Country of origin |
China |
Entered service |
1983 |
Caliber |
7.62 x 39 mm |
Weight (unloaded) |
3.4 kg |
Length |
955 mm |
Length (with folded stock) |
- |
Barrel length |
445
mm |
Muzzle velocity |
~ 720
m/s |
Cyclic rate of fire |
650 rpm |
Practical rate of fire |
40 - 100 rpm |
Magazine capacity |
30 rounds |
Sighting range |
500 m |
Range of effective fire |
400 m |
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The Chinese
army had never been fully satisfied with accuracy of its
Type 56
(license-produced version of the Soviet
AK-47). In the early 1960s the Soviets refused to give
licenses to produce the improved
AKM
assault rifle and
RPK light machine
gun. This led Chinese to design a new indigenous assault rifle. A prototype was
ready in 1980. Its initial production commenced in 1983. This
assault rifle was adopted with the Chinese army in 1986. It replaced
the obsolete Type 56 assault rifle and Type 63 carbine (indigenous
version of the Soviet
SKS). For the past 20 years it
was the
standard-issue infantry weapon in service with the People Liberation Army. Export
operators are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and some other Asian and African
countries. Bangladesh obtained a license to produce these weapons
locally. Recently the Chinese Type 81 assault rifles were replaced
with the QBZ-95. A large number of
ex-military rifles was transferred to law enforcement forces.
The Type 81 is a gas
operated, selective fire weapon, chambered for a Soviet 7.62x39
mm ammunition. This assault rifle incorporates many design
features of the AK-47, but overall it is a new design, rather than a
clone. Tests showed that the Type 81 is much more accurate than the
AK-47 and much more controllable in full automatic mode. Some
sources report that in terms of accuracy it is close to a US
M16
automatic rifle. Furthermore it has
the same level of durability and reliability in adverse conditions
as the Kalashnikov designs.
A combined safety
and
fire mode selector switch is located on the left side of the receiver. It
is much less clunky and faster to use than that of the AK-47. It has
settings for "safe", "semi-auto", and "full-auto".
This weapon
is fed from 30-round box magazines. The magazines are
made of metal and are externally similar to those of the AK-47, however these magazines are
not interchangeable. The Type 81 assault rifle is also
compatible with 75-round drum magazines and 20-rounds special purpose
magazines.
Initial
production version had a fixed wooden stock. Only 40 000 of these
assault rifles were made before production switched to a
Type 81-1 with a side-folding metal stock.
The Type 81
comes with simple adjustable iron sights. It has a sighting range of 500 m.
There is no provision to mount any kind of optics. This assault
rifle can launch rifle grenades. It is also compatible with a
QLG-91A 35 mm underbarrel grenade launcher, which is based on the US
M203,
but uses less powerful grenades. A bayonet can be attached.
Variants
Type 81-1
assault rifle, fitted with a side-folding metal stock. It replaced
in production the original Type 81, as this model was cheaper to
produce.
Type 81 light
machine gun, fitted with a heavy barrel, wooden stock, bipod and
carrying handle. This weapon is typically used with
75-round drum magazines, though it was also compatible with standard
30-round assault rifle magazines. It has a sighting range of 800 m. This
light machine gun replaced in service the previous Type 56 (Chinese version of
the RPD).
Type 87
(QBZ-87) experimental assault rifle, chambered for a new Chinese
DBP-87 5.8x42 mm ammunition. In the late 1970s and early 1980s both the
Soviet Union and Western countries already had their standard-issue
infantry rifles chambered for a new-generation intermediate 5.45x39 mm (Soviet)
and 5.56x45 mm (Western) ammunition, that had improved ballistics
over the 7.62x39 mm round. Chinese military also decided to go with
the trend and develop a new type of intermediate ammunition with
improved ballistics alongside with a new assault rifle. The Type 87
assault rifle was not adopted to service. Though it
was used to test ammunition for the next generation
QBZ-95
assault rifle, which was eventually adopted in the late 1990s.
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