Double-barrelled Flare Gun: The Nambu Type 90, with Firearms Expert Jonathan Ferguson

Along with examples like the wooden G11, wooden fencing AK and PhotoSniper, we're adding to our prestigious group of weapons in this series that are probably not technically weapons.
However, it's small but recognisable role in pop-culture makes it a worthy inclusion.
And it looks cool too.
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We are the Royal Armouries, the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Discover what goes on behind the scenes and watch our collection come to life. See combat demonstrations, experience jousting and meet our experts.
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[@paulchilds1893]

If we're focusing on Demolition Man for a while, I look forward to the video on how to use the three seashells.

[@TheHorzabora]

We all know Jonathan doesn’t know how to use the three seashells. You need Gun Jesus for that!

[@colindegrow1475]

Well played, Sir!

[@colinscutt5104]

Don't you know ??? 🤣

[@OneZer0Four]

He doesn’t know how to use the three sea shells 😂

[@MattMurphyMusicTeacher]

Points awarded

[@quattroconcept4]

Looks like a sawed-off Star Wars blaster.

[@callumwright7459]

It's not entirely out of character for a Signal Pistol to be a Blaster, Boba Fett's EE-3 Blaster rifle was a modified WWI Era Webley & Scott No.1, with a Webley revolver Stock

[@PURPLECATDUDE7734]

Knowing WW2 Japan, the army and navy likely had different colored flares so they would know not to assist each other when in distress

[@ihcfn]

🤣

[@johnladuke6475]

"You idiot, that's an Army flare. Don't send rescue boats, use it for target practice!"

[@hailexiao2770]

Also knowing WW2 Japan, I'm surprised it doesn't come with a knuckle duster bayonet.

[@PJB1963]

Actually, unlike most militaries at the time, the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy used different caliber flare guns (shocker!). As Jonathon stated, the IJN Type 90s were in 28mm. The IJA used a Type 10 Flare Gun (based on the DAO Type 26 revolver) chambered for a 35mm flare. Not only did the US Army and USN use the same caliber flares (10 gauge for survival gear, 1 inch, and 1 1/2 inch), but in June 1942 the USA, USN, and British forces agreed on a standard of a 1 1/2 inch (37mm) rimmed flare cartridge.

[@Mil-Spec_Mike]

A pixelated Jonathan shooting the subscribe graphic made me laugh. Even had the blue gloves LOL!

[@stanislavczebinski994]

I'm just guessing here - but I think this thing, as it's not a "true" firearm might have been sold in a shop for marine supplies in a Japanese harbour to foreign sailors. Even back in 1930, Japan was highly dependent on imports. Therefore, I would expect at least some (mostly English-speaking) foreign sailors being around.

[@wilsonlaidlaw]

I got a bit of a shock at the recoil of a Webley No.2 Flare pistol, with a 1½" cartridge. As sergeant of the school's CCF signals platoon, a Flare pistol was part of my equipment. I managed to blag a few flares off the armourer at Redford Barracks opposite the school and used them at our annual exercises to signal the beginning and end of war games.

[@CAP198462]

So, Jonathan Ferguson keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries museum in the Uk which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history. I assume you noticed Sir Nigel Hawthorne, of Yes, Minister fame In Demolition Man. What is your theory about 🐚🐚🐚?

[@jonathanferguson1211]

Of course! As for the shells, I would postulate some sort of handheld bidet, dryer and, er, air freshener?

[@EmpPeng2k7]

Absolutely would love to see what unusual bits you have from the Japanese side of things which fit in this series

[@dan_loeb]

the red lighting on the L86s behind him looks nice.

[@DirtyHairy1]

I definitely CAN imagine Jonathan jumping around in joy like a kid when seeing well presented rare fireams ;D

[@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporation]

Who wouldn't? 🙃

[@andrewwaterman9240]

Kudos to you for recognizing an obscure 80-year-old Japanese flare gun in a 30-year-old science fiction movie. Very impressive, Jonathan!

