C&R · IV · 147
Type 89 grenade discharger (knee mortar)
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 89, cal. 50 mm Grenade Discharger (Knee Mortar) and variations thereof.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1932–1945.
- 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: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Type 89 grenade discharger” ↗, maker: infobox manufacturer Nagoya, Kokura, Osaka Army Arsenals
- 2. Wikipedia, “Type 89 grenade discharger” ↗, action: trigger-fired 50 mm light mortar: Other
- 3. Wikipedia, “Type 89 grenade discharger” ↗, years: 'adopted in 1929, but production did not begin until 1932'; infobox production date 1932–1945; Japanese Wikipedia: produced 1932–1945, about 120,000
- 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 passYears: 1929–1945 → 1932–1945. Wikipedia: production began 1932 (1929 = adoption)
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Japanese Type 89 grenade discharger.gif”, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Type 89 grenade discharger”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Type 89 grenade discharger , inaccurately and colloquially known as a knee mortar by Allied forces, is a Japanese grenade launcher or light mortar that was widely used in the Pacific Theater of World War II.