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RESTRICTED
Translation of
JAPANESE ORDNANCE
MARKINGS
AUGUST,1945
A. S. F.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ORDNANCE
WASHINGTON, D. C.
RESTRICTED
Table of Contents
PAGE
SECTION ONE—Introduction
General Discussion of Japanese Characters 1
Unusual Methods of Japanese Markings 5
SECTION TWO—Instructions for Translating Japanese Markings
Different Japanese Calendar Systems 8
Japanese Characters for Type and Modification 9
Explanation of the Key Characters and Their Use 10
Key Characters for Essential Japanese Ordnance Materiel 11
Method of Using the Key Character Tables in Translation 12
Tables of Basic Key Characters for Japanese Ordnance 17
SECTION THREE—Practical Reading and Translation of Japanese Characters
Japanese Markings Copied from a Tag Within an Ammunition Box 72
Japanese Markings on an Airplane Bomb 73
Japanese Markings on a Heavy Gun 74
Japanese Markings Used to Indicate Arsenals 75
Japanese Ballistic Terms 76
RESTRICTED
Complete identification of Japanese materiel often necessi-tates translation into English of the ideographs and phoneticalphabet characters stamped on equipment or printed onaccompanying tags, boxes or pamphlets. Because of their in-ability to read Japanese, many persons responsible for inspec-tion of captured ordnance items are unable quickly andaccurately to identify unfamiliar materiel.
This book has been prepared as a practical guide to thetranslation of Japanese ordnance nomenclature. Its successfuluse does not require a prior knowledge of Japanese but de-pends only upon the application of simple principles that canbe learned within a few hours. It explains how the recognitionof twenty key ideographs, in conjunction with tables in thetext, will enable the reader to translate markings that describeJapanese ordnance.
SECTION ONE
INTRODUCTION
General Discussion of Japanese Characters
KANJI
Until a phonetic alphabet was invented between 774 and 835 A.D. the Japanese dependedentirely upon ideographs or picture-characters for written expression of their thoughts. Eventoday ideographs remain the principal medium for written Japanese, although the phoneticcharacters have considerable subsidiary use. Since most of the words in the language are rep-resented by an individual character, several thousand ideographs have to be memorized forfacility in reading or writing. Most of these characters were adopted from the Chinese in thethird century A.D., this Chinese origin being indicated by their name, "Kanji," which means-Chinese characters.- During the long period that has elapsed since their adoption, theChinese sounds for the ideographs have been modified until the present Japanese equivalentsare quite different from the original Chinese.
Japanese sentences do not follow normal English structure. While each noun and itsdescriptive adjectives are represented by a separate ideograph, the position of the noun doesnot correspond to that in English. Japanese ordnance inscriptions usually have an easily recog-nized noun character at or near the first part of the sentence. In translating, this permits iden-tification of the noun ideograph to serve as a key to the meaning of the combined characters,as is shown in the section of this book entitled "Explanation of the Key Characters and TheirUse.- The way in which ideographs are combined to designate a term or item is apparentfrom the combination of the three characters for picric acid in which the ideographs foryellow, color, and powder are employed.
Hlika' if Yellow
Sboku Color PICRIC ACID
te,Yaku Powder
Because the number of word sounds in Japanese are limited, a single sound may havevarious meanings according to the context of the sentence in which it is used. In writtenJapanese each of these meanings is clearly denoted by a distinctive ideograph. For instance,there are numerous meanings of the word "Sha," each represented by a different ideograph,some of which are illustrated below.
44-Sha Sha Sha Sba Sha Sba
In Japanese ordnance terms, only the "Sha" character on the extreme left of this groupof six selected pictures of the sound "Sha" is of value. This particular representation of "Sha"indicates a vehicle and, when so used, is always at the end of the group of characters; forexample, "jinrikisha" (a two-wheeled cart), and "sensha" (a battle tank).
CART
A. lin (Man)
Riki (Moves)
Sba (Wagon)
TANK
CIO
t Sen (Battle)
Sha (Wagon)
This form of "Sha" appears in the nomenclature of all Japanese vehicular ordnanceitems, where it is the terminal sound or ideograph. This "Sha" is the root word for all Japanesevehicles, and is one of 20 key characters in the table of key ordnance characters which will beexplained in detail later in this outline.
KANA
The Japanese realized the disadvantages and limitations of their ideograph system in itsinability to represent the constantly increasing number of foreign words being absorbed intothe language. This problem was solved by use of the phonetic alphabet called "Kana."Unlike Kanji, which cannot express the correct sound or proper construction of words, the
4 0
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ga gi 7 gu ge go-7"
717 7111 1E. 710
•
7 pu
na•••••r•
714 7el 70
bala
bi
chi
7. bn
♦9
be
to
ho
to
ha bi
pi
7 fu he
e
d
7 7 i„
7 ea
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fi
7 4 1,
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ZU
7 fit
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re
Se
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ya Y" 3 Y°
ZO Il
JAPANESE KANA ALPHABET
ing of the more intricate Kanji characters for marking purposes. These are to prevent mistakeswhen several types of shells resemble each other, although intended for different weapons.The markings here generally indicate the type of gun that is to fire this ammunition. Thefollowing illustration is arranged, not for the purpose of translation of the markings, but toshow their position.
Kana characters are simple in design and make good dies for stampingJapanese metal parts, or for quickly painting an abbreviated arsenal mark. Theflexibility of Kana characters in describing various ordnance items is evidentin the use of one of the plainest and most widely employed Kana characters,
When ''To" is painted on thebody of an artillery shell, justabove the rotating band, it indi-cates that the shell was manu-factured at the "Tokyo ArmyBranch Ordnance Depot." Thisis illustrated by the view of aJapanese 150 mm howitzershell.
However, when the Japanese mark their machine gun ammunition for airplanes, althoughthey use the same character, "To," to mark the bottom of the cartridge case, it indicates anentirely different place of manufacture. In this case "To" refers to the Toyokawa Navy Yard.As an interesting sidelight on this abbreviated system of marking, the sound of the character"To" is the sound of the first part of the word Toyokawa. Likewise the "A" of the Kanaalphabet is used to indicate the Asahi Plant, while "Yo" is used to mark the products of theYokosuka Navy Yard in airplane machine gun ammunition.
(3) When the Japanese place characters on pasteboard tags or on paper labels attachedto ordnance items, they use Kanji.
Ta
A sample of such a marking copied from a label glued to the cardboard shipping con-tainer for a shell is shown in Section Three of this text. This inscription demonstrates thatwhen the Japanese print ordnance terms on paper they arrange the characters in a long, verti-cal line reading from top to bottom. The reproduction of characters on this label is accom-panied by their actual translation, using the system of selecting the key characters and subse-quently referring to the tables in which they are located, as explained in Section Two.
(4) After study of this booklet it will be possible totranslate the general descriptive matter in pamphletsaccompanying Japanese ordnance items. It is cautionedhere that the Japanese put such general descriptions onwhat we would call the back page of our books. Hold-ing the Japanese book in a normal position it is neces-sary to turn to the final page- and look for key char-acters.
For example, illustrated here are two sections fromthe descriptive page of a captured Japanese booklet onJapanese artillery shells. These are shown not for thepurpose of translation, but merely to illustrate where tolook for them in the book, and to repeat the caution thatthe characters are to be read along a vertical line fromtop to bottom.
The heavy-type column to the left is the name: "Ar-tillery Ammunition," while that to the right is the date,"May 1938."