[@Getpojke]

Weapon spotting in films is always good fun. Hot Fuzz (2007) was a nice surprise of a British film with a diverse selection.

[@richarddixon7276]

I don't things mind things nerdy , I don't mind things being niche or , I don't even mind things being obscure . But I Do Like watching these videos . Thanks Jonathan and everyone at Royal Armouries .

[@Tr4wnet]

4:00 maybe the fact that the cocking lever is flopping around is actually the indicator that the strikers are set?

[@jonathanferguson1211]

It definitely indicates that on this example but I don't think it's intended as our other two don't have such loose levers.

[@Tr4wnet]

@@jonathanferguson1211 Fair enough. Cheers for taking the time to reply

[@jonathanferguson1211]

@@Tr4wnet It was a reasonable idea - it would work even better in low light than protruding strikers - "yep, they're floppy..."

[@philhawley1219]

@@jonathanferguson1211 Why not simply use a double barrelled hammer shotgun action? Simple to make and foolproof in operation.

[@Calligraphybooster]

‘Pat.’ in English doesn’t surprise me. They know the rest of the world doesn’t speak Japanese.

[@scottanderson3577]

You might not need a loaded chamber indicator for a flare gun if your SOP is to not load it unless it would be fired immediately. There would be no way of knowing what color was loaded so it was probably not done in advance.

[@kittehgo]

Or they had a rule, for example. Red in right and green in left, and that was drilled into them. And most likely only officers had the permission to fire them.

[@geodkyt]

More importantly, nobody is carrying a flare pistol with the plan to "quick draw" it and fire it. If you're heading into an attack where signal flares are part of the plan (especially if the plan doesn't require one to choose between more than a max of two colors in anything approaching a hurry), you would already know your flare pistol is loaded, becahse you loaded it at the same time you told your men to load their rifles. Loaded chamber indicators are really only all that useful for things that are loaded and left loaded for extended periods, where one is reasonably likely to forget if the chamber is loaded or not - I never noticed the lack with my M16, for instance, but can see the utility in a routinely carried defensive pistol that might just live in the holster without much thought.

[@ducomaritiem7160]

You always make me smile, Jonathan 😊

[@prestongarvey7745]

Maybe the pistol was intended for commercial sale, but was requisitioned by the navy?

[@trapmouth]

13:21 Yeah we know, that’s what we’re all here for.

[@PitFriend1]

It doesn’t really need the strikers to protrude to indicate the chambers are loaded or the thing is cocked. Since that charging lever flops around loose after it’s cocked that’s a pretty good indicator.

[@EnVildKat]

Flopping indicates cocked state of both strikers, but there's shouldn't be any flopping with only only one striker. And nothing directly indicating loaded chambers with a lever. You can empty the chambers and the lever will stil flop around if both strikers are cocked.

[@jonathanferguson1211]

This doesn't occur on the other two examples.

[@EnVildKat]

@@jonathanferguson1211 Jonathan, by "this doesn't occur" you mean that if flares are removed without being fired (with strikers still cocked) the lever wouldn't flop?

[@greycatturtle7132]

Would be cool to see the similarites between the Luger, an Nambu and a Ruger

[@causewaykayak]

Very interesting piece of kit. On my small screen it looks like new. Clearly very well cared for.

[@pagancrew]

I at first thought your clarification meant that Jonathan had recently gone to the movies for the first time in his life, but that he had been aware of the existence of DVDs and tapes. I found that entirely understandable, not liking the movies myself.

[@jonathanferguson1211]

Oh no, I'm a big film buff, always have been.

[@ianspy1]

What I kinda thought of when I saw them the first time. Was the "JPX jet protector". Which comes as a dual and quad barrel variant. And is sort of a bridge of OC spray and a gun. Using a blank + a piston. To push out a very thick and sticky OC liquid over a fairly decent range. Dont know if the Royal Armouries has a lot of non lethal stuff. But I really find those interesting ^^.

