Hamada Type pistol

The Hamada Type Automatic handguns (浜田式, Hamada shiki) were semi-automatic pistols developed starting in 1941 for use by the Empire of Japan during World War II. Developed by Bunji Hamada, the pistol took its basic design from the Model 1910 Browning. They were produced by the Japanese Firearms Manufacturing Company, as opposed to a state arsenal. Two variants were produced: Type I, chambered in .32 ACP like the Model 1910, and Type II, chambered in 8×22mm Nambu, the standard pistol cartridge of the Japanese military. Eight production design periods occurred during the production of the Type I pistol with all changes being made during late 1942 and early 1943. Production of the Hamada Type I maintained high quality throughout its production and ended in February 1944. The Hamada Type II emerged after the Army requested that Hamada's pistol be adapted to the standard 8×22 mm Nambu cartridge, resulting in a scaled-up Type I with only minor adjustments the Army specified. The Type II was produced at a converted textile factory in Notobe, while bluing was intended to be applied later at the Nagoya Arsenal's Toriimatsu facility. All surviving examples, however, remain unblued. Most Hamada pistols were sent to Japanese Army units in China where they were presumably lost, with few known Hamada pistols of both types in existence today. Production records were destroyed during World War II.