Original Item: Only One Available. This is a genuine Japanese World War II 50mm Mortar, Type 89 grenade with a Type 88 instantaneous fuze. Features original paint with a yellow band on the body and a red band at the top, both painted over with black. The Mortar round is inert and can never be used as a weapon or for its original intended purpose, therefore complies with BATF guidelines regarding inert ordnance. Not Available For Export.

The fuze still has an intact spring in the nose, and is stamped with several Japanese characters. The brass fuze housing itself is dated 12 四 十 昭. This marking is written right to left, and would be read: SHOWA (current reigning emperor) Juu-Yon Nen (14th year of reign - 1939), the 12th month, December. There are also arsenal markings on the body of the round.

This Japanese model 89 knee mortar round has a small Tokyo arsenal symbol punched into the side along with other markings, making it a very desirable excellent condition Japanese WW2 example. Measures 2 inches wide 5.75 inches in overall height, and the bottom propellant cup charge still unscrews. Also, this grenade has access to the explosive chamber as well, something we rarely see. There is a 1 inch slot cut into the top portion of the round, perfect size for coins. This was brought home and “converted” by a US Marine after WWII.

The soft copper band on the bottom cup is “punch engraved” with HUGH O. G. LAND / NEW BRITAIN. Sergeant Land served with multiple pre war Marine Corps reserved units but is seen as serving mostly with the 5th Battalion, 11th Marines with an Artillery Battery. He is seen still serving with 5/11 during the Korean War as well, making his service span from 1939/40 to 1953! We have only been able to locate muster rolls for him, but 5/11 for the majority of WWII. Land captured this round sometime after the battle of Cape Gloucester during the New Britain Campaign.

Other Battles / Campaigns He Would Have Been A Part Of:
Battle of Guadalcanal
Eastern New Guinea
New Britain
Battle of Peleliu
Battle of Okinawa

Korean War Campaigns:
Inchon/Seoul Campaign
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
East/Central Front
Western Front

We have no way of confirming that he took part in all of these battles, only the New Britain campaign.

An excellent example of the Type 89 Mortar round, ready for further research and display!

5th Battalion 11th Marines was activated on 1 May 1942 at New River, North Carolina. In June of that year they deployed to Wellington, New Zealand. They were re-designated on 1 January 1943 as the 4th Battalion, 11th Marines. During the war they participated in the following campaigns:

Battle of Guadalcanal
Eastern New Guinea
New Britain
Battle of Peleliu
Battle of Okinawa

Following the surrender of Japan, the battalion was deployed to Tientsin, China as part of the occupation of northern China from October 1946 to January 1947. In January they returned to the United States to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and were reassigned to the 3rd Marine Brigade. The battalion was deactivated on 17 February 1947. Later that year they were again activated on 16 July only to be deactivated again on 30 September.

The battalion was reactivated on 4 August 1950 at MCB Camp Pendleton and were assigned to the 1st Marine Division. In August they deployed to Kobe, Japan and fought in the war until the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on 27 July 1953. They participated in the following campaigns:

Inchon/Seoul Campaign
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
East/Central Front
Western Front

Following the war the battalion remained in Korea and participated in the occupation of the Korean Demilitarized Zone from August 1953 until March 1955 when they relocated to MCB Camp Pendleton

History of the Type 89 Knee Mortar-

The Type 89 Grenade Discharger (八九式重擲弾筒 Hachikyū-shiki jū-tekidantō), inaccurately and colloquially known as a knee mortar by Allied forces, is a Japanese grenade launcher or light mortar that was widely used in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.

The Japanese Army, noting that grenades were short-ranged weapons, began efforts to optimize these weapons for close-in infantry fighting. After studying employment of grenades and mortars on the battlefield, the Japanese Army developed hand grenades, rifle grenades, and grenade/mortar shell dischargers (small mortars) suited to warfare in typical short-range combat environments such as urban, trench, and jungle warfare.

As part of this effort, the Japanese Army had adopted by 1932 a set of fragmentation grenades with almost universal adaptability. The Type 91 fragmentation grenade could be thrown by hand, fired from a spigot-type launcher, or used in a mortar-like grenade discharger, the Type 89.

Design and operation

The Type 89 entered service in 1929, and differs from the earlier Type 10 Grenade Discharger in that it has a rifled barrel. The Type 89 could fire two types of grenades or shells: the Type 91 Grenade, which was a normal infantry fragmentation grenade adapted to the Type 89 discharger, and the Type 89 50 mm shell, which was an impact-detonated shell with considerably more explosive power.

When fired from the Type 89 discharger, the Type 91 fragmentation grenade was fitted with a propellant base and time fuse. It did not explode upon contact, but was designed to ignite its fuse while in flight. A weak creep spring inside the grenade firing mechanism allowed the firing pin to be thrown back upon launching, igniting a time fuse with a 7-8 second delay. Using this system, the Type 91 grenades could be launched through jungle cover or through small openings without the danger of premature detonation in the event the grenade struck an object on its way to the target. Although the Type 89 could be fired by a single person, it was typically operated with a crew of 3, enabling it to reach a rate of fire of about 25 rounds per minute.

The Type 89 discharger could also be used with a more powerful impact-detonated shell approaching the power of a light mortar. Weighing approximately two pounds (approx. 900 g), it was known as the Type 89 50mm shell, and was made in high explosive (HE), incendiary and smoke variants. To fire the shell (which had a nose-mounted impact fuse that detonated on contact), it was dropped base-down inside the tube of the discharger. By setting the Type 89 discharger at a fixed angle of 45 degrees, and varying distance to target by adjusting the size of a variable chamber space inside the discharger mechanism, soldiers could adjust fire onto multiple targets at varying ranges while firing the contact-detonated 50 mm shell through a single small clearing in the jungle canopy. The method worked equally well when firing from deep trenches or pits, or between various building obstructions when fighting inside a built-up town or city.

With its curved support plate, the Type 89 was designed to be placed on the ground or against a log or trunk at a fixed firing angle of 45 degrees. However, since it used a spring-loaded, lanyard-operated firing pin mechanism, in an emergency it could fire grenades or shells at point targets while braced horizontally against a tree or building.

Combat use

The Type 89 discharger first saw service in China and Manchuria. During World War II, the weapon was used in Burma, China, and the Pacific islands. The Japanese Navy paratroopers carried special containers for the Type 89 clipped to their harnesses to provide fire support right on the landing zone. Allied troops soon learned to hit the ground when they heard the telltale 'pop' of the weapon launching its grenades or shells, in some cases from more than 200 yards (183 m) away.Some Allied infantrymen mistakenly assumed that the launcher's curve plate was propped on the leg to fire and thereafter referred to it as a "knee mortar". However, any soldier or marine who tried to fire a captured Type 89 in this fashion received a severe bruise (and sometimes a broken thigh bone) from the hefty recoil.

The Type 89 discharger and its ammunition was responsible for many Chinese and later, Allied casualties after the start of World War II