I wouldn’t want to run into this guy in a dark alley…
Vintage Saturday: A Modern-Day Samurai
Semiauto pistol
Japanese 1908 Hino-Komuro Pistol
We recently had the opportunity to take a look at a 1908 Japanese Hino-Komuro pistol – one of the most unique guns we’ve yet seen. It’s one of the very few true blow-forward designs ever […]
Uncategorized
Tactical and Technical Trends #49: August 1944
A little while back, I got my hands on a number of copies of Tactical and Technical Trends booklets – this was a bulletin published by the US Military Intelligence Service during WWII to keep […]
Artillery
Type 89 Knee Mortar at James D Julia
The Type 89 grenade discharger, commonly known as the “knee mortar” was a Japanese light infantry weapon introduced in 1929 which blurs the lines between grenade launcher and mortar. Like a mortar, it fires propelled […]
Isn’t that a Steyr mp 34 (Solothurn SI 100)?
Not according to my new copy of Max Popenker and Tony William’s book. The Japanese bought a Swiss-made Bergmann with a side cocking handle and bayonet lug – looks exactly like the one in this photo.
Well they bought Bergmann 1920’s, but this has a hooded/protected front sight and although both the si 100 and bergmann have a left side magazine this pic shows the gun with a cilinder shaped ” thingy” on top of the barrel just before the magazine housing and there is that hole in the housing for recharging a magazine.
I don’t want to run into him in a well lit alley!
No way a Bergmann, not with this perpendicular hinge across the upper receiver. There were as many as three MP 34s in Germany: EMP 34 (a factory designation), MP 34/I Bgm (a factory designation) and MP 34 o(official captured materiel designation), the latter being a Steyr S1-100. Maxim isn’t the first author to mix all three 🙂 Steyrs were exported to China – where this one was probably captured by the samurais.
I defer to Leszek’s subgun expertise, and have changed the caption. Thanks!