W85 heavy machine gun

The W85 heavy machine gun or QJC-88 vehicle mounted heavy machine gun is a gas-operated heavy machine gun designed in the People's Republic of China. It fires the Soviet-designed 12.7×108mm round. The W85 was never accepted into the PLA service in its original configuration, only adopted as a vehicle mounted machine gun as the QJC-88.

The W85 was designed to be as light as possible for infantry use. Its small receiver is of generally rectangular cross-section, and it has a thick gas tube below the barrel containing a conventional gas piston. In addition to iron sights, it has rails for optics or anti-aircraft sights. It fires 12.7×108mm rounds from belts and is more accurate than the Type 54 heavy machine gun, but the thinner barrel overheats faster.

In trials, the W85 lost out to the Type 85 as an infantry weapon and was not accepted into PLA service for this role.

The QJC-88 was introduced as a pintle mounted machine gun for tanks and armored vehicles. It weighs the same as the W85, is solenoid fired, and is mounted on a special cradle allowing for elevation angles of -5 to +65°.

Mounted platforms:

During the Syrian civil war, some Syrian Democratic Forces technicals locally known as duşkas were equipped with W85 heavy machine guns.