Pit-Road G-44 IJA 28cm Howitzer with 4 Figures

The Ryojyun is a Japanese stationary siege howitzer and 280mm coastal defense howitzer. This weapon was in service with the Japanese army in the years 1892-1945, and a total of about 220 were produced. The initial velocity of the projectile fired from this gun was up to approx. 314 m / s, with a maximum range of approx. 7,800 meters. The mass of the projectile was 217 kilograms.

The howitzer, known in Japanese service as Ryojyun, was designed by the British company Armstrong in 1884 with the help of Italian specialists. However, the production of weapons was carried out in Japan - at plants in Osaka. The weapon was initially used as an eminently defensive weapon to defend, for example, Tokyo Bay. However, during the Japanese-Russian War (1904-1905) it was successfully used in the siege of Port Arthur. With the passage of time, however, the weapon was treated as secondary, but was used on a small scale during the Second Japanese-Chinese War (1937-1945) and during the fighting in Manchuria in 1945.