Type 56
Chinese copy of the Soviet AK-47 produced from 1956 in over 10–15 million units: exported throughout the communist bloc and across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Type 56
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- Type 56
- Alias
- Norinco Type 56 (AK)
- Manufacturer
- Norinco / Stato Factory 66
- Country
- China
- Year
- 1956
- Category
- Assault rifle
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- 7.62×39 mm
- Muzzle velocity
- 710 m/s
- Rate of fire
- ~600 rpm
- Effective range
- 350 m
- Maximum range
- 800 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 415 mm
- Overall length
- 874 mm
- Empty weight
- 3.8 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Gas-operated, long-stroke piston
- Bolt / action
- Rotating bolt
Feed
- System
- Curved double-stack magazine
- Standard capacity
- 30 rounds
Fire modes
Historical profile
Development
Within the Sino-Soviet alliance of the 1950s, the Soviet Union transferred to the People's Republic of China the technical documentation and tooling for AK-47 production. Manufacture began in 1956 at State Factory No. 66 in Beifang, hence the "Type 56" designation.
Early production reproduced the milled-receiver AK-47 (Type 3); from the mid-1960s manufacture shifted to a stamped sheet-metal receiver equivalent to the Soviet AKM, while retaining the Type 56 designation.
Design
Chambered in 7.62×39 mm, it operates on long-stroke gas piston with a two-lug rotating bolt, like the Soviet original. The main visual differences are the fully hooded tower-style front sight and the permanently attached folding cruciform spike bayonet under the barrel.
Later versions include the Type 56-1 with an under-folding metal stock (in MP 40 style) and the Type 56-2 with a side-folding tubular metal stock that folds to the right.
Operational service
Adopted by the People's Liberation Army as the standard infantry weapon, it equipped Chinese armed forces until the introduction of the QBZ-95 in the 1990s and beyond in second-line units.
Exported via Norinco to dozens of countries including North Vietnam, Cambodia, Albania, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran, various African nations and guerrilla movements worldwide. It appeared massively in Vietnam, where the Viet Cong received it in large quantities.
Legacy
Total production estimates exceed 10–15 million units, making the Type 56 one of the most produced weapons in history after the Soviet AK-47/AKM itself.
In the United States and Canada, civilian semi-automatic versions were imported massively in the 1980s and 1990s by Norinco and Polytech, before specific customs restrictions and federal bans. The Type 56 remains in limited production for export.
Variants
Main users
China · Vietnam del Nord · Albania · Pakistan · Iran · oltre 50 paesi
Key components
- ●Stock — Shoulder rest.
- ●Receiver — Weapon body with internal mechanisms.
- ●Grip — Primary grip.
- ●Magazine — Cartridge feed.
- ●Barrel — Guides the projectile.
