Type 11 light machinegun
Official wording
Japanese, Type 11 (1922) light machinegun, all variations, cal. 6.5mm.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1922–1941.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
JapanBasis: the ATF wording - Manufacturer
- Nambu Arms Manufacturing (Chūō Kōgyō)Basis: outside reference ¹
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- 6.5×50mm ArisakaBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1922–1941production; ATF states no dateBasis: outside reference ²
- Service
- Military
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: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “十一年式軽機関銃” ↗, maker: infobox 設計・製造: 南部麒次郎, 南部銃器製造所（中央工業）
- 2. Wikipedia, “Type 11 light machine gun” ↗, years: infobox production date 1922–1941; Japanese Wikipedia: about 29,000 produced by 1941
- 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
- 1 change · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passMaker: Japanese Army arsenals → Nambu Arms Manufacturing (Chūō Kōgyō). Japanese Wikipedia infobox
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Japanese Type 11 LMG from 1933 book.jpg” by Unknown - possibly Japanese military photographer, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Type 11 light machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Type 11 light machine gun is a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the interwar period and during World War II. Adopted as the Imperial Japanese Army's first light machine gun, the Type 11 was designed by Kijirō Nambu and had certain similarities to the Hotchkiss series of machine guns. It had an unusual feed system which required five round clips to be dropped into a hopper, this held up to a total of six clips and each round was oiled as it was fed into the chamber. Despite good overall performance, this feed system was prone to collect dirt and grit which would jam the weapon while in use. It was issued to troops in 1922 and saw extensive service as a squad weapon until 1945.