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Type 63 assault rifle
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Type 63 assault rifle
The Type 63 (Chinese: 63式7.62mm自动步枪) is a Chinese 7.62×39mm assault rifle. The weapon's overall design was based on the SKS (known in Chinese service as the Type 56 carbine), but with select fire capability and a rotating bolt system adapted from the Type 56 assault rifle, a derivative of the AK-47. It was originally introduced to replace the SKS as the standard service rifle of the People's Liberation Army, but was prematurely withdrawn from PLA service due to numerous production difficulties. The Type 63 was originally manufactured with a milled steel receiver, although later production models had pressed and riveted steel receivers.
The Type 63 is occasionally misidentified in Western literature as the Type 68.
From 1956 until the late 1980s, the standard service rifle of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was the Type 56 carbine, a licensed derivative of the Soviet SKS. The SKS was well-regarded by the PLA, but it lacked select-fire capability and was limited to a ten-round fixed magazine fed from stripper clips. To overcome these shortcomings, Chinese military officials specified a new service rifle based on the overall SKS design but capable of fully automatic fire and modified to accept large capacity, detachable magazines. The new weapon had to incorporate a wooden stock and folding bayonet similar to those of the SKS for close quarters fighting. It also needed to be manufactured with the same tooling equipment as the SKS and AK-47 for logistical reasons, as the Chinese government wished to adapt its pre-existing production lines for the new rifle.
Work on the new weapon commenced in 1959, led by a diverse three-tiered development team consisting of technicians from arms factories, engineering faculty and students from universities, and military staff. At first, the team used the plans and technical data from the SKS as the basis for their rifle. However, they later drew more heavily on the internal structure of the AK-47, not only because of its proven select-fire capabilities but also the comparative ease of mass producing parts for that weapon. Uniquely, the design team was also entrusted with overseeing pre-production trials and the initial manufacturing process. The first prototypes became available in 1963, and it received the designation Type 63. The Type 63 was subsequently inspected and approved for service by Mao Zedong in his capacity as chair of the Chinese Central Military Commission.
Serial production of the Type 63 commenced in 1969 and from the beginning was plagued with difficulties. The Chinese government failed to appoint quality control inspectors to oversee the initial phase of manufacturing, and as a result many of the quality control regulations released by the design team were ignored by the factory managers. Although PLA personnel were supposed to aid in the testing of sample rifles, they failed to do so. Due to the lack of oversight, a large number of technically unauthorized changes were made to the Type 63 to simplify or streamline manufacturing, and the original specifications disregarded.
Almost 700 changes were unilaterally made to the Type 63 design without adequate testing or approval from the development team and the PLA. The first catastrophic design change came when factory staff decided to manufacture the Type 63 with a pressed and pinned barrel, as opposed to threading the barrels into the receiver as called for in the technical data. This method was much more cost effective and efficient, but several miscalculations were made which caused the barrels to deform prematurely under stress, and they often failed to fit the receivers properly. Additionally, the pins used to hold the pressed barrels and the receivers in place were of poor quality and suffered a high failure rate. The factory staff also began experimenting with stamped and riveted receivers for the Type 63, as opposed to the original milled receiver design which was much more labor-intensive to produce. The design of the stamped receiver specified an excessive number of rivets, which coupled with the nonexistent quality control, often resulted in inconsistent riveting that compromised the receiver. The decision was also made to simply paint the receivers and barrels rather than producing them with a blued finish; the paint flaked off almost immediately under field conditions and failed to protect the rifle's exposed metal surfaces from rust or corrosion.
In 1974, responding to multiple complaints from the PLA, the Chinese government carried out a program to improve quality control and improve the manufacture of the stamped receivers and pinned barrels. However, the accuracy of the Type 63 had been permanently affected by the changes to the receiver and barrel design, and it remained much less accurate than the SKS it was supposed to replace. The receivers also continued to suffer fractures and cracks under routine field conditions.
In 1978, the PLA ordered the Type 63 withdrawn from general service, and production was formally discontinued. The Type 63 production line was reassigned and re-tooled for the production of the SKS/Type 56 carbine, and the PLA units which had previously been issued the Type 63 were re-issued with the older weapon.
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Type 63 assault rifle
The Type 63 (Chinese: 63式7.62mm自动步枪) is a Chinese 7.62×39mm assault rifle. The weapon's overall design was based on the SKS (known in Chinese service as the Type 56 carbine), but with select fire capability and a rotating bolt system adapted from the Type 56 assault rifle, a derivative of the AK-47. It was originally introduced to replace the SKS as the standard service rifle of the People's Liberation Army, but was prematurely withdrawn from PLA service due to numerous production difficulties. The Type 63 was originally manufactured with a milled steel receiver, although later production models had pressed and riveted steel receivers.
The Type 63 is occasionally misidentified in Western literature as the Type 68.
From 1956 until the late 1980s, the standard service rifle of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was the Type 56 carbine, a licensed derivative of the Soviet SKS. The SKS was well-regarded by the PLA, but it lacked select-fire capability and was limited to a ten-round fixed magazine fed from stripper clips. To overcome these shortcomings, Chinese military officials specified a new service rifle based on the overall SKS design but capable of fully automatic fire and modified to accept large capacity, detachable magazines. The new weapon had to incorporate a wooden stock and folding bayonet similar to those of the SKS for close quarters fighting. It also needed to be manufactured with the same tooling equipment as the SKS and AK-47 for logistical reasons, as the Chinese government wished to adapt its pre-existing production lines for the new rifle.
Work on the new weapon commenced in 1959, led by a diverse three-tiered development team consisting of technicians from arms factories, engineering faculty and students from universities, and military staff. At first, the team used the plans and technical data from the SKS as the basis for their rifle. However, they later drew more heavily on the internal structure of the AK-47, not only because of its proven select-fire capabilities but also the comparative ease of mass producing parts for that weapon. Uniquely, the design team was also entrusted with overseeing pre-production trials and the initial manufacturing process. The first prototypes became available in 1963, and it received the designation Type 63. The Type 63 was subsequently inspected and approved for service by Mao Zedong in his capacity as chair of the Chinese Central Military Commission.
Serial production of the Type 63 commenced in 1969 and from the beginning was plagued with difficulties. The Chinese government failed to appoint quality control inspectors to oversee the initial phase of manufacturing, and as a result many of the quality control regulations released by the design team were ignored by the factory managers. Although PLA personnel were supposed to aid in the testing of sample rifles, they failed to do so. Due to the lack of oversight, a large number of technically unauthorized changes were made to the Type 63 to simplify or streamline manufacturing, and the original specifications disregarded.
Almost 700 changes were unilaterally made to the Type 63 design without adequate testing or approval from the development team and the PLA. The first catastrophic design change came when factory staff decided to manufacture the Type 63 with a pressed and pinned barrel, as opposed to threading the barrels into the receiver as called for in the technical data. This method was much more cost effective and efficient, but several miscalculations were made which caused the barrels to deform prematurely under stress, and they often failed to fit the receivers properly. Additionally, the pins used to hold the pressed barrels and the receivers in place were of poor quality and suffered a high failure rate. The factory staff also began experimenting with stamped and riveted receivers for the Type 63, as opposed to the original milled receiver design which was much more labor-intensive to produce. The design of the stamped receiver specified an excessive number of rivets, which coupled with the nonexistent quality control, often resulted in inconsistent riveting that compromised the receiver. The decision was also made to simply paint the receivers and barrels rather than producing them with a blued finish; the paint flaked off almost immediately under field conditions and failed to protect the rifle's exposed metal surfaces from rust or corrosion.
In 1974, responding to multiple complaints from the PLA, the Chinese government carried out a program to improve quality control and improve the manufacture of the stamped receivers and pinned barrels. However, the accuracy of the Type 63 had been permanently affected by the changes to the receiver and barrel design, and it remained much less accurate than the SKS it was supposed to replace. The receivers also continued to suffer fractures and cracks under routine field conditions.
In 1978, the PLA ordered the Type 63 withdrawn from general service, and production was formally discontinued. The Type 63 production line was reassigned and re-tooled for the production of the SKS/Type 56 carbine, and the PLA units which had previously been issued the Type 63 were re-issued with the older weapon.