read "Knee Mortar" and thought to myself: "Sounds like someone stupid enough tried it."
people DID try it and ended up with shattered bones and severe lacerations.....
No matter, how Idiot-proof something is, the world keeps inventing better idiots. (aka: There is always that one guy, who thinks, he knows better!)
Since its adjustable it goes from broken femur to amputation. Id hope if they tried it they would at least reduce the range as much as possible, but if you had that kind of foresight, you'd probably not try it in the first place.
I feel like one or two people tried it and it turned into a "Did you hear about that dumbass in Bravo?" kind of story. Not as many people as you'd think but not as few as you'd hope
It's called a knee mortar, so wouldn't you be on your knees (aka kneeling) at least to fire it?
That dial turn is really smooth. Whoever owned it took really good care of it.
Actually, looking at him work it i\t does work smooth but there is a lot of slack in it. perfectly understandable when you want to work it covered in mud leaves and crap on a jungle floor. Perfect design for what it is and what it does
This things seems like the PERFECT paratroop weapon.
@absourate the tokkoutai is not the navy paratroopers tho, tokkoutai is special attack unit
@@machinegunlament I think he meant that say, US or British paratroopers or paratroopers in general, would have benefited of such a weapon.
Whenever I've seens these mortars, they're usually presented as being some sort of crude and clumsy weapon; and, from a distance, it really looks the part. I'm surprised that it was actually really sophisticated, proof that first impressions aren't everything. Thank you so much, Ian!
The range setting idea and the expanding copper driving band are really clever. Imagine two or three soldiers firing these rapidly, they'd make a carpet of explosions.
@@AshleyPomeroy Japanese soldiers in the early part of the war (in China especially) were really good with this thing. And not just because of how the mechanic works. Many of them trained so much that they developed certain "feel" to the weapon, with which precision not really supported by how the weapon itself was designed could be achieved in real battle.
The only time ive seen one of these weapon in a war moving was a horrible nicholas cage movie called wind talkers or something like that.
It's bloody rifled lol.
There was a bit of excitement at one of the local Sheriff's departments about a month ago. Someone was cleaning out Grandpa's attic and came across a strange looking object, they weren't sure what it was but it looked like something that might go "boom" so they took it to the Sheriff's department for advice on what to do with it. The deputy on duty at the front desk quickly determined that, yes, this looks like some type of explosive device and following procedure evacuated the building and called the bomb squad. Turns out the object in question was a very much live round for a Type 89 knee mortar.
Gotta be careful with that stuff
Stupidest thing you can do is bring it to the pigs! 😁
@@ChiTownGuerrilla Only if you still have the Mortar!
@@ChiTownGuerrilla Nowhere near as stupid as letting it become a play toy for your kids.
@@ChiTownGuerrilla You'd need to register it legally or have it deactivated. The resale value on these is high but highly unlikely you'll happen across someone interested. No one wants these laying around even apocalypse preppers, as the weapon isn't very effective without several grenades anyway. All it takes is enough force like something falling on it and it'll go off taking the rest of the addict with it. OH and let's not forget fires caused by damn squirrels living in your addict, last thing you want is a missing addict and house.
The name of the weapon is 八九式重擲弾筒, literally means type89 heavy grenade thrower. Just in case anyone wonders.
mortar in Japanese would be 迫撃砲
it does seem to throw some heavy grenades after all...
*Rising storm PTSD intensifies*
Feraligatorade 1999 BANZAI
Kirk Hammett Who needs to call in arty when you have knee mortars!
Dude I love your profile picture lmao
*Incompetent TL calls naval on his own troops*
but can't you fire these from the hip in that game which irl would destroy you? Still that game has some serious ptsd. The flame thrower is so brutal...
Japanese had a lot of really clever and well built weapons. Early war type 99 arisakas had chrome line barrels and the strongest bolt action in the whole war according to the Hatch's reports on the weapon.
The sheer wealth of interesting information that comes out of this youtube channel is absolutely staggering.
