Type 99 light machinegun
Official wording
Japanese, Type 99, (1939), light machinegun, cal. 7.7mm.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1939–1945.
- 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
- Nagoya & Kokura arsenalsBasis: outside reference ¹
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- 7.7×58mm ArisakaBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1939–1945production; ATF states no dateBasis: outside reference ²
- Service
- Military
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, “Type 99 light machine gun” ↗, maker: produced at Kokura, Nagoya Arsenal and Mukden (about 53,000); infobox manufacturer Nambu, Kokura Arsenal, Nagoya Arsenal
- 2. Wikipedia, “Type 99 light machine gun” ↗, years: infobox production date 1939–1945; adopted 1939
- 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
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Japanese 7.7-mm Nambu Type 99 Light machine gun, New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, New Brunswick.JPG” by Skaarup.HA, CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Type 99 light machine gun”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Type 99 light machine gun is a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. It was similar in design to the earlier Type 96 light machine gun, but designed to fire the new and more powerful 7.7×58mm Arisaka cartridge, which improved energy by over 50%. Other improvements included the omission of the oiling mechanism which resulted in a better all-round weapon. The Type 99 never fully replaced the previous models of Japanese light machine guns, and served alongside the Type 11 and Type 96 until 1945.