Chiang Kai-shek rifle
Encyclopedia
The Type Zhongzheng rifle (中正式), also known as the Chiang Kai-shek/Jiang Jieshi Rifle and Type 24 (二四式) after the Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek
, was a Chinese-made copy of the German Mauser Gewehr 98
, the forerunner of the Karabiner 98k
. Pre-production of the Chiang Kai-Shek rifle started in August 1935 (year 24 of the Republican calendar, hence the Type 24). It was later renamed the Type Zhongzheng and was in full scale production as early as late 1935. Although the Hanyang 88
rifle was produced in greater numbers than the Type Zhongzheng, the full standardization of the Type Zhongzheng rifle only started during the Second Sino-Japanese war
.
In a ten year period, over half a million weapons were produced. The weapon's last war was in Korea
, in the 1950s.
The weapon served as one of the main battle rifles for the Chinese National Revolutionary Army
(NRA). Like the Karabiner 98k
, it was a shortened and lightened version of the Gewehr 98
. The quality of the weapon varied from arsenal to arsenal. Some were of superior quality while others were crudely made. Although it entered service in 1935, China's limited industrial capacity meant that it was built in low numbers. As the war progressed, however, China's industry in western cities like Chongqing
and Kunming
allowed more and more of these rifles to be produced. Production was largely unaffected during the Bombing of Chongqing
because many of the machines had been moved underground. Roughly speaking, during the war, the rifle was only used by the non-German trained units of the Central Chinese Military, which was the core of the NRA. The German-trained units used a very similar weapon, the Mauser Model 98k Carbine. By the 1950s, the Type Zhongzheng rifle was phased out in favour of American aid equipment, such as the M1 Garand
, M1 Carbine
, and Thompson submachine gun
for the Nationalists.
The major advantage of the Type Zhongzheng over the Arisaka was that it had better stopping power with the use of 8mm Mauser rounds; the rifle also had a better rate of fire and a greater range than the Arisaka. The weapon was shorter, (similar in length to the Karabiner 98k) when compared with the Gewehr 98 and the Arisaka Type 38
.
A total of between 500,000 and 600,000 weapons were produced between 1935 and 1945. The rifle saw its last war in the hands of the People's Volunteer Army
against UN forces during the Korean War
.
Together with the Mauser C96
handgun and the M35 Helmet
, these weapons have become recognisable features of Chiang Kai-Shek's National Revolutionary Army and the Chinese army during China's turbulent early 20th century. In an ironic twist, the rifle, although named after Chiang Kai-Shek and used by his Nationalists, was also used by the Communists during the Chinese Civil war
.
Sergeant
Tung Chih Yeh claimed to have shot and killed over 100 Imperial Japanese Army (IJA
) soldiers using a Chiang Kai-Shek rifle with and without a scope in the Yangtze area.
The rifle can have a HY1935 bayonet
attached, replacing the cumbersome, yet deadly, Dadao
(a type of slashing sword). Some divisions and guerilla militias who did not receive any modern weapons continued using the dadao for close combat.
The Chinese People's Militia (the forerunner of the People's Armed Police
) and smaller local paramilitaries were using Chiang Kai-Shek rifles (as well as Arisaka
s and Mosin-Nagant
s) up until 1980 before it become a supplemental ceremonial weapon (the main ceremonial rifle is the SKS
), for the People's Liberation Army
to the present day.
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, was a Chinese-made copy of the German Mauser Gewehr 98
Gewehr 98
The Gewehr 98 is a German bolt action Mauser rifle firing the 8x57mm cartridge from a 5 round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Karabiner 98k. It was hence the main rifle of the German infantry during World War I...
, the forerunner of the Karabiner 98k
Karabiner 98k
The Karabiner 98 Kurz was a bolt action rifle chambered for the 8x57mm IS/7.92×57mm IS cartridge that was adopted as the standard service rifle in 1935 by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles...
. Pre-production of the Chiang Kai-Shek rifle started in August 1935 (year 24 of the Republican calendar, hence the Type 24). It was later renamed the Type Zhongzheng and was in full scale production as early as late 1935. Although the Hanyang 88
Hanyang 88
The Type 88, sometimes known as "Hanyang 88", was a Chinese rifle that was issued to the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The name derived from the Hanyang Arsenal factory that made this rifle. The rifle had a bayonet attachment to use in close combat after a charge...
rifle was produced in greater numbers than the Type Zhongzheng, the full standardization of the Type Zhongzheng rifle only started during the Second Sino-Japanese war
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
.
In a ten year period, over half a million weapons were produced. The weapon's last war was in Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, in the 1950s.
Service history
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
(NRA). Like the Karabiner 98k
Karabiner 98k
The Karabiner 98 Kurz was a bolt action rifle chambered for the 8x57mm IS/7.92×57mm IS cartridge that was adopted as the standard service rifle in 1935 by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles...
, it was a shortened and lightened version of the Gewehr 98
Gewehr 98
The Gewehr 98 is a German bolt action Mauser rifle firing the 8x57mm cartridge from a 5 round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Karabiner 98k. It was hence the main rifle of the German infantry during World War I...
