- This is a Japanse type I rifle. Often mistaken for a “Type 1”, it is in fact the letter “I” which stands for Italy. Prior to the outbreak of WWII, Japan, Germany and Italy (among others) would form an alliance in the form of the Anti-Comintern Pact, which led to the cooperation of arms and industrial capabilities between these nations with the ultimate goal of opposing the Soviet Union. By 1937, Japan’s involvement in the Second Sino Japanese War had grown and the Japanese Imperial Army’s demand for small arms had to a point where the state small arms arsenals were only able to supply small arms to the Japanese Imperial Army.These were made from 1938 to 1939 .
- Mechanically, the rifle is an 1891 Carcano. The bolt is nearly identical with the only visible difference being the location of the ejector groove in the bottom of the bolt, being centered in the receiver rather than offset. While the action of the rifle was that of a Carcano, the magazine system would be borrowed from the Arisaka (which in turn comes from the Mauser). The rear sight was very similar to that used on the Type 38 rifle. Oddly enough, even though these rifles were made in Italy, they used the Japanese method of splicing the heel of the butt into place on the rifle’s stock. This was normally done to conserve wood and align the wood grain in the toe of the rifle’s but to prevent cracking and chipping. Presumably this was done by the request of the Japanese.
