Type 98 20 mm AA Machine Cannon

Type 98 20 mm anti-aircraft machine cannon
A Type 98 20 mm cannon at the China People's Revolution Military Museum. Note the gun has no magazine fitted.
Type
Place of origin	Japan
Service history
In service	1938–1945
Used by	Japan, Indonesia
Wars	World War II, Indonesian National Revolution
Production history
Designed	1933-1938
No. built	2,500
Specifications
Weight	373 kg (822 lb)
Barrel length	1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) L/70
Shell	20×142 mm
Caliber	20 mm (0.79 in)
Action	Gas operated
Carriage	Two wheeled split trail.
Elevation	-5° to +85°
Traverse	360°
Rate of fire	300 rounds/min (maximum) 120 rounds/min (practical)
Muzzle velocity	2,720 ft/s (830 m/s)
Maximum firing range	5,500 m (18,000 ft) (horizontal) 3,500 m (11,500 ft) (altitude)
Feed system	20 round box

The Type 98 20 mm AA machine cannon was the most common light anti-aircraft gun of the Imperial Japanese Army. The Type 98 designation was given to this gun as it was accepted in the year 2598 of the Japanese calendar (1938). About 80% of IJA light AA guns were Type 98s. It entered service in 1938 and first saw combat in Nomonhan. It was used until the end of World War II. After World War II this gun was used by the Indonesian Army in the Indonesian National Revolution.

The gun could be emplaced in about three minutes by an experienced crew or fired inaccurately from its wheels.

This weapon and its variants were based on the French design of the 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun of the 1930s, which the Japanese forces had bought and further developed at home.

The Type 98 was also one of the two armament options for the IJA's Submersible Gun Mount Model 1.