[MarineBrat]

An Arisaka type 99 made in Germany? That doesn’t sound possible to me. I’m certainly no expert. I’ve used this page for identifying different Japanese rifle markings.

http://www.radix.net/~bbrown/japanese_markings.html

Was your father part of the Japan occupation forces? Do you know where he was at? If the chrysanthemum is intact then it could have a far different story to tell than the one I have.

Regarding the Fort McArthur Military Museum. It’s not a huge place, and they considered what I have to be a very good example of the rifle. Other than the time it spent in their display case, it has been well preserved under a bed.

http://www.ftmac.org

[South40]

lol! I stand corrected! It's been over 30 years since I researched the rifle and that was of course well before I had use of the Internet. I believe I got much of my info back then from American Rifleman magazine.

The Arisaka, while made by the Japanese, was based around the basic German Mauser design. Again, my memories are unclear but I believe he told me he took it from a dead Japanese soldier in the battle for Saipan. I have no knowledge of how he got it back to the US.

In the pics below you can see it has the chrysanthemum intact. It also has finger groves that were probably carved into the stock by the soldier who carried it. I always thought that the most interesting feature, right ahead of the folding tree sight, good to up to 1500 meters. As if the naked eye could see that far.

Ugly, ain't it? They weren't made for looks, they were made to kill. And from my experiences shooting it it probably did that very well.

[South40]

lol! I stand corrected! It's been over 30 years since I researched the rifle and that was of course well before I had use of the Internet. I believe I got much of my info back then from American Rifleman magazine.

The Arisaka, while made by the Japanese, was based around the basic German Mauser design. Again, my memories are unclear but I believe he told me he took it from a dead Japanese soldier in the battle for Saipan. I have no knowledge of how he got it back to the US.

In the pics below you can see it has the chrysanthemum intact. It also has finger groves that were probably carved into the stock by the soldier who carried it. I always thought that the most interesting feature, right ahead of the folding tree sight, good to up to 1500 meters. As if the naked eye could see that far.

Ugly, ain't it? They weren't made for looks, they were made to kill. And from my experiences shooting it it probably did that very well.