[@yam83]

I've bought suspension parts from these chaps!

[@pyeitme508]

YES!

[@panamared5975]

Demolition man is so good

[@vattmann1387]

I was wondering if there will ever be an episode on the history of air weapons for pest control? I remember Jonathan talking about them being a really viable in a post apocalyptic scenario while looking at the Metro series of games :)

[@whylie74]

Ah Edgar Friendly's sidearm of choice.

[@RatherSmashingPro]

Best job in the world. I’d love to come and film.

[@wacojones8062]

Flare pistol firing 28mm rockets with HE warheads so COOOL.

[@MCTicTac]

I referenced Demolition Man in my A-Level course work, mind you as I was taking it as seriously as Schwarzenegger as an "Auteur"

[@glynwelshkarelian3489]

If I remember correctly from the @forgottenweapons video(s?) about Japanese flare pistols: they were used by Japanese Navy pilots to signal commands (because they had so few radios). I also remember reading an autobiography in the 80's written by an RAF Bomber Command rear gunner, who got shot got twice, and landed in the sea both times. The first time was a nightmare, and trying to fire the flare pistol to attract rescue, after sitting on the wrong side of an dingy in an Atlantic winter, was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. You'll have the RAF issue pistol. Linking it to that story might be worth doing.

[@jamesfirth7795]

I think in the 1920s-30s Japan and the UK were quite close to the point where members of both countries navies were serving roles as instructors and observers in the others navy and Japanese naval ships were being built in British shipyards. In fact I believe that Japan was convinced to use carrier based airpower due to having been invited to witness such being trialled by the Royal Navy and being thoroughly impressed by the notion - more impressed in fact than the British Admiralty. But this closeness and exchange of officers could explain the discrepancies noted by Jonathan - the could have had the latin character marks so that British officers would be comfortable using them.

[@samholdsworth420]

So not a hot glue gun? Damn

[@RoyalArmouries]

I mean, it's hot... so you were half right :)

[@pyeitme508]

@@RoyalArmouries Yet HOW hot?

[@LiveDonkeyDeadLion]

@@RoyalArmouries but if you fire this, you really want the SAR team to stick to you like glue, so the other half is implied

[@thefreebird413]

It's a hot anit-glue gun

[@BleedingUranium]

Maybe a long shot, but in regard to the bit about not having covered many Japanese weapons, and given your excellent videos on the Browning .303 and Hispano a while back, I'd love to see some love given to the always-underappreciated aircraft-mounted guns. If you guys have one of the Type 99 20mm cannons in its flexible mount variant, the one with a stock, handguard, sights, etc, that would be super cool to see. There's basically nothing on the internet about it besides a few old photos, and it certainly checks off a ton of cool/weird/rare boxes. :)

[@Mr_T_Badger]

If I recall correctly, that also shows up in the Multiplayer mode of Far Cry 3.

[@WhatIfBrigade]

I'm guessing the reason for the mixed markings is someone in the shop either didn't know or didn't care it didn't quite match.

[@AledPritchard]

I have a feeling the Shiki Kenju could be a good feature for any upcoming Japanese firearms features. I think that was also a Nambu made gun, but I’m unsure of the type designation. There was also the standard Nambu sidearm for officers that looked like a C96 / Luger cross.

[@illmnts]

You can feel it's cocked because the cocking lever flaps about, as you say

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

But how do you use the 3 seashells?

[@iskandartaib]

It seems to me that a multi-barreled flare pistol might be dangerous in the sense that you might fire off the wrong flare, if you load flares of different colors.

[@ethanmagdaleno5332]

Unrelated to the video but i know Johnathan is a big Gears of War fan and i was wondering if he was excited by the Gears of War E-Day trailer

[@PibrochPonder]

I am more interested in the Casio calculator watch than I am in the gun. That’s a retro bit of kit

[@vattmann1387]

If you are in the UK you can get them from Argos. I got myself a casio classic in stainless steel about 8 years ago for about £17 :)

[@danpatterson8009]

There's an interesting question- does the armory's collection include pellet guns? Dart guns? Whatever they call the guns that shoot lines from one ship to another?

