Nambu Pistol - Type 14

Type 14

The "Type 14 Nambu" was designed in 1925 with the goal of simplifying manufacturing to reduce cost. It was officially adopted for issue to non-commissioned officers in the Japanese Army in 1927 and was available for purchase by officers. The Type 14 was an improved version of the Type A Nambu. The Type 14 has similar As many as 400,000 Type 14s were possibly produced. Later production models are distinguished by an enlarged, oblong shaped trigger guard (which was introduced after Japanese soldiers reported difficulty in accessing the trigger while wearing gloves in Manchuria) and sometimes have a knurled steel cocking knob instead of the standard "slotted" cocking knob. The redesigned cocking knob was implemented in 1944 in order to simplify production. The Type 14 also lacks the grip safety used on the previous models. Pre-World War II Type 14s are well made with quality during wartime dropping with noticeable machine marks and unpolished work developiing during wartime shortages.

One quality of the Type 14 caught the eye of William B. Ruger who had acquired a captured Nambu from a returning U.S. Marine, shortly after World War II ended in 1945. Ruger duplicated two Nambus in his garage, and although he decided against marketing them, the handgun's rear cocking device and the Nambu's silhouette was incorporated into the Ruger .22 semi-automatic pistol series, when in 1949 the Ruger Standard (and later Mark I, II, and III) pistols were sold to the American public.