13. The Japanese Had The War’s Worst Pistol
Japan’s WWII-era Type 94 Nambu Pistol was a disaster. Basic maintenance was difficult because it was overly complex and had too many parts, making disassembly and assembly awkward. It could fire unintentionally if jarred. It had no hammer, but used a firing pin instead – a weak firing pin that broke easily. When firing, accurate aiming with the sights could be impossible because the front blade atop the muzzle and the rear ‘v’ were often misaligned. The pistol had too many parts, which made cleaning and daily upkeep overly onerous. It had a small grip, and a correspondingly small magazine that held only 6 rounds. And the magazine, which was held in place by bolt pressure inside the pistol, was hard to reload and insert, and often disengaged and came loose if the pistol was jarred, placed on a hard surface, or simply inserted into a holster.
To add to the design defects, the Type 94 Nambu had manufacturing defects stemming from poor workmanship and inadequate quality control in the production plants. The parts were not finely machined and did not fit well with each other, which led to frequent jamming. The biggest problem, however, which made the Type 94 one of history’s most dangerous pistols, was its tendency to discharge unintentionally. The cause was a sear bar located outside the pistol that could easily snag on the user’s holster or uniform. If that happened while a round was chambered, and the pistol was then jostled, wiggled, or placed on a hard surface in a manner that depressed the sear bar, it could discharge accidentally, even with the safety switch in the ‘on’ position.