. The quality of the weapon varied from arsenal to arsenal. Some were of superior quality while others were crudely made. Although it entered service in 1935, China's limited industrial capacity meant that it was built in low numbers. As the war progressed, however, China's industry in western cities like Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
and Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
allowed more and more of these rifles to be produced. Production was largely unaffected during the Bombing of Chongqing
Bombing of Chongqing
The bombing of Chongqing was part of a terror bombing operation conducted by Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the Chinese provisional capital of Chongqing, authorized by the Imperial General Headquarters.A conservative estimate places the...
because many of the machines had been moved underground. Roughly speaking, during the war, the rifle was only used by the non-German trained units of the Central Chinese Military, which was the core of the NRA. The German-trained units used a very similar weapon, the Mauser Model 98k Carbine. By the 1950s, the Type Zhongzheng rifle was phased out in favour of American aid equipment, such as the M1 Garand
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
, M1 Carbine
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
, and Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
for the Nationalists.
The major advantage of the Type Zhongzheng over the Arisaka was that it had better stopping power with the use of 8mm Mauser rounds; the rifle also had a better rate of fire and a greater range than the Arisaka. The weapon was shorter, (similar in length to the Karabiner 98k) when compared with the Gewehr 98 and the Arisaka Type 38
Type 38
Type 38 may refer to the following Japanese weapons:*Type 38 rifle*Type 38 cavalry rifle*Type 38 75 mm Field Gun*Type 38 10 cm Cannon*Type 38 15 cm howitzer...
.
A total of between 500,000 and 600,000 weapons were produced between 1935 and 1945. The rifle saw its last war in the hands of the People's Volunteer Army
People's Volunteer Army
The Chinese People's Volunteer Army was the armed forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army belonged to the People's Liberation Army , the People's Volunteer Army was separately constituted in order to...
against UN forces during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Together with the Mauser C96
Mauser C96
The Mauser C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937...
handgun and the M35 Helmet
Stahlhelm
Stahlhelm is German for "steel helmet". The Imperial German Army began to replace the traditional boiled-leather Pickelhaube with the Stahlhelm during World War I in 1916...
, these weapons have become recognisable features of Chiang Kai-Shek's National Revolutionary Army and the Chinese army during China's turbulent early 20th century. In an ironic twist, the rifle, although named after Chiang Kai-Shek and used by his Nationalists, was also used by the Communists during the Chinese Civil war
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
.
Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Tung Chih Yeh claimed to have shot and killed over 100 Imperial Japanese Army (IJA
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
) soldiers using a Chiang Kai-Shek rifle with and without a scope in the Yangtze area.
The rifle can have a HY1935 bayonet
HY1935 bayonet
The Hanyang M1935 bayonet is a bayonet used on the Chinese Chiang Kai-Shek rifle. It is based on the Mauser S84/98 III bayonet used on German Gewehr 98 rifles and derivatives....
attached, replacing the cumbersome, yet deadly, Dadao
Dadao
The dadao one of the varieties of dao or Chinese saber, is also known as the Chinese great sword. Based on agricultural knives, dadao have broad blades generally between two and three feet long, long hilts meant for "hand and a half" or two-handed use, and generally a weight-forward balance...
(a type of slashing sword). Some divisions and guerilla militias who did not receive any modern weapons continued using the dadao for close combat.
The Chinese People's Militia (the forerunner of the People's Armed Police
People's Armed Police
The People's Armed Police , officially Chinese People's Armed Police Force is a paramilitary or gendarmerie force primarily responsible for civilian policing and fire rescue duties in the People's Republic of China, as well as provide support to PLA during wartime.In contrast to public security...
) and smaller local paramilitaries were using Chiang Kai-Shek rifles (as well as Arisaka
Arisaka
Arisaka is a family of Japanese military bolt action rifles, in production from approximately 1898, when it replaced the Murata rifle, until the end of World War II in 1945...
s and Mosin-Nagant
Mosin-Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a bolt-action, internal magazine-fed, military rifle invented under the government commission by Russian and Belgian inventors, and used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and various other nations....
s) up until 1980 before it become a supplemental ceremonial weapon (the main ceremonial rifle is the SKS
SKS
The SKS is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 Simonov system, 1945), or SKS 45. The Sks is a scaled down version of the PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle also...
), for the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
to the present day.
Variants
There are two variants of Chiang Kai-shek rifle:- The Type 1 has a longer barrel and foregrip.
- The Type 2 has a shorter barrel and foregrip with a curved-down bolt-action lever.
See also
- German-trained divisions in the National Revolutionary ArmyGerman-trained divisions in the National Revolutionary ArmyThe German trained divisions were the elite of the infantry divisions in the National Revolutionary Army trained under Sino-German cooperation...
- Gewehr 98Gewehr 98The Gewehr 98 is a German bolt action Mauser rifle firing the 8x57mm cartridge from a 5 round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Karabiner 98k. It was hence the main rifle of the German infantry during World War I...
- Hanyang 88Hanyang 88The Type 88, sometimes known as "Hanyang 88", was a Chinese rifle that was issued to the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The name derived from the Hanyang Arsenal factory that made this rifle. The rifle had a bayonet attachment to use in close combat after a charge...
- Hanyang ArsenalHanyang ArsenalHanyang Arsenal was one of the largest and oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history.-History:Originally known as the Hubei Arsenal, it was founded in 1891 by one of the Qing officials, Zhang Zhidong, who diverted funds from the Nanyang Fleet in Guangdong to build the arsenal. It cost about...
- Karabiner 98kKarabiner 98kThe Karabiner 98 Kurz was a bolt action rifle chambered for the 8x57mm IS/7.92×57mm IS cartridge that was adopted as the standard service rifle in 1935 by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles...
- vz. 24Vz. 24The vz. 24 rifle is a rifle designed and produced in Czechoslovakia from 1924 to 1942. It was developed from the Mauser Gewehr 98 line, though is not a clone of any specific Mauser model. The fit and finish are of the highest quality....