| Type 64 Pistol | |
|---|---|
 Type 64 pistol (right) | |
| Type | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | China |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1960-1964 |
| Manufacturer | China North Industries Group |
| Produced | 1980–present |
| Variants | M-64 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 530 g (19 oz) |
| Length | 153 mm (6.0 in) |
| Barrel length | 86.5 mm (3.41 in) |
| Cartridge | 7.62×17mm Type 64 |
| Action | Straight Blowback,open bolt |
| Rate of fire | 30 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 305-315 m/s |
| Effective firing range | 50m |
| Feed system | 7-roundbox magazine |
| Sights | Fixediron sights, rear notch and front blade |
TheType 64 pistol (Chinese:64式手枪;pinyin:64 shì shǒuqiāng;lit. 'Type 64 handgun') is asemi-automaticpistol formerly in service with thePeople's Liberation Army (PLA) but has since been replaced by several other firearms, although it still remains in service with someChinese police forces. The Type 64 pistol was the first firearm to be indigenously developed by thePeople's Republic of China and was first only issued to high-ranking military officers and officials, but has since been distributed throughout the PLA. The Type 64 pistol has subsequently been distributed to variousPeople's Armed Police and civilian police forces.
The Type 64 pistol should not be confused with the unrelated, but similarly named,Type 64 silent pistol (Chinese:64式微声手枪;pinyin:64 shì wēishēng shǒu qiāng;lit. 'Type 64 silent handgun') which can be distinguished from the Type 64 pistol, by its large, integralsuppressor.[1]
Ever since the expulsion of theKuomintang government, concluding theChinese Civil War, the People's Liberation Army relied heavily upon support from theSoviet Union for supplies and weaponry. At the commencement of the post-Civil War period, the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics cooperated heavily towards the industrialisation of China, which had experienced decades of ceaseless warfare.
During this period ofSino-Soviet friendship, Chinese factories, with the assistance of Soviet blue-prints and technical assistance, began mass-producing Soviet-designed weapons such as theType 50 submachine gun,Type 54 pistol,Type 56 carbine and theType 56 assault rifle.
Two such blue-prints given to China from the Soviet Union were theWalther PPK and theMakarov PM , which the Chinese manufactured under the designationsType 52 andType 59, respectively.
Following theSino-Soviet split of the late 1950s to the 1960s, the Soviet Union withdrew its support for the Chinese Communist Party, leaving China to develop its arms industry itself. Beginning in 1960, Chinese engineers began designing a new, indigenous pistol for military officers and police based on the Type 52 and 59 pistols.
By 1964, a final design had been developed, and was subsequently named the “Type 64 pistol” although it would take until 1980, two decades after beginning of its development, to reach production due toMao Zedong'sCultural Revolution which consistently hampered the Type 64s development and production.
After its introduction in 1980, the Type 64 became the first indigenously developed firearm created by the People's Liberation Army.[2]
Taikonauts were issued with the Type 64 for survival fromShenzhou 5 in 1999.[3]
With the introduction of newer, more modern pistols, such as theQSZ-92 in the 1990s, the Type 64 has been slowly been phased out of PLA service and is now only used by civilian police forces, who also intend to phase out the Type 64 within the coming years with theNorinco 9mm revolver introduced in 2006.[4]
The Type 64 pistol is a small, pocket-sized pistol, and was designed specifically for the parallelly developed7.62×17 mm Type 64, a rimless pistol cartridge which is loosely based on the commonly found.32 ACP pistol round. The Type 64 pistol was the first pistol to use the 7.62×17 mm pistol round.[5]
The Type 64 uses the PPKs straight blowback, open bolt, single action while also incorporating the PMs safety system where the operator pushes the safety lever down before firing. After the first round is discharged, the hammer is cocked; firing and cycling recocks the hammer for subsequent firing. The Type 64 is a rather small pistol and concerns around the weapon's ergonomics and accuracy during semi-automatic firing have existed since its inception.
The use of the Type 64 round has also been called into question; some believe the 7.62×17 mm round is too powerful for police work, where the objective is to capture the criminal, while others believe the round is not powerful enough to properly protect police officers.[6]
The M-64 (Model 64) pistol is a variant of the Type 64 pistol. The two are exactly the same, other than the M-64 pistol is built for export markets, while the Type 64 is for internal use.
China
Iraq: Reportedly used Type 64s provided by China.[7] They have Arabic inscriptions on the slide and the Iraqi flag on the grip.[7]