[@grumpywurzel1973]

Coming from a purely Royal Navy background, we use normal service rifles (so SLR pre 90's, now SA80) but using blank cartridges for ammunition during refuelling/RAS

[@rangerlongshot]

The air guns that interest me are full size air rifles, using a large copper ball full of compressed air, that were pretty common the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. The Lewis and Clark Expedition that mapped a route from what's now St. Louis all the way to the Pacific Ocean in what's now Oregon were primarily equipped with... air rifles. That fascinated me as a boy.

[@RoyalArmouries]

We have air rifles (in fact there was a Lucy Worsley BBC Sherlock Holmes piece that aired recently with Jonathan in the NFC firing one) even some airsoft and BB guns. We also have a Crosman Cap-Chur air rifle that fires darts/tranquilizers :)

[@danpatterson8009]

@@rangerlongshot Thanks for the reference, I had never heard of the Girandoni. I suppose they would have made sense on an expedition because you wouldn't have to manage your powder supply. But not durable enough for contemporary militaries?

[@iainburgess8577]

10:54 discrepancy re recoil system. Ian at FW specifies holding the trigger to move the recoil action, and moves further. Jonathan isn't holding the trigger at all, and gets a smaller travel.

[@aliciacarr9014]

With the english and japanese naval markings, could that one have originally been intended for export and so stamped that way, then actually sold to go into military service, so those stamps were added?

[@Chaosrain112]

Does Squall's Gunblade from FFVIII count as a Japanese firearm? That'd be a hell of a commission piece for a museum.

[@King_Gurburdus]

I thought the Katakana marking, which looked like a ト　would indicate Tokyo instead of 2. Two would be ニ even in Katakana. My understanding is the Katakana symbol in a circle, square or triangle indicated cities for the Navy. I assume it’s where it was manufactured.

[@ponyote]

Way off- pun unitended- with my guess. Love that Jonathan is still rocking a calculator watch.

[@argitxu2002]

In Uncharted 3 Drake uses a similar weapon of the three cannon model.

[@ZackRToler]

My first exposure to this weapon is Blue Archive

[@TheCatBilbo]

I can imagine shooting a couple of flares into a bunker; two, burning projectiles possibly setting fire to something, combined with lots of smoke. In the confusion, I can charge-up & chuck my grenades in, empty my Sten mag. Other, WW2 comic stories are available...

[@bostonrailfan2427]

Leary’s gun was definitely a shot pistol: dealing maximum damage in a small area allowing you to run away and hide from the officers who are afraid of getting dirty and corrosion isn’t a surprise, it’s a maritime gun that likely had little maintenance done unless it was for a thorough inspection by admirals. it makes me wonder if the better looking one had been fixed during a ship refit before capture or surrender…

[@CobraDBlade]

I'm almost certain that Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries has covered a flare gun or possible line-throwing firearm of some sort on this series. So I doubt this is the "first time" for a non-weapon on "What is this Weapon".

[@F1ghteR41]

1:32 Why would one need a flare gun to be as large of a calibre? 28 mm seems to be a step up from your average 25-26.5 mm flare guns, and Kampfpistole/Sturmpistole managed with just 23 mm. Were the Japanese expecting to launch especially long-burning or bright flares? And why would one need two or three of them at once? 4:16 Seems to be a pretty big oversight. 4:24 It seems as though something went missing here. 15:12 Japanese submachineguns would be an interesting topic.

[@BHuang92]

I believe the British trialed a Japanese smg during the 30s. Correct me if I'm wrong

[@zhoufang996]

You're not firing both flares at once, you just have both flares in readiness to fire. There could be various uses for signalling. Maybe you want to keep a "don't shoot me I'm friendly" flare ready instead of having to fumble for one and load it when things go pear shaped in a night battle, for example, while still having the other barrel to use for normal signals.

