The Chinese Type 56 Assault Rifle, The AKM assault rifle is the most mass produced and common firear

The Chinese Type 56 Assault Rifle, The AKM assault rifle is the most mass produced and common firearm in the world, with tens of millions made around the world. Almost all communist countries during the Cold War made their own, as well as a number of Middle Eastern nations as well. For those who don’t know, the AKM is a variant of the AK-47. Introduced by Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947, the AK-47 featured a milled receiver, basically a block of metal was machined into a receiver.  This process was time consuming and expensive, so in the late 1950’s the Soviets developed a variant using a stamped sheet metal receiver, making the new AKM more economical and appropriate for mass production.In 1956 the Chinese government adopted the Kalashnikov design as the Type 56 assault rifle with the help of Soviet technicians and machinery.  At first the Type 56 used milled receivers like the AK-47, but most were manufactured with sheet metal receivers like the AKM.  In addition early production rifles were exact copies of Soviet AKM rifles, however later production rifles had several modifications including different sights, different stock cut, different bayonet design, and various other minor modifications.  Production of the Type 56 was done at State Factory 66.  In 1966 production was transferred to the Chinese company Norinco, most being produced for export.The Type 56 first hit the world scene during the Vietnam War, where tens, if not hundreds of thousands were exported from China to arm the North Vietnamese Army, Vietcong, Khmer Rouge, and other Southeast Asian communist groups.  Tens of thousands more were purchased by North Korea until they began producing their own domestic copy. In the 1970’s and 80’s many Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan also purchased hundreds of thousands more.  Millions were sold around the world to arm communist groups in Latin America and Africa as well.  Altogether an estimated 15-20 million have been produced, making it the single most common Kalashnikov variant.  If you watch the news and see a terrorist, rebel, soldier, or freedom fighter holding a Kalashnikov, odds are that it was not made in Russia or Eastern Europe, but in China. As a result of its prevalence, the Type 56 has been used in every battlefield and every conflict around the word since the late 1960’s.In the late 1980’s, the Chinese Liberation Army began to phase out the Type 56 in favor of newer designs such as the Type 81, Type 95, and Type 03.  The Type 56 still makes up the backbone of China’s massive reserve forces, and is commonly used by Chinese police.  Thousands more are still being produced by Norinco to be exported across the globe. -- source link

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