Make: Toriimatsu Branch of Nagoya Arsenal, Japan

Model: Nambu Type 14 1st Series

Serial Number: 79173

Year of Manufacture: June, 1943

Caliber: 8mm Nambu

Action Type: Striker-Fired Semi-Auto Pistol with Removable Magazine

Barrel Length: 4 1/2”

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade dovetailed into a slightly raised base on the barrel. The rear sight is a square groove milled into a raised boss on the back of the frame.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two piece wood with 24 horizontal serrations. The left panel has "AFA" hand-carved under the serrations. The left panel has wear at the top from the safety and a loss on the rear edge at the top. The grips otherwise show even handling wear with some light marks. The serrations are well defined. The grips rate in Good-plus overall condition.

Type of Finish: Blued

Finish Originality: Original, numbered parts match.

Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright with well defined rifling. There is infrequent minor erosion in the bore and a couple of spots of stubborn fouling. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 8/10.

Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 87% of its metal finish. The firing pin is broken, it does not protrude through the bolt face. The magazine disconnect spring is missing. The magazine detent spring has broken and been repaired. The finish is thinning at all edges. There are some light nicks, scuffs and scratches. The grip areas show light handling wear. The action shows light operational wear. The markings are generally clear, some are poorly struck, but legible. The screw heads are tool marked with strong slots. Overall, this handgun rates in Good condition.

Mechanics: The firing pin is broken and does not protrude through the bolt face. The magazine disconnect spring is missing. Otherwise, the action functions correctly. We did not fire this handgun. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with a single non-magazine, clamshell leather flap holster and capture certificate (details in Our Assessment).

Our Assessment: This is a Nambu Type 14 pistol made by the Toriimatsu branch of the Nagoya arsenal in June, 1943 (1st Series). The Type 14 was built between 1925 and 1945 for the armed forces, and almost all of the Japanese pistols and revolvers used unique cartridges. The 8mm Nambu is a bottleneck cartridge that pushes a 102 gr. bullet at a little over 900 fps. and has approximately the same power as a .380 ACP cartridge. This is a neat find for the collector of WWII or Japanese weapons. It was produced in the middle of the war, showing the rougher finish and signs of use found on Japanese guns of the period. The Allies were turning the tide in the Pacific by June, 1943. Yamamoto had been killed, the island hopping campaign had begun and operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea were progressing. This pistol has most of its original finish and the serial numbers are matching, including the grip panels. The firing pin has broken as well as the magazine detent spring which has been repaired, both commonly broken parts on this design. The magazine disconnect is also missing its spring, but the pistol is in otherwise good mechanical condition. The bore which is much nicer than one might expect for a Japanese sidearm. Not that many Japanese pistols survived the war, and those that did were often in poor condition or have been refinished.

This example comes with documentation that it was retained by Private Arthur W. Stewart of the 158th Infantry Regiment, the "Bushmasters". This unit participated in the liberation of the Philippines and was slated to participate in the earliest portion of the invasion of the home islands, taking out early warning stations on Tanegashima two days before the main invasion of Kyushu was scheduled. Thankfully, the war ended before the invasion, and the unit would participate in the occupation of Japan. Please see our photos and good luck!