World War II Japanese Type 99 Arisaka Rifle with Anti-Aircraft Sights - AS IS. Smooth wood stock with blued receiver and barrel and front fixed blade sight. Two wire hoops around the barrel and grip were likely added to hang it from a wall or other object at some point for display. 

Condition: Significant rusting. Chrysanthemum emblem missing. 

Size: 44 x 4 x 2 1/2 in. 

The Type 99 rifle or Type 99 short rifle was a bolt-action rifle of the Arisaka design used by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. During the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, the Japanese Army found that the 7.7mm cartridge being fired by the Type 92 heavy machine gun in China was superior to the 6.5×50mm cartridge of the Type 38 rifle. This necessitated the development of a new weapon to replace the outclassed Type 38, and finally standardize on a single rifle cartridge when the IJA developed the Type 99, eventually produced at nine different arsenals. The IJA had intended to completely replace the Type 38 with the Type 99 by the end of the war, but the outbreak of the Pacific War never allowed the army to completely do so, and as the war progressed more and more cost saving steps were introduced in order to speed up production, meaning late war rifles are often called “last ditch” or “substitute standard” due to their crudeness of finish. The Type 99 came with a wire monopod and an anti-aircraft sighting device, and was produced in four versions: the regular issue Type 99 short rifle, the Type 99 long rifle (a limited production variant), the take-down Type 2 paratroop rifle, and the Type 99 sniper rifle. The Type 99 was the first mass-produced infantry rifle to have a chrome lined bore to ease cleaning, but almost all unique features were abandoned by mid-war, making earlier rifles (mostly taken as souvenirs by American troops during the conflict) extremely valued collector’s items based on their cleanliness, completeness, and minimal usage. 

Significant rusting. Chrysanthemum emblem missing. 

All items are sold AS IS. Lot and condition details are for descriptive purposes only. Sarasota Estate Auction is not responsible for errors and/or omissions of condition. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is perfect or free from wear, flaws, or characteristics of age. Please bid according to your own expertise, or request any additional information and/or photographs you deem necessary.