Amen brother, Amen. Been at this game sixty years, learn something new every time Ian pulls another one out. Semper Fidelis.
What a well designed piece of kit it was - quite an eyeopener. I've seen reports from allied troops who thought it was a crude weapon and credited the Japanese with being extremely well practiced and highly skilled to extract consistently accurate fire from these. However, while skill and practice still played a part it is obvious that it is actually an excellent weapon.
Well, the Marines certainly didn't think so anymore after Guadalcanal.
“I consider it imperative that the Army and Marines be equipped with knee mortars and only carry one type grenade." - then Lt. Col. Lewis M. "Chesty" Puller
I showed one of these to my neighbor a Para Marine from Bougainville to Iwo Jima . He said every one they saw had a bullet hole in the barrel to insure that it wouldn't be used against them later. He thought the Japanese had practiced with them for months before they landed and knew the ranges to every point on the islands.
This mortar made the Japanese extremely good at ambushing targets. They could sneak up on and pound targets with these mortars at a high speed and then charge into the confused enemy. Having this also meant that ambushed Japanese units could throw a lot of firepower at their attackers and blast their way out of an ambush.
Many scoff at Japanese weapons, but a lot of them were extremely effective, quite clever and sometimes even ahead of their time. After all, it took the USA almost four years to beat them back and both sides took massive casualties.
I always understood the term "knee mortar" as referencing a sort of down-on-one-knee firing stance, highlighting the mobility of the piece- you'd get in position, drop to a knee, set up the weapon, and fire
This is what i thought too. As all you would have to to to set up the motar is take a knee
The French army has wisely revisited this technology.
Minor correction: the pressure created in that small chamber would have negligible differences due to volume.
It is actually the amount of time said pressure will act on the projectile that changes the amount of energy transferred to the projectile.
The deeper it sits in the barrel the longer it will be acted upon by the gasses before it leaves and breaks the seal.
Love these videos, keep up the good work.
Having been in the Marine Corps, I'm certain that the term "knee mortar" would come from the position it would have been fired from... It is not uncommon, in certain engagements, for a mortarman to "take a knee" and fire his mortar without the support legs and sight aperture, using his arm to change the angle of the tube and adjust range... If any American Marines and soldiers got their hands on this weapon in the Pacific during the Pacific campaign this is the most likely way they would have deployed this weapon...
I kinda figured that, I also figure the disparity in technical knowledge between a grunt or specialist like that and someone working behind the lines would lead them to come to the other, incorrect and painful, conclusion when the grunt tells them 'it's called a knee mortar'.
I thought it was short for kneeoirdonasan, the nickname the Japanese had for it....I'm certain....
That's an incredibly clever weapon
As a paratrooper in the South African army in the 80’s we had something similar - the 60mm patrol mortar or Patmor. A 60mm mortar with no bipod, a handle on the top and a small pad as a base plate. Just placed it on the ground, used a spirit level type bubble on the handle to check the range and white stripe down the tube to aim. Was fired by pulling a lanyard at the base.
Could be easily carried and fired by one man if required. Each person in a ten man section/squad could carry two bombs, giving you twenty per tube.
Alxo used by the Irish mortar (known as 'commando mortar')
Great breakfast! First I get a Matt Easton video on William Wallace's sword and now I get to watch you use a mortar as I finish my coffee. Great start to the day.
LOL. Almost exactly what I did as well, except I watched two new scishows between Matt's video and this one.
+Daniel Taylor I just watched the same two videos, only for me it's an afternoon thing.
Me too!
+Daniel Taylor Lol, same here. There are lot of us obviously : )
+Daniel Taylor Matt and Ian should do some project together sometime. Not sure what, but together they cover most of a millenium of military small arms.
What an incredibly well designed, tiny, yet utterly terrifying weapon to be up against.
I always thought of these as more of a curiosity than a real weapon, but having learned more about them, I see they are real and useful weapons.
