Type 96 25mm Cannon

A dual-mounted Type 96 on Guam - Wikimedia

The Japanese Type 92 cannon was a 25mm automatic anti-aircraft weapon commonly deployed both on land and aboard ships by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. Based on a French Hotchkiss design, the weapon entered service in 1936, and would be deployed singly as well as in dual and triple mounts.

As the battle for Manila loomed, Admiral Iwabuchi’s Manila Naval Defense Force was in posession of a large number of Type 96 cannons and 25mm ammunition, mainly from the half sunken ships that now filled Manila Harbor. Some would be left to serve in their intended anti-aircraft role, with the ships forming makeshift batteries, but many would be removed and emplaced around the city.

The Type 96 was capable of a 200 round per minute rate of fire, and could devastate soft targets like infantry and even lightly armored vehicles with murderous volleys of 25mm shells. Their design as anti-aircraft weapons allow them to be used to defend against the omnipresent US air power that could be expected in a battle for Manila, as well as to decimate infantry and light vehicles in the tight confines of the city streets.

The guns defects included it’s small magazine size of 15 rounds, a lack of specialized loading tools for the magazines, and the slow manual traverse rate. It should be noted that in the confines of a city against ground targets, the slow traverse speed will likely be less an issue that when deployed against aircraft.