History
The origins of the Nambu pistol series goes back to a design by Lieutenant General Kijiro Nambu. General Nambu claimed the design originated with experimentation during the "30 year Automatic Pistol Plan" of 1897 in Japan. It is more probable that the pistol series was influenced by the Mauser C96, after a Japanese commission toured Europe and reported recent developments. The first Nambu type known as the Type A was completed in 1902. The Type A underwent trials with the Imperial Japanese Army but was never formally adopted. Many Original Type As were sold commercially to China and Siam. Coinciding with British customs, Japanese army officers were expected to purchase their own side arms. The Nambu Type A pistol was adopted by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1909 and the Thai Army in the 1920s.
Most of the Type A and Type B Nambu pistols were produced by the Tokyo Arsenal with a few pistols being produced by the Tokyo Gas and Electric Company. The Type 14 Nambu was produced by the Nagoya Arsenal in either Nagoya's Atsuta or Toriimatsu factories.
The pistol was retired from service when Japan was disarmed after World War II. Many were taken home by Allied servicemen as war trophies after World War II. Many have found their way into collectors markets in America and western Europe.
Read more about this topic: Nambu Pistol
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.”
—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)
“It is true that this man was nothing but an elemental force in motion, directed and rendered more effective by extreme cunning and by a relentless tactical clairvoyance .... Hitler was history in its purest form.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)