List of Chinese military equipment in World War II

The following is a list of Chinese military equipment of World War II which includes artillery, vehicles and vessels. World War II was a global war that was underway by 1939 and ended in 1945. On 7 July 1937, Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia, attacked the China. This conflict has ultimately become part of WWII from 7 December 1941. Because of numerous internal problems, China never thought against Japanese invaders with determination, and Japanese never deployed enough forces to capture more than some key cities. The power of Imperial Japan was removed only from August, 1945. This list covers the equipment of ROC army, various warlords (including Japanese collaborators) and communist rebels.

Knives and bayonets

 * Dadao
 * Miao dao
 * HY1935 bayonet
 * Qiang (spear)
 * Type 30 bayonet (captured from Japanese forces)

Pistols (manual and semi-automatic)

 * Mauser C96 (includes Chinese copies)
 * Browning Hi-Power (Burma Campaign X-Forces and Y-Forces)
 * Colt M1911 (U.S Lend Lease)
 * Tokarev TT-30/TT-33 Chinese copy (Later known as the Type 54 in the Cold War)
 * FN M1900 (Chinese copy)
 * FN Model 1910
 * FN Model 1910/22
 * Nambu Pistol (captured from Japanese forces)
 * Type 26 revolver (captured from Japanese forces)
 * Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless (issued to officers only)
 * Luger P08
 * Walther PP - private purchases through Japanese
 * Spanish Ruby pistol
 * Spanish Llama-III pistol
 * Spanish Llama-VII pistol
 * Spanish Llama-VIII pistol
 * Spanish Llama-XI pistol
 * Smith & Wesson M&P and other 0.38 inch ammunition pistols
 * Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolver – some private purchases from 1878
 * Colt New Service revolver – some private purchases
 * M1917 revolver – substantial quantity after 1942

Automatic pistols and submachine guns

 * Mauser 712 (automatic version of Mauser C96)
 * MP 18 (Chinese licensed copies) – includes MP 18.1 and MP 28
 * M3 submachine gun – some re-chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge
 * Thompson SMG (U.S Lend Lease, later local produced Chinese copies)
 * Sten Mk. II – only in Indian theatre
 * PPSh-41
 * PPS
 * Type 100 submachine gun (captured from Japanese forces)

Rifles

 * Pattern 1853 Enfield musket (14.65mm).
 * Snider rifle (models 1853–1877)
 * Chassepot rifle M1866
 * Mauser Model 1871 rifle (about 26000 rifles and 1000 carbines)
 * Murata rifle types 13,18,22
 * Fusil Gras mle 1874
 * M1882 Remington-Lee (about 9000 rifles and carbines)
 * Steyr-Mannlicher M1888
 * Gewehr 1888 and Chinese licensed copy Hanyang 88
 * Mondragón rifle
 * Mauser M1895 rifle
 * Steyr-Mannlicher M1904 – large quantity
 * Gewehr 98 (mainly given to the early German trained divisions)
 * Mauser Karabiner 98k (mainly given to the early German trained divisions)
 * Mauser rifles and carbines M1906/M1907 – small quantity (based on Gewehr 98)
 * Mannlicher-Schönauer – very small quantity
 * Mauser rifle M1912 (small quantity (2000–3000)
 * General Liu rifle – only indigenous semi-automatic rifle, prototype only
 * Mosin-Nagant M1891/30, M1907/1910, M1938, M1944 – widely used by White Russian mercenaries
 * ZB vz. 98/22 – about 70000 purchased
 * Vz. 24 – about 100000 purchased, also Chinese copy
 * ZH-29 – about 550 purchased
 * FN M1924/1930 short rifle – 24000 M1942 and 165000 M1930 (may be actually light machine gun?)
 * Type 21 (copy of the FN M-1930)
 * Mukden arsenal Mauser rifle – hybrid between Arisaka and Mauser M1912 (under Japanese supervision)
 * Mauser M1933 short rifle, local copy known as Chiang Kai-Shek rifle(Type 24 rifle)(Jiang Jieshi rifle) - most common rifle in Chinese service during WWII
 * Various Mauser rifles left from Imperial Germany (Kar. 98AZ and others)
 * Arisaka: Type 30 rifle, Type 35 rifle, Type 38 rifle, Type 38 carbine, Type 44 carbine, and Type 99 rifle (captured from Japanese forces)
 * SMLE No. 4 Mk 1 – 40000 from 1942 onward
 * M1 Garand – large numbers from 1942
 * Springfield M1903 (mostly model M1903A3) – 2nd most common lend-lease rifle
 * EnfieldM1917 rifle – most common lend-lease rifle
 * SVT-40
 * Johnson rifle – about 500 rifles diverted to China after fall of Dutch East Indies

