The Type 91 105 mm howitzer was a towed artillery piece adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) in the early 1930s to provide medium-calibre indirect fire support. Commonly called a "10-cm" gun in Japanese sources despite its 105 mm bore, the Type 91 served as a standard howitzer for infantry divisions and artillery regiments and saw extensive use in the campaigns of the 1930s and 1940s.
Design and characteristics
The weapon combined a rifled steel barrel with a recoil system and a wheeled carriage suitable for horse or motor traction. It was designed to deliver high-explosive and shrapnel shells in plunging and direct-fire roles, supplementing lighter field guns and providing greater destructive effect against entrenched positions.
- Calibre: classified as 10 cm in Japanese nomenclature (actual bore 105 mm).
- Carriage: towable design allowing deployment with divisional artillery units.
- Ammunition: types intended for fragmentation and explosive effect.
History and operational use
Named "Type 91" according to the Imperial year system (2591 = 1931), the howitzer was adopted as part of Japan's modernization of its artillery arm. It saw action throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War and in Pacific and Southeast Asian theatres of World War II. Units employed the Type 91 for preparatory bombardments, counter-battery fire, and close support of infantry assaults.
Like many contemporaneous pieces, it was used in both horse-drawn formations and later motorized columns as logistics and mechanization evolved. Its role was complementary to lighter 75 mm field guns and heavier siege artillery, filling the medium-range, medium-explosive niche in Japanese force structure.
For further context on howitzers in general, see field artillery. Information on the organization that deployed this weapon is available under Imperial Japanese Army.