Type 100 grenade discharger
20th Century Grenade Launcher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Type 100 grenade discharger (一〇〇式擲弾器) was introduced in 1939 as a grenade launcher for the Type 38 and Type 99 Arisaka rifles.
| Type 100 grenade discharger | |
|---|---|
Type 100 rifle grenade launcher | |
| Type | Rifle grenade |
| Place of origin | Empire of Japan |
| Service history | |
| Wars | Second World War |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1939 |
Design
The Type 100 launches standard Type 91 and Type 99 hand-grenades.
The launcher is somewhat unusual in that rather than using the more common cup designs it is a gas trap system, meaning that it incorporates a barrel extension which taps off excess propellant gases to launch the grenade from a cup offset from the barrel.
This has the advantage that standard rifle cartridges could be used along with the standard hand-grenades which simplified logistics, at the expense of increased weight and decreased efficiency.
The effective range is approximately 100 yards (91 m).[1]
