Japanese WWII Firearms

[dy031101]

Today as I was browsing for info on Nambu pistols, I came across this:

http://hi.baidu.com/%F3%AF%C9%F1/blog/item/e54179d404f42f0ca08bb74e.html

As I scrolled to those "Ceremonial Handgun" entries (the 29th to 32nd pictures), I was surprised to find out that there were Japanese handguns of the era that actually passed my aesthetic standards...... heck, they had a surprisingly-modern look to them (especially the 29th and the 32nd).

[dy031101]

Those are Japanese Wikipedia entries, describing automatic pistols indeed intended for officers.  They incorporated form factors of foreign-made compact handguns (that Baidu page listed the full length of Hamada Type 2 as 176.5mm...... compared to Nambu Type 14's 230mm) to address the wartime inability to import those weapons.

The 29th picture is that of the Sugiura-type Automatic Pistol, patterned after Colt M1903.  It's chambered for .32ACP and fed via an eight-round magazine.

The 30th picture is that of the Inagaki-type Automatic Pistol.  Both .32ACP and 8mm Nambu versions existed.  At least some found their way to officers of the Navy Air Service.

The 31st and 32nd pictures depict Type 1 and Type 2 of the Hamada-type Automatic Pistols family respectively.  Type 1 is modeled after Browning M1910, chambered for .32ACP, and fed via an eight-round magazine; Type 2 is based on Type 1 but drew inspirations from Browning Hi-Power as well to handle the more-powerful 8mm Nambu cartridge (capacity remains the same: eight rounds), adopted to simplify logistics.