Sho Wa
Bright Era
SECTION TWO
INSTRUCTIONS FOR TRANSLATING JAPANESE MARKINGS
Different Japanese Calendar Systems
The Japanese designate types of ordnance materiel, such as mortars, howitzers, rifles,guns, etc., with a descriptive term indicating the year the item was officially adopted. Formarking high explosives, a date on the label of the package or outside of the shipping boxindicates the date of manufacture. It is common for the Japanese to make liberal use of calen-dar dates, but it must be remembered that four different systems are employed.
BASIC JAPANESE CALENDAR
One system employs the basic Japanese calendaryears, represented either by four digits, as in the year2598, or by its reduced form 98 derived by dropping thefirst two digits as is done when our year 1945 is abbre-viated to '45. The Japanese Kanji ideograph "Shiki,"always employed with the abbreviated date numerals, isshown with the numeral characters for nine and eight.
A. 4Ku Harhi Sbiki
9 8 Type
As an example of a date in a decade preceding that shown, the year 1921 is the equiva-lent of the Japanese calendar year 2581, and any Japanese models produced in that year wouldbe called their "Type 81."
REIGN OF EMPEROR OR ERA
The Japanese also indicate the date in terms of the year ofthe reign of a Japanese emperor, each reign being known as an era.Any ordnance materiel produced within one of these periods mightbe marked as "Showa Era, 18 Year- (our year 1943), as explainedlater.
There have been three different eras representing the reignsof individual Japanese emperors within the past seventy-sevenyears. The reign of the present emperor, begun in 1926, is referredto as the "Showa Era," meaning the bright period, or the goldenera. It is designated by the characters shown at right.
Development of modern Japanese ordnance has occurred only in the three most recenteras.
Era 2 covers the Meiji Era from 1868 to 1912.Era 3 covers the Taisho Era from 1912 to 1926.Era 4 covers the Showa Era from 1926 to the present time.Although Eras 2, 3 and 4 are designated by different ideographs, they employ the same
general principle in relation to indicating a date marking. The basis for each is to (a) namethe era during which the item was designed or manufactured, and (b) give the particularyear of this era to which the date applies.
Conversion of a date within any Japanese era to one in our calendar can be accomplishedby adding the given Japanese year to the English date for the year preceding the beginning ofthe ,era. For example, the English equivalent of the 20th year of the Showa Era can be foundby adding 20 to 1925, which gives our year 1945.
Table No. 6 describes the Kanji characters used by the Japanese to indicate the MeijiTaisho, and Showa Eras.
Japanese Characters for Type and Modification
TYPE
The Japanese always use dates or numerals with a character which refers to dates in classi-fying their ordnance items. Only one character is used to indicate the type classification. Thischaracter is "Shiki." It appears on artillery shells, bombs, small arms, guns, howitzers, fuzes,etc., but always in association with numerals of one or two digits. These numerals are abbre-viations for dates in the Japanese calendar.
The following are some common markings used by the Japanese on their ordnance itemsto express Type and Type Numbers:
.........0
____- 4Shiki
tiP Saku
A
*Yaku
-.. .:4•MCba Kith.Ni
2 Type Brown Bursting Powder
(Year) 1942 TNT Bursting Charge
4 .:;, h...,-Li Q1-49 a.m....Mb
lu !chi
ilifib
Nat Shiki Kai Gau MT
11th Year Type See Coast Gun
Sbiki
Type1
1941
Modification 2
Baka Dan
Modification 1 Airplane Bomb
MODIFICATIONS
The Japanese describe modifications of ordnance items in the following manner:
In marking bombs, the Japanese use, in addition to these characters, three extra charac-ters to indicate "mark," "weight," and "design number." These are discussed in Table No. 13.
Note: It is common to find the ideograph for modification with a numeral placed togethernear the base of the shell. The meaning is "The new improved type No. 2."
Explanation of the Key Characters and Their Use
On page 11 and on the inside of the cover appears a table of key ordnance charac-ters. Each key character is a base or root word which the Japanese use in designating ordnancemateriel. Next to each key character, the Japanese write additional characters which modifythe root word to indicate the full description of the particular item, as "Sen Sha" (tank) or"Chu Sen Sha" (medium tank). Also in this section are tables of key characters that list thosecharacters which normally accompany the key ideograph, modify it, and in combination withit give the name of a specific Japanese ordnance item. Except in rare instances, the key char-acter is always the last character in a related group of sounds or written characters, but notethat in following this rule the direction of writing must first be ascertained.
One key character, such as "Sha" (a vehicle) is the terminal root word for four classesof ordnance items in the vehicular family, namely: Tanks, Trucks, Cars and Tractors.
The particular type of vehicle referred to by "Sha" can be ascertained by using the tableto identify the characters that precede the key ideograph.
Table No. 2 has a key character of "Dan," and includes such items as Bullets and Gren-ades. Note that this key character, "Dan," is added to another key character, "Ryu," to forma double key character group. From this combination is derived a new table (Table No. 12)to indicate Artillery Shells and Rockets.
Likewise the key character "Dan" just described is joined with a second key character"Baku," to form another double-character group, giving us Table No. 18 on Airplane Bombs.
EY CHARACTERS
for Essential Japanese Ordnance Materiel
TABLE CHARACTER ORDNANCE
1TanksTruck,CarsVehicles
• n
Sba
2al
Dan
BulletGrenade Shell (w. #12)Bomb (w. #18)Rocket
3 iia
715
GunCannonHowitzerMortar
. 4 0
Yaku
ExplosivesAmmunition
5 Type
Shiki
6 ,
Nen
A
Gersu
Year YMonth
7 11 1I 1
Yu
GasolineFuel OilsLubricating Oils
Bin
77
PrimerShell CaseBangalore TorpedoGrenade LauncherComplete Round
9 4 (.)
Hei
W:
Gun
Unit. orOrganization
10
Rai
MinesTorpedo (Aerial)
TABLE CHARACTER ORDNANCE
11 At
fa
MGRiflePistolCarbine
12PI t
Ryi
Artillery Shell(W. #21
13lit
Go
Mark Number andData on Bombs
1 4/4.
Sancti
tt
Miri
Metric Terms Weight 81 Dimension)
15 glit
Ki
Aircraft
16i . •. i.1.
4
Tam
Metals
17
Kan
FuzeCapTrain
18 IV
Baku
Airplane Bomb(w- #2)
1 NSbo
Factory
2010r
Sbi7
Arsenal
IP
Cbu Sen Sba
Medium Battle Wagon
MEDIUM TANK
Sen Sba
Baffle Wagon
TANK
Sba
Vehicle
Wagon
Small Gun
These are the only tables which are made up from double key characters. The materiel towhich the other tables relate appears on top of each table.
Method of Using the Key Character Tables in Translation
1. Become thoroughly familiar with each key character, and with the characters fornumerals from 1 to 10.
2. Ascertain the direction in which the particular writing to be translated has beenwritten; i. e., from left to right, right to left, or top to bottom. Page 13 of this outline explainsthe method.
3. Select all the key characters in the writing.
4. Mark off the characters accompanying each key character. This may be done by draw-ing rectangles around each related group of characters (key characters plus accompanyingmodifying characters).
Note: Where the writing to be translated involves a considerable number of characters(i. e., more than 50), it is recommended that the writing be treated piecemeal in groups ofthree or four characters, selecting a key character from a group and translating that groupbefore proceeding to the next group.
