This article is about a Japanese World War II infantry mortar. For the main battle tank, see Type 10

Type 10

The is an advanced Japanese main battle tank.-Overview:The TK-X project aims to produce the new Type 10 main battle tank, to replace or complement the existing Type 74 and Type 90 main battle tanks that are currently in service with the Japan Ground Self Defense Force. Development began in the...

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was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese smoothbore, muzzle loaded weapon used during the Second World War. It first entered service in 1921. The Type 10 has a range of 175 meters, greater than other grenade

Grenade

A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...

 dischargers of that time. It had a range control device at the base of the barrel in the form of a graduated thimble by which a gas port at the base of the tube can be varied in size. For shorter ranges, part of the propellant gases escape to the side. Due to a translation error, the Type 10 was called the "knee mortar" by the Americans. The manual for the mortar instructed the troops to carry the mortar on the upper thigh, with the baseplate attached to the belt and the barrel running down the thigh. American troops on Guadalcanal became aware of the name "knee mortar" and thought the light design allowed it to be fired with the baseplate resting on the thigh. If the Type 10 were fired in this manner, it would result in serious injury due to recoil. However, once a few troops injured themselves, the mistranslation was discovered and further experimentation discouraged.

Contemporary US intelligence thought that the weapon was primarily used to discharge flares, the heavier Type 89 Grenade Discharger

Type 89 Grenade Discharger

The , inaccurately known as a knee mortar by Allied forces, is a Japanese grenade launcher or light mortar that was widely used in the Pacific during the Second World War.-Background:...

being used to fire explosive rounds instead.

Ammunition

• Type 91 Grenade
• Type 11 Smoke shell
• Type 10 Flare shell
• Type 10 Signal shell
• Type 91 Pyrotechnic grenade
• Type 10 Blank