Russian Capture Arisakas?

[JustinL]

Has anybody ever seen any or, at least, heard of them?

I know the Russians only fought the Japanese for about a month in 1945 but captured well over 500,000 Japanese servicemen. Given the Russian propensity for not throwing anything out they must have kept all of that captured materiel.

Whatever became of it?

 

[Positivity]

In the basement of D6, never to be found again.

Now seriously. Since letting the troops keep them is out of the question, perhaps they exported them to the other communist nations of the day, where they were left in caches which are yet to be found.

 

[hang fire]

I know the Russians only fought the Japanese for about a month in 1945 but captured well over 500,000 Japanese servicemen.

The Soviets fought the Japanese in Mongolia in 1939 and beat the crap out of them. The Japanese then sued for peace, and a nonaggression pact was signed by the two parties. After that, the Soviets never entered the war against the Japs until summer of 1945, when they went for an easy land grab of Japanese held territory.

Those capture figures come from general Japanese surrender at war's end in 1945. The captured armaments likely all went straight to the Chinese communists fighting the nationalists in the ongoing civil war at the time.

 

[fpgt72]

The Soviets fought the Japanese in Mongolia in 1939 and beat the crap out of them. The Japanese then sued for peace, and a nonaggression pact was signed by the two parties. After that, the Soviets never entered the war against the Japs until summer of 1945, when they went for an easy land grab of Japanese held territory.

Those capture figures come from general Japanese surrender at war's end in 1945. The captured armaments likely all went straight to the Chinese communists fighting the nationalists in the ongoing civil war at the time.

And kept fighting even after Japan had given up. IIRC they where at war with Japan for about a week.

 

[jotto]

I just read an article in this month's Armchair General (May 2012 issue, pages 18 & 19) that a lot of the equipment captured by the Soviets from the Japanese in August 1945 was turned over the the PLA as well as the Chinese areas areas that the Soviets liberated from the Japanese. (Mostly Manchuria)

Quote from the article: Moreover, massive numbers of Japanese weapons captured at war's end by Soviet armies in Manchuria were given to the PLA, helping offset the KMT's weapons advantage."

 

[JustinL]

That makes sense. Thank you.

 

[JimBoIHN]

I'm sure the less well healed terrorists are taking advantage of the cheap prices.

 

[Curator]

The Chi-coms converted some of the Jap Arisakas to 7.62X39 and issued to non-regulars. We captured some of these in Viet Nam in the mid-60s. The barrels were cut back at the breech, threaded and re-chambered. Lucky for us they weren't very accurate with the ammo they were given.