During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army extensively used the Type 96 LMG, a reliable light machine gun in 6.5x50mm Arisaka caliber. What few people know is that there are rare records of experimental or modified versions of the Type 96 equipped with silencers.
These versions were neither official nor standardized. They were homemade adaptations, likely made for infiltration missions or special operations—and they never entered mass production. There are also no clear photos or detailed technical documentation, precisely because they were very limited and uncommon modifications.
Do you have any evidence of these silencers? I’ll note that I’ve come across official documents mentioning a new machine gun silencer, somewhere around 1940, which is why this is most likely a Type 96 silencer.
I’m talking about all the silencers in this thread. The silencer for the Nambu pistol looks pretty weird, especially the fact that it’s copper is confusing. If you think about it, why would anyone do this? Many fakes are sold for big money, especially among Japanese small arms, fakes of supposedly Japanese Luger pistols are popular, which are sold at auctions for crazy money. The Type 96 machine gun with a silencer from the film is just a prop, the machine gun is too small. At the moment, there is a list of patents for silencers and their development is mentioned in documentation at least until 1940, which is also written about by the highly respected Jiro Sayama (although he does not name any specific data). The development of the silencer was introduced in the direction of machine guns and rifles.
Hmm…
Maybe I wasn’t so suspicious before. But the huge number of mistakes from the Americans in Japanese weapons that spread across all sources and the counterfeits of these same weapons make me doubt everything.
I saw somewhere on the internet on a forum someone saying that the silenced Nambu was very likely a fake. Can’t tell you where it was, though, I searched so much stuff, it’s hard to remember absolutely everything.
I think Ive read that the Type 100 silencer did exist, or its said to have, however there is no photographic evidence of it, and only some brief documentation.
its same size as you can see so definitely in the movie its type 96 and not type 99. However the suppressor must be maxim since it look exactly like maxim suppressors of the era.
As you can see Type 96 is smaller then a BAR. But I dont know is it a prop or deactivated gun and from where they took the inspiration for the suppressor. But all the guns in the movie series are very historically accurate since they are WW 2 era and pre WW 2 era movies.
And its hard to find sources but even the AI is suggesting that there is some sources: ‘’ While the Japanese military did not extensively develop or widely deploy silencers on their firearms during World War II, there is evidence of some experimentation and limited use of silencers, primarily on the Type 100 submachine gun.‘’
The problem is its hard to find them online. But Japan defenetly experimented with silancers on thier firearms during WW 2. And there is too many books to cover the topic since its like looking for a needle in a haystack :
Well this is the more interesting with pictures I have a lot of very old boring ones that I will look only after I finish some of those. And not to mention even after you finish there is many questions that remain like with the Japanese SMGs:
