Type 38 15 cm Howitzer

Type 38 15 cm Howitzer
Name	Type 38 15 cm Howitzer
Origin	Empire of Japan
Type	Howitzer
Service	1905–1945
Used by	Imperial Japanese Army
Wars	Russo-Japanese War, World War I, Second Sino-Japanese War, Pacific War
Designer	Krupp (licensed)
Design date	1905
Manufacturer	Osaka Arsenal, Kokura Arsenal
Production date	1905–1920s
Number	~200
Weight	2,700 kg (in action)
Part length	2.25 m (L/15)
Cartridge	Separate-loading cased charge
Caliber	149.1 mm
Velocity	290 m/s
Max range	6,000–7,000 m
Breech	Interrupted screw
Recoil	Hydro-spring
Carriage	Box trail
Elevation	-5° to +65°
Traverse	6°

Type 38 15 cm Howitzer

The Type 38 15 cm Howitzer was a Japanese heavy field howitzer adopted in the 38th year of Emperor Meiji's reign (1905) and based on Krupp designs licensed to the Empire of Japan. It served as a principal corps-level artillery piece for the Imperial Japanese Army through the early 20th century, seeing action in conflicts from the Russo-Japanese War aftermath to the Pacific War. The weapon bridged pre‑World War I European artillery practice and interwar Japanese modernization, influencing later designs at Osaka Arsenal and Kokura Arsenal.

Design and Development

Development began after field experience with foreign systems during the Russo-Japanese War prompted the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff to seek improved heavy howitzers. The design was derived from a licensed 15 cm Krupp model, incorporating an interrupted screw breech and hydro-spring recoil similar to contemporary German Empire practice. Industrialization at Osaka Arsenal and production management by the Ministry of the Army (Japan) enabled local manufacture, while technical input from Japanese artillery officers trained at the Army Artillery School (Japan) guided carriage and sighting modifications. The box trail carriage and limited traverse reflected doctrine emphasizing fixed‑emplacement, salvo fire in support of infantry assaults in continental campaigns such as operations on the Asian mainland.

Specifications

The Type 38 had a 149.1 mm caliber and a barrel length of approximately 2.25 m (L/15), producing a relatively low muzzle velocity of about 290 m/s. It fired separate-loading cased charges with shell weights in the 30–40 kg range, achieving maximum practical ranges between 6,000 and 7,000 m depending on charge and elevation. The interrupted screw breech and hydro-spring recoil system allowed for a moderate rate of fire under trained crews from units like the 1st Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment and divisional artillery formations. The carriage provided elevation from -5° to +65° and limited 6° traverse, compatible with emplacement on prepared firing platforms or rudimentary wooden ramps used in siege operations such as those seen during the Siege of Port Arthur aftermath and later in China.

Operational History

After adoption in 1905, the Type 38 equipped heavy artillery regiments of the Imperial Japanese Army and participated indirectly in post‑Russo‑Japanese War deployments on the Asian continent. During World War I, Japan's seizure of German possessions in the Pacific and Shandong resulted in sporadic use in garrison roles and coastal defense, often alongside coastal guns at fortifications administered by the Ministry of the Navy (Japan). In the 1930s, large numbers of Type 38 howitzers were committed to the Second Sino-Japanese War where they supported infantry assaults in battles around Shanghai, Nanjing, and in operations against fortified positions along the Great Wall (China). Into the Pacific War, many were retained for static defense of captured islands and homeland fortifications; they were sometimes outclassed by newer models such as the Type 4 15 cm howitzer and by modern counter-battery systems fielded by Allied forces, including United States Army and British Empire artillery. Attrition, obsolescence, and the logistical strain on arsenals led to progressive withdrawal from frontline mobile units by 1943–1944.

Variants and Modifications

Several field modifications and official variants emerged as operational experience accumulated. Early production pieces mirrored the Krupp pattern closely, while later batches produced at Kokura Arsenal featured reinforced trails and simplified sighting gear to ease production. Some units fitted the howitzers with improved recoil buffers and stronger elevating gears to handle higher charges, paralleling modernization efforts similar to those undertaken for the Type 41 75 mm Mountain Gun. A limited number were mounted on improvised firing platforms or static coastal emplacements for harbor defense around Taiwan and Karafuto Prefecture. Captured examples by National Revolutionary Army forces and occasional transfers to puppet regimes resulted in ad hoc rebarreling and rechambering experiments, though no standardized foreign variant achieved widespread adoption.

Ammunition

Ammunition types for the Type 38 included high-explosive (HE) shells, shrapnel rounds for anti-personnel use, and limited numbers of smoke and illumination projectiles. HE shells, typically 30–40 kg, were fired with variable cased charges allowing tactical adjustment for siege bombardment versus counter-battery fire, analogous to doctrines observed in European theatre artillery employment before World War II. Fuzes used were domestically produced but patterned on German designs introduced via licensing and officer training exchanges at institutions like the Artillery Training School (Germany).

Users and Service Deployment

Primary operator was the Imperial Japanese Army, with artillery regiments, fortress commands, and independent heavy batteries deploying the Type 38 across mainland Asia, Pacific islands, and the Japanese home islands. Secondary and captured users included elements of the National Revolutionary Army and various Warlord era factions that acquired pieces during the chaotic 1910s–1930s transfers. Post‑capture, some units were used by Allied forces for technical evaluation, while surviving wartime examples were scrapped or relegated to training and coastal defense by the immediate postwar administrations under Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers occupation policies.

Category:Artillery of Japan