I wouldn’t want to run into this guy in a dark alley…
Vintage Saturday: A Modern-Day Samurai
Accessories
Vintage Saturday: Shooting Rest
Bolt Action Rifles
Book Review: Military Rifles of Japan (Honeycutt)
I’ve been boning up on Japanese WWII firearms recently, and when it comes to rifles my go-to resource is Fred Honeycutt’s book Military Rifles of Japan 1897-1945. It isn’t the newest book on the subject, […]
Bolt Action Rifles
North China Type 30
When the Japanese invasion of China intensified in 1937, Imperial reliance on Chinese puppet troops for duties like garrisoning cities. Before long an estimated 500,000-900,000 such men were under the command of the Japanese, in […]
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!