The three characters "Chu," "Seri," and "Sha" that compose the word for medium tank,are shown above as the Japanese would write them from left to right on a wooden crating forthe vehicle. The key character "Sha" is placed last, to the right of the modifying characters"Chu" and "Sen." When the Japanese mark ordnance items they do so without punctuation.That is one reason why it is necessary to memorize the twenty key characters used in ordnance.
The following example is employed to show the method used in building up "Ju" (mean-ing a small gun), into the compound group of characters, "Ken Ju" (meaning a pistol) andthen "Ji Do Ju" (meaning an automatic rifle).
,.....
.
Ku,
Ai12
Hand Operated Small Gun
PISTOL
Jiit
DJIR
Ji7
Self- Acting Small Gun
AUTOMATIC RIFLE
Up to now only one key character with its adjective ideographs has been described. Theillustration below shows the ideographs for "automatic rifle" by a new key character, "Shiki,"plus its descriptive adjective ideographs. Note that there are no periods, commas, or openspaces.
itKu
AIlacbi
4Shiki Ji
0Dii
n
I;9 8 Type Self- Acting Small Gun
TYPE 98 AUTOMATIC RIFLE
The direction in which the Japanese wrote these characters must be determined. Thefinding of "Shiki" (Type), the character third from the left, is the first step. It is always pre-ceded by numerals. Since the numerals for 9 and 8 are to the left of "Shiki" the writing planis from left to right.
Since it is a key character, the last character of the line (bearing in mind the direction ofthe writing of the group) is selected. It is "Ju," a key character for small arms, as is shown inTable No. 11.
Taking "Ju" and its two preceding characters (the Japanese usually write in groups oftwo, three, or four characters when describing ordnance), turn to Table No. 11. There themeanings of the three picture characters are found to be automatic rifle. Similarly, it is foundthat ''Ku Hachi Shiki" means Type 98.
Elsewhere in this publication are illustrated actual markings found on a captured Japa-nese ammunition box, an airplane bomb, and a heavy gun. The names of the Japanese char-acters are given in each case, the key characters being set off from the long string of modify-ing characters by placing a cross-line just below the key character. The partial translation andthe full translation are given with each example.
Note that if the Japanese write from left to right, the cross-line follows the key characterand is to the right of it. If the Japanese write from right to left, then the cross-line followsthe key character but is to the left of it.
When .the Japanese string of characters proceeds from top to bottom, as illustrated in Sec-tion Three (page 72), the cross-line is beneath the key character. In the case mentioned therewere 43 Japanese characters appearing in one consecutive vertical line which has been dividedinto four columns for convenience in printing.
The following illustration is employed to show how several vertical columns of Japanesecharacters may be broken down into the key characters for translation purposes. It has beentaken from a Japanese book on Japanese artillery shells. The only additions to it have beenthe placing of the letters A, B, C, D, and E for reference purposes and the drawing of a line
beneath each key character to illustrate the method followed in determining key characters andthe preceding characters which are used to describe them.
Roughly, the method is to go to the foot of each vertical line for the first key characterand strike a line under it.
The best plan, to avoid confusion in locating the next key character, is to work in groupsof but two or three characters at a time. When the Japanese write in vertical columns, thereading starts at the top right hand corner. Here the column marked A is the first to be read.Start at the foot of the column for the first key character. It is "Yaku," found in Table No. 4.
The next question is, how many characters relate to "Yaku"? Table No. 4 shows that inthis particular case only "Yaku" and its adjoining character "Dan" are in the table and meanAmmunition (General). The third character from the bottom is next found to be a keycharacter -Ho."
In questioning how many characters are to be included with "Ho," look through TableNo. 3. Here it is to be noted that "Ho" and "Po," denoted by the same ideograph, are inter-
changeable when referring to artillery pieces and mortars, depending upon the type of weapon.In this particular case the key character is "Po" and the two characters next to "Po" in theJapanese text are included with the key character in line 5 of the table to form the Japaneseword -Ryu Dam Po," meaning Howitzer.
The next key character "Sanchi," meaning centimeter, makes translation easy. With it isthe numeral -Ju" (ten) to complete the term 10 CM. It is quite evident that the next char-acter "Shiki" is a key character and it is preceded by the numeral characters "Ku- (nine) and-Ichi" (one), given in Table No. 5. The translation of this phrase is thus "Type 91."
By this same method the ideographs in Column B are identified and translated into "Model91 Streamlined Shell." Column C is translated as "Fuze." Column D'has two sections, anupper and a lower section, the first of which is translated as -Projectile," or "Shell Body,"while the lower section means "Explosive Charge, TNT."
SECTION THREE
PRACTICAL READING AND TRANSLATION OF
JAPANESE CHARACTERS
aK;
Ku
AIRCRAFT
Table 15
r
20 MM
t
It_ Metric Table 14
Ki
POM-POMGUN
Kan
frN Table 3
Bed.
Neu
Table 6
AMMUNITION
Table 4
Dag
II'si,•6 SHOWA
18th YEAR
1943
1.0i
Yi
NOVEMBER
Table 7
TYPE 2
Table 5
LIGHTTRACER
APSHELL
Table 2
LP1.4
COMPLETEROUNDTable 8
Pi;
4Sbike
AMMO.
Table 4
Ribv
zo
Hei
55;
ARSENAL
Table 20
TOKYO
ARMY
Table 10
FACTORY
Table 19
JAPANESE MARKINGS COPIED FROM A TAG WITHINAN AMMUNITION BOX
Start at left top corner and read down.
Note: The Japanese characters on this page were copied direct from tags within ammuni-tion boxes that had been captured in the Philippines.
TABLES OF BASIC KEY CHARACTERS
FOR JAPANESE ORDNANCE
chi;
Medium
Sen Sba
Wagon
Wagon
MOTOR TRUCKSba
Wagon
Sen Sho
Baffle Wagon
Light Battle Wagon
Sett She
LI V)Ji 135 K4
TANK
LIGHT TANK
MEDIUM TANK
Baffle Wagon
HEAVY TANK
n
BaffleHeavy
IIJi Do
Self Moving
Self Moving Freight
• n• •
ShaMOTOR CAR
Sen Sha
(Continued on next page)
//,
TANKSTRUCKS
VEHICLESSha
/ Vehicle
CATERPILLARTRUCK
MOTOR CYCLE
SIDE CARmnSoku Sha
Side Vehicle
DoVehicleSelf-Moving Scout
Sba
Cycled Track Freight Wagon
n n O-P Ten Sha
Self-Moving Self-Cycling Vehicle
COMMAND CARShi Sha
Command Vehicle111n•n•.n
RECONNAISSANCECAR
Sha
ARMORED CAR
Armor-Plated Vehicle
Ki
DU
Ka Sba
So
K;
(Continued on fleet pogo
TANKSTRUCKS
VEHICLESSha
Vehicle
/7 A
• 4. /%. n54
Ki DO
1 II I I
•1111111Mu Gen
KyJ
Yg
Sen She
So KO
oliONHei Sha
ARMOREDTROOP CAR
Armor-Plated Troop Vehicle
Dan Yoke
Ammunition Wagon
Sho
AMMUNITIONWAGON
TRACTORKte In Sha
Traction Vehicle
She
ARTILLERYTRACTOR
Ken
(An) Artillery Gun Tractioned Conveyance
Sha
CATERPILLARTRACTOR
Endless Cycle Tract oned Vehicle
Sha
TANKDESTROYER
Hakes:
San
To Destroy Battle Wagon
AMPHIBIANTANKSal
Rau
Sea and Land Double-Use Battle Wagon
BULLETSGRENADES
BOMBS (TABLE 18)SHELLS (TABLE 12)
ROCKETS
'ABLE, No. 2
(Conanwed on Next page)
Dan
Bullet
Cone-shaped Bullet
Dan
Tracer Bullet
LIGHTTRACER BULLETDan
Bullet
Ei
Trace Light
BulletSmall Gun
Ei Kati
Baku Retsu
Sen
POINTED BULLET
RIFLE BULLETSh6 Ju Dan
TRACER BULLET
4VEi En Dan
Trace Smoke Bullet
Ju !
