Japanese Captured 1939 Enfield revolver.

[Bill Grist]

Ronnie Fry, This one is for you.. Japanese Captured 1939 Enfield Revolver.. I wish it could talk.. Captured at Singapore?????????? Who Knows.. It was Picked up on Okinawa in 1945 by a 77th. Inf. Division G.I. from Kannapolis, N.C. The Lanyard had been taken off and palaced under the grip and held in place by a piece of medical tape I asked the Vet. later on if, he had done it and he said that "He had not done it" WELL??????????.. Enjoy, BILL

[Bill Grist]

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[Bill Grist]

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[Bill Grist]

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[Ronnie Fry]

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Bill,
Thanks for the special edition!!
Well, when I asked you for Japanese handguns, I had no idea, but should have suspected that you would have something wondrus in your little bag of tricks!! As you say, if these pieces could talk. It is just amazing when you consider the way this pistol could have become a Japanese "prisoner of war". Or, POW!! Get it?? Is Singapore the only place? What about some of the South Sea Islands/Sumatra that were British possessions? Or perhaps the Phillipines.
Not nearly as spectacular, but I have an Erfurt Luger with British Proofs. Much the same situation, but doubt if the Luger was ever used against the Germans. Probably a WWI bring-back. Then I was lucky enough to get it.

r

P.S. Anybody here got even ONE original 7mm Baby Nambu Ctg. they'd sell or trade???

[Bill Grist]

7mm

Bill,
Thanks for the special edition!!
Well, when I asked you for Japanese handguns, I had no idea, but should have suspected that you would have something wondrus in your little bag of tricks!! As you say, if these pieces could talk. It is just amazing when you consider the way this pistol could have become a Japanese "prisoner of war". Or, POW!! Get it?? Is Singapore the only place? What about some of the South Sea Islands/Sumatra that were British possessions? Or perhaps the Phillipines.
Not nearly as spectacular, but I have an Erfurt Luger with British Proofs. Much the same situation, but doubt if the Luger was ever used against the Germans. Probably a WWI bring-back. Then I was lucky enough to get it.

r

P.S. Anybody here got even ONE original 7mm Baby Nambu Ctg. they'd sell or trade???

Ronnie, I have some around here some where .. I have found the holsters for Japanese pistols but I don't know where I have put the Pistols.. BILL

[Ronnie Fry]

Ronnie, I have some around here some where .. I have found the holsters for Japanese pistols but I don't know where I have put the Pistols.. BILL

AAHHH! My Friend, you must have Fibber McGee's closet!!! Maybe some of the forum will remember this old time radio star and his long suffering wife Mollie!!

r

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Bill, very interesting item. The holster is, as you most likely know, the British tankers holster. These were originally worn on a long strap and worn in the thigh. The strap on this one has been cut down to make it a more conventional hip holster. The British Army ordered this conversion as the original idea proved to be less than ideal. If this was cut down by the British it would have been done in the mid to later era of the war. Yours has a slightly longer length strap than sometimes encounted on British converstions, but the trouble is these were not done to a common standard so the strap length varied a lot. I wonder if it was actually done by the Japanese? Do you have any idea on what the Kanji letters say?

Thanks for showing!

Cheers, Ade.

[Matt Weber]

Awesome item again Bill!

The story is not all the far fetched though! I've seen an American vet who picked up a pistol off a dead Japanes officer in Okinawa.
The vet contacted me, and said he had a Japanese pistol that looked like a Mauser, and had Japanese writing on it! I told him the Japanese didn't make a broomhandle, so I had to see it. It was a Chinese Shansei (copy of Mauser broomhandle), in .45 cal!
I wish that gun could talk! I also wish he would have sold it to me! But I've seen more and more of these being imported now, so perhaps I'll pick one up some day?
I've also seen a vet pick up of a Browning 1910 in the Pacific as well.

I think when it came to pistols, the Japanese really preferred European models over thier own! Can you blame them?

Matt

[WalterB]

Awesome item again Bill!

The story is not all the far fetched though! I've seen an American vet who picked up a pistol off a dead Japanes officer in Okinawa.
The vet contacted me, and said he had a Japanese pistol that looked like a Mauser, and had Japanese writing on it! I told him the Japanese didn't make a broomhandle, so I had to see it. It was a Chinese Shansei (copy of Mauser broomhandle), in .45 cal!
I wish that gun could talk! I also wish he would have sold it to me! But I've seen more and more of these being imported now, so perhaps I'll pick one up some day?
I've also seen a vet pick up of a Browning 1910 in the Pacific as well.

I think when it came to pistols, the Japanese really preferred European models over thier own! Can you blame them?

Matt

A few years ago on Ebay a US GI 45 cal. holster and pistol belt were on auction. The interesting thing about this is that the holster and the belt had Kanji markings and it was explained in the auction description that the holster, belt and 1911 .45 cal pistol were recovered by a US vet in the Okinawan campaign from a dead Japanese soldier. Unfortunately, I lost the bid by a few dollars. To this day, I kick myself everytime I think about it.

[KenT]

Hi, all. Well, I don't think Japanese soldiers used enemy weapons more than Germans using Russian guns or US GI taking souvenirs, but that might be only my opinion.

Anyway, if you need translations of Kanji letters, I might be some help. But on this one, I can't recognize. Is it hand written and faint? I need more close-up picture....
Ken

[Brian George]

Bill,

Would it be possible for you to post a close up of the right side of the frame, where the maker's mark/date is. There appears to be two marks near it, a partial "BNP" and what I think looks like a commercial Birmingham crossed scepter proof mark/date code.

On the left side of the barrel, there is a mark ".38 .767/ 3.5 TONS ", yes?

It wouldn't be marked "FTR" anywhere?

Brian

[Bill Grist]

Brian

Bill,

Would it be possible for you to post a close up of the right side of the frame, where the maker's mark/date is. There appears to be two marks near it, a partial "BNP" and what I think looks like a commercial Birmingham crossed scepter proof mark/date code.

On the left side of the barrel, there is a mark ".38 .767/ 3.5 TONS ", yes?

It wouldn't be marked "FTR" anywhere?

Brian

The Birmingham proof mark date is 1939 and there is no FTR or broad arrow proof marks... BILL