AKA : The most unsafe mass produced pistol
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| 8x22mm Round |
Caliber : 8x22mm
Weight : 25.4oz or 720g
Length : 7.1in or 181mm
Action : Locked Breech, Semi-Automatic
Capacity : 6 Rounds
Origin : Japan
First put into production in 1934 the Type 94 was intended to be a personal defence arm for those whom the standard Rifle or carbine was too cumbersome and it did indeed full fill that role, though serious design flaws and poor choice of cartridge may hindered the user more often than it saved him. The original plan for the pistol was to be simple to manufacture and supplement the mediocre Nambu 8mm Type 14 pistol. As with most Imperial Japanese pistols of the time it has been designed originally by Kijiro Nambu a man who had many previous successful firearms under his belt but in the process of turning out the design was hindered and constantly interrupted by the Japanese Army who wished the pistol to be as cost effective as possible. Japanese officers were required to purchase their own personal sidearms, many in fact chose European pistols (Lugers and Webleys were popular), but now the Army wanted to issue future officers a standard nationally produced pistol.
Certainly an eye catching pistol (at least in not in a good way) the Type 94 was generally furnished with plastic grips instead of wood like earlier pistols. The front sight is very minimal as it the rear sight. The milled 'ears' at the rear of the pistol are for gripping the slide to initially cock the pistol. The safety resides on the left side of the frame at the rear. To remove the 6 round magazine the release can be found on the left side of the frame behind the trigger guard.
The 8x22mm cartridge used in the majority of Nambu's pistols just scrapes through as a self protection round. The small rimless, bottleneck cartridge is of 8.18mm (.322 in) with a 102 grain projectile is on par with an equivalent projectile in .380 ACP (9x18mm Short) for power. The original design of this round coming from studies around the .30 Luger.
The pistols exposed sear being it's largest flaw making the pistol very dangerous to carry with a round chambered. Most officers were advised to carry the pistol with no round in the chamber until they intended to shoot. Carrying the pistol with a round chambered it was possible to discharge the pistol from simple tasks such as placing the pistol in a holster or knocking the left side of the frame. Some officers discharged the weapon whilst trying to engage the safety.
INTERESTING FACT : It was possible to fire the Type 94 out of battery. Meaning a round could go off even though it wasn't completely chambered.
PRO's : Great paperweight provided ammo is at least 1km away at all times
CON's : Poor construction and design, dangerous,
COOL FACTOR : 2/10 (it gets 2 points for collect-ability)
Amazingly inaccurate description. It does have an exposed sear which can be deliberately manipulated to fire the pistol if the safety is OFF. As it was STANDARD practice, not "advice" to carry without a round in the chamber, this was not even an issue with the Japanese military. As it is also standard procedure to carry loaded firearms with the safety on, this is also not an issue. It is impossible to set the pistol off inserting or carrying it in a holster and there is not a single recorded instance of any Japanese soldier being injured or killed by doing so. It is also not going to fire by putting the safety on. It takes a deliberate action on the part of the handler to fire the pistol by pushing the end of the sear bar in 2mm. This pistol was in fact preferred over the Type 94.
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