[@Skorpychan]

You need a big chamber for flares because flares burn very brightly for a long time, and are also braked by parachute. You also need a flare gun, as emergency equipment, to be compact. Why two barrels? Two colours of flare, one after another, without touching the hot barrel.

[@F1ghteR41]

@@zhoufang996 Yes, I understand that you don't fire 2 or 3 flares at once, what I meant to say is that you could fire them without reloading, but I'm not sure why one would need to fire them in such a short sequence, especially aboard a navy ship, where you'd have a ton of different (and better) options for communication anyway. As for the night battles, with strikers arranged like this it would be difficult to use anyway.

[@F1ghteR41]

@@Skorpychan My question was more about why would one need to go as far, since most other users managed with smaller bores quite well. Is it something to do with bigger parachute necessitated by the naval use or what? As for the need to fire in quick succession, I'm not quite sure how often would such a necessity arise, especially in naval practice, where better communication methods are often at arm's reach.

[@obsidianjane4413]

2 barrel with Engrish markings? A sample submitted into a bid competition for a government or shipping corporation in the UK? If not just a plain international model?

[@thefreebird413]

Demolition Man is one of my all time favorite movies. Just one question, how do you use the 3 sea shells??🤣🤣

[@bmstylee]

Maybe we should as a Mr Friendly. Mr Edgar Friendly. He might know.

[@Matt-md5yt]

Dude its the double barreled flaregun from Demolition Man. I was partly right on Instagram

[@ThatWolfFromHyruleGaming]

its real? i just saw the movie last night, thought that was a neat little prop gun

[@davydatwood3158]

I don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard that in the First World War period the IJN was emulating the RN so hard it even used English on the bridge, not Japanese. *If* that is correct, it might explain why the signal equipment is marked in English? The 3-barrel version may be from later, when rising Japanese naitonalism and patriotism would have led to a switch to using Japanese on everything. Anyway, that may be urban myth or something I got from fiction that wanted the Japanese character to be able to talk to the rest of the cast, but it feel like the sort of detail you could check up on fairly easily - surely somewhere in the UK there's an historian specialising in the IJN's culture and practice!

[@Moondog66602]

Just a rack of l86 lmgs behind him

[@johnladuke6475]

Sure, that opening latch looks awkward, _if_ you're trying to keep your hand away from the muzzle. Looks like it would work just perfect, though, if you stuck two fingers in the barrels and work the latch with your thumb. Of course you have to say _"what's the worst that could happen?"_ every time you do it that way.

[@Genjitsu17]

the katakana ト is pronounced like "toe",

[@iamnuff1992]

The two-barrel version looks like the gun that killed Abe Shinzo.

[@r2crowseye]

I would love to see some of the matchlock firearms from Japan! Or modern Japanese firearms. Whatever y'all think up, my answer is yes! 🤣🍻

[@aeroflip97]

Have you thought of purchasing the AK-50 for the collection? no joke

[@jp18449]

A total stab in the dark here, captured in Singapore? Perhaps taken from Myoko? I hope...

[@BlendyStick]

I looked it up on some Japanese sites and unfortunately there’s not much information out there on it.

[@IanRose-mp1sq]

I thought in demolition man it was some weird sawn off.

[@frenchy18692]

Could the first few manufactured lots have been imports to Japan with a Japanese company taking over production at some stage? This would also account for the letters being in a western style.

[@robertlinke2666]

genuine question, why would you need 2 or even 3 barrels on a flare pistol?

[@Awoken_Remmuz]

For one the convenience of having more then one flare easily available if you need to send more then one. There is also the fact flares are sometimes used to convey signals to distant forces, often using distinct flare colours. A multi barrel flare gun could allow a soldier to have diffrent coloured flares ready and easy to send off depending what needs to be signaled.

[@exploatores]

I am former Infantery. I am shure their is a way to make this leathal too.

