For more than a century, American troops have given a wide variety of nicknames to their own weapons, and also those of their enemies. During World War II, American troops in the Pacific Theatre created a nickname for a highly effective Japanese weapon that was a bit misleading. The G.I. and Marine moniker “Knee Mortar” was used to describe the Japanese Model 89 50mm Grenade Discharger, and Colonel Edson, the famous commander of the USMC Raiders in the Solomon Islands, summed up the errant nickname like this: “The name‘Knee mortar’ is a misnomer. It is not firedfrom the knee. One of my men tried this andbroke his leg.” As for the Japanese, they called it “Juteki”, and it was officially was designated “Hachikyu Shiki”. Whatever it was called, the Type 89 was deadly, particularly in jungle warfare.
