A fair while back I found a single front ammunition pouch for the Arisaka battle rifle. The standard issue was two front pouches and one rear one. The front pouches held 30 rounds and the rear one 60, for a full load of 120 rounds.
The rear pouch also houses a small oil bottle. Both of these came stinking of mothballs. I sat them outside for a couple of months and then soaked them in vinegar & water overnight. They still stink but not so much as to drive me out of my own house.
This is a pretty great find for me. This rifle came from the US and is a Type 2 TERA (Teishin Rakkasan Shyoujyu) rifle. This rifle was based on the Type 99 infantry rifle but designed to be able to be broken down into two parts for stowing prior to the Paratrooper drop. These rifles are almost never found with an unground Chrysanthemum and often the front and rear sections are mismatched. In this case the rifle is all matching. Interesting because it retains the anti-aircraft sights of the Type 99.
This rifle is one of 91,000 manufactured by the Japanese between 1911 and 1942. These were intended to be issued to cavalry troops so they could have a less cumbersome primary weapon with an integral bayonet. Prior to this the cavalry was forced to carry a separate Type 38, a Type 30 bayonet and a Type 32 saber. This rifle has two individual holes in the butt stock compartment to hold the two parts of the cleaning rod, indicating that this is a “first type” variation. Nagoya Arsenal marked, the mum has been ground upon surrender. This rifle was quite often found with Railway or other transportation troops.
Difficult to find in good condition as Japanese leather didn’t last and the environment in which they were used wasn’t healthy for leather. This is the front ammunition pouch for Arisaka 6.5 and 7.7 ammunition as used in the Type 38 and Type 99 infantry rifles. This one came to me still with a cardboard liner and 6×6.5mm stripper clips.
Here is a tidy, later model Type 30 bayonet. Intended for fitting to either the Type 99 series of rifles or the Type 38, this one does not have the curled guard seen on the earlier examples like this one here. The stamp on the ricasso indicates that it was made by Toyada Jidou Shoki (Toyada Automatic Loomworks), now known as Toyota.
Often missing, and hard to find when you want one. This is a numbered dust cover for the Arisaka Type 38 rifle. These were supplied with early series Type-38’s but deleted later on, although you will see the receivers still machined for them right to the end of the war.
The latest rifle in the box, a beautiful Type 99 infantry rifle in as found condition. This rifle was intended to replace the smaller caliber Type-38 found here. The 7.7mm round was found to be more effective at dropping the enemy and less likely to be deflected by light cover. This example comes with its original monopod and anti-aircraft sights as well as an intact Chrysanthemum. Brilliant! Ammunition for this can be seen here. The rifle was manufactured at the Nagoya Arsenal in mid to late 1943. It is a 4th series example and was one of the last to have the monopod fitted.
Japanese soldier using the Type-99 during the occupation of Indochina, 1940
A pretty simple item here, a clip of Arisaka 7.7mm rifle ammunition. This was used in the Arisaka Type-99 rifle here. Since I just obtained one of these rifles I was happy to get hold of some representative ammo for it.
This rifle is the standard Japanese infantry rifle issued from 1905 until the end of World War 2. It is chambered in 6.5 x 50 Arisaka calibre. This one has had a bit of a hard life with it’s stock being a bit beaten up from use but it still has its Imperial Chrysanthemum as well as its dust cover. The sling is also original and has kanji on it that would indicate it’s issue history if I could just find someone to translate it for me. The receiver has the concentric circle stamps over the chrysanthemum indicating that it was part of the shipment supplied to the Thailand government in 1940 as the Type 83 (แบบ ๘๓). I have the representative ammunition for this rifle here.
Kiwi Medals 