Model 90 75-MM Field Gun

One of Japan's most modern weapons, the Model 90 75-mm field gun, has been recovered for the first time by U.S. troops. A long-barreled weapon, this gun is the weapon of first-rate Japanese artillery units only. It is equipped with a horizontal sliding breechblock, hydropneumatic recoil mechanism, split trails, muzzle brake, and automotive-type combat tires.

This gun has a reported muzzle velocity of 2,296 feet per second, and a reported maximum range of 16,350 yards—it is perhaps the most effective antitank gun the Japanese have, and, when equipped with pneumatic tires, it is highly mobile. The Model 90 75-mm field gun, one of the most modern of Japanese artillery weapons. A suitable antitank weapon, this is the first of its kind to be captured by U.S. troops.

MODEL 2 120-MM MORTAR A large-caliber mortar known to have been developed by the Japanese, but never before encountered by U.S. troops, was also taken near Ormoc. It is the Model 2 120-mm mortar, which resembles the U.S. 81-mm mortar in design, except for size, the firing mechanism, and the fact that the bipod and cradle break down to two assemblies. The very heavy, ribbed base plate, which is equipped with four carrying handles, has only one socket for the spherical projection on the barrel. The barrel is reinforced at the muzzle. A movable firing pin is connected with a plunger that sticks upward and out from the breech of the barrel. After the piece has been loaded, it is fired by striking this plunger with a mallet or similar instrument. The blow on the plunger thrusts the firing pin forward thus detonating the propelling charge on the mortar shell.

The shell, which weighs 26.4 pounds, is the conventional "tear drop", fin-stabilizer type. It is fuzed with the standard Japanese Model 100 mortar fuze.