The Type 90 was a flare pistol that was manufactured by Kayaba, and was made in both a two-barreled and a three-barreled model.
History[]
Two barrel[]
10,300 units of the two-barreled model of the Type 90 were produced by Kayaba Seisakusho (now known as KYB Corporation) for the Japanese Imperial Navy.
From 1949 to 1957, the government of the People's Republic of China manufactured copies of the Type 90. It was replaced by the Type 57, a Chinese-made copy of the SPSh-44 flare pistol.
Three barrel[]
The three-barreled version first entered production in 1930 (or the year 2590 by the Japanese imperial calendar then in use), and was procured by the Japanese Imperial Navy. By 1945, when it had ceased production, around 5,300 units were manufactured.
Because they were issued to ships and naval aircraft, a number of them were lost when the ships and naval aircraft were sunk and destroyed, respectively. In addition, U.S. soldiers and Marines that found the flare pistols often threw them away, as they were not seen as collectible items like pistols, rifles, or knives were.
Technical Details[]
Two barrel[]
The two-barreled model features a lever on the back of the upper assembly. This lever, when pulled back, primes both barrels for firing flares. There is also a selector lever on the back of the upper assembly, so that the user can choose which barrel to fire a flare from.
Below the two barrels is a lever, which when pulled, allows the breech to be opened for loading. There is also a spring-loaded extractor for extracting spent flare casings.
There is also a manual safety switch on the left-hand side of the weapon. When the safety is set to "Safe" (安), the trigger is securely locked, and when set on "Fire" (火), the trigger is allowed to be pulled for firing.
Three barrel[]
The three-barreled version is a striker-fired flare pistol with a unique method of priming. On the back of the upper part of the frame is a lever, which the user would turn about 150 degrees to the left before letting it snap back to its resting position, priming all three barrels. Also on the back of the upper assembly is a selector lever, which is below the priming lever and allows the user to choose which barrel to fire a flare from.
Each barrel features a color-coded decal (painted stripes in the first version of the weapon), each representing the type of flare that is required to be loaded and fired from that barrel. The number of barrels is so that a flare of each of the three different colors in use could be kept ready at all times. The entire barrel assembly is of a break-open configuration, with a lever below the bottom two barrels that, when pulled, allows the breech to opened for loading. It also features a spring-loaded extractor for extracting spent casings.
There is also a manual safety switch on the left-hand side of the weapon. When the safety is set to "Safe" (安), the trigger is securely locked, and when set on "Fire" (火), the trigger is allowed to be pulled for firing.
Another unique design element of the three-barreled Type 90 is that the upper assembly slides back on a buffer spring when the weapon is fired.
Variations[]
Three barrel[]
The first variation had a blued finish, wooden grips, a slightly hooked vertical unbreeching lever, painted color code stripes for the flares on the barrels, and a rectangular lanyard loop. 1,400 pieces of this version were made.
The second variation, the most common model at 3,400 units manufactured, has a lacquered finish, a straight break-open lever, bakelite grips, and decals on the barrels instead of paint.
The third variation, of which less than 400 were produced, incorporated a number of production simplifications. It featured both blued and lacquered parts, along with a curved break-open lever.
External Links[]
- Type 90 flare pistol (three barrel, second variation) at Nambu World
- Type 90 flare pistol (three barrel, third variation) at Nambu World
- Type 90 flare pistol (two barrel) at Nambu World
- YouTube Forgotten Weapons: Japan's Type 90 3-Barreled Naval Flare Pistol
- Wikipedia article on the Type 90 flare pistol (NOTE: Nambu erroneously accredited as manufacturer)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||