Military production and imports of Japan in World War II.
The annual Japanese armaments and military equipment production (excluding ammunition) and a comparison of the necessary strategic raw materials.
Since Japan was virtually dependent on full import of key raw materials, also a breakdown of the development of import figures during the war.
Military production figures of Japan by weapon type
Table of Contents
The Japanese annual production figures of the known main arms and military equipment (without ammunition) during WW2 from 1939-1945.
Armaments:
| Type of Weapon | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks (without light tanks and tankettes) | - | 315 | 595 | 557 | 558 | 353 | 137 | 2,515 |
| Field and infantry guns | ? | ? | 2,250 | 2,550 | 3,600 | 3,300 | 1,650 | 13,350 |
| Machine-guns (without sub-machine guns) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 380,000 |
| Sub-machine guns | - | - | 10,000 (1941-44) | ? | ? | ? | 7,000 | 17,000 |
| Military trucks and lorries | ? | 38,056 | 46,389 | 35,386 | c.24,000 | 20,356 | 1,758 | 165,945 |
| Fighter planes | ? | ? | 1,080 | 2,935 | 7,147 | 13,811 | 5,474 | 30,447 |
| Bomber planes | ? | ? | 1,461 | 2,433 | 4,189 | 5,100 | 1,934 | 15,117 |
| Reconnaissance planes | ? | ? | 639 | 967 | 1,046 | 2,147 | 855 | 5,654 |
| Training planes | ? | ? | 1,489 | 2,171 | 2,871 | 6,147 | 2,523 | 15,201 |
| Aircraft carriers (CV) | - | - | 1 | 6 | 4 | 5 | - | 16 |
| Battleships (BB) | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| Cruisers (CA) | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | 9 |
| Destroyers (DD) | - | - | - | 10 | 12 | 24 | 17 | 63 |
| Submarines | - | - | - | 61 | 37 | 39 | 30 | 167 |
| Merchant shipping tonnage | 320,466 | 293,612 | 210,373 | 260,059 (Tankers: 20,361) | 769,085 (Tankers: 169,491) | 1,699,203 (Tankers: 754,889) | 599,563 (Tankers: 351,028) | 4,152,361 |
Raw material production for the military weapon production above:
Annual strategic raw material production (m. metric tons):
| 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal | ? | ? | ? | 61.3 | 60.5 | 51.7 | 11.0 |
| Ore | ? | ? | ? | 7.4 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 0.9 |
| Steel | ? | ? | ? | 8.0 | 8.8 | 6.5 | 0.8 |
| Aluminium (in 1,000 metric tons - especially important for aircraft production) | ? | ? | ? | 103.0 | 141.0 | 110.0 | 7.0 |
Import of raw materials
A vital sector of the decisive battle of production for the Japanese was that of import of raw materials, especially of oil.
Annual tonnage of Japanese tankers built, sunk and extant:
Japanese Tankers Tonnage:
| Tonnage built | Tonnage sunk | Tonnage available at the end of the year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | - | - | 578,000 |
| 1942 | 20,316 | 9,538 | 686,000 |
| 1943 | 254,927 | 169,491 | 873,000 |
| 1944 | 624,290 | 754,889 | 860,000 |
| 1945 | 85,651 | 351,028 | 266,948 |
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Annual Japanese imports:
| 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oil | 1,090 | 1,360 | 1,880 | 650 | - |
| Coal | 6,460 | 6,390 | 5,180 | 2,630 | 548 |
| Iron ore | 6,310 | 4,700 | 4,300 | 2,150 | 341 |
| Iron and steel | 921 | 993 | 997 | 1,100 | 170 |
| Scrap iron | 246 | 50 | 43 | 21 | 12 |
| Bauxite | 150 | 305 | 909 | 376 | 15 |
| Lead | 86 | 11 | 25 | 17 | 4 |
| Tin | 5 | 4 | 27 | 23 | 4 |
| Zinc | 8 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| Raw rubber | 68 | 31 | 42 | 31 | 18 |
| Total strategic raw material imports | 15,344 | 13,852 | 13,413 | 7,004 | 1,114 |
| Food: rice | 2,110 | 2,250 | 990 | 652 | 201 |
| Food: peas and beans | 546 | 684 | 276 | ? | ? |
| Overall | 18,000 | 16,786 | 14,679 | 7,656 | 1,315 |
References and literature
World War II – A Statistical Survey (John Ellis)
Luftkrieg (Piekalkiewicz)
Chronology of World War II (Christopher Argyle)
World Aircraft World War II (Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi)
Flotten des 2. Weltkrieges (Antony Preston)
Hello.
I am looking for the number of Tractors and Prime Movers Japan produced 1940 to ’45. As this effects Japans military construction.