Showa 20.7 “Last Ditch” Type 14 Photos

The last in the series chronologically is my Nagoya Army Arsenal-Toriimatsu Factory dated 20.7, or July, 1945. It is a so-called “last ditch” variant with mostly non-serialized parts from various factories, produced in the closing days of the war. Note the coarsely knurled cocking knob and the Nagoya Nambu-Kokubunji style 17-groove grips, even though the gun was made at the Toriimatsu Factory.

Here is the left side.

This close-up shows the markings. Usually last ditch pistols show a lot of exterior machining marks. Looking at the serial number here and how the edges of the numbers seem very smooth made me think the exterior of the frame had been polished and re-blued, but I have consulted a leading expert and he says that the finish on last-ditch guns (20.7 & 20.8) was highly variable and some were buffed in this way, so it is probably original.

The grips are not correct for the factory and year, and also seem to fit poorly, leaving a gap along the back.

Here is the pistol stripped.

This is the bottom left side of the grip frame, showing two “M” inspection markings, one on either side of the screw hole.

Most of the parts lack serial numbers (they should have the last three digits of the pistol’s serial number). This is the top of the rear of the bolt. It should have a serial number on the flat part below the threads.

This is the front face of the cocking knob. It should have a serial number above the hole.

The bolt (bottom shown), firing pin and locking block have a weird “bluing” with a coppery red cast to it. The firing pin is the 73 mm variety rather than the standard 65 mm that Toriimatsu used, and the bolt and firing pin extension are designed to match it. It is said to have been common for these last ditch pistols to use a variety of different parts from different factories as old inventory was put to use to overcome shortages and keep production going.

This is the rear sight. Note how it has been simplified from the earlier type, which had “pincers” at the top instead of a simple notch. I think this was typical of Toriimatsu pistols.

Click here to go back to the Type 14 Photo Gallery: t14gallery.htm

Click here to go back to the main page: jhg.htm

Last updated: November 9, 2003. All contents are copyright Teri unless otherwise specified and may not be used elsewhere in any form without prior permission.