Type 44 Cavalry Carbine
- Category
- Carbine
- Barrel
- 487 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.30 kg
- Introduced
- 1911
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Type 44 Cavalry Carbine is a bolt-action carbine developed from the Arisaka Type 38 for the mounted troops of the Imperial Japanese Army, introduced in 1911 (Meiji Year 44). Chambered in the low-recoil 6.5x50mm Arisaka cartridge and fed from a five-round internal magazine via stripper clip, its defining feature is a permanently attached folding 'needle' bayonet that swings forward into the firing position and folds back into a recess in the forend when stowed, sparing cavalry troopers the burden of managing a separate detachable bayonet on horseback.
The permanently mounted folding bayonet meant a cavalry trooper could go from carbine to lance with the flick of a wrist, but it also made the rifle a single-purpose weapon: the bayonet could not be removed for cleaning or replacement, so a damaged bayonet often condemned the whole carbine to depot repair.
The Type 44 went through three production patterns distinguished primarily by the design of the bayonet's nose cap. It stayed in front-line service longer than many peers, with large quantities captured and reissued by Chinese, North Korean and Soviet forces.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Kokura Arsenal
- Category
- Carbine
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1911 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
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 Cavalry Carbine
How much does the Type 44 Cavalry Carbine weigh?
The Type 44 Cavalry Carbine weighs 3.30 kg (7.28 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Type 44 Cavalry Carbine?
The Type 44 Cavalry Carbine is chambered in 6.5x50mm Arisaka.
How many rounds does the Type 44 Cavalry Carbine hold?
The Type 44 Cavalry Carbine holds 5 rounds, fed from an internal magazine.
How long is the Type 44 Cavalry Carbine?
The Type 44 Cavalry Carbine is 966 mm (38.0 in) long overall, with a 487 mm (19.2 in) barrel.
Who makes the Type 44 Cavalry Carbine?
The Type 44 Cavalry Carbine is made by Kokura Arsenal (Japan). It was designed by Colonel Nariakira Arisaka.
When was the Type 44 Cavalry Carbine introduced?
The Type 44 Cavalry Carbine was introduced in 1911 and discontinued in 1942.
How does the Type 44 Cavalry Carbine operate?
The Type 44 Cavalry 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
84%
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-cavalry' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "type-44-cavalry", "name": "Type 44 Cavalry 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": 1911, "barrel_length_mm": 487, "weight_empty_g": 3300, "action_type": "bolt_action"}