Man... the potential this has in a jungle with the direct fire... you just find a tree, give it a hug with this beast infront of you... and fire from a standing position using the tree as both cover, brace and buffer.
When I saw that you did a video on this, it brought a smile to my face because the "knee mortar" is one of my favorite infantry weapons just due to how ingenious it was in its construction and simplicity.
This is the only time I have seen detail on this weapon. I have heard many stories of soldiers in the Pacific being very afraid of being bombed by these as they were so accurate. Well done!
I think you said "tAki dEn to", but it's actually "tEki dAn to". It spells "擲 弾 筒" btw.
The actual name of this weapon is "八九式重擲弾筒", means "Type 89 'heavy' grenade discharger".
Pronounces "Hachi kyu siki ju teki dan to".
"Hachi kyu" means "89".(Not 'eighty' nine, but 'eight' nine)
"Siki" means "Type".
"Ju"(重) means "Heavy", and umm... even though I'm a Japanese, the rest is difficult to translate.
"Teki"(擲) means "Discharging". Also means "Throwing", "Pitching", "Casting".
"Dan"(弾) can be translated to "Bullet", "Ammo", "Shell", "Bomb"... things like those. This time, it indicates "Grenade".
"To"(筒) means... well, "Tube"(or pipe, cylinder).
Technically speaking, "Tekidanto" is a "Grenade discharging tube".
But of course Japanese don't recognize "Tekidanto" as a tube, but a discharger. We translate freely(kind of) these Kanji.
Sorry if you already know these, and excuse my Engrish.
I love your videos! Keep it up with your great work!
You did well! Your English is actually quite good
+Baker Tankersley Behold! A pure, native Otaku!
Oh, no photographs please.
i am chinese and i think i can read out the characters and sounds like chinese ..... zhi dan ton
So much work on so little thing.
Just. Thanks for your time and effort, man. Wow.
Hidemaru Hayakawa wow that's pretty cool. Thanks for the explanation mate. Very interested and informative.😀
That is personally one of my favorite weapons in the imperial Japanese arsenal. I love that you were able to make a video with one and show us all. Thank you so much.
I was a traveller like you, but then a mortar broke my knee
Very precise ranging for people with limited ammo aiming for specific targets.... in british service the 2 inch mortar was usually just angled by experience and walking fire... so that an operator with a box of bombs could easily put 30 into an enemy position or attack wave in under a minute.... given its many uses and incredible cheapness.. it's surprising that all militaries don't have it at platoon level...
I had heard about the "knee mortar" but I always thought it was a very rudimentary, simple, spray and pray type of weapon. Thanks for educating me on the actual operation and effectiveness of this fine combat weapon. I kind of wish we had them when I was in Vietnam. Would have been most useful.
This thing is superb, the ingenuity and simplicity is remarkable, and Ian, you couldn't've done it more justice
People don't know how much energy comes from a mortar. They think of Hollywood war movies where the motar goes "Boop" and shoots out like a tennis ball.
The real eye-opener is seeing a big ol' mortar on a big ol' baseplate dug well into the ground... and then watching that fucker *jump* when a round goes up.
Often read about those. Didnt realise they were so well built. I find it a amazingly clever design
This is actually a really advanced mortar, there are a lot of misconceptions about Japanese tech during ww2
the main appeal of these videos is that they answer relevant questions, how were the weapons used, what were the tactics used by the army, very informative and entertaining! : )
So cool. Thanks for showing this weapon. I remembered my father telling me about these as a kid. I haven’t thought about or heard anything regarding these for 35+ years.
WOW, neat weapon with an interesting history! Thanks for the heads up on the Knee Mortar my Uncles used to talk about. They were both marines and had more then a passing acquaintance with this weapon, they respected its effective and quick action only too well!
My Great-uncle Ernie was hit by one of these in New Guinea in WW2. He had a piece of mortar shell embedded in his leg for the rest of his life.
My father was in the Counter Intelligence Corp in the Philippines, and often talked about how effective these were. He caught a piece of shrapnel in one of his fingers, and never got it fixed, just to help him remember. Greatest generation indeed.
