Type 99 Seeking More Info

I was just gifted this Type 99 from my girlfriend's father. His father brought it back from Japan after WW2. The coolest gift anyone has ever given me.

I'm interested in learning more about the history of the gun and bayonet. From what I can tell, the rifle is a series 40 from Jinsen Arsenal and the bayonet is from Kokura and the numbers on the gun all seem to match.

It's easy to find broad info about the type 99 and it's variations, but once you get down to the series and manufacturer, the info I'm able to find is fragmented and incomplete. Any info/facts about this particular rifle, bayonet, the Jinsen Arsenal and how certain guns and bayonets ended up together would be greatly appreciated.

My girlfriend's father didn't know much about the gun, so I'd like to report back to him with some interesting info.

I'm not sure the numbers match. Maybe it is the pictures. You really did luck out and receive a great gift. You may want to ask your girlfriend's father where and how he received the rifle. The rifle is correct for a late war Jinsen. With the mum ground off, it is not a battlefield pick-up so this may have been one where they allowed you girlfriend's father to grab a rifle from one pile, a bolt from another pile and a bayonet from a third pile. Hopefully he can tell you how he received it. You may also want to look at the underside of the rifle and check the screws that are securing the trigger guard. They should be staked. If they are, leave them that way and do not remove them as that is a great indicator the rifle has not been tampered with since it left the factory. That is a great piece of history!

Thanks, Singer.

Unfortunately it was my girlfriend's grandfather who brought the rifle home, he died many years ago leaving it to my girlfriend's dad.

The stamps are definitely a bit screwed up, but it looks like the receiver is numbered "1123" (it looks like the "2" got cut in half and the bottom half was shifted up) and the bolt, safety and everything else look like "123". I assumed they dropped the first digit when stamping the bolt parts, or it's just a wild coincidence that I have a receiver and bolt from two different guns with the last three digits matching?!

Are there such things as bayonets that match rifle numbers as well or were those manufactured completely separately?

The screws are staked as well!

Very nice!!! Congrats!! At least you have something to tell that gentleman who gave it to you. I have never heard of bayonets with serial numbers matching a rifle and I believe they were manufactured separately. I m not an expert but I have run across research indicating that the Jinsen Arsenal did things a little differently than the arsenals in Japan so you never know.

The rifle is NOT a late war rifle . It is a rare early production Jinsen . There is NO x in the serial number , the is the 40th series marking . It is a low 4 digit serial number , the bolt is a Jinsen and looks to match . Only a small percentage of Jinsen rifles had early features .

Can you advise what chart or source you are using? The only chart I have found to match manufacturers with manufacturing dates shows that Jinsen didn't start making Type 99s until 1944 (which is late war) so if you have a better source I would love to have it for when I am looking at Arisakas to purchase. Thanks!

Sources vary on dates as Jinsen seemed to have a little trouble tooling up to make t-99;s . This rifle with it's low serial number , made in just over the first thousand , dates from Dec 43 to Jan 44 . That would be very close to the middle of the war [ 23 / 21 ] . It is also made with " early " features , most were not . So I would not call it a late war rifle by date or features .

bob q is correct.
These early Jinsens are very, very hard to locate. These rifles were introduced at Jinsen Arsenal at the tale end of the early rifle configuration. Kokura Arsenal provided the early featured stocks for these first few thousand rifles as evidenced by the front stock inspection stamp"se" which is a Kokura 2nd factory inspection stamp, and even oversaw the early production with advisors sent their to observe.
At first glance, one will believe these early Jinsens were stripped of all their parts (mono-pod, AA wings, long cleaning rod and dust cover) but these rifles were never issued with these parts. Production quickly deteriorated into the "substitute standard" with long hand guard and non mono-pod rear band, simple ladder rear sight, cylindrical bolt handle, etc.

Jangle is also correct . Part of the problem Jinsen had at start up was they were trying to bore out the barrels with just toothpaste .

:rofl::

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bob q

Jangle is also correct . Part of the problem Jinsen had at start up was they were trying to bore out the barrels with just toothpaste .

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If I remember correctly, the toothpaste of choice back then was AIM. :lol:

Here is a website that has a little info on the Jinsen arsenal and such.
WWII Japanese weapons in the Korean War wwiiafterwwii

You got a nice one for sure. I have a Jinsen type 99 from late 44 or early 45 having the seconds to last iteration of simplifications. Simple sight and wood buttplate nailed one. The one draw back is my barrel was made remarkably poorly. It looks like a bit was loose causing the bore to have chatter marks every 1.5mm all the way down the barrel. With Arisakas the earlier the better.

Being it was a gift an a rare type rifle it has a great value. Both sentimental an nominal. Clean it with an enjoy.