C&R · IV · 130
Ho-5 20mm aircraft cannon
Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic
Official wording
ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 85 ↗
Japanese, cal. 20mm Browning Aircraft H0-5 Machineguns/Cannons.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1942–1945.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 85 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “二式二十粍固定機関砲” ↗, maker: infobox 設計・製造: 中央工業
- 2. Wikipedia, “二式二十粍固定機関砲” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): Army Type 2 (1942); development began 1940; at the end of 1942 the Army decided to cut Ho-103 output and switch to the Ho-5; end year 1945 is our estimate
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- 2 changes · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passEditorial confidence: High → Medium. Re-rated after its references were re-checked and some details couldn't be confirmed.
- Evidence passMaker: Japanese Army arsenals → Chūō Kōgyō. Japanese Wikipedia infobox names Chūō Kōgyō as designer and maker
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Type-97 ho-103 ho-05 cannon.jpg” by Z3144228, CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Ho-5 cannon”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Ho-5 was a Japanese aircraft autocannon used during World War II. Developed from the Ho-103 machine gun, it was a version of the American Model 1921 Browning aircraft machine gun. It replaced the Ho-1 and Ho-3 in general service. The Ho-5 was belt-fed using typical Browning-style steel disintegrating links. The cartridge used was a shortened version of the Allied 20 × 110mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404.