Introduction
This exhibit and museum were created during an introductory seminar on the Asia-Pacific War, taught at Wake Forest University during the spring semester 2002.
The material and opinions are those of their respective authors and do not represent the views of the University or the Department of History.
Nambu Type B:
The Type B or Baby Nambu was originally designed for commercial sales
but was instead adopted by the Japanese Air Force and was also used by
Staff officers. It is similar to the larger Nambu Taisho 14 but uses a
different cartridge. The magazine had to be pulled out by two small knobs
at the base of the magazine and was difficult to remove when the users
hands were wet or cold.
Nambu Taisho 14:
The Taisho 14 was the standard issue Japanese sidearm during World War
2. It is somewhat similar in appearance to the German Luger but is completely
different in operation. It is a simple design which suffered from numerous
faults and poor reliability. It shared the magazine extraction difficulty
of all the Baby Nambu.
Nambu Type 94:
The Type 94 was designed as a less expensive replacement for the Taisho
14. It was poorly constructed and could easily be fired accidentally through
rough handling. It was not popular and most appear to have been issued
to the Japanese Air Force. The magazine was a slightly different design
but was still difficult to remove.
| 1904 Nambu | Baby Nambu | Taisho 14 Nambu | |
| Caliber | 8mm | 7mm | 8mm |
| Operation | Recoil, Semi-Auto | Recoil, Semi-Auto | Recoil, Semi-Auto |
| Length, Overall | 9 inches | 6.5 inches | 9 inches |
| Barell Length | 4.7 inches | 3.25 inches | 4.7 inches |
| Feed Device | 8 round, in-line, detachable box magazine | 7 round, in-line, detachable box magazine | 8 round, in-line, detachable box magazine |
| Sights, Front | Barley Corn | Barley Corn | Barley Corn |
| Sights, Rear | Tangent, w/ notch | "v" notch | Undercut notch |
| Weight | 1.93 lbs | 1.43 lbs | 2 lbs |
| Muzzle Velocity | 1065 fps | 1050 fps | 1065 fps |
| Ammo | bullet 103 grain, charge 3.5 grain | bullet 55 grain | bullet 103 grain, charge 3.5 grain |
This exhibit was researched and designed by [Robert Wood Finley].