Type 14 Nambu taken right off the factory assemble line as parts

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8mmman

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Type 14 Nambu taken right off the factory assemble line as parts and assembled by my daughter in laws grandfather who was in some of the first occupation troops who were sent out to secure and weapon's and ordnances in the home islands.

He said his group was assigned to guard a factory and while they were wondering around in it they found bids of gun parts and accessories. Over the weeks that they were there he a few other build up several T-14's and traded them and sold them to other troops who had goodies they wanted.

He remembers s that there were bin after bin of un-complete pistols for the taking. There guarding came to an end when all the goodies were taken by truck to some navy barges. He assumed it was all dumped in the sea as that what the navy guys said they were doing with it.

Here are some pictures of his Nambu un-completed in the white with no arsenal making or serial number. Not sure if he can sell it as it's un-number frame and all. Kind of cool to see. Next time I go up the see the grandkids I'll take better pictures of it to post.
 

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Wow! Awesome peice of history!
No way this should ever leave your family with a story like that!
Hypothetically, if It was me and I had to sell it, I would perhaps stamp a "replica" serial number in the correct location after the end of the historical number range. Hypothetically, of course.
 
That is really something. I have a .22 rifle that has no SN, it is a Marlin. I don't think they were required before 1968. IF you were going to sell it a local buyer would be the easiest. Any way to get that story documented? That would really add to the value.
 
Whiterook808 said:
That is really something. I have a .22 rifle that has no SN, it is a Marlin. I don't think they were required before 1968. IF you were going to sell it a local buyer would be the easiest. Any way to get that story documented? That would really add to the value.
Click to expand...

They where required on pistols IIRC back around 1928, rifles and shotgun didn't need them until Dec 1968.
 
bearman49709 said:
They where required on pistols IIRC back around 1928, rifles and shotgun didn't need them until Dec 1968.
Click to expand...
Only rimfire rifles were exempt pre-68.

Ya, there would be all sorts of issues with transferring this to or through an FFL. No documentation from the gentleman's CO stating it was a declared war trophy to establish when it was brought into the country. Naturally, no importer marks either. Add to that a lack of serial number.

Honestly, despite the recent climb in Nambu prices, I think these issues might actually hurt its value.

IMHO, this should stay in the family (and out of official scrutiny).
 
Guns like this make me nervous as a buyer. It’s awesome to have the family story, but I don’t know the laws regarding bringback guns and paperwork. I know there are lots of war trophies in the US with and without documentation, but when guns like this show up I back away quickly.
 
Interesting piece of DIY gun assembly! Something like this Nambu should stay within the family, to be passed down along with the history behind it, from generation to generation.
 
Serial numbers weren't required until 1968, from what I recall. If it HAS to have a serial number, apply to BATFE for one. They will assign some arbitrary number and voila! It's a military bring back, as legal as all of the 1911A1s floating around marked "US Property".
The question was, of course, is it fully completed and functional? Looks neat.
Ya know, you could always ask the Japanese for a serial number. ;) After all, they made it.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Only rimfire rifles were exempt pre-68.

Wrong! Center fire rifles and shotguns did not need serial numbers until GCA Dec 1968!
Most higher quality manufacturers used them prior to that but they did not have to.

Ya, there would be all sorts of issues with transferring this to or through an FFL. No documentation from the gentleman's CO stating it was a declared war trophy to establish when it was brought into the country. Naturally, no importer marks either. Add to that a lack of serial number.

Honestly, despite the recent climb in Nambu prices, I think these issues might actually hurt its value.

IMHO, this should stay in the family (and out of official scrutiny).
Click to expand...
 
Do not stamp a number on that pistol; doing so could be construed as an attempt to alter the gun. Many guns have no serial numbers, some of them like that because they never had one, for whatever reason. But federal law does not prohibit having a gun with no serial number; it bans defacing/altering an existing serial number. A dealer I know had a similar situation, and BATFE told him to simply log the gun as "factory sample, no serial number."

Jim
 
Thats a neat pistol, and history that goes with it. All in all I think Ruger did a pretty good job imitating the Type 14 with his .22s.
 
I do wish folks would knock off the myth that the Ruger Standard Model is a copy of the Nambu or that Ruger stole the design from the Japanese pistol. The Nambu pistols are recoil operated, with a locked breech and a swinging lock, more akin to the Mauser C96 than to any blowback pistol. Ruger did make a sort of copy (only two guns) of the Nambu (a modified Standard Model in straight blowback), but that was done after the Ruger pistol had already been successful, so the Nambu "copies" were not any "inspiration" for the Ruger. But Ruger said that his pistol was inspired, at least in regard to a very general appearance, by the Luger pistol to the extent that some folks in the early days of the Ruger company believed the pistol was a cheap German knock-off, a view given some credence by the similarity of names as well as the general shape. (That idea was bolstered by the appearance on the market at the same time of the Kruger, a plastic pistol which looked like a scaled down Luger and actually fired a BB pellet by the use of a paper cap.)

Jim
 
Of course it isn't a clone, just a .22 lookalike, very few if any .22 copies function like their inspiration, that much should be obvious. But if you put a Luger, Nambu, and a Ruger next to each other, I think its clear which one the Ruger most resembles, especially given the cocking mechanism. Sorry if I prompted a rabbit trail from the op with my post. Curious if you've ever hunted down any ammo and fired it?
 
My Dad was also part of the U.S. army of occupation in Japan in ‘45 - ‘46. He said army bull dozers would push surrendered weapons (rifles, pistols, swords) into big piles, then they would pour 10 gallons of gas on the pile and set it alight like a bonfire. He ended up with a sword, Hara Kiri knife, and a couple of Type-14’s.
 
Chaparral said:
My Dad was also part of the U.S. army of occupation in Japan in ‘45 - ‘46. He said army bull dozers would push surrendered weapons (rifles, pistols, swords) into big piles, then they would pour 10 gallons of gas on the pile and set it alight like a bonfire. He ended up with a sword, Hara Kiri knife, and a couple of Type-14’s.
Click to expand...

I made the mistake one time of surfing the net for images of WW2 surrendered weapons disposal and I won't do THAT again.
 
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