Thankyou so much for this video! I learn tons of new things watching this channel. As a WWII enthusiast this was highly interested to learn. I had no idea it was so versatile. Not just a mortar indeed.
Crikey! That's really a very elegant and simple weapon. I've heard that the Japanese had rather silly rifles and pistols, but some designs were really well done - like this Type 89.
+RyanRyzzo To be fair there was nothing especially wrong with the rifles they used, I'm guessing the bad press comes from late war last ditch model!
+RyanRyzzo The Japanese Arisakas were just copies of Mauser 98s, So excellent rifles... (their quality declined heavily towards the end of the war, although that wasnt the gun but manufacturing). And the Type 14 pistol really isnt as bad as implied. Kind of 'dainty' and a weak cartridge but not a bad gun design. And the type 89 here obviously, which could be used very effectively and was ahead of its time...
But at the same time the type 94 was horrible. Their heavy machine guns were impractical. They never utilized SMGs effectively (or came up with a cheaper alternative to the Type 100, or even issued the 100 in significant numbers). They never issued tanks in significant numbers either. And the ones they did have were so small they were basically useless. At the beginning of the war the Zero reigned supreme, but they never upgraded their airplanes so by the end of the war the Zero was outclassed.
The Japanese were interesting because they could produce something good if they wanted to, but they also weren't afraid to issue total junk.
I guess having faith in the 'samurai spirit' or whatever would whisk them to victory despite many odds.
+sergeantbigmac Their heavy machine guns were just different, accurate at even long ranges and sometimes equipped with optics. They weren't best in the surprising fire role, but as Japanese never had enough ammunition they were not supposed to shoot like this anyway. Japanese during training put a lot of emphasis on accurate aiming.
I also dont understand what is all that constant SMGs crap. SMG's did not prove to be effective weapon in jungle. But to being with, Japanese encountered smgs long before ww2 and were aware of both advantages and shortcomings of those guns. The large numbers of MP 18 and MP 28 were used by Chinese in Shanghai in 1932 when SNLF fought them, so the formation responded adopting both captured weapons and placing an order for foreign designs like Steyr-Solothurn S1-100. SNLF also operated later also tommy guns or Beretta 1938. In later pictures from 1932 its not hard to spot that standard SNLF company was armed with 8-18 smgs. According to some documents every platoon was intended to be armed in 2-4 smgs.
True, Japanese Army was slower on adoption and ended up producing only over 25,000 smgs at the war, but this lack was partially covered by usage of captured guns. For instance Japanese 38th Infantry Division sent on Guadalcanal had over 50 thomphsons captured on allied soldiers.
But main question is if the lack of the smgs was such a flaw as its presented in the video. It appears that even US Marines quickly saw the flaws of this type of firearm, and unlike the "specialist" claims it was not a great weapon in the jungle where pistol cartridge often failed to go through foliage. If one would dare to read the US Marines memoirs or at least „The Fighting Submachine Gun” by Timothy Mullin than he would realize what I'm talking about.
After all the smgs were most common in 1942-1943 in US Marine formations, but in the F-100 Series Marine Division type officially created in 1944 indicated only 49 smgs in the whole division, none in the front-line regiments ... unlike 100 trench guns every regiment had.
So maybe that submachine gun was not such a great weapon to fight in jungle if even Marine Corps decided to put more emphasis on M1 carbine and M97/M12 riot shotgun.
Besides, Zero was not the only Navy fighter. They also had Jack and George, not to mention whole other branch - Japanese Army which run Oscar, Tojo, Tony, Frank and Nick. And its not even that they did not upgrade their Zeros, but were not able to replace them due to lack of powerful enough engine.
There is a lot you still have to learn ...
Hiromachi 篠原 弘道 Im talking about heavy MGs like the 92. Overly heavy and complicated feeding mechanism. Not to mention many Japanese MGs required OILED CARTRIDGES to be reliable!... How is that at all practical?!?
