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Type 100 Submachine Gun
The Type 100 (一〇〇式機関短銃, Hyaku-shiki kikan-tanjū) is a Japanese submachine gun, the only submachine gun produced in Japan during World War II in any significant quantity. Japan, unlike the powers of Europe and the Americas, were slow to develop submachine guns, instead relying on small quantities of imported European submachine guns like the SIG Bergmann and S1-100 during their invasion of China. While several submachine gun types were tested throughout the 1930s, none were found suitable for combat. It was not until 1939 that Japan sought to produce a domestic submachine gun once more, with Kijirō Nambu designing the first Type 100 prototypes. The weapon was accepted for service in 1940, but was not mass produced as the Imperial Japanese Army felt it had no use for submachine guns in its tactical doctrine.
From 1940 - 1943, no significant production of the Type 100 took place. The early version of the Type 100 made during this period features a bipod, bayonet lug, muzzle brake, and a tangent sight that could be calibrated for 1,500 meters. About 200 were modified with folding stocks for Japanese paratroopers. In 1944, in an effort to simplify production amidst a sharp rise in demand for submachine guns, the Type 100 was simplified significantly. The tangent sight was replaced with a fixed rear sight, the bipod was eliminated, and the overall standard of quality was reduced greatly, resulting in a much rougher finish. The 8x22mm Nambu cartridge, while providing low recoil that resulted in a weapon with excellent full-auto controllability, was considered much less powerful than .45 ACP or 9x19mm Parabellum. Despite the increased demand towards the end of the war, Japan's infrastructure was already strained and, even with corner-cutting and simplification measures, their industry simply could not produce and field submachine guns to the level their foes did.
No more than about 9,000 Type 100s were ever made, though it is often depicted in media as much more common than it ever was in the Pacific. In video games, this is usually to give Japanese forces more firepower to balance them against the British or American forces, or to add variety to their arsenal.
Specifications
(1940 – 1945)
- Type: Submachine Gun
- Caliber: 8x22mm Nambu
- Weight: 8.4 lbs (3.8 kg)
- Length: 35 in (90 cm)
- Barrel length: 9 in (22.8 cm)
- Capacity: 30
- Fire Modes: Full-Auto
The Type 100 Submachine Gun and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Anime
| Title | Character | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cockpit | Private Kodai | Ep. 3 "Knight of the Iron Dragon" | 1993 |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion | Kensuke Aida | Ep. 4 | 1995 - 1996 |
| The Skull Man | Ōtomo City Police | 2009 | |
| The Magnificent Kotobuki | air pirates, "Elite Industries" men | 2019 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deadly Dozen Pacific Theater | "Type 100 Submachine Gun" | 2002 | ||
| Forgotten Hope | 2003 | |||
| Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | Unusable; only seen during one cutscene | 2003 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault | 2004 | |||
| The History Channel: Battle for the Pacific | 2007 | |||
| Call of Duty: World at War | "Type 100" | 2008 | ||
| Battlefield 1943 | 2009 | |||
| Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | 2010 | |||
| 7554 | "Type 100" | 2011 | ||
| Glorious Missions | Non-player weapon, used by Imperial Japanese Army Officers and Terrorists | 2012 | ||
| Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm | 2012 | |||
| Tomb Raider | "WWII Submachine Gun" | w/ various upgrades | 2013 | |
| Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades | "Type100" | 2016 | ||
| Call of Duty: WWII | "Type 100" | 2017 | ||
| Battlefield V | "Type 100" | added with the "War in the Pacific" chapter (2019) | 2018 | |
| Call of Duty: Vanguard | "Type 100" | 2021 | ||
| Sniper Elite 5 | 2022 |