Japanese Militaria at Castle-Thunder.com

[BobT28]

Have just added a Japanese Navy type I rifle to my collection. Would like some information on this model - military use, value, etc. This is the first type I which I have seen outside of in a reference book. Thank you for your help
Bob

[gwsiii]

The Type I was an Italian contract rifle, made for the Japanese, mostly associated with Naval use. They are numbered, in blocks of 10,000 with series A-L for a prefix. Total contract about 120,000+. Interesting rifles, most bringbacks are reported as being from warehouses, very few reported as battle field pickups. thanks for posting. Trey
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[Paperpuncher]

Everything I have read about the Type I says about 60,000 were manufactured. Did they ever complete a contract for 120,000 or did the production run stop at 60,000? I have been able to determine, by markings on the site, that the one I have was produced by berreta. Can you tell me what other Italian companies produced these for the Japanese Navy?

[gwsiii]

The serial numbers reported indicated closer to 10,000 per series A-L. The original 60,000 estimate is probably from documentation on 1/2 of the full contract run (this is speculation). I don't have my references handy but I believe they were made by P. Beretta (at Gardone), and FN (Fabrique Nationale, at Brescia). Trey
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I didn't pay to much for that old Arisaka, I just bought it a little bit too soon!