Battery A Field Artillery Horse Barn was once an officers’ horse barn. The building is one of two 1911 buildings original to Camp Withycomb. The Horse Barn now houses the artillery exhibit for the Oregon Military Museum in Clackamas, Oregon. Shown below are the exhibit’s Japanese artillery.
Japanese Type 97 150mm Mortar
Adopted in 1937, the Type 97 is the largest of the ten conventional mortars used by Japan in World War II. Approximately 110 Type 97 mortars were produced.
The mortar on display was made by Osaka Arsenal in 1942. It has a range of 2,392 yards (1.34 miles) and fires a 57-pound round. It has a total weight of 770 pounds and breaks down into three components for transport.
Japanese Type 95 75mm Field Gun
Adopted in 1935, the Type 95 was a main front line weapon. Only 261 were produced due to operational and financial constraints.
According to the Museum:
“Like most Japanese guns, it retained the awkward trail spade feature at a time when other nations were devising more convenient methods of anchoring the tails. The design is conventional but lightweight for mobility in rough terrain.”
The gun on display was made by Osaka Arsenal in 1940. It has a maximum range of 11,900 yards (6.8 miles).
Japanese Type 94 37mm Anti-Tank Gun
Manufacture of the Type 94 began in 1936 and proved effective against Soviet tanks in the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, it was not effective against the U.S. M4 Sherman tank. It was very lightweight (714 pounds) and could be easily broken down for transport by man or animal.
The gun on display was made by Nagoya Arsenal in 1941. It has a maximum range of 5,000 yards (2.84 miles).
Japanese Type 92 70mm Howitzer
The Type 92 Howitzer was an infantry support weapon. It was typically horse drawn.
It had a range of 3,000 yards.
Japanese Type 41 75mm Mountain Gun
The Type 41, a licensed-built copy of the German Krupp M.08 mountain gun, could be quickly dismantled into six pack loads for animal transport.
The gun on display was made by Osaka Arsenal in 1911. It has a range of 7,800 yards (4.43 miles) and weighs 1,199 pounds.
Japanese Type 98 20mm Anti-Aircraft and Anti-Tank Gun
This lightweight gun was accepted for use by the Japanese Imperial Army in 1938. It was Japan’s most widely used anti-aircraft cannon in World War II. According to the Museum:
“A trained crew could prepare the gun for anti-aircraft purposes in under three minutes”
The gun on display was made by Kokura Arsenal in 1938.
Note: these photographs were taken on September 5, 2025.
More military museums
Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum: World War II field guns (photo diary)
Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum: World War II anti-tank guns (photo diary)
Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum: M55 8-inch self-propelled howitzer (photo diary)
Naval Undersea Museum: Torpedoes (photo diary)
Lewis Army Museum: Some big guns (photo diary)
Lewis Army Museum: Antiaircraft guns (photo diary)
Naval Destroyer Museum: Guns and torpedoes on the Turner Joy (photo diary)
Veterans Memorial Museum: Military Weapons (Photo Diary)