Grenades and grenade launchers

 * Model 24 grenade (Chinese copy)

Produced locally

 * 11mm Gatling gun of unclear origin (Spanish?)
 * Type 24 (Model of 1935) Maxim heavy machine gun (36032 produced, making it most common WWII machine gun in China)
 * ZB vz.26 and ZB vz.30 (purchased in large quantity from former Czechoslovakia, later local produced Chinese copies)
 * MG34 (Chinese copy)
 * Chinese Type 30 Heavy Machine Gun (Chinese copy of Browning M1917)
 * Colt-Browning M-1919 heavy machine gun (unauthorized Chinese copy, around 5000-10000 made)

Import Only

 * Maxim-Nordenfeldt Maxim Model 1889 "World Standard" (151 purchased)
 * DWM Maxim M-1909 commercial heavy machine gun (16-60 purchased)
 * Bergmann M-1910 heavy machine gun (6 purchased)
 * Skoda M-1909 heavy machine gun (20 purchased)
 * Madsen light machinegun M1916/M1930/M1937 – relatively common in ROC armies
 * Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun – some mounted on Chinese FT-18 tanks and some given to infantry
 * Hotchkiss light machinegun M1922/M1926
 * Hotchkiss heavy machinegun M1930 (also captured Japanese copy Type 93 machine gun)
 * Fürrer light machinegun M1925 (few bought from Switzerland)
 * Neuhausen KE-7 (Purchased from Switzerland)
 * KE-7 light machine gun (about 5000 purchased from Switzerland)
 * Lewis gun (also captured Japanese copies Type 92 heavy machine gun


 * ZB vz. 26 and ZB vz. 30(5000–10000 purchased)
 * ZB-53
 * Degtyarev DP machine gun (Provided by Soviet in the early period of war, mostly used by NRA elite forces such as 200th Division, 74th Army)
 * PM M1910
 * Vickers Class "C" heavy machine gun (32 purchased)
 * Browning Automatic Rifle M1930 (4148 purchased)
 * Browning Automatic Rifle Model D (3022 purchased)
 * Colt-Browning MG-38 heavy machine gun (207 purchased)
 * MG 08
 * Lahti Saloranta light machine gun M1926 (1200 delivered from Finland)
 * Bren LMG(Provided by Britain and Canada from 1941 to 1945)
 * Type 11 light machine gun (captured from Japanese forces)
 * Type 96 light machine gun (captured from Japanese forces)
 * Type 99 light machine gun (captured from Japanese forces)
 * Type 3 heavy machine gun (captured from Japanese forces)
 * Browning M1917A1 heavy machine gun (3363 by (U.S Lend Lease))
 * Browning M1919A4/A6 meduim machine gun (1218 by (U.S Lend Lease))
 * Browning M1919A5 medium machine gun (1640 by (U.S Lend Lease)) – tank gun, but mostly used by infantry
 * Bren light machine gun Mk. IM, Mk. II/I, Mk. II (39300 of 7.92mm caliber and around 10000 of 7.7mm caliber)

Vehicle and aircraft machine guns

 * Type 92 aircraft gun (captured)
 * Type 89 Lewis aircraft gun (captured)?
 * Breda-SAFAT light machinegun M1926 (used on L3/33 and L3/35)
 * Degtyarev M-1928 (DT and DA versions)
 * Maxim PV-1 aircraft gun
 * Vickers Class "E" aircraft machine gun (70)
 * Vickers Class "F" aircraft machine gun (9)
 * Colt-Browning MG-40 aircraft machine gun (1038 delivered)
 * Colt-Browning MG-38T tank machinegun
 * FN Browning Modèle 1932 aircraft machine gun
 * Browning M-2 fixed and flexible aircraft machine gun (460 delivered)
 * MG-13 light machine gun (for German armored vehicles, 100 delivered)
 * Solothurn Model T-6-220 aircraft machine gun (captured Japanese copies)
 * Browning M-1919A5 armor machine gun (1640 delivered)

Artillery
Because of lack of standardization, bad metallurgy and manufacturing culture in WWII China, locally produced artillery had attracted very little interest from contemporary researchers. Unlicensed production of foreign weapons under local designations and with ad-hoc modifications made the documentation even more confusing. Most of artillery of China is known either from Japanese accounts or from Japanese documentation analyzed in the US after the war was over. Therefore, many reported native Chinese artillery types are not positively identified with any surviving hardware.