EXPLOSIVEBULLET
Explosive-Burst Rifle Bullet
SMOKETRACER BULLET
BULLETSGRENADES
BOMBS (TABLE 18)SHELLS (TABLE 12)
ROCKETS
4
Dan
Bullet
ARMOR PIERCINGBULLET
DumDum Bullet
Ha Ko Itt Dan
Rifle Bullet
t_lk .44Sb3
INCENDIARYBULLET
Incendiary (Used by) Small Arms (Bullet)
HARD WOODBULLET
Hard Timber (Wood) Bullet
DUM-DUM BULLET411#
Da Mu Da Mu Dan
Pierce Armor
31f Ski
Shrapnel
GRENADETeki Dan
Grenade
I4Kb-Zai Dan
4114st,L,Shjlid DanYo
SHRAPNEL BULLET
(Continued on next page)
4/// // / /4"
veX 7Z' //% /
., A
BULLETSGRENADES
BOMBS (TABLE 18)SHELLS (TABLE 12)
ROCKETS
•
Dan
Bullet
%0
1
Hand (Thrown) Shell
Rifle- Grenade(Use)
DanTeki
Shu
HAND GRENADE
RIFLE GRENADEaZai
PHOSPHORUSGRENADE
Phosphorus Filled (Dose) Grenade
Shakudir•'•
Nestu
THERMITE GRENADE
Intense Heat (Red Hot) Grenade
Spitting Out (as it Advances)
Shin
Known (as) Regular Shell
Dan
STANDARD ROCKET(PROJECTILE)
(of the 20 cm type)
A ROCKET STANDARD PROJECTILE
•• •
TekiRin
Fun
Feki Dan
• '
Ho
Gun (largercalibre than Jo)
GUNCANNONHOWITZERMORTAR
TABLE No. 3
MOUNTAIN GUNNote: Ho and Po interchangeable
Centimeter GunCannon15
Sam P;
Mountain Gun
Note: Field is "Yagai" FIELD GUNY a Ho
Field (Abbrev.) Gun
Her Sha
Low Trajectory Gun
CANNON
Ju
Go
fin aKa Non HO
15 CM CANNON
PoHOWITZER
(Common) Shell Gun
Note: Calvary is "Kiho"Ki 115
CAVALRY GUN
Cavalry (Abbrev.) Gun
Ry1 Darn
(COMUMUld On next page)
SIEGE GUN
Smooth-Bore Gun
Self-Acting Gun
Sea GunBranch
Kai Gan Ho
Sea GunCoast
GunRapid-Fire
113231.C.
Defenders Man-the-Gun
COAST DEFENSEGUN
Kak KO 115
SMOOTH-BOREGUN
AUTOMATIC GUN4p;QUICK-FIRING
GUN
(Continued on next page)
Sbu f%.7.
//
Fcalibre than /el
Gun (larger
Ho
NAVAL GUN
GUNCANNONHOWITZERMORTAR
Soku Sba
San
Rifling Mortar
Infantry
HnKyr4
Ky5 H5
DUAL— PURPOSE GUN(HIGH—ANGLE GUN)
INFANTRY CANNON
BATTALION(INFANTRY) GUN
REGIMENTALGUN
GUNCANNONHOWITZERMORTAR
MORTAR
Mo far
RIFLED MORTAR
HO
H5
Gun
H5
Gun
Ran
A Multi-Sized
H5
Gun
H5
Low-Trajectory Gun
(Continued on next page)
Geki
Close Quarters (Attack)
raj ,o-v,Ho Hei
Fire Infantry
• ; //// • 7/ / ///
Gun (larger pcalibre than
(large
GUN •CANNONHOWITZERMORTAR
Kei Haku Geki
LIGHTTRENCH MORTAR
Light Close-Quarters (Attack)
ANTIAIRCRAFTGUN
Sha Ho
ANTITANKGUN
Anti Tank
Machine-Firing Large-Size Gun (Cannon)LA ItH igh Angle (Elevation)
Ko ShaANTIAIRCRAFT
MACHINE CANNON
HEAVYTRENCH MORTAR
INFANTRY MORTAR(81 mm)
Mobile GunHigh-Angle (Elevation)
Reed GunHig -Angle (Elevation)
Cho HoShe lei
Long GunRange
TRACTOR DRAWNARTILLERY
HoKen InSha
Fortress GunHeavy
Rocket Gun
#1.
Sha
11:11Ko
M chine-Firing
GUNCANNONHOWITZERMORTAR
De;
i=2
Ko Sha
ANTIAIRCRAFTMOBILE GUN
HE
Hg
ANTIAIRCRAFTFIXED GUN
MMKi Kan
bbHo
"POM-POM" GUNMACHINE CANNON
Large-Sized Gun (Cannon)
LONG-RANGEFIELD GUN
Self-Powered Vehicle With Traction (Carrying a) Gun
440 FORTRESSHEAVY ARTILLERY
DonROCKET GUN
Spitting Out-(es it)-Advances Shell Gun
Ko lei
Fun Shin
Ho
'
4//// Gun (larger-caUlare than Ju)
Yo Sat
Booster Powder
Den Ka
PROPELLANT CHARGE
So Yoko
INPRIMING POWDER
(IGNITER)Ten Ka
Ignition
Den 4tK BOOSTER CHARGE
Powder
Yaku
Yaku
Booster Powder
A•GRADE, 40 GRAM,BOOSTER CHARGE
Note: Explosion Burst is: "Sakurai."(Example, shrapnel)
414
—4F-11-n
EXPLOSIVEBURSTING CHARGE
Saku
Yaku
TNT
Cba Kaisu Saku Yaku
Powder(Bursting)qvDa*
Ammunition
(Abbrev.) Explos ye Burst
ear
AMMUNITION(GENERAL)
TNTBURSTING CHARGE
(Continued on next page)
EXPLOSIVES
Yaku
Powder
Smokeless Gun Powder
LARGE-GRAINEDPOWDER
n
Yaku
Ryu Dan
YokeKos Sboku
Sake Yaku
HOLLOW CHARGEAMMUNITION
Used to Perforate Armor Plate Explosive Shell Bursting Powder
buKa Non
AMMUNITION FOR15 CM. CANNON
Cannon5 Centimeter Arnm
Ka
unition
War;
YokeSMOKELESS POWDER
Large Grain
Sb6 Rysi
Small Grain Powder
Powder
Yaku
tt,Brown Color Powder
BROWN (COLORED)POWDER
GUN POWDER
411111bKoku Sboku
BLACK (COLORED)POWDER
GUN POWDER
Black Color Powder
K5
Dal Ryii
iVDow Yaku
FINE-GRAINEDPOWDER
(Continued on next page)
EXPLOSIVES
Yaku
Powder
N 0
M itSbo Ka
NITRO-POWDER
111Cirri
Medium (Size) Powder
Ka
PowderBand-Shaped [ Gun
Ho Kei
Square Flake
Ryii
Powder
V-411-4"Yaku
MEDIUM SIZESQUARE FLAKE
POWDER
STRIP POWDER
NOTE: To indicate the more modern varieties of military high explosives, the Japanesehave selected arbitrary symbols or characters which are used as a sort of code. There are noknown English equivalents for these symbols, and therefore no English words were placedunder the characters as has been done in other tables in this outline.