[@kevanhubbard9673]

I wouldn't like to be shot with a flare gun! However I believe that one of the uses of them as offensive weapons was during the First World War when aviators would fire them at Zeppelins.

[@16mopey]

Dam I really thought it was the German anti tank pistol I want to see the German one covered some day

[@randyhavard6084]

Probably have more things to worry about than your hands if it went off with the breech open like that

[@ifyoudontfailyouarenoteven6210]

I wonder if you have any modern Japanese firearms in your collection?

[@Ghoulstille]

"I'm gonna use these weapons to shop for groceries... Ass." - Mr. Edgar Friendly

[@WIIGGYX]

at sea English is the universal language

[@tomwinterfishing9065]

How are you supposed to hit the sky without sights?😕

[@user-rd6ii6mp1t]

Doom super shotgun for short people

[@daza3620]

I kinda like to focus on the crusty one. More real life experiance like me lol.

[@causewaykayak]

Museums generally are getting a lot of requests to repatriate archaeological finds and War booty. I was wondering if the Royal Armouries get similar requests.

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

This is just asking for .50BMG chamber adapters...

[@bmstylee]

Somewhere Kentucky Ballistics is sweating profusely.

[@bamaboni]

This looks like a gun the TF2 Demoman would use

[@Matt-md5yt]

Or Pyro

[@piergiorgiocaroli9201]

These two bad boys have no business being flare guns! Why make a three barrel pistol that doesn't use shotgun shells!?

[@crwydryny]

The fact it has katakana instead of hiragana or kanji plus romantic (english) markings would indicate it was intended for non Japanese use. My bets would be on a post war production. From what I can find China also made a copy of the later double barreled version, from 1949 There were also versions exported to the PAVN (people's army of vietnam) during 1950s so it could be one of these versions

[@arisukak]

They did not make these post war. For whatever reason, the Japanese military used katakana on their weapons. Serial numbers for instance would be something like ホ 12345 or ト12345. Although once they ran out of katakana they did switch to hiragana. The Japanese also tended to extensively used English on things at this time. You can find that on like cigarettes where often the brand name is written in English.

[@PJB1963]

@@arisukak The Japanese did not make these post-war, but as crwdryny stated, the Chinese did make a copy.

[@arisukak]

@@PJB1963 Indeed they did. This is not one of those.

[@jelhaj7769]

I feel like if shells were made for it. It totally could shoot bird shot. safe? no.

[@fatcoyote2]

I always thought that was a jerry-rigged 12 Gge mounted on a pistol.

[@amberspacedf1792]

the rubber gloves look... wet? its probably the lighting, they've just never looked this shiny

[@xwrn]

That can't be a Japanese flare gun, there's no bayonet lug.

[@simbry49]

Where is the bayonet lug, or the anti aircraft sights? It is a Japanese small arm it isn't complete without one.

[@wormyboot]

I find it difficult to believe that after all this time, this is your first time covering something that isn't a weapon. I have no examples but that doesn't sound right to me.

[@jffishing4859]

First

[@TocGan]

Abe Shinzo doesn't aprove this video...

[@bmstylee]

Ow. To soon?

[@robviousobviously5757]

I appreciate the suit you wear... BUT... holding a black firearm up and pointing out details with a black background achieves nothing really... wear lighter colors and brighten up the background... simply solution.. thank you.

[@kevjames4236]

Go touch grass

[@brokenice420]

Alternatively I would suggest You may need to increase your brightness; you should be able to see it fine

[@g.r.bilyeu4226]

Stop crying. Do better. You're welcome.

[@aplusservice]

Yes, Jonathan, we're going to need you to wear your hi-vis in the future. Sincerely, Health and Safety

[@mateimarian1937]

Why is it double barreled tho?

[@PJB1963]

The Type 90s were not survival kit, but used by the IJN for signaling. One use was Challenge-and-Reply, where one color flare would be used to challenge an unidentified ship at night and a second color would be the proper response from a friendly ship. Both colors would need to be immediately available.

[@panamared5975]

Demolition man is so good