I have a hard time believing that about SMGs. In my own testing, ive shot different pistol calibers such as 380 and 9mm through car doors (!) and they kept on going without any apparent problems. If it can go through layers of metal and plastics, how does foliage supposedly affect that same bullet so much??
The M1 Carbine was EXTREMELY popular especially in the PTO. Approximately 6 million were made in WWII, compared to about 3.5 million M1 Garands produced during WWII. The .30 carbine round was essentially a pistol caliber, so why then was the Carbine so popular?
Marines had such a high demand for SMGs that they even developed their own (the Reising) because they couldnt get Thompsons fast enough! Front line Marine and Army squads in the PTO would typically have 2 BARS and at least 2 SMGs per squad. Whereas squads in the ETO typically only had one per because combat was more open, where rifles excelled.
Another example, In Vietnam some soldiers carried Thompsons and Grease Guns early on, before the development of the XM177. SMGs are very effective in close combat such as urban or jungle fighting.
Thanks for the advice. Im learning everyday. I recently read a book about the invasion of China and the Rape of Nanking. Interesting read on something I didnt know much about before.
Type 92 was supposed to be heavy to improve stability, if I’’m not mistaken there is a video Ian made a video about it explaining where did all that weight come from. It was not a design flaw. Besides, Japanese MG’s did not require oiled cartridges, they were an addition, those mgs could run without them just like they do this days. It’s not really practical, but that’s how it was with a few other machine guns of that time.
You may have a hard time believing, I was also surprised by that, but apparently it did not work as expected in the jungles. It happens to be mentioned in more than one historical account of that time. It’s not only the leafs we are talking about, but pretty much all kinds of plants and small trees.
.30 Carbine round was of a pistol caliber, but there is a lot more that made the difference than diameter, in fact it was rather called a light rifle round, please take a look at the length of the projectile, case, type of it and the amount of the propellant in it. It's different. It travels at much higher velocity than typical pistol projectiles (just compare the energy of the .30 Carbine with the standard .45 ACP of that time).
Yeah, they looked for so many SMGs that they actually got rid of almost all of them until mid 1944, I mean just google the F-100 Marine Division OOB and see yourself how the equipment changed. Besides, Pacific is hardly urban and not only jungle.
In regard to the last one, I’m not sure what’s that supposed to mean in this context so I wont comment on that. It’s not even related to the above discussion. Have a good day.
M79 : I am Grenade Launcher
RPG-7 : I am a Rocket Launcher
Type 89 : confused screaming.
Man that's some phenomenal engineering in both the range finding and the ballistics/firing system. Thanks for showing us how it works!
I had seen these in dozen of movies and never paid them any real attention. But now I think they are quite ingenious. This is why I am subscribed.
A number of Australian soldier tried the same thing, my great uncle included and limped the rest of his life.
"Nico Nico KNEE MORTAR"
"IMPERIALISM INTENSIFIES" - Japanese Soldier Circa 1943
n i c e
I’m reading a novel about WWII which mentions a “50 mm knee mortar. What a GREAT explanation. Just enough detail. Well done.
I love your channel, man. Always extremely informative, and definitely respectful to the soldiers who used these weapons.
I had been curious about these.
In about 2007 my dad and I were visiting the WWII museum in New Orleans. We saw one of these on display.
I said I heard they were very useful.
He said Ya. One time he and 4 guys were carrying an empty litter across a field in New Guinea.
Little mortar rounds started to drop around them.
The other 4 guys took off in different directions.
My dad laid down in a little low spot, maybe 4 inches deep.
The litter lying next to him was hit 2 or 3 times and blown into the air, but they didn't get him.
He said after a while they stopped shooting at him. Maybe they ran out of rounds. Maybe they decided that was enough ammo expenditure against one guy.
When things quieted down my dad got up and ran away.
I said I was glad he didn't get killed, for both of us.
He laughed.
He was about 20 at the time of thy incident, and from the few photos skinny as a rail.
