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Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  JAPANESE PISTOL TYPE 14 8MM SN# 93043
Maker/Manufacturer:	NAMBU, KIJIRO
Date of Manufacture:	05/01/1941
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1051
Measurements:	OL: 22.8CM 9" BL: 12CM 4 3/4" 2 lbs.

Object Description:

JAPANESE PISTOL TYPE 14 8MM SN# 93043
Manufactured by Nagoya Army Arsenal, Nagoya, Japan in May, 1941 - Standard recoil-operated, dropping-block breech action, Japanese Type 14 semi-automatic pistol. Specimen fitted with a winter - "Manchurian" triggerguard. Blued finish. Two-piece checkered wood grips. Inverted V-front, fixed notch rear sight. Equipped with 8-round, single-column, detachable box magazine, inserted into the grip. Muzzle velocity 950 fps, with effective range of 50 yards, and maximum range of 1400 yards. Weapon weighs approximately 2 lbs. Cartridge: 8mm Nambu, weighs 102 gr. Native: TAISHO 14 KENJU

Markings:
Frame: Japanese characters. Symbol for Nagoya. 93403/16/5. Japanese characters 16.5.

Exhibit label: "NAMBU TYPE 14 8 millimeter - First appearing in 1925 an improved version of the Type 04 Nambu, this pistol became the principal Japanese side arm in World War II."

Notes: Weapon adopted in 1925. This was the official pistol of Japanese Army from 1925-1945. Manufacture of the Nambu pistols was halted at the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945, and all production equipment was destroyed by American occupation forces.

"The Model 1914 was the first automatic pistol designed and manufactured in Japan. Produced in relatively limited numbers in Japan. Produced in relatively limited numbers, for commercial sale, some were purchased for use by Japanese Army officers; but there is no record of this first model being officially adopted by the Japanese Government. The Nambu 1914 differs greatly from later models. It is easily recognized by the grip safety under the trigger guard, the rounded recoil spring housing on the left side of the receiver, and the tangent rear sight....
1914-1918 - Earliest use of the first Nambu model was by Japanese troops attacking German bases in China during World War I. This fighting was very limited; the Nambu probably only saw token use at this time.
1932, Japanese invasion of China - The Nambu Type 14 was the standard pistol of the Japanese Army, during the many years of fighting between Chinese and Japanese forces.
1941-45, World War II - The Nambu Type 14 pistol was the standard in the Japanese military forces, and was used in large numbers throughout the war.
1950-53, Korean War - North Korean and Chinese Communist forces used some of Nambu pistols, taken from the Japanese at the end of World War II, during the Korean conflict." - Johnson & Lockhoven

"Type 14's and 94's encountered occasionally in .22 caliber rimfire are all post-war gunsmith modifications." - Fred L. Honeycutt

References:
Honeycutt, Fred L. MILITARY PISTOLS OF JAPAN. Julin Books. Lake Park, Fla. 1982.
Johnson, George B. & Hans B. Lockhoven. INTERNATIONAL ARMAMENT. Vol. I. International Small Arms Publishers. Cologne, Germany. 1965.

See, THE TYPE 14 NAMBU: GREAT PISTOL BUT A LOUSY CARTRIDGE by Holt Bodinson. Guns Magazine, June 2005.