wil,Sho
44:U
(CH2)3 (N. NO2)3CE
(EQUIVALENT TO RDXmOR HEXYL) •
Yaku...---
Wn —1;46-L
AjilCba
1
Kafue
CaH2CHs (NO2)a TNT(TRINITROTOLUOL)
7' N,1
Yaku
Brown Powder
pc Thiti NITROGUANIDIN . CYCLONITEA „IS THE CHEMICAL ( GUNIGIN, TR)
C. NHNO2. NH.NH2TNT
NITROGUANIDINEA Ga Yaku AMMONIUM NITRATE
(Continued on next page)
/ .
EXPLOSIVES
Me't 4.5.•
AV
Yaku
CaH2 (NO2)4 NCH3 TETRYL
44ShShoX
Ei--fts
kaY Yaku
C(CH2 ONO2)4PETN
(PENTAERYTHRITETETRANITRATE)
i r4A-4Kai
itShoku
rjYaku
NH4 C104 CnH2n-2SEE: CYCLONITE
H2N.0 (NH) NH2HNO3
AMMONIUM PERCHLORATE(MIXTURE)
CYCLONITE
dtieW —Hi-.
C61-12 (0C2H5) (NO2)4 TRINITROPHENETOL
Hei Nei Yaku
4.pil
Sho
zi_.
To
m
Yaku
(TNT — NH4NO3)SEE: TNT AMATOL
EaiiTa..
En
b4
To
—11-11F-°'C7 H6 (NO2)2
— KCIO3DINITROTOLUOL
POTASSIUM CHLORATEYaku
---F-4-°
Col-12 43 OH(N0 PICRIC ACID( TRINITROPHENOL)
. •
Ko YakuShoku
Yellow Color Powder
I 'l -1=ta.
Ho
--t-g-n
SEE: PICRIC ACID AND TNT PICRIC ACIDTNTC-
Cha Yaku
(Continued on next pagla -
EXPLOSIVES
Na Yaku
SEE: BOTH COMPOUNDS PICRIC ACIDDINITRONAPHTALENE
Ko
"11÷a IU
ElrertAC SEE: PICRIC ACID PICRIC ACID
PARAFFIN-
Ko Sbi Yaku
WinCI 0 Hi; (NO2)2 DINITRONAPHTALENE
— NH4NO3 NH4NO3Sbo Na Yaku
IN k F. OaCI 0 H7 NO2 CHEDDITE
En Na.71
Yaku
— KCIO3 (NITRONAPHTALENEPOTASSIUM CHLORIDE)
HgC2 N2 0 2FULMINATE OF MERCURY
(DETONATOR)Kai Ko
IC ; HgC2 N2 02 FULMINATE OF MERCURYIr 4",
Baku Fun
KCIO3Sb2S3
POTASSIUM CHLORATEANTIMONY SULFIDE
t laPb(N3)2 LEAD AZIDE
(DETONATOR)-1-'A c.
Cbik Ka En
JAPANESE NUMERALS
TYPE 99
kii., AKujuku Sbiki
99 MODEL
TYPE 1
_. A,SbikiIchi
ONE MODEL
11th Year TYPE
4r. 4Nen Sbiki
+ _.lu irbi
11+11 Year MODEL
0 0 R a
1 — Ichi
2—--. Ni
3 =. San
4 IN Shi
5 K GS
6 i n Roku
7 "t Hichi
8 A Hachi
9 it. Ku
10 t 14
11 .f., ,_ 1,7 irhi
12 --I- 11-:. 17, ni
13 -1- =-..-, 15 ran
14 -I- n 117 shi
15 --h K ./i go16 "I" /N 1,7 roku
17 t --L la shicki
18 1- A. pi hack,
19 t fl, 1i7 k,7
20 Z - Ni ja
30 t San ji7
40 Vil t Shi ju
50 K --i- Go ill
100 ff Hyaku
1000 Sen
10,000 N Man
100,000 --1- W 117 man
1,000,000 br. Haku man
ERAS
TIME PERIODS DURING NAMES CALENDAR DATES OF ERASREIGN GOOF THREETHREE RECENT EMPERORS
:imMet ii
MEIJI ERA 1868 TO 1912 INCLUSIVE
* TaiE
Siti
TAISHO ERA 1912 TO 1926 INCLUSIVE
II n
SboAll
Wa
SHOWA ERA 1926 TO PRESENT TIME
The e Are Three Ditterent Dates for the Following:
-I- 10th YEAR
JO Nen10th Year
1Mei
thli
p JuV
Nen
10th YearMEIJI ERA
186710
Mei): (Era) 10th Year 1877
*Tai
ESbO
-1-4./I'
1f.Nen
10th YearTAISHO ERA
191110
Tai:bo (Ern) 10th Year 1921
I 21 ii
Sbo Wa +15
.Nen
10th YearSHOWA ERA
Shot. (En) 10111 Year 1935
JIMonth
The first month of the Japanese yearis January and the twelfth month isDecember, the same as in our calen-dar system.
OCTOBERGran fa Get.
