Type 63 Rifle

Go Back to Carbine

Go Back To Weapons Home

	Weapon: Type 63 Rifle Type: Carbine Country of Origin: China Year Adopted: 1963 Caliber: 7.62x39mm Action: Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Overall Length (mm): 1030.0 Weight (kg): 3.00 Effective Range (m): 400

The Type 63 Rifle, developed by the People's Republic of China in the late 1950s, was an intermediate-caliber, semi-automatic rifle heavily influenced by the Soviet SKS. Chambered for the 7.62x39mm cartridge, the Type 63 combined features of both the SKS and the AK-47, aiming to create a reliable and rugged service rifle. It was designed with a fixed wooden stock, a stamped steel receiver, and a 10-round internal magazine, loaded via stripper clips. Its simplicity, durability, and ease of maintenance made it suitable for mass production and use by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Approximately 6 million Type 63 rifles were manufactured from its introduction in 1963 until production ended in the early 1980s. Despite its widespread issue to PLA troops, the rifle had a relatively short service life as a frontline weapon, as it was soon replaced by the Type 81, which offered fully automatic capabilities and greater compatibility with modern combat tactics. However, the Type 63 remained in service with reserve forces and was exported to several countries aligned with China, including nations in Africa and Southeast Asia.

The Type 63 Rifle is notable for being China's first domestically produced semi-automatic infantry rifle. While it never achieved the legendary status of the AK-47, it served as an important transitional weapon during a period of modernization in Chinese small arms development. Today, the Type 63 is remembered as a symbol of China's efforts to establish an independent arms industry and as a durable, if unremarkable, service rifle that equipped the PLA during a critical period of its history.