Type 11 37 mm Infantry Gun

Type 11 37 mm infantry gun
Type 11 infantry gun from a 1933 book. Note the two front carrying poles are in position
Type	Infantry support gun
Place of origin	Empire of Japan
Service history
In service	1922-1945
Used by	Imperial Japanese Army
Wars	Second Sino-Japanese War World War II
Production history
Produced	1922-1937
Specifications
Weight	93.4 kg (206 lb)
Barrel length	92.7 cm (3 ft)
Crew	4 gunners, 6 support
Shell	0.645 kg (1.42 lb)
Caliber	37 mm (1.45 in)
Carriage	tripod
Elevation	-4.8° to 14°
Traverse	33°
Muzzle velocity	451 m/s (1,480 ft/s)
Effective firing range	2,400 m (2,600 yd)
Maximum firing range	5,000 m (5,500 yd)

The Type 11 37 mm infantry support gun (十一年式平射歩兵砲, Jyūiichinen-shiki Heisha hoheihō^?) was an infantry support gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. The Type 11 designation was given to this gun as it was accepted in the 11th year of Emperor Taishō's reign (1922).

The Type 11 infantry gun entered service in 1922. It was intended to be used against enemy machine gun positions and light tanks, and in a modified form was used to equip some early Japanese tanks (the Japanese Renault NC27 and some early Type 89 I-Go medium tanks). It had been largely been superseded by the Type 94 37 mm anti-tank gun by beginning of the Pacific War.

The Type 11 infantry gun was based on the French Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP (US Army M1916), for which Japan bought a production license after World War I, and modified it to suit Japanese requirements). It fired from a tubular steel tripod and used a vertically sliding breechblock, that was opened and closed by a lever on the right side of the gun. The gun was fired by pulling sharply on a cord hanging from its rear, which drove a lever into the firing pin, which impacted and initiated the percussion cap in the rear of the shell.