He lied in 1940 to join the National Guard in Tucson at the age of 16. We have his paperwork when the military caught it in 1943 and corrected his birth date.
I bet they were proud of the kids they found out later had lied to get in like that.
Those WWII vets were a different breed. They didn't run around apologizing for themselves or who they were. I'm glad to say I'm starting to see a lot of them in our vets these days. Good job.
why are we not using designs based on this? Would be a great addition to a typical infantry platoon, much better than logging around a 60mm.
THANK YOU IAN!!!!! That was fascinating. My Dad was in the Marines in WWII. I was in the Marines during the Vietnam War. I grew up reading about Guadalcanal and Japanese Knee Mortars - and now - I know how they work!
That really is quite clever. I had always assumed that they were basically a mortar.
One of the things about this particular arrangement - is that you could advance with the weapon loaded and then quickly fire it, ... not much ... but ... something ... like an M-79.
One of the things ... some ... mortar men and grenadiers could do - is put those rounds EXACTLY where they wanted them to go. I had an instructor in Jr. ROTC who had been a Army mortar man during WWII - and on a bet - had dropped a mortar round right down the chimney of a house. There was a camera crew there - who filmed this - and I have seen that film. What infuriated my instructor was the guy narrating the film said the Marines did it. Boy was he pissed.
But - that raises the question - that (even though I understand completely your description of how it was to be aimed) I wonder if some of the Knee Mortar gunners couldn't adjust their elevation to get a more vertical drop on their rounds. That is the kind of thing Americans would do ... but I'm not so sure about Japanese ... their culture tended to be more disciplined and conformist. A Japanese saying is: "The Nail That Sticks Out - Gets Hit On The Head."
For a regular mortar - you have two things that govern where the shell is going to go. One is the azimuth and elevation of the tube - the other is the number of little powder bags attached to the base of the shell that you use. IIRC ... if it's like artillery ... you had what they called Charge 7 ... which was essentially all the little powder bags but - as with Artillery - you could include how ever many of those powder bags you wanted. (Of course - you had to put the ones you didn't use somewhere they wouldn't cause a problem).
With the Knee Mortar - the elevation was to be a constant - but the propulsive force was regulated by the amount of pressure put on the base of the shell - and - how long it spent in the tube with that propulsive force trapped behind it by the expansion ring.
Yes. Very interesting. Thanks Again!
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your analysis in detail and overall description were excellent. i also liked ur demo too for conclusion. thx!
Wow Ian, thank you so much, this was a very informative video. I was blown away when you described the way the range selection works with the pressure from the propellant. That is reallllllly cool. And the way the copper bit on the round engages with the rifling only after you've fired the thing, maaann that is some sweet design.
Thanks for all of your videos, I've watched almost every one.
ive always wondered about the firing procedure and process for this weapon. thanks for the vid cheers
Your presentations are always interessting and well explained.
Keep up the good work !
That was very educating and interesting, had no knowledge that this weapon even existed untill I stumbled upon this video. Thumbs up!
Ian, one little advantage you didn't mention was that unlike any other form of artillery of the time (that I know of), since the range is adjusted by changing chamber size instead of firing angle, you only need a single, very small clearing in the jungle canopy or urban ruins to fire this out to any range in a given direction. This made it very easy to conceal and difficult to notice even if the enemy could see the "port" it was firing out of. A regular mortar would need its angle of fire clear from 45 degrees up to around 85, rare enough in the jungle that it would be noticeable.
Now I can use this thing on Rising Storm with some semblance of skill
Thanks, Ian!
How did I know this ridiculous and cute little launcher was japanese just from a glance?
This channel is great and always spontaneous.
This really is an ingenious design. Honestly not sure why this design hasn't been copied and used even today. Although there are now underbarrel launchers, something like this could deliver some extra punch when needed, since underbarrel grenades aren't particularly powerful.
Magni56 Oh cool, had no idea about that.
Awesome video. I have always wondered what "knee mortars" were all about. Keep up the great work!
