Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · IV · 143

Type 3 heavy machinegun

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, Type 3 (1927), heavy machinegun, cal. 6.5mm.

ATF dates the Type 3 to 1927; the Type 3 designation is usually dated to 1914 (Taishō 3). ATF lists cal. 6.5mm; this is the 6.5×50mm Arisaka cartridge.

What this entry requires

  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1914–1932.
  • INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
Japan
Manufacturer
Japanese Army arsenals¹
Type
Machinegun
Action
Select-fire / auto
Caliber
6.5×50mm Arisaka
Made
c. 1914–1932production; ATF states no date²
Service
Military
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

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, “Type 3 heavy machine gun” ↗, maker: domestic licence production; the Chilean Type 3s were mostly 'made at the Koishikawa Arsenal' (the Army's Tokyo arsenal)
  2. Wikipedia, “Type 3 heavy machine gun” ↗, years: infobox production date 1914–1932 (entered service 1914)
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

  1. Evidence passYears: 1914–1940 → 1914–1932. Wikipedia infobox production 1914–1932

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Type 3 heavy machinegun

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Type 3 Taisho 14 heavy machine gun.jpg” by PHGCOM, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Type 3 heavy machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Type 3 heavy machine gun , also known as the Taishō 14 machine gun, was a Japanese air-cooled heavy machine gun. The Type 3 heavy machine gun was in a long-line of Japanese Hotchkiss machine gun variants that the Imperial Japanese Army would utilize from 1901 to 1945.