GASOLINELUBRICATING OILS
FUEL OILS
REFERENCELINE
NUMBERTHESE ARE USED IN PRINTED TEXT FOR ABBRE-VIATIONS ON CANS OR DRUMS. SEE PAGE 38. ENGLISH TRANSLATION
1Ki Hatsu Yu
GASOLINE (KANJI)
Volatile Oil
2 7Y . ) 1 /:.• GASOLINE (KANA)
Ga So Rin
3112
1G Hatsu
1.1
Yu
ORDINARY GASOLINEFu LIZ
Ordinary Volatile Oil
4Toku Sbu
I* Ki Hatsu
a iiiiYu
SPECIAL GASOLINE
Special Volatile Oil
5.1P m
Bun Rye.VS, .1
IV Hasa
• II11yu
GASOLINE FROM "CRACKING PROCESS"
(FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION)
Distilled Volatile Oil
6Ka
i - aKi Herm
•II1I
Yu
AVIATION GASOLINEla Ki
Aviation Volatile Oil
(Continued on next page
GASOLINELUBRICATING OILS
FUEL OILSYu
Oil
REFERENCELINE
NUMBER
THESE ARE USED IN PRINTED TEXT FOR ABBRE-VIATIONS ON CANS OR DRUMS. SEE PAGE 38. ENGLISH TRANSLATION
7
Ly: if:
Gen Rio
4 at IIIIKu Haut Yu
" BASE" GASOLINE (FORADDING TETRA-ETHYL-LEAD)
Raw Material Volatile Oil
8I III
YeKEROSENE
Seki
Stone Oil
9 m.* ra
Kahn
* I III
YeLUBRICATING OIL
Lubricating Oil
10fi
Kei
?itKatsu
I II IYu
LIGHTLUBRICATING OIL
Light Lubricating Oil
11[CAM
I II 11Yu
HEAVYLUBRICATING OILr
Heavy Lubricating Oil
12
..."..,;: r I II IYu
PARAFFIN OIL
Pa Ra Pin Oil
(Continued an next page)
• GASOLINELUBRICATING OILS
FUEL OILSYu
Oil
;
REFERENCELINE
NUMBERTHESE ARE USED IN PRINTED TEXT FOR ABBRE-VIATIONS ON CANS OR DRUMS. SEE PAGE 38. ENGLISH TRANSLATION
13 1J a ali INTERNAL (ENGINE) OILNei Hu Yu
Internal Oil
14ati
EXTERNAL (GEAR) OILGai Ho Yea
External Oil
15
tif,t .:461 1
I II
I FUEL OILNen Ryo Yu
Fuel Oil
16 f- aX r--•
.iiiiCASTOR OIL
Hi Ma Sbi Yu
Castor-Bean Oil
117
fit
OKirti
MINERAL OIL105 Yu
Mineral Oil
(Continued on next page)
GASOLINELUBRICATING OILS
FUEL OILS/////
ri" • / //A; /
Yup
Oil
V
ABBREVIATED JAPANESE MARKINGS USED ONGAS AND OIL DRUMS
•1
1
from
1 2 KI 1 or 1 G 2
No. 2 Gasoline
Note: Abbreviation "Kr is derivedKIHATSUYU (Gasoline)
3I FU KI 1 or G
Note: Abbreviation FUTSU (Ordinary)
4 iln 91 GMkt,
Special 91-Octane Gasoline
s
BUN BO or 80 CG
Abbreviation: BUNRYU (Distilled)90-Octane Cracked-Gasoline
6
I KU 90 KI I or 1 A 90 GI
Abbreviation: KOKUKI (Aviation)90-Octane Aviation Gasoline
7
KU 87 GEN K1 I or I G 87 B I
Abbreviation: GENRYO and KOKLIK187-Octane Aviation Base-Gasoline
ABBREVIATED JAPANESE MARKINGS USED ONGAS AND OIL DRUMS
8
I 1 SE KI I or I P-1
Abbreviation: SEKI YU Kerosene)No. 1 Kerosene
10
KEI YU 1 or K
Abbreviation: KEIKATSU YULight Oil
11
1 JU
Abbreviation: JUKATSUNo. 1 Heavy Oil
113 •irhi Nai
Abbreviation: NAI BUNo. 1 Internal Oil
14......e.
irbi lit;
Abbreviation: GAIBUNo. 1 External Oil
•Numbers correspond to those in preceding table.(Key Character "Yu")
PRIMERSHELL CASE
BANGALORE TORPEDOGRENADE DISCHARGER
COMPLETE ROUND
TABLE No 8
Tube(Shaped Container)
TO
Explosive Tube
SHELL CASETo
Demolition Tube
Grenade Tube
Baku T5
PRIMER
Powder Tube Case
CARTRIDGE CASEPRIMER
Ky5Yaku
Cartridge Case Explosive TubeONE:MINNOW
rs
BANGALORETORPEDO
1n••••••
BANGALORETORPEDO
Explosive-Powder Tube
Of ITTeki Dan To
srisiA
Yaku
Baku
GRENADEDISCHARGER
(Continued ors 'text page
Tube(Shaped Container)
PRIMERSHELL CASE
BANGALORE TORPEDO;GRENADE DISCHARGER /
To COMPLETE ROUND
ToDan Yaks
COMPLETEROUND
Artillery Shell (Complete) Tube
4$1 -"alt.gt COMPLETE ROUNDHE SHELL
Ryil Dan Dan Yaks To
High Explosive Artillery Shell (Complete) Tube
ln"
Ki
INFANTRYHo
Walking Troops
ORDANCEZo Hei
Manufacture (Arms) for Troops
ENGINEERSKo
Construction Troops
00111"%t
Hei
Horse Troops
WO OilHet
Gun Troops
fi W2 0Ket Ho Het
Light Gun Troops
CAVALRY
ARTILLERY
LIGHT ARTILLERY
(Continued on next page)
SERVICEDIVISION
Troops
Sen
Field Warfare
Gan
Coast
.."06Hei
Gun Troops
Ha Hei
Gun Troops
Ha Hei
Gun Troops
HEAVY ARTILLERY
FIELD ARTILLERY
COAST ARTILLERY
Kai
Sea
Sha Ken (n
t,* MECHANICALLY-DRAWNARTILLERY
Ha Hei I Da
Self-Moving TractionedVehicle Gun Troops
ft „Ili. Nob
Ho Heiu Da
SELF-PROPELLEDARTILLERY
elf-Moving Gun Troops
Horse (drawn
HO
Gun
Ki
.nift
HORSE-DRAWNatIONI
ARTILLERYHei
Troops(Continued on next page)
DIVISIONALARTILLERYShi
Gun
AirUnit Troops
Riku
Land
Sbd Hei
Hei
Chemistry Warfare Troops
Small Fire Troop (Branch)
Ka
SERVICEDIVISION
0
/%/ / //
Hei
KJ Sha Ho Hei
ANTIAIRCRAFTARTILLERY
High Angle Gun Troops
Division Gun Troops
ARMY AIRSERVICE
CHEMICAL WARFARESERVICE
SMALL ARMS
(Continued on next page)
SERVICEDIVISION
Troops
GunRiku
Kai Gun
Ku Gun
Air Unit
ARMY
Land Unit
NAVY
Sea Unit
AIR FORCES
ARMY AND NAVYUNITS
Gun Unit
Tank
Land Mine
Su; Rai
SbaSe„
Tes Seu
Rai
LANDMINE
WATERMINE
Wafer Mine
Contact Land Mine
Ittj
li Rai
Land Mine
fit Wit
Re, re,
TRIP-WIREMINE
Iron Wire Tripping Purpose Mine
Haisu
Self-Acting
1thRai
Land Mine
(Continued on next page)
CONTACTLAND-MINE
ANTITANKMINE
Rai
CLOCK-WORKMINE
Sbnku FlaeJo
Rai
MINES/./
/ ok, t t tt
/ (Detonating Explosion)Mine
•////
YuFu
Floating
. na
4-1
Baku
MINEDEMOLITION
-
Rai
Explosive Mineee.
