Type 56 LMG
«Copia cinese dell'RPD»
Light machine gunChina1956Historic
Squad light machine gun chambered in 7.62×39 mm, Chinese copy of the Soviet RPD, fed from a drum-housed belt and issued to the PLA from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Light machine gun//China
ID — TYPE-56-LMG
Designation
Type 56 LMG
Norinco
Caliber
7.62×39 mm
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Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- Type 56 LMG
- Alias
- Copia cinese dell'RPD
- Manufacturer
- Norinco
- Country
- China
- Year
- 1956
- Category
- Light machine gun
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- 7.62×39 mm
- Muzzle velocity
- 735 m/s
- Rate of fire
- ~650 rpm
- Effective range
- 800 m
- Maximum range
- 1000 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 520 mm
- Overall length
- 1037 mm
- Empty weight
- 7.4 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Gas-operated, long-stroke piston
- Bolt / action
- Otturatore a chiavette laterali
Feed
- System
- Nastro 100 colpi in tamburo
- Standard capacity
- 100 rounds
Fire modes
SafeAuto
Historical profile
Produced from 1956 by State Factory 626 under Soviet license, it formed together with the Type 56 rifle the firepower base of the Chinese infantry squad.
Used massively in the Vietnam War by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, as well as in numerous African and Asian wars of national liberation.
Gradually replaced by the Type 81 LMG from the 1980s onwards, but still seen with militias and irregular forces in Asia and Africa.
Variants
Type 56Type 56-1
Main users
China · Vietnam · Cambogia · Albania · vari movimenti di liberazione
Key components
- ●Stock — Shoulder rest.
- ●Receiver — Weapon body with internal mechanisms.
- ●Grip — Primary grip.
- ●Magazine — Cartridge feed.
- ●Barrel — Guides the projectile.
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