Artist's commentary
Nambu Type 96 Machine Gun
The 6.5mm Nambu Type 96 machine gun was a vast improvement over the earlier Nambu Type 11 in imperial Japanese army service. Adapted in 1936, this was one of the main Japanese light machine guns, along with the Type 11, to see use in Japan's 1937 invasion of China. It fired the standard 6.5x50mm Arisaka rifle round at a cyclic rate of 550 rounds per minute. It still required lubricated cartridges but the oil pump was built into the magazine loader rather than on the gun itself. While the gun was also the main Japanese light machine gun of World War II, it was still not totally satisfactory, the Japanese wartime industry could not build nearly enough of them, and many were taken as war trophies by American GIs serving in the pacific front. This drawing was done in colored pencil with the help of a smudge tool.