Type 56 (assault rifle)
| Type 56 | |
|---|---|
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| general information | |
| Military designation: | Type 56 |
| Country of operation: | Afghanistan , Albania , Bangladesh , Benin , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Cambodia , Kosovo , Iraq , Laos , Malta , North Korea , Pakistan , People's Republic of China , Sri Lanka , Sudan , Vietnam |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) |
| Development year: | 1947 |
| Manufacturer country: | China |
| Production time: | 1956 until today |
| Model variants: | Type 56, Type 56-1, Type 56-2, QBZ-56C, Type 56S, Type 84S |
| Weapon Category: | Assault rifle |
| Furnishing | |
| Weight: (unloaded) | Type 56: 4.03 kg, Type 56-1: 3.70 kg, Type 56-2: 3.9 kg, QBZ-56C: 2.85 kg |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 7.62 × 39 mm |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 30 cartridges |
| Ammunition supply : | Curve magazine |
| Cadence : | 600-650 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Single , continuous fire |
| Visor : | Open sights |
| Closure : | Turret lock |
| Charging principle: | Gas pressure charger |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the AK-47 and has been in production since 1956.
Originally, the assault rifle was a direct copy of the AK-47 with a system box milled from entire steel blocks , but some features of the AKM were introduced into ongoing production without changing the name of the weapon; From the mid-1960s, the system box was manufactured using the sheet metal stamping process. As a rule, the type 56 rifles can be visually differentiated from the AK-47 or AKM by the front sight guard jaws, which are closed at the top , and many of the weapons have a permanently attached, fold-out spear -shaped bayonet . Another note is the bolt carrier, which is left blank on Type 56, but has been black phosphated on the AK-47 and AKM.
Exact production figures are not known; it is believed that 10 to 15 million Type 56s have been produced since the 1950s , which would make up almost a fifth of the global inventory of AK-series weapons.
history
During the Cold War , the Type 56 rifle was delivered to many states and various guerrilla troops around the world. Many of these weapons found their way to theaters of war in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and were used alongside other Kalashnikov variants.
Chinese support for North Vietnam in the first half of the 1960s meant that the Type-56 was very widespread during the Vietnam War . The Type-56 was in service far more frequently than the original Soviet AK-47 or AKM .
When relations between China and North Vietnam deteriorated rapidly in the 1970s and the Sino-Vietnamese war began, the Vietnamese government still had large quantities of Type 56 rifles. At this time, the People's Liberation Army also used the Type 56 as an orderly weapon . Chinese and Vietnamese troops fought each other with the same rifle.
The weapon was used extensively by the Iranian armed forces during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and reserves were topped up through extensive purchases. Iraq also procured a small amount during this war, although it was the main recipient of Soviet arms support during this conflict. This subsequently became another conflict in which both sides used the Type 56.
After the end of the Cold War, the Type 56 continued to be used in many conflicts by various armed forces. During the Croatian War and the Yugoslav Wars , it was used by the Croatian Armed Forces. In the late 1990s, the so-called "Liberation Army of Kosovo" was a major user of the Type 56, with the vast majority of weapons coming from Albania , which received Chinese support during much of the Cold War.
In the mid-1980s, Sri Lanka began replacing its British L1A1 self-loading rifle and German HK G3 with Type 56-2 rifles. The side-folding stock variant (type 56-2) is currently being issued as an orderly weapon.
In the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Type 56 was gradually replaced by the Type 81 , Type 95 and Type 03 ("QBZ-03"), but the weapon remains in use with reserve and militia units. Type 56S weapons (with the reduced caliber 5.56 × 45 ) continue to be produced by Norinco for export.
During the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in the 1980s, many Chinese Type 56 rifles were supplied to Afghan mujahideen guerrillas. The rifles were supplied by China, Pakistan and the United States, which they obtained from arms dealers in third countries. There is photographic evidence from Soviet sources showing captured Chinese Type-56 rifles being used by Soviet Army soldiers in Afghanistan in place of their Soviet AKM and AK-74 rifles.
When the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996 , the majority of them were armed with Chinese small arms procured from Pakistan. The use of the Type 56 in Afghanistan continued well into the early 21st century as the Taliban's standard rifle. After the Taliban was overthrown by US-led coalition forces at the end of 2001, the Type 56 assault rifle was used by the Afghan National Army and is used there alongside many other AK-47 and AKM variants.
The Type 56 is regularly used by fighters of the Qassam Brigades , the armed wing of Hamas , in the Palestinian territories.
The use of the Type-56 by the Janjawid in the Darfur region of Sudan is evidenced by numerous pictures and news reports showing members of the militia armed with these rifles (most of them by the Sudanese government).
During the ongoing civil war in Syria , Type 56 assault rifles are used by the armed forces of the Free Syrian Army .
Non-military use
In the United Kingdom and the United States, the Type 56 and its variants are widely used in motion picture and television films because of their similarity to the AK-47. Rifles of the "civil version" Type-56S are often optically modified to resemble other (military) AK variants. In addition, in most parts of the United States, there are also Type 56 personal-ownership versions available that have the ability to burst fire (fully automatic mode) disabled (known as "sport rifles").
In 1987, a Type 56 rifle and two other firearms were used in the Hungerford rampage, UK, in which 32 people were shot, 17 of whom were injured. This attack led to the passage of the Firearms (Amendment) Act of 1988, which prohibits possession of semi-automatic rifles and restricts the use of shotguns.
In the United States, a Type 56 rifle acquired under a false name in Oregon was used in the so-called "Stockton School Shooting" in 1989, in which the perpetrator fired over 100 rounds to shoot a teacher and 34 children, five of which were killed . This rampage led to the passage of California's Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989. A Type 56, along with a Type 56S-1, were used during the 1997 North Hollywood shootout .
Versions
- Type 56 - basic version with fixed wooden stock , caliber 7.62 × 39 mm.
- Type 56-1 - version with metal shoulder rest that can be folded down.
- Type 56-2 - improved version; produced only for export since the 1980s, with shoulder rest that can be folded down to the side.
- Type 56C - shortened version of the Type 56-2 for special forces also within China.
- Type 56S - civil version, only single fire ; Export version in caliber 5.56 × 45 mm NATO .
Type 56 (basic version)
Type 56-1
Type 56-2
Modified version of the Type 56S
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Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Maxim Popenker: Type 56. In: Modern Firearms. modernfirearms.net, accessed September 5, 2019 .
- ^ A b Gordon Rottman: The AK-47: Kalashnikov-series assault rifles . Ed .: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-835-0 , pp. 47-49 .
- ↑ Martin J Brayley: Kalashnikov AK47 Series: The 7.62 x 39mm Assault Rifle in detail . Ed .: Crowood. ISBN 978-1-84797-526-3 , pp. 160 .
- ↑ Bobi Pirseyedi: The Small Arms Problem in Central Asia: Features and Implications . Ed .: United Nations Publications UNIDIR. ISBN 978-92-9045-134-1 , pp. 16 .
- ^ Wayne King: Firearms, the Law, and Forensic Ballistic . Ed .: CRC Press. 2nd edition, ISBN 978-0-203-56822-4 , pp. 26 to 27 .
- ↑ Wayne King: Weapon Used by Deranged Man Is Easy to Buy. The New York Times, January 19, 1989, accessed January 9, 2020 .
- ^ Carl Ingram: Governor Signs Assault Weapon Legislation. Retrieved January 9, 2020 .
- ↑ Doug Smith: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-10-mn-36719-story.html. Los Angeles Times, March 10, 1997, accessed September 1, 2020 .