AK
Sui
al NB
Rai
FLOATINGMINE
Water Mine
4-a-/ATORPEDO
(Aerial)2 '2RaiKu
Air Mine
MACHINE GUNAUTOMATIC RIFLE
PISTOLRIFLE
MACHINEGUN
VMKi Kan
Ki Kan
Machine Gun
Kei
LIGHTMACHINE GUN
Light Machine Gun
HEAVYMACHINE GUN
ju Ki
Kan jir
Heavy Machine Gun
Ko Tei jir
FIXEDMACHINE GUN
Fixed
14Ki
GunMachine
NtitiKi Kan ju
FLEXIBLEMACHINE GUN 7:
ju Nan
Gun
/17
h--EdKin Sba
Machine
IR OMKi Kan
ANTIAIRCRAFTMACHINE GUN
High-Angle
(Continued on next page)
Machine Gun
MACHINE GUNAUTOMATIC RIFLE
PISTOLRIFLE
Gun (SmallerDimension. than "Ho")
GunSmall
Do
Self-Acting
AUTOMATICRIFLE
Gun
SboRIFLE
#7;Ken
PISTOL
Hand-Operated Gun
aKt
CARBINE
Horse (Cavalry) Gun
ARTILLERYSHELL
Special Gun-Shell
High Explosive ShellCommon
EXPERIMENTALSHELL
Dan
Experimental Shell
Gun-Shell
Rya Dan
High Explosive Shell
(Type used for Artillery) H.E. Shell
Dan
SPECIALSHELL
4111120
fin Jii
COMMONSHELL
LARGE CALIBERSHELL
Large Caliber
HIGH-EXPLOSIVESHELL
Ryir Dan
pp
Ryn Dan
Sbr Sei
64Doi KO Kei
13
Dan
Toku Sbu
(Continued on nest Page)
Tracer (with) Light HE Shell
as Shell
Sen Dan
29
K; Ryu
ellSh
DanSb; 1
ShellIncendiary
HE SHELL WITHLIGHT-TRACER
it4 n..n—nAk
Ku
III IRya Dan
1:
HE Shell
TYPE 92 HE SHELL(for Infantry)
LONG-POINTED(Streamlined) SHELL
Type
Shiba Ho
Infantry
iTan GAS SHELL
HOLLOW CHARGESHELL
Pierce ThroLg, Armor Plate
INCENDIARYSHELL
(Confirmed on next page)
III IIn n
ARTILLERYSHELL
Ryi Dan
;/4:1,4 4 •/P"
/, Ryu
Dan
Sen
Come to a Sharp Point Shell
Ei
rzzz z/z tilt/oxi1
Rya
ja; /////4
ARTILLERYSHELL
anion ofremove)
Tek isabbrevia i
Tekkyo (
STAR SHELL(Illuminating)
PointedHigh-Angle (Fire) Shell
ll
Sbo Mei
Brilliant Glare
Dan
Shell
Hatsu En DanSMOKE SHELL
Emit Smoke Shell
11Ki; Sba Sen Ei
ANTIAIRCRAFTPOINTED SHELL
Dan
ARMOR-PIERCINGHE SHELL
Pierce Armor-plate HE Shell
Armor-piercing
4$2DanKo
AP STEEL SHELL(AP Shot)
Remove, Destroy Armor-plate Shell
AP SHELL WITHHARDENED CAP
Cap Shell
Tek
Hi
ARTILLERYSHELL
Dan
frif l+"Rya DanSEMI-STEEL
SHELL
Semi Steel Shell
Shell
Gun-Turret Cannon Pro eclat,Use
H gh-explosive Case Shell
ran 314K Rys7 Dan
DRAWN-STEELSHELL
SteelForge
CHILLED STEEL(AP) SHELL
Chilled Steel Shell
MI"Ho
TURRETPROJECTILE
FORCANNON USE
4g#
DanSHRAPNEL
(Finned Shell)MORTAR SHELL
(Continued on next page
Yo Mi.
Non Dan Gan
• •• •
Ken Tetra Dan
This is an exception to the general rule
that key characters are terminal characters.
Ya Yoku Dan
Possessing Wings Shell
ARTILLERYSHELL
Dan
GrenadeStick-Hand Hand
BALLAMMUNITIONs
pa
Jilsu Dan
Solid Ammunition
...•Netsu
Heat (Red hot)
POTATO-MASHER TYPEHAND-GRENADE
Shake
Intense
Rifle
l`fRyit Dan
Grenade
Teki Dan
Grenade
RIFLEGRENADE
THERMITEGRENADE
Sbu Ryu Dan
PROJECTILEDan Gan
Shell Body (Form)
This is an exception to the general rule that key characters
are terminal characters.
MARK-2G5
n•nn411.
Ni
Mark 2
Bake Dan
Airplane Bomb
BOMB
TABLE No. 13PRELIMINARY DESCRIPTION
JAPANESE AIRPLANE BOMBS AND THEIR MARKINGS
= . •it: :. .P ' LAND BOMB
(Thin-cased HE-GP Bomb)
Riku la Baku Dan Demolition Blast
Land Use Bomb
2
• 2 n OPIP.
I fDu Jo
C : :r4.
Baku
. a
Dan
ORDINARY BOMB(Heavy-cased HE-GP Bomb)
Demolition SAP
General Purpose Bomb
3
Pr.
.Take Sbu
c: 10014.
Baku Dan
SPECIAL PURPOSEBOMB
14 Types (Mark No. Series)
Special Kind Bomb
Group 3, or Special Purpose Bombs, is by far the most important, being composed of adiversified list ranging from chemical bombs to rocket and incendiary bombs. Although thereare 26 types of Special Purpose Bombs listed with mark numbers in Japanese ordriance cata-logs, there are but 14 known types in actual use and some of these are advanced only to theexperimental stage.
While the Japanese characters "Baku Dan" (airplane bomb) appear on all aerial bombs,or their shipping cases, the characters for "mark" number appear only on Special PurposeBombs, and just preceding "Baku Dan." Look first for the character "mark" and its number.If "mark" is present, then the number following it describes the type (through reference toTable No. 13).
When the ideograph for :'mark" i absent, look for "Baku Dan." The characters preced-i ing it, will describe whether it is a Land Bomb or an Ordinary (General Purpose) Bomb.
These are set forth in Table No. 18.
Meaning is:MARK (Number)
Gi
On "Special Series" bombs a number follows this character to indicate the type as follows:
Mark No. Type of Bomb Mark No. Type of Bomb
1 Gas, chemical 14 Unclassified2 Antisubmarine 15
3 Incendiary 164 Rocket 175 Armor-Piercing 186 Magnesium Incendiary and 19
Oil Incendiary7 Unknown 20
21 Cluster, Airdrome8 Unclassified
9 22 Stick Cluster
10 23 Long-delay
11 24 Parachute12 25 Parachute Cluster13 26 Above Ground
It
(Cow awed ma Seri page)
Meaning is:DESIGN NUMBER
(so-and-so)
Kam
Meaning is:MODEL
(so-and-so)
Sbiki
Meaning is:MODIFICATION
(so-and-so)
Kai
NUMBER 6
Rohm Ban
The Japanese have several common weights for airplane bombs. Examples: 30 Kg.; 60
Kg.; 250 Kg.; 700 Kg.; 800 Kg.
The preceding character indicates the weight of the bomb. In the example illustrated,Roku Ban means number 6. Multiply the 6 by 10, and the result is the weight of the bomb in
kilograms. (60 kg.)
Note: The Japanese characters on this page are related to markingsfound oat/ on JAPANESE AIRPLANE BOMBS.
METRICTABLES
San>1
(COolinued on nese page)
CENTIMETER
Sanchi
MILLIMETER
GRAM(15.432 grains)
1 SECOND
KILOGRAM(2.2 lbs.)
1. K. 205 = 1.205 Kg.
1 LITER(1.7607 pints)
1 DECALITER(10 liters)
(2.2008 gallons)
1 POUND(120.96 momme)
Pondo
O
Mir;
—4
.,.,0oe4,g/t
GYM
METRICTABLES
AL
Momme
1 MOMME(120.96 momme
= 1 lb.)
A
Go Ron
1 GALLON(2.5188 Sho)
A 2.5188
Sbo
= 1 Gallon
`9°Sa
LENGTH
_kat,
.M.WEIGHT
4Inche
INCH
briow FOOT
WIYado
YARD
NagaNaga
"AIRCRAFT"WEAPONS ANDAMMUNITION
KiKu
Ku
Flying (in) Air Machine 1
f.
