Type 97 tank machinegun
Official wording
Japanese, Type 97 (1937), tank machinegun, cal. 7.7mm.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1937–1945.
- 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. 86 ↗ · 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, “九七式車載重機関銃” ↗, maker: mass production at the Nagoya Army Arsenal (infobox 設計・製造 名古屋陸軍造兵廠), about 18,000 by 1944
- 2. Wikipedia, “Type 97 heavy tank machine gun” ↗, years: infobox production date 1937–1945; Japanese Wikipedia 製造期間 1938–1944; y covers both
- 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 → Nagoya Army Arsenal. Japanese Wikipedia (九七式車載重機関銃)
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Type 97 tank machine gun.jpg” by US War Department, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Type 97 heavy tank machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Type 97 heavy tank machine gun was the standard machine gun used in tanks and armored vehicles of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, and as a general purpose medium machine gun by infantry forces. This weapon was not related to the Type 97 aircraft machine gun used in several Japanese Navy aircraft including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, or the Type 97 automatic cannon used as an anti-tank rifle. The Type 97 Tank machine gun is the only mag-fed general purpose/medium machine gun that exists.