Type 56-1

The Chinese Norinco Type 56 is a variant of the Russian designed and produced AK-47 and AKM assault rifles.Production started in 1956 at State Factory 66, and since then it has been produced by Norinco, who continue to produce the rifle primarily for export.The Type 56 is a widely proliferated variant of the AK-47. While the exact production figures are unknown, it is commonly estimated that 10 to 15 million Type 56 rifles have been produced since the 1950s.During the Cold War period, the Type 56 was exported to many countries and guerrilla forces throughout the world. Many of these rifles found their way to battlefields in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East and were used alongside other Kalashnikov pattern weapons from both the Soviet Union as well the Warsaw Pact nations of Eastern Europe.The Type 56-1 is a copy of the AKS, with an under-folding steel shoulder stock and the bayonet removed to make the weapon easier to carry. As with the original Type 56, milled receivers were replaced by stamped receivers in the mid-1960s, making the Type 56-1 an equivalent to the Russian AKMS.