My great uncle's bring back Type 99

[F4Fanatic]

Hi all!

I have lurked on this forum for a while. I saw the fellow who had a Type 99 brought back from Okinawa. I have a Type 99 bring back as well, but from Saipan. My great uncle was a naval aviator, who had the time of the invasion of Saipan was the Air Group Two (U.S.S Hornet, CV-12) commander. He led the close air support for the invasion landings of Saipan and Guam. I read through the cruise book and it states that the Hornet airmen picked up a number of souvenirs from Saipan, so that is how I deduced it came from there. No solid proof, but it was on an island he had said he flew CAS for the Marines landing, so I think I have a solid guess. He apparently got it from the Marines who appreciated the job he and his men did.

It is all numbers matching, the best I can tell. It is a Nagoya Series 4, with original sling. No bayonet, dust cover, but it does have the AA wings still intact.

Thank you for looking!

F4Fanatic

[AZPhil]

Very nice type 99 and being from a family member sure adds to its appeal!!

Semper Fi
Phil

[F4Fanatic]

Thank you Phil! It sure does! It shoots nicely too, though I have not fired it much. It is an invaluable artifact, that I remember my great uncle by.

[relicz]

Nice rifle, especially with the family provenance!

I have a Type 99 that was captured on Saipan as well.

[F4Fanatic]

Thank you relicz!

Here is another photo of some more possible battle acquired damage on the rifle. Of idle curiosity, what maker/series is your Saipan Type 99?

[Hummel]

It is nice that it still has the emperors mark on it. I believe it is a chrysanthemum flower. This mark made it the property of the emperor. Having the mark still on it means it was acquired during the war would likely make it a battlefield pick up and more desirable. The emperor marks were ground off after the war.

Please correct me if any of these statements are wrong gentlemen.

My father told me once that after the war every hardware store had a barrel full of military rifles from the Axis countries out in front of the store for sale for a few dollars each.

Hummel

[relicz]

Thank you relicz!

Of idle curiosity, what maker/series is your Saipan Type 99?

It's a Kokura Series 20, I'll have to post some pictures when I get a chance.

I posted it on the gun-boards forum and GHW some years ago.

Link to gunboards forum
Kokura Series 20

[F4Fanatic]

I may have seen that one. I'm not too sure. I'm also on gun boards as T99Fanatic.

Hummel,

Thank you!

That is generally the accepted rule. But I have heard the other way around, some G.I's some how managed to get some in with a mum after the war, and some battlefield captures, I have heard, have had mums ground off. But those are few and far between. I don't know much about Japanese firearms other than what I have read in books and reading the Gunboards Firearms of the Rising Sun section.

[MAP]

Nice 99 and love the story. Great to have the Mum intact. I have a few a these as well. Some with and some without the Mum.

Did you add the bayonet. Looking at this from my cell phone and pictures are small and my eyes are getting older. I could be wrong but Is that even a Japanese bayonet?

Hummel: your comment about the ground Mum is generally correct.

Regards

Michael

[F4Fanatic]

Thank you MAP! I like the rifles with the Mum, but without is cool to. That is a repro bayonet in the pictures. Soon after that, I acquired a real Japanese bayonet, a Kokura bayonet.