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ITALIAN-JAPANESE MP 38/43 MACHINE PISTOL
ITALIAN MACHINE PISTOLS
manufactured by Pietro Beretta at their Gardone Valtrompia, Italy
Plant.
TOP: Model MP38/43 produced
for the Japanese Imperial Navy in 1943. Note the traditional
split, [two piece], stock similarly used on Japanese rifles.
BOTTOM: A Model MP 38/42
produced for Italian troop distribution. The magazine is a later version.
The automatic (rear) trigger set missing was one method of deactivation
performed by the U.S. Government on these weapons to render them
unserviceable for their troops as take home souvenirs after World War II.
The Imperial Japanese Navy,
beginning in their years of armament and throughout World War II, relied
on the army arsenals for their small arms, [rifle, handgun], requirements.
This would prove to be a grave misjudgment in the ensuing years when the
need arose for both military services to become involved in the aggressive
expansion of Japan’s borders.
On July 7, 1937 the Japanese garrison forces along the Ping-yu sector of
the Peining Railway attacked the Chinese at the Marco Polo Bridge near
Peking, China, which eventually progressed into the Sino-Japanese War. All
small arms being produced by the army arsenals were being delivered to the
Imperial Japanese Army troops at the eastern front. The Navy, previously
relying on those arsenals for their needs, was left without source means
and lacked machinery and equipment to produce small arms. Their existing
inventory was a combination of mostly Type 35 and small amounts of Type 38
rifles, produced by the Army’s Tokyo Arsenal. The expansion of the Navy’s
role for the increased exploitation of China and Pacific Territories with
their Special Forces and land troops placed an increasing demand for
rifles. Without alternatives it forced them to turn to their Government’s
War Ministry for assistance in procuring armament needed from foreign
sources.
On November 6, 1937, Italy joined Germany and Japan’s November 25, 1936
Anti-Comintern Pact. The agreement included several treaties one of which
was for mutual assistance in industrial aid among the three participants.
With an agreement between the two governments, the Imperial Japanese Navy
contracted directly with the Italian Royal Arms Factory [Fabbrica Armi
Esercito] of Terni Italy, with specifications to provide a rifle with the
Type 38 characteristics and cartridge ballistics. The Navy requirement was
supplemented by the Army’s demand for quantities of the rifles for their
troops fitting into their China and Pacific Territories expansion plans
and as an apparent interim supply of rifles during the transition of the
Army’s production of the Type 38 and Type 99 rifles during this critical
period. The reported first of a two-part order for 60,000 rifles was
placed in late 1937 and completed in the fall of 1938. It has been sourced
that the Navy received and distributed rifles to their forces from this
first order. In the fall of that same year another reported 60,000 rifles
were ordered for delivery in 1939. However because of Italian arsenals
involved in heavy production of their model 38 rifles, two civilian
manufacturers were contracted to each produce 30,000 of the second order.
One company was Pietro Beretta, [Armi Beretta], of Terni, Italy. By late
1939 the Beretta firm had manufactured some 20,000 when production for the
Japanese ceased. The Imperial Japanese Navy controlled both contracts. No
slings were furnished under the orders. Although specimens have been
located in storage in military arsenals, throughout the eastern fronts and
South Pacific territories, the connotation is that their issuance was on a
somewhat as needed basis.
An interesting feature of many of the rifles was a split, [two piece],
shortened buttstock design. The lesser length was intended to adequately
fit the average short stature of the Japanese soldier and an economical
advantage in use of undersized lumber blanks. This traditional and unique
feature on most all of their series rifles was two pieces of wood
dovetailed and glued together. The horizontal split line was located just
above the pistol grip and extended the entire length of the buttstock. The
lower piece was cut for the grain to run parallel with bottom edge of the
stock. The purpose was to help strengthen the neck and provide additional
support in that area when using soft wood. The split line is quite visible
and makes a good reference for identification.
The rifles had another unique personality characteristic. The
manufacturer’s name was absent and only the serial number with a letter
appeared on either the receiver or barrel depending on the manufacturer.
Some rifles had manufacturer markings, proof marks and year of production,
again depending upon the maker. These were located on the bottom of the
receiver. Some had no markings other than the serial numbers. Since the
Japanese had a commission of inspectors at the various Italian plant
locations, and the weapons were inspected and approved prior to shipment,
reasons why no Japanese arsenal inspector markings were present.
It was a habit of the Imperial Japanese Navy not to identify small arms
with a formal title unless they were of prototype development status or
produced in the arsenals or by civilian companies under Government
control. When ordnance was procured from foreign sources for service it
was identified either by the foreign maker’s name or the country of origin
and may only be an abbreviation. Sourced information indicates the
Japanese referred to these rifles by using the katakana syllabary
character ｲdenoting ‘i’ for Italian manufacture.
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