Anyone else notice the bluing is actually pretty snazzy
Great job explaining how this worked. I can see how they were so devastating. Thanks.
I watch one of your vids everyday, so I learn something new everyday! Keep it up Ian
That system is pretty damn awesome!
This is very cool, pretty clever and practical.
My uncle had one of those mortar shells in a display cabinet in their basement. I always wondered what that was. Brings back memories of 3+ decades ago.
These videos are fascinating. Thanks, Ian.
Someone here wants to play Rising storm ?
+F3LDK0CH TENNO HEKKA BANZAAAAIIIIIIIII.
+F3LDK0CH , do not want, but this game was very funny )
+Waffen-SS Nordland The Freedom Dispenser is a good counter for Bonzai Charges, though.
capnazrael
I know, i was very happy about these :)
I really would ike to see the DP27 and the modded MP40 with the mag slide
yass
Just goes to show that you don't need large, heavy, complicated devices to get good close support fire quickly. I bet you could lob a good half dozen of those shells before getting a "conventional" mortar set up.
My life will now never be complete without a WW2 IJA Type 89 knee mortar.....
the way it adjusts range is so ingenious
Looks like a very effective weapon system. Why did our Rich Uncle, Sam never adopt something like this?
I'll bet the boys in Nam would have loved this as an addition to the M-79.
M79
Quite an interesting and rather ingenious firing system.
Ian, I am retired Army, and I believe that where there is smoke, something combustible has, or is about to ignite. I have met some incredibly stupid individuals (I will include myself in that statement on occasion). For instance - I can also see some bored supply clerks screwing around with one of these things in a recently secured rear area. Derp.
Super imprecise with all the hand motions
Wow, I never realized how well thought out the Japanese mortar was. I have the British version which is much less sophisticated.
Clever design, respect!
That is a DAMN clever range-adjustment method...!
this is one of the most ingenious weapons ive seen on this channel
From the description of how it was used, and the role it played, I wonder if this was part of the inspiration for the m79. A readily available, lightweight and portable way to put HE on a target. Rifle grenades work at closer ranges, but are awkward and slow to fire. Both this and the m79 offer much more rapid response, and can be used in direct or indirect fire. The m79 just trades a bit of range for versatility and possibly size/weight (a common trend among almost all weapon classes at the time)
Honestly, this looks like a practical and very much useful weapon! Well done Japan!
It's crazy how they still use these in certain military circles. Not a bad design.
Very interesting. I've heard about them but didn't know much about them.
Thanks very much for this.
This weapon gave me PTSD in Rising Storm
The french still use a modern version of this called the mle f1.
I never heard about this, but it's pretty clever. Especially the distance setting system.
I can imagine an attack with these: run, take cover, spin the range dial, shoot, change position, adjust range then shoot from a different angle but closer. Light, fast, versatile.
I never knew this weapon existed at all, and I'm retired 11C Infantry, great find, and it looks in great condition too.
I have seen one image of a USGI with a Knee Mortar on his leg. So at least one American contemplated using it that way.
anybody who has played rising storm knows about this and dreads it if they play a the USA
It seems like the inspiration for the m79 /m203 40mm grenade launcher. More range than a hand thrown grenade and less weight than an all up mortar.
+Jeffrey Plum ...And more practical than a rifle grenade. It filled a void and was ahead of its time, considering the 203 wasnt adopted until like 3 decades later.
What a well thought out weapon.
I have a book on weapons in which there is a contemporary picture of a GI with the mortar firmly placed on his leg.
Perhaps the US Army/Marines thought they knew better than their troops...
It wouldn't be the first incidence of the tail wagging the dog.
Having been a Sapper I would not be lying behind anything like that to fire it....call it a gut feeling ;X
Again, a very fine show on this much maligned very cool weapon. Thanks again Ian.
Wow, i always liked these things just on the pure concept (hyper light mortar) but i had no idea they were actually that ingenious and sophisticated. I thought they were "just" ordinary fin stabilized drop mortars. Thanks for enlightening!