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The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945

Article about: The Evolution of the IJA Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945 Let’s get the Nomenclature Straight Western style shovels were a novelty to the Japanese in the 19th century, so they had t

  1. #21
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    Here are my shovels. One is the larger Type 98, the other two are the earlier, smaller versions, but they are both different.

    Starting with the Type 98 with the peep holes, the length of the sleeve from the end to the top of the horizontal blade shoulders is approximately 180mm. Width from the horizontal shoulder to shoulder is approximately 202mm. This one is stamped 6-19 with a star and also a 'W' on the blade near the shoulder. I believe the manufacturer is Daido Steel Company, June 1944 but I don't know what the 'W' represents. This is the only shovel that I can find any markings on. This one was painted in the standard helmet colour.

    The other two smaller shovels have an amount of black paint still remaining on the sleeves only but, the sleeves and widths are different lengths. Measurement of the sleeve on the first one compared to the Type 98 is approximately 150mm. Width at shoulders is approximately 178mm.

    Sleeve length on the second one is approximately 120mm with the width at the shoulder being approximately 185mm.

    Regards

    Russ

    The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945

  2. #22
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    Another observation just made, there are remnants of black paint on the sleeve and the opposite side of the marked blade on the Type 98 shovel.

    Regards

    Russ

  3. #23
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    Hi Bill, the stamp is quite faint, in some light it also looks partially like a star.

    This is about the best pic of it I can get.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

    Regards

    Russ

    The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945

  4. #24

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    Russ, thanks for the photos. Can you give us the overall metric weight of the Type 98, as that is the most important measure? The detailed length measurements are extremely difficult and confusing to follow in words without a drawing, so I'll just comment on the markings. Please only note that during WW2, there were 3 shovel sizes, one for infantry, then medium and large for engineers. Only those conforming to the size shown in the Kwantung Army text is the infantry Type 98 model and anything bigger are engineer models.

    I actually explained the markings sequence in the production screenshots, but because the forum jumbled the upload order and made a mess of it, perhaps you did not read the screenshot comments. The star on your shovel does not stand for Daido, but is the raw material acceptance stamp applied in step 2 of the flowchart below. And "W" is the interim quality check mark applied in step 6 before the heat treatment.

    I suppose the date is meant to be the final acceptance stamp before the painting process.

    I'll also show again my example of the W mark.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945   The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945  


  5. #25
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    Nick, my scales are smaller than the one you have used, so I get a little variation in measure depending on how they are laid on it. The weight for the wood handle and the blade together come in at around 1.087kg for the Type 98.

    Yes, I did miss the comment about the 'W" mark - thanks.

    Length measures were as taken as per this pic.

    The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945

    Regards

    Russ

  6. #26
    iac
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    So if I understand it, the handle was held into the shovel socket by mere friction ?

  7. #27

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    No locking pins or such, but when too loose and the head fell off, you just twisted the shovel's head round the handle so the rope wound up till it held the head and shaft tightly together in a snake's hug.

    By the way, if you want to learn more about the markings shown in photos in posts 23 and 24, see here.

  8. #28

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    Origins of the hole in the blade, appearing from the Model 1908 shovel, to allow a hemp rope sling to pass through has now been traced back to a proposal from 1896.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945   The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945  


  9. #29

    Default Wartime Downgrading of Type 98 Shovel Specs

    Wartime Downgrading of Type 98 Shovel Specs


    Supply of bullet-proof steel gradually became critical as the war progressed. As we have already seen, Type 98 production already had to shift to nickel-less steel as early as 1941, and by 1943, army arsenals had to officially adopt progressive downgrading of material specs to strictly minimize consumption of steel, aluminum and copper for all weapon categories.

    The 1943 policy for weapons development mandated developers to pursue these goals even at the cost of “added weight”, “reduced durability”, and “reduced ease of use”.

    Thus, on 13th September 1943, army developers were ordered to apply the above mandate to the production of Type 98 shovels, by reducing sizes where possible, and switching back to regular grade steel or Ducol Steel.

    Ducol (D-steel) was originally developed by a firm in Scotland in the 1920s, and was extensively used in the construction of IJN battleships for bulkheads and protective plating as well as for new bridges built during the Tokyo reconstruction effort, following the 1923 Great Kanto Quake. It had high strength, but had the shortcoming of not being easy to weld. Like Japan, the Russians also used Ducol for their tanks in WW2, due to shortage of chromium and nickel.

    This downgrading tweak was overseen by Army Technical Major Saburo Ueno, who got a prototype ready by the next month and completed the project by November 1943.

    As a result of this specification tweak, Type 98 shovels were hencefrth produced in 3 grades, as follows;

    1.Grade A (甲) : Bullet-proof steel version now weighed 770 g instead of the original 850 g

    2.Grade B (乙) :High tensile or D-steel, weighing 730 grams

    3.Grade C (丙) :As above, but 700 grams. I assume this to be a size-reduced version of the above.

    The 1943 document does not discuss how these 3 grades were to be differently marked for sorting at the depots, but it is quite clear to me by now that Grade B would have had the ㊁ stamp as seen on helmets and bayonets.

    The example in my collection, weighing 721 grams, is clearly a Grade B product of 1944/45 manufacture, but has nothing like a ㊁ stamp. That type of stamp was probably only seen on shovels while Grade A was still in production and got deleted once steel for Grade A production ran out, promoting Grade B specs to be the standard for Type 98s by default.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945  
    Last edited by Nick Komiya; 08-14-2022 at 02:06 PM.

  10. #30

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    Why the Square Spade is so rare in Japan


    It appears that these shovels might be much easier to find in Russia than in Japan.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945   The Evolution of the Japanese Infantryman’s Entrenching Tool: 1887-1945  


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