Hello everyone,
The “2483 Reenactment Group” community from Facebook kindly provided photos from the Ordnance Museum in Bangkok.
Among the exhibits, I noticed an unusual light machine gun that strongly resembles the Type 11.
Experimental 6.5mm Japanese light machine gun at the Ordnance Museum in Bangkok.
Experimental 6.5mm Japanese light machine gun at the Ordnance Museum in Bangkok.
Experimental 6.5mm Japanese light machine gun at the Ordnance Museum in Bangkok.
Upon closer investigation, I have concluded that this is an experimental Japanese LMG dating back to 1918-1919. The weight of this specimen is approximately 8 kg. Most notably, it is fed via rigid feed strips, similar to those used in the Type 3 Heavy Machine Gun, rather than the hopper system found on the standard production Type 11.
Archival photo of a 1918–1919 Japanese machine gun.
I have managed to reconstruct a timeline of events thanks to documents from the JACAR archives:
- Document C03022548200: Mentions an order placed by Taihei Kumiai (泰平組合) for one light machine gun on April 14, 1921.
- May 18, 1921: Captain Kawakami, an officer of the Imperial Japanese Engineering Corps, brought a light machine gun and new rifles to the Ministry of Defense to conduct a lecture for Thai army officers. This event is documented in Sena Suksa lae Phae Witthayasat (เสนาศึกษาและแผ่วิทยาศาสตร์), Vol. 5, Issue 8.
- Document C03011722900: By June 9, 1922, Taihei Kumiai ordered an 8mm version of the machine gun chambered for the Siamese cartridge.
Based on this evidence, I believe that the exhibit currently held at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Museum is indeed the 8mm version of this experimental Japanese LMG.
Experimental Japanese machine gun, presumably 8mm caliber, at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Museum.
Experimental Japanese machine gun, presumably 8mm caliber, at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Museum.
I hope this research proves useful to all fellow Japanese firearms enthusiasts!
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God, I so want to see a Thailand sub-faction for Japan…
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Japanese best allie during WW2! I lived in Kanchanaburi for 3 years (Death railroad, bridge on the river Kwai No its not bamboo and the actual bridge was on the nam kwai to the south). The Thais were really bad during WW2 they let the Japanese walk right through the country, very few Thais died on the death railroad 100k + SE Asian neighbors died. My Thai landlady was in her 90’s and hated what the war remembrance turned into she saw what the japanese did first hand. Thailand had a very complex role in WW2. They tended to align with America from our beginning as a country 1818, Thailand was one the first countries to reach out. That same museum if it is in Bangkok (Lived there for 2 years what a fun city!) in Dusit(across from the Grand Palace?) has some pretty interesting exhibits. We laughed about what would you grab during a zombie apocalypse if you were in that museum. The grand palace itself has some of the highest quality examples of many different post and pre war firearms. Thais have a very rich history of guns and war. One king took a guy out with a 10f rifle on an elephant. I would not be surprised if they had a lot of Japanese stuff there. There is a myth about a Japanese spy taking out King Rama 8.
I think that top group are the ones who got beaten when Thailand tried to take a piece of French Indo China during WW2. The have a Victory Monument over their understanding of it.
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Wow what a cool find! Here’s hoping we might see more experimental Japanese guns pop up out of nowhere 
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they shouls have done with them in burma, but no, only muricans got chinese dudes
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