Japanese Type 5: Ode to the Garand
Recently up at auction with Morphys, a very rare and desirable Japanese Type 5 Garand semi-automatic rifle, one of approximately 125 of its type assembled in early 1944.
This outstanding experimental example in standard Japanese 7.7mm chambering, numbered ‘13’ on the underside of the barrel. Action nearly identical to that of a standard American Garand, although the 8-round en bloc clip was replaced with a fixed internal 10-round magazine that extended past the wood line.
Accompanied by an original March 14, 1946-dated capture certificate listing “ONE JAPANESE RIFLE” as the property of Colonel Walter D. Buie, a 1920 West Point graduate who earned two Legions of Merit, first on the staff of the XXIII Corps stateside in 1943-44 and then as commander of the 272d Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division in NW Europe in 1944-45. Post VE-Day, Buie left his post with the 272 and joined the 25th Division as Chief of Staff in the Pacific. Also included was a period shipping crate addressed to Major Walter Buie at Fort Leavenworth and also his wife in N.C.
Someone got a deal, as it sold for $48,000 against an estimated range of $60,000-$75,000.
It belongs in a museum.
Below, a Type 5 (SN 53) compared to a production M-1 Garand in November 1945 at Springfield Armory:
