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Title:RIFLE, ASSAULT -  CHINESE ASSAULT RIFLE TYPE 56 7.62MM SN# 11103261
Maker/Manufacturer:KALASHNIKOV, MIKHAIL
Date of Manufacture:1956-1965
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:SPAR 8366
Measurements:OL: 86.9CM 34 1/4 BL: 41.4CM 16 1/3" 9.8 lbs.

Object Description:

CHINESE ASSAULT RIFLE TYPE 56 7.62MM SN# 11103261
Manufactured by State Factory 56 - People's Republic of China Type 56 Assault Rifle. Select-fire. 4-groove rifling, right hand twist. Cylindrical post front, tangent notch rear sight. 4-groove rifling, right-hand twist. Muzzle velocity 2300 fps with M43 ball cartridges. Cyclic rate of fire 775 rpm. Wood buttstock, pistol grip. and weighs 9.8 lbs. with empty magazine. Cleaning rod and bayonet missing. Weapon virtually identical to the Russian AK47.

Markings:
Receiver: 66 in triangle, Chinese characters, 11103261. L. D.
Triggerguard: WAT 1009 (old Watervliet Arsenal Museum number).

Weapon transferred to the Springfield Armory NHS from Watervliet Arsenal, Watervilet, NY on 25 August 1992. Watervliet has the weapon appraised at $1,000 on 2 December 1971.

Notes: Made at State Factory 66 from 1956-1973.

"The Type 56 rifle is simply a Chinese-manufactured copy of the Kalashnikov AK47; the only difference is the presence of a folding bayonet beneath the barrel and, on early models, Chinese markings on the receiver to indicate the positions of the safety/selector lever. Later models are marked 'L' for automatic and 'D' for the single shot position.
The rifle was then given a folding butt which folds under to lie beneath the receiver, as in the AKS. Again, the only visible differences are the bayonet, the markings, and the fact that the arms of the butt have prominent rivets which are not seen on Russian weapons. This version became the Type 56-1.
The Type 56-2 is the Type 56-1 but without the bayonet and with a new side-folding butt." - Hogg & Weeks

References:
Hogg, Ian & John S. Weeks. MILITARY SMALL ARMS OF THE 20TH CENTURY. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 2000.
Schwing, Ned. STANDARD CATALOG OF MILITARY FIREARMS. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 2001.
Walter, John. RIFLES OF THE WORLD. 2nd Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.

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