Type 44 Carbine
- Category
- Carbine
- Barrel
- 487 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.30 kg
- Introduced
- 1912
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Type 44 Carbine is a Japanese bolt-action cavalry carbine introduced in 1912 (Meiji Year 44) as an evolution of the Arisaka Type 38 carbine, chambered in 6.5x50mm Arisaka. Its defining feature is a permanently attached folding 'needle' bayonet that swings forward into the firing position and folds back into a recess beneath the forend when stowed, sparing mounted troopers from managing a separate detachable bayonet on horseback. It retained the five-round internal magazine, stripper-clip loading, and sliding bolt dust cover of the Arisaka family.
The Type 44's permanently mounted folding bayonet let a cavalry trooper convert from carbine to improvised lance with a flick of the wrist, but it also made the carbine a single-purpose weapon: with no way to remove the bayonet, a bent or damaged blade could send the whole arm back to a depot armorer.
The Type 44 was produced in three patterns distinguished chiefly by the bayonet nose-cap design. It served from before World War I into the Pacific Theater of World War II, with captured examples later reissued by Chinese and North Korean forces.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Kokura Arsenal
- Category
- Carbine
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1912 to 1942
- Variant of
- Cavalry carbine
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 487 mm
- Overall length
- 966 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.30 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Internal
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 685 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 2110 J
- Effective range
- 400 m
- Maximum range
- 2000 m
- Rate of fire
- 10 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Permanent folding bayonet
Stripper clip loading
Five round internal magazine
Sliding dust cover
Flip up ladder rear sight- Shorter barrel for horseback
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 409 carbines | 3.30 kg | 3.00 kg | Heavier than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 407 carbines | 966 mm | 895 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 423 carbines | 487 mm | 406 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 423 carbines | 5 | 21 | Holds fewer rounds than about 80% |
Answers
Questions about the Type 44 Carbine
How much does the Type 44 Carbine weigh?
The Type 44 Carbine weighs 3.30 kg (7.28 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Type 44 Carbine?
The Type 44 Carbine is chambered in 6.5x50mm Arisaka.
How many rounds does the Type 44 Carbine hold?
The Type 44 Carbine holds 5 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Type 44 Carbine?
The Type 44 Carbine is 966 mm (38.0 in) long overall, with a 487 mm (19.2 in) barrel.
Who makes the Type 44 Carbine?
The Type 44 Carbine is made by Kokura Arsenal (Japan). It was designed by Colonel Nariakira Arisaka.
When was the Type 44 Carbine introduced?
The Type 44 Carbine was introduced in 1912 and discontinued in 1942.
How does the Type 44 Carbine operate?
The Type 44 Carbine uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Imperial Japanese Army Cavalry
- 1912
- Republic of China
- China
- Korean People's Army
- North Korea
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/type-44-carbine' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "type-44-carbine", "name": "Type 44 Carbine", "manufacturer": { "id": "kokura-arsenal", "name": "Kokura Arsenal", "countryCode": "JP", "foundedYear": 1933, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "updatedAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "version": "4fc0b3c5a8a1d21d1e7661dfc33f94c8da8ce9b1e3bcd75a196ccfadd98e7a3f" }, "category": { "id": "carbine", "name": "Carbine", "description": "Shortened rifles for close-quarters use" }, "country_of_origin": "JP", "year_introduced": 1912, "barrel_length_mm": 487, "weight_empty_g": 3300, "action_type": "bolt_action"}