Product Description
Hohei Weapons Platoon (JP707)
Includes Command Sword team, two Type 92 HMG teams, two Type 97 20mm Anti-tank Rifle teams, four Medium four-hole bases, one Small three-hole base and two base plug sprues.
Weapons support available to infantry companies included tripod-mounted Type 92 7.7mm heavy machine-guns, as well as the 20mm Type 97 anti-tank rifle.
Having used the French Hotchkiss Modele 97 to great effect during the Russo-Japanese war, the Japanese decided to develop a licensed version of its successor the Modele 1917 which became the Type 3 Machine Gun. Rather than sticking with the original French calibre, the Japanese converted the design to their then standard 6.5mm calibre. This resulted in numerous changes in the weapon including a built-in oiler to aid extraction and additional cooling fins.
Experience in China again showed that the 6.5mm round was inadequate, so the design was upgraded to 7.7mm, creating the Type 92 Machine Gun. Both the Type 3 and the Type 92 had a relatively low rate of fire (as compared to the machine guns of other nations) leading to them being nicknamed ‘Woodpecker’ by American forces.
In addition to the tripod-mounted machine-guns, infantry companies would also frequently utilize the 20mm Type 97 anti-tank rifle. Accepted into service in 1937, the Type 97 was a semi-automatic cannon which could be carried by two men. However, given the large calibre and relatively low weight, the recoil produced by the weapon was violent. Designed to combat Soviet tanks like the T-26 and BT, the Type 97 received its baptism by fire at Nomonhan. Although the Type 97 was obsolete as an anti-tank gun by 1942, it continued to see use in front line service as a heavy infantry support weapon through the rest of the war.
These miniatures are supplied unassembled and unpainted
