Type 94 37 mm Anti-Tank Gun

Type 94 37 mm Anti-tank gun
Type 94 37 mm AT gun at Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson, Hampshire, England
Type	Anti-tank gun
Place of origin	Empire of Japan
Service history
In service	1936 - 1945
Used by	Imperial Japanese Army
Wars	Second Sino-Japanese War, Soviet-Japanese Border Wars, World War II
Production history
Produced	1936-1941
Number built	3,400
Specifications
Weight	324 kg (714 lb) approx
Length	2.9 m (9 ft 6 in)
Barrel length	1.765 m (5 ft 9 in) L/46.1
Width	1.19 m (3 ft 11 in)
Shell	37×165 mm. R
Caliber	37 mm (1.45 in)
Breech	Sliding horizontal breech
Elevation	-10° to +25°
Traverse	60°
Rate of fire	30 rpm
Muzzle velocity	700 m/s (2,300 ft/s)
Effective firing range	2,870 m (3,140 yd)
Maximum firing range	4,500 m (4,900 yds)
Sights	straight telescopic

The Type 94 37 mm anti-tank gun (九四式三十七粍速射砲, Kyūyon-shiki sanjyūnana-miri sokushahō^?) was an anti-tank gun developed by the Imperial Japanese Army, and used in combat during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. The Type 94 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted, 2594 in the Japanese imperial year calendar, or 1934 in the Gregorian calendar.

The Type 94 37-mm AT gun was introduced in 1936. The design originated as an improvement to the Type 11 37 mm Infantry Gun, which was also used as a primitive anti-tank weapon. However, its short bore, low muzzle velocity, short range and slow reloading time gave it only a limited capacity against enemy armor. Development of a replacement began in July 1933 and was completed a year later. Initial testing indicated that a trained crew could fire up to 30 rounds per minute; however, Army planners felt that the initial design was too heavy. A modified design was tested in 1935, and actual production began in 1936; however, the weapon retained its original “Type 94” (imperial year 2594 = western year 1934) designation. Approximately 3,400 units were produced.

One of these few remaining units is on display at the Missouri Yacht Club, Lake Lotawana, MO.

The Type 94 37 mm AT gun was based on a German (Rheinmetal-Borsig) quick fire design, the 3.7 cm PaK 36, some examples of which had previously been received by the Army Technical Bureau for testing. As with many Japanese designs, it had a very low profile and was intended to be operated from a squat or prone position. The gun had a gun shield to protect the gunner and open carriage-style legs which could be spread to improve the stability. The breech had a semi-automatic cartridge case ejection system to improve reloading time. When the shell was loaded, the rear of the cartridge case tripped a catch closing the breechblock. The recoil action of firing opened the breech and extracted the cartridge case.