Infantry mortars

 * Brixia Model 35 (45mm) – few imported for use by elite units
 * Type 10 grenade discharger (50mm, captured from Japanese and copied locally as Type 27 with cost-reduction features, 40909 produced)
 * Type 89 grenade discharger (50mm, captured from Japanese)
 * Brandt Mle 1935 (60mm) – local copy with longer barrel produced as Type 31
 * M2 mortar (60mm) – from 1942 onward
 * Type 11 70 mm Infantry Mortar – captured from Japanese and copied locally
 * Stokes mortar (81mm) – bought from GB or France
 * Brandt Mle 27/31 (81mm) – directly bought from France or copy (Type 3 81 mm Mortar) captured from Japanese, local designation Type 20
 * Type 97 81 mm infantry mortar – captured from Japanese
 * Type 99 81 mm mortar – captured from Japanese
 * M1 mortar (81mm) – from late 1941 onward
 * 8 cm Granatwerfer 34 (81mm) – bought from Germany
 * Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar (81mm) – received from Great Britain
 * 82-BM-37 (also PM-37, PM-36, BM-36) (82mm) – supplied by USSR
 * Type 94 90 mm Infantry Mortar – few captured from Japanese
 * Type 97 90 mm Infantry Mortar – come captured from Japanese
 * M2 4.2 inch mortar (107mm rifled bore) – received from US from 1943 onward
 * 120mm infantry mortar – most likely received from US, no data
 * Type 96 150 mm Infantry Mortar (also Type 97) – not captured, but crude copy (known from Japanese as 150mm infantry Situokesi (Stokes) mortar) was manufactured locally. It was the largest artillery piece mass-produced in China
 * Newton 6-inch Mortar – used by some local warlords
 * Improvised mortars (mostly in use by communist forces) of calibers 53mm, 75mm, 83mm to launch sub-caliber projectiles from tubes made of low-quality metal.
 * 41mm Type 27 mortar (probably fictitious or misidentified)

Heavy mortars & rocket launchers

 * 240 mm infantry mortar (likely single unique unit to fire captured Japanese ammunition)

Field artillery

 * 53mm Gelusen (legacy Hotchkiss gun)
 * 57mm Gelusen Guo
 * 57mm Lu
 * 70mm Gai Liang (copy of Japanese Type 92 Battalion Gun or 37/70mm Skoda gun?)
 * 75mm Type 10 Gan
 * 75mm Type 13/14/18 Liao
 * 75mm Type 12/13/17/18 Jin
 * 75mm Type 46 Jin – dubious, misspelled 75mm Type 16 Jin?
 * 88mm Type 18 Jin (drilled-out version?)
 * 88mm Type 18 Liao (drilled-out version?)
 * 105mm Type 16 Jin (drilled-out version?)
 * Type 41 75 mm Mountain Gun (captured form Japanese and Chinese copies under unknown designation)
 * Type 41 77.7mm Field Gun – Produced in China
 * Type 14 10 cm Howitzer – (105mm) – developed for warlord Yan Xishan
 * Type 14 10 cm Cannon – (105mm) Chinese design developed for warlord Yan Xishan, unrelated to Japanese Type 14 10 cm Cannon of accidentally the same name
 * Type 12 infantry gun – developed for warlord Yan Xishan
 * Type 14 12 cm Howitzer – developed for warlord Yan Xishan
 * 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19)
 * 122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19)
 * Type 14/19 15 cm Howitzer – developed for warlord Yan Xishan
 * 15 cm sFH 18 – 24 of L/24 and 24 of L/30 barrel

Anti-tank guns

 * 37mm Manchurian type 14 Inf Gun (copy of Japanese gun?)
 * Type 30 37mm gun (no data)
 * PaK 36 (Chinese copy) – 124 provided by Germany
 * 37 mm anti-tank gun M1930 (1-K) (Russian copy of PaK 36) – small amount provided by USSR, copied locally
 * 45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 (53-K) – unknown quantity supplied by USSR
 * 37 mm Gun M3 – supplied by US from 1943 onward
 * Cannone da 47/32 M35 – few received from Italy
 * Type 94 37 mm Anti-Tank Gun – captured from Japanese, common
 * Type 1 47 mm Anti-Tank Gun – few captured from Japanese
 * ZiS-2 (doubtful)
 * ZiS-3 (doubtful)

Anti-tank weapons (besides ant-tank guns)

 * Boys anti tank rifle
 * PTRD
 * Type 97 automatic cannon – captured from Japanese

Anti-aircraft weapons
Chinese did not produce an AA-guns on their own, but used every foreign gun they can put their hands on. Various 20mm guns were especially widespread.

