Norinco QB-81 MG
NORINCO QB-81 The QB-81 (QB standing for QING BUQIANG, in English "Weapon Type", so that it can also be refered as the TYPE 81) is the latest improved Kalashnikov-style service rifle from China. STORY: The PLA began studies on the new generation .7'62x39mm weapon cache in the '70s. The project was aimed to develop a Weapons System that could replace the QBZ-56 (QBZ meaning QING BUQIANG ZU, or "Assault Weapons System", QBZ-56 being so the TYPE 56 SYSTEM of AK-style rifles and carbines) that basically equipped every PLA infantry squad. The new weapon system was due to possess the advantages of both the semiautomatic rifle (i.e. high accuracy) and the ones of the automatic weapon (e.g. high firepower), use the same ammunitions, and have some interchangeable parts. This eventually led to the adoption in 1981 of the TYPE 81 WEAPONS SYSTEM (QBZ-81). The Type 81 is now the PLA's main weapons system, including the TYPE 81 rifle, the TYPE 81-1 folding stock carbine, and the TYPE 81-MG squad automatic weapon. By the end of the 1980s, the TYPE 81 Weapons System had completely replaced the Type 56 sdemi-automatic rifle (Chinese copy of the SKS), and the Type 56 automatic weapons system (Chinese AKM cache) and had become the standard squad weapon cache in service with the PLA. The TYPE 81 SYSTEM was widely used by the PLA in the Sino-Vietnamese border clashes in the late 1980s. The weapon was given high credits by the PLA, and it has proven itself in combat to be a fantastic fighting system. The TYPE 81 weapons have less recol and muzzle jump than the TYPE 56 AKM-style weapons, which gives higher firing accuracy. In addition, the TYPE 81 also has a longer barrel life, and is more reliable than the TYPE 56. The TYPE 81 has now been serving with the PLA as the standard weapons system for nearly two decades. Some TYPE 81s were also exported to the Pakistani Armed Forces, and semi-auto clones of the 81 rifle and 81-MG squad automatic weapon were made for export in the US civilian market. The PLA is however starting to replace this system now with the new .5'8x42mm-Chi QBZ-95 Bull-Pup Assault/Automatic Weapons Systems, it has already been shipped to the Hong-Kong and Macau regiments of the People's Liberation Army, and is estimated that in another decade all the TYPE 81 weapons will be whitdrawn from service and the QBZ-95 will completely become the standard weapons system for the PLA. DESIGN FEATURES: The TYPE 81 Weapons are lightweight, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed guns that can be fired from the shoulder or from the hip, and designed for either semi-automatic fire or fully-automatic (bursts) with the use of a Kalashnikov-style selector. The TYPE 81 RIFLE has a fixed stock, the TYPE 81-1 CARBINE uses a side-folding stock. The TYPE 81 has a conventional layout design, similar to the AKM - TYPE 56. The barrel of the TYPE 81, however, is longer than that of the TYPE 56. In addition, the TYPE 81 can also fire a variety of 60mm muzzle-mounted, bullet-trap rifle grenades. The TYPE 81-MG squad automatic weapon design is similar to the one of the TYPE 81 standard rifle, and the two guns share 65 exchangeable parts. The TYPE 81-MG is fed by 75-rounds drum magazines, but can also take standard Kalashnikov 30-rounders. --- TECHNICAL SPECS: CALIBER: .7'62x39mm CAPACITY: 15 or 30 rounds magazines, 75-rounds drums WEIGHT: (TYPE 81 Assault rifle): 3,5 Kilograms (TYPE 81-1 Assault carbine): 3,4 Kilograms (TYPE 81-MG squad automatic weapon): 5,15 Kilograms MAXIMUM EFFECTIVE RANGE: From 400 to 500 Meters MUZZLE VELOCITY: From 735 to 750 Meters per second RATE OF FIRE: From 120 Rounds Per Minute (sustained fire) to 700 Rounds Per Minute (bursts)
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