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Gamera, the Giant Monster
Gamera, The Giant Monster (大怪獣ガメラ, Daikaijū Gamera) is a Japanese daikaiju (giant monster) film made and released by Daiei Motion Picture Company on November 27, 1965. Directed by Noriaki Yuasa (who would go on to direct all but one of the Shōwa films) and written by Nisan Takahashi, the film follows the story of Gamera, a gigantic fire breathing prehistoric turtle monster who is accidentally freed from the ice in the Arctic by a detonating nuclear bomb when U.S. interceptors shoot down a bomber of unknown origin intruding in their airspace. The creature goes on to cause massive amounts of damage and loss of life as he searches for fossil fuels to feed off of.
It is the first Shōwa Gamera film, the first Gamera film by Daiei Motion Picture Company and the first Gamera film overall in what would become a long running franchise following the titular turtle monster who would quickly go on to become a hero and protector of humanity. It would get localized in the U.S. as Gamera The Invincible.
Battle Rifles
M1 Garand
Throughout the film several Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers can be seen with M1 Garands on their backs. It is notable the film came out a year after the Howa Type 64 was made as a replacement for the aging rifles.
Machine Guns
Sumitomo NTK-62
In the films third act the military carries out Z-Plan in an final attempt to get rid of Gamera. Part of the operation is to dump a trail of petroleum in Tokyo bay leading all the way to the island Izu Oshima. To attract the monster and lure him into the trap, barrels are thrown into the water where two JGSDF soldiers fire upon them with a pair of Sumitomo NTK-62 (a.k.a. Sumitomo Type 62) to ignite the fuel, resulting in a fire trail that lures Gamera to the trap.
Sumitomo M2HB Machine Gun
M41 Walker Bulldog tanks are armed with Sumitomo M2HB heavy machine guns as they participate in the operation to kill Gamera as he attacks a geothermal power plant to "feed" off the heat.
Mortars
Type 97 Infantry Mortar
Desperate to avoid having the U.S. nuke Gamera in an attempt to destroy him, something Dr. Hidaka doubts will work as he was already awaken by a one and survived the radiation, the JSDF enacts a plan to flash freeze Gamera with experimental Cadmium bombs dropped from planes. Part one of the operation begins when a soldier uses a Type 97 Infantry Mortar to launch a single flare as the monster makes his way to a hot spring resort near Hell's Rock cliff to "feed" off the heat.
Artillery
M114 155mm howitzer
M114 155mm howitzer participate in the battle against Gamera as he attacks a geothermal power plant.
Explosives
Dynamite
After Gamera is flashed frozen on the Hell's Rock cliff by the Cadmium bombs, the JSDF have a 10 minute time limit before Gamera thaws out and resumes his path to a hot spring to "feed" off the heat. The JSDF waste no time drilling into the cliff wall to plant dynamite and detonate it to knock the turtle monster on his back in the hopes he will starve to death.