Light anti-aircraft guns

 * Vickers Class "D" High Velocity heavy machine gun (20 delivered) (other users were Japan and Siam)
 * Madsen 20 mm anti-aircraft cannon
 * Breda Model 35

Heavy anti-aircraft guns

 * 8.8 cm SK C/30 naval gun

Tankettes

 * Carden Loyd tankette Mk VI (53)
 * L3/33 (Bought from Italy before the war)
 * L3/35 (Bought from Italy before the war)

Tanks

 * Renault FT-17 and FT-18 (most of delivered 36 tanks captured by Japanese in 1931)
 * M4 Sherman (35 tanks, only used in India-Burma Theater by Chinese Expedition Army)
 * M3 Stuart (M3A3, M5A1) (50 tanks, only used in India-Burma Theater by Chinese Expedition Army)
 * M24 Chaffee – 233
 * M18 Hellcat
 * Type 95 Ha-Go (Captured only)
 * Panzer I (10 Bought from Germany before the war)
 * Vickers 6-ton (20 Bought from UK before the war)
 * Vickers amphibious tank M1931 (29 tanks purchased from GB)
 * British 12-ton tank (type unclear)
 * T26 (88 provided by Soviets in 1938)
 * Marmon-Herrington CTLS (few diverted from Dutch after fall of Java)
 * AMR 35

Armored cars

 * Dova (no data)
 * GMC M1931 (Chinese copy)
 * Leichter Panzerspähwagen (Sd Kfz 221 and Sd Kfz 222) – 12 bought from Germany
 * BA-10 and BA-20 – about 50

Navy ships and war vessels

 * Chinese cruiser Ning Hai
 * Chinese cruiser Ping Hai

Aircraft

 * Aichi AB-3 – 1 bought from Japan and 1 copy built in China
 * Chu X-PO – prototype only
 * Breda Ba.27 – imported from Italy
 * Fiat CR.32 – imported from Italy
 * Breguet 27 – 6 imported from France
 * I-15bis – 29
 * I-152 – 252? (may be I-15)
 * Polikarpov I-153 – 75
 * I-16 Model 10 – 132
 * I-16 Model 17 – 75
 * SB-2M-100A – 179
 * SB-2M-103 – 100
 * DB-3 – 24
 * TB-3 – 6
 * Tupolev SB – 13
 * Yakovlev UT-1 trainer – 13
 * A-12 Shrike
 * Northrop A-17
 * Vultee A-19
 * A-29 Hudson
 * Martin B-10
 * B-17 Flying Fortress
 * B-24 Liberator
 * B-25 Mitchell
 * B-29 Superfortress
 * C-19 Alpha
 * Beechcraft Staggerwing C-43
 * Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing D-17 medevac (10 received)
 * Beechcraft Model 18 C-45
 * Curtiss C-46 Commando
 * Northrop Gamma 2E
 * Curtiss BF2C Goshawk (Hawk III) (Models 67 and 68)
 * Curtiss F11C Goshawk
 * Curtiss-Wright CW-21 – 6 flown, 27 kits not built
 * Boeing P-12
 * Boeing P-26 Peashooter (Model 281) – 11 bought from USA
 * Curtiss P-36 Hawk – license production as Hawk 75A-5 and Mohawk IV (8 completed)
 * Lockheed P-38 Lightning
 * Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
 * Republic P-43 Lancer
 * Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
 * North American P-51 Mustang
 * Northrop P-61 Black Widow
 * Vultee P-66 Vanguard
 * North American T-6 Texan trainer (20 received)
 * Beechcraft Model 18, trainer modification AT-7 (8 received)
 * Cessna AT-17 Bobcat trainer (15 received)
 * Boeing-Stearman Model 75, trainer modification PT-17 (150 received)
 * Fairchild PT-19 trainer (127 received)
 * Ryan PT-22 Recruit trainer (70 received)
 * Vultee BT-13 Valiant trainer (30 received)