The Type 26 (二十六年式拳銃 Nijūroku-nen-shiki Kenjū) is a Japanese revolver that was produced by Koishikawa Arsenal. It was Japan's first domestically-designed centerfire pistol.
History[]
The Type 26 was conceived as part of Japan's efforts in the late 19th century to establish an indigenous arms industry. It was designed by a military commission in 1893 and was entirely influenced from various European designs that had been exported to the country in the preceding years. Production was handled by the state-run Koishikawa Arsenal. The Type 26 was bought by military and naval officers, and saw use in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. After 1918, sales of the gun began to diminish and as such, production was scaled down until 1923, when the manufacturing facilities that were in place were destroyed by the Great Kantō earthquake. Production of the Type 26 was not resumed upon the restoration of the arsenal.
The Type 26 remained in limited use by Japanese officers long after its production ended; it was generally issued to second-line troops during World War II. Almost 60,000 were built in total.
Design[]
The Type 26 was a double action-only revolver that incorporated many design elements taken from other revolvers of the period. The hinged tipping frame was copied from the American Smith & Wesson Model 3, and the lockwork from the French Galand. It also had an opening sideplate cover that could expose the lockwork, which was inspired by the Mle 1892. The gun lacked a hammer spur, and thus it could not be manually cocked or de-cocked; this also meant that it lacked any kind of safety provision and was therefore hazardous to carry when loaded.
A proprietary 9×22mm cartridge was developed specifically for the Type 26 and it was the only gun ever designed to fire this round. Like subsequent Japanese pistol cartridges, the 9×22mm round was low-velocity and considered to be underpowered. The cylinder, as per standard, had six chambers.
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