14,ARMYPLANE
KiRiku
Gun
Riki Ki
Sui Ki
AIRCRAFT
Land Branch (Flying) Machine
NAVYPLANE
:
Kai Gun Ki
Sea Branch (Flying) Machine
LANDPLANE
Land Best (Use) (Flying) Machine
SEAPLANE
Sea Best (Use) (Flying) Machine
TORPEDOAIRPLANE
Rai Geki Ki
Water Mine 2 Attack 3 (Flying) Machine
(Continued on nezi page
eighty Kana characters represent the basic syllables of the language. Since its characters rep-resent sounds and not letters, Kana may be more accurately considered a syllabary than analphabet. Because of its phonetic nature Kana can be used for foreign words after they havebeen reduced to Japanese syllables as closely as possible imitative of the sounds in the originalwords.
Kana is designed around the five vowels, A, I, U, E, 0, and the fifteen consonants, K, G,M, N, Fl, P, B, T, D, F, R, S, W, Y, Z. The working plan of this table is simple. For exam-ple, the consonant K produces five separate syllable sounds when added sidgly to each one ofthe five vowels. These are KA, KI, KU, KE, and KO. There is a separate alphabet mark, orKana character, for not only each of the five vowels, but also for each of the seventy-five two-letter sounds, making a total of eighty individual Japanese Kana characters in the basic table.
The pronunciation of the vowel sounds is slightly different from the English pronuncia-tion: thus A, I, U, E, 0, are pronounced ah, ee, oo, ay, oh, in Japanese. These pronunciationsounds remain the same when they are converted into the two-letter syllables of the KanaTable.
The table of Kana characters appears on Page 3. These Kana characters are used not onlyfor Japanese ordnance items but also for Japanese medical and chemical warfare terms. Exam-ples of the use of Kana are set forth below. Note again that the Kana characters representsyllables.
When the Japanese want to convert a new English word such as "aneroid- into theirprinted language they use the Kana system of basic sounds. This can only be done after theEnglish word is separated into a grouping of sounds closest to those in the Kana alphabet. Tothe Japanese, "aneroid" sounds like the following: ah/nay/ro/ee/do. All these sounds appearin the Kana Table, and can be written by using the Kana characters. The following are exam-ples of the method of changing three words, Aneroid, Magnesium, and Browning, into thewritten Kana language:
_1. 4 I.:.
ANEROIDA Ne Rr I Do
ab nay '3 II chi
'7 INn
z..' _2 -.4 MAGNESIUM
Ma Gu Ne Ship Mu
.,.
/..7 ......_.... :00/ .
, BROWNING
Ea Ra II Ni En . Get
*A special character, en or an, genera ly ending a word.
Sbiki Tan En Ki Shin Kan
Fuze88 Type Short-Delay
Harbi Harhi
Since the Kana characters are easier to write than Kanji numerals, Japanese often useKana to list ordnance items; hence it is common to find a vertical list of items headed by aKana symbol instead of a number (when used as first, second, third, etc.). On artillery am-munition items, as boosters and fuzes, Kana characters such as "To" are stamped into themetal, or painted thereon. These are important identification marks, discussed later in thispublication.
Unusual Methods of Japanese Marking
There are four main types of material on which Japanese character markings describingordnance items are placed. These are: (1) wooden shipping-cases, (2) metal parts of ord-nance items, (3) cardboard tags, tied to the item by string or pasted on metal inner-cases, (4)descriptive booklets, which either accompany the item within the wooden shipping case or areobtained among captured records found with the equipment.
(1) On wooden shipping cases,the Japanese generally describe theitem by characters painted acrossone or more sides of the woodenbox, as illustrated:
The first step in translating such an inscription is to determine the order in which theJapanese characters are written. They may start either from left to right or from right to left.The direction in which they are to be read can be found by noting the location of the charac-ter for Type ("Shiki") which invariably appears in inscriptions for all ordnance items. In theillustration, it is the third ideograph from the right. By memorizing the Japanese numeralsfrom one to ten, shown in Table No. 5 of Section Two, it is easy to recognize their ideographs,which in Japanese always precede the character for "Type." In the illustration Japanesenumerals for "88" are the first two on the extreme right followed by the ideograph for "Shiki"(Type). Thus the direction of placing the characters on this shipping box is from right to left.
When right to left order has been followed in marking, it is suggested (for simplicity intranslation) that the characters be copied on paper as usual, but placed in the opposite direc-tion from that found, as follows:
(2) Japanese mark metal parts of ordnance items with both Kanji and Kana characters.The polished brass surface of an artillery shell cartridge-case lends itself readily to the paint-
#Key Characters
"AIRCRAFT"WEAPONS AND /AMMUNITION
KiMa.chi n /////
Baku Geki
Hi Ki
ARMOREDAIRCRAFT
Armor Plated Flight (Flying) Machine
BOMBINGAIRPLANE
Baku Geki Ki
Bomb 4 Attack (Flying) Machine
BOMBSIGHT
Bomb 4 Attack 3 Sighting Device (For a) (Flying) Machine
Ki
Ki KaiMACHINE
Machine
FOOTNOTES TO TABLE 15Abbreviations reference
1 2triffh
• •• • TORPEDOAerial
Ki5 Rai
Air Mine
3
ATTACK
4
AIRPLANEBOMB
Ko
Geki
Baku
Dan
Di;
Copper
Tetra
Iron
Ko Teem
Steel
O Do
Yellow Copper
IRON
STEEL
BRASS
COPPER
nSei
BRONZE
Bluish Copper
LEADNamari
Lead
(Confirmed on next page)
METALSTABLE
\\‘‘XX
Ku
Ro Ma
to
G; Kin
1 F. ALLOY •
Compound Metal
Chu Tomos
t
— ---
:. CAST IRON
Cast Iron
Ki; Taste
-II CHROMIUMSTEEL
....,hromium Steel
Sei Sen
SEMI-STEEL
with Steel-type pig-iron
Tan Ka
FDRAWN STEEL
Forged Steel
4;•
Ken Tessa
CHILLEDSTEEL
Chilled Steel
(Continued on next–MUT
14KO
Steel
Kr, is an abbreviation of KoTetsu (steel)
METALSTABLE
Iron
Compou
la•
Chu K;CAST STEEL
Cast Steel
)41b P.
ar4R
laALLOY STEEL
Kin
nd Metal Steel
e
A&ji
KO"
t#
Bau
STEEL PLATE
Steel Plate
0.Ala
En
ZINC
Lead
* Ko is an abbreviation of KoTem., (steel)
Projectile Head Communicating Tube (Fuze)
Dan Tei Shin Kan
Projectile FuzeBase
Slow-moving FuzeFire
Arrival - Departure Fuze
Double-Motion Fuze
Short-time Late-Period Fuze
KsEh
Dan To
NOSE FUZE
BASE FUZE
Kara
Ate--a *
Sbin Kan
TIME FUZE
Chain Hatsu
,s_AA
1-a In
Shin Ken
PERCUSSIONFUZE
JNShin Kan
COMBINATIONFUZE
(Time and Percussion)
Ate,
Shin Kan
Depart (Fire) Instantaneous Fuze
Sbu Maim
Instant
Aire
KanTan
(Confirmed on next page),
Ei
INSTANTANEOUSFUZE
SHORT-DELAYFUZE
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