Chassepot to FAMAS at Headstamp Publishing: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase/p/chassepot-3rd-standard
Wool field shirt at Varusteleka: https://varusteleka.com/en-us/products/srm-wool-field-shirt-v3
In the aftermath of World War Two, the United States dismantled the Japanese military and took over Japan’s national defense itself. This lasted until he Korean War, when it started to look beneficial to have an armed Japanese force to reduce US military spending in Japan and to protect the country in case of a potential Soviet invasions of Hokkaido. The Japanese Self Defense Forces were stood up, and equipped with surplus American arms – including the M1 Garand as the basic service rifle.
When the US moved to the M14, Japan opted to develop its own rifle instead. This was the Type 64, developed and produced by Howa Heavy Industries. It is a tilting-bolt, short stroke gas piston rifle with an adjustable gas system, folding bipod, and select-fire trigger mechanism. It is chambered for 7.62mm NATO, albeit a reduced-velocity loading that Japan chose to use to reduce recoil and improve shoot ability (especially in fully automatic). The gas system can be adjusted to use regular NATO ammunition (and JSDF machine guns used the standard loading), but for training and any military actions that did not require American ammunition supply, the lower velocity ammunition was a valuable benefit.
This rifle became the standard arm of all Japanese military branches until eventually replaced by the 5.56mm Type 89. Today, they are extremely rare rifles to find, as they were never sold abroad or surplussed. Many thanks to the Ars Mechanica Foundation for giving me access to this example to film for you! You can find their history book here:
https://www.amazon.com/Ars-Mechanica-Innovation-Jean-Marc-Gay/dp/0300267002
The best firearms reference books: https://www.headstamppublishing.com
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At Forgotten Weapons I think the most interesting guns out there are the most obscure ones. I try to search out experimental and prototype weapons and show you how they work, in addition to more conventional guns that you may not have heard of before. You’re much more likely to find a video on the Cei Rigotti or Webley-Fosbery here than an AR or Glock. So, do you want to learn about something new today? Then stick around!
