In 1997, the Type 95 automatic rifle made its public debut as a self-made weapon of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) stationed in Hong Kong.
Now all units of the People's Liberation Army have generally replaced this gun, even the pilots are no exception, judging from the previous public reports of the People's Liberation Army, ours has been replaced with 95 short bursts.
The fighters took part in the training with 95 spurts
Why do pilots need guns
Many friends may not understand why pilots are equipped with guns when they mainly fly planes to fight, and guns can't play a role in air combat?
In fact, the pilot's gun was not used on the battlefield, but more as a weapon of self-defense.
[95 short protrusions in the pilot's hand]
After all, when pilots parachute to survive, it is difficult to ensure their own safety.
Then the question arises, isn't the international convention that you can't shoot pilots at will? Shouldn't pilots be safer?
But the fact is the opposite, the battlefield is always changing rapidly, once a large-scale war occurs, it is difficult to distinguish the pilot from other branches of the army in the chaotic battlefield, even if the pilot is killed, it is difficult to trace the murderer.
What's more, everyone also has a time when they kill red eyes, and a moment of anger swells up in their hearts, not to mention the pilot, even the safety of the enemy's senior officers cannot be guaranteed.
In addition, the threat faced by the pilot is not necessarily the enemy soldier, if the parachute landing, to a primeval forest, before the rescue team arrives, all kinds of birds of prey and beasts will be the biggest threat to the pilot.
The same is true for astronauts, who are usually armed with a small pistol to defend themselves before a space mission.
For example, when the Soviet Union carried out a manned space return mission in the last century, the landing system failed, causing the return capsule to deviate from orbit and fall into a primeval forest. Fortunately, both pilots were equipped with pistols before departure, so as not to be eaten by the bears in the forest.
Therefore, whether it is a pilot or an astronaut, it is very necessary to have a gun.
However, pilots face more real threats, so pilots in many countries carry rifles instead of pistols.
Take, for example, the Type 11 self-defense pistol that our pilots were equipped with.
The performance of this pistol is very good, the 5.8 mm bullet used is strong, and the armor-piercing ability is strong, but the biggest problem is that the pistol only has 7 rounds of ammunition in reserve, and the firepower is seriously insufficient, so the rifle has become a substitute choice.
[Type 11 self-defense pistol is not very good]
So is it possible to pick a random batch of rifles from the army and let the pilot carry them with him?
Theoretically, yes, but the shape design of the rifle used by the Army and the flight cockpit may not fit very well.
For example, the famous AK47 rifle has a length of 870 mm, which is a decent length among all types of rifles.
If the AK47 is placed in the cockpit of the Su-27 fighter, it will be a little crowded, considering that the pilot parachuted to survive, the situation is urgent, and the gun often needs to be carried with him, and it is obviously not good to put it in the cockpit.
Carrying an AK47 with them could affect the pilot's operation, so the pilot urgently needed a miniaturized rifle.
PLA pilots are equipped with 95 short protrusions
Soviet pilots from the beginning were very fond of the AKS-74U short assault rifle, which had its characteristics.
【短小精悍的AKS-74U短突击步枪】
The mainland is not without such small guns, such as the QCQ-171 submachine gun, but the PLA Air Force generally does not use them.
There is a theory that the QCQ-171 submachine gun uses 9 mm bullets, and because the caliber of the bullet is too large, the armor-piercing ability is seriously insufficient, and it is difficult to cause effective damage when facing the pair of body armor.
Even if the QCQ-171 submachine gun is used to fight some large carnivores with rough skin and thick flesh, it can not play a big role.
In comparison, the reliability of the 95 short protrusion is much higher, and it uses a 5.8mm bullet, which belongs to the special model of the mainland.
5.8 mm bullets peculiar to our army
This bullet has a very obvious lethal effect on the enemy in a short time.
Of course, it does not mean that the 95 short protrusion is without flaws, because its muzzle is too short, resulting in a short range of bullets, which is not suitable for long-range combat.
However, this does not matter to the pilot, after all, the 95 short bulge is only used for self-defense, and if the distance from the enemy is far enough, the pilot does not think about how to kill the opponent, but about withdrawing from the battlefield.
Type 95 automatic rifle - the pride of domestic firearms
In addition, the 95 short protrusion has no other major defects, and one of the important reasons why it can have such excellent performance is the excellent foundation of the Type 95 automatic rifle.
This rifle is the first generation of small-caliber rifle developed by the mainland in the 90s of the last century, it does not have a butt structure, but adopts a swing lock, so that the structure is more suitable for the body structure of Chinese soldiers, and we are more comfortable to use than using European and American firearms.
The Type 95 automatic rifle can be switched between single and burst shots, using a 30-round magazine and a 75-round drum.
Compared with the guns previously used by the PLA, the Type 95 automatic rifle has also greatly promoted the transformation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army into a modern force.
And the Type 95 automatic rifle is also constantly improving, derived from the Type 95B automatic rifle and other models, its series of models also include sniper rifles, light machine guns and so on.
[Type 95 rifle used in Sino-Russian anti-terrorism drills]
Overall, this rifle has:
There are two sides to everything, and this can happen after a large number of successive shots due to the incomplete combustion of the double-base flat ball used in the 5.8mm bullet.
Moreover, the Type 95 automatic rifle focused on the ballistic performance of the bullet, and the problems of noise and muzzle flame could not be effectively dealt with.
In short, there are quite a few small problems of all kinds, but this does not affect its pride as a domestic rifle in China.
Today, the Type 95 automatic rifle has been widely sold to various countries and has been recognized by the international market, and it is believed that with the continuous improvement of China, these small problems can be solved.
Resources:
[1] Southern Weekly: "Academician Duo Yingxian, Chief Designer of Type 95 Automatic Rifle, Talks about the Development of Light Weapons in China"