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The Chinese Norinco Type 56 is a variant of the Russian designed and produced AK-47 and AKM assault rifles.〔Miller, David (2001). ''The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns''. Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 1-84065-245-4.〕 Production started in 1956 at State Factory 66, and continued until 1973. Since then it has been produced by Norinco, who continue to produce the rifle primarily for export. ==Service history== The Type 56 is a widely proliferated variant of the AK-47. While the exact production figures are unknown, it is 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 guerilla 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 rifles from both the Soviet Union as well the Warsaw Pact nations of Eastern Europe. Chinese support for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam before the mid-1960s meant that the Type 56 was frequently encountered by American soldiers in the hands of either Vietcong guerrillas or PAVN soldiers during the Vietnam war. The Type 56 was discovered in enemy hands far more often than regular Russian-made AK-47s or AKMs.〔 When relations between China and the North Vietnam crumbled in the 1970s and the Sino-Vietnamese War began, the Vietnamese government still had large numbers of Type 56 rifles in its arsenals, while the People's Liberation Army still used the Type 56 as its standard weapon. Thus, Chinese and Vietnamese forces fought each other using the same Type 56 rifles. The Type 56 was used extensively by Iranian forces during the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s, with Iran purchasing large quantities of weapons from China for their armed forces. During the war, Iraq also purchased a small quantity, despite them being a major recipient of Soviet weapons and assistance during the war. This was done in conjunction with their purchasing of large number of AKMs from the USSR and Eastern Europe. Consequently, the Iran–Iraq War became another conflict in which both sides used the Type 56. Since the end of the Cold War, the Type 56 has been used in many conflicts by various military forces. During the Croatian War of Independence and the Yugoslav Wars, it was used by the armed forces of Croatia. During the late 1990s, the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo were also major users of the Type 56, with the vast majority of the weapons originating from People's Socialist Republic of Albania, which received Chinese support during much of the Cold War. In the United Kingdom and the United States, the Type 56 and its derivatives are frequently used in the filming of movies and television shows, standing in for Russian-made AK-47s due to the rarity of original AK-47s, with some even being visually modified to resemble other AK-series rifles. Versions of this weapon that have the full-auto firing ability deleted (referred to as "sporter" rifles) are also available for civilian ownership in most parts of the United States. In the mid-1980s, Sri Lanka started to replace their L1A1 Self-Loading Rifles (SLR) and HK G3s with the Type 56. Currently, they use the fixed stock, under-folding stock and side-folding stock variants. The Type 81, Type 95 and Type 03 replaced Type 56 in PLA front line service, but the Type 56 remains in use with reserve and militia service. Type 56s are still in production by Norinco for export customers. During the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, many Chinese Type 56 rifles were supplied to Afghan Mujahideen guerrillas to fight Soviet forces by the China, Pakistan and the US who obtained them from third party arms dealers. Use of the Type 56 in Afghanistan also continued well into the 1990s and the early 21st century as the standard rifle of the Taliban. When Taliban forces seized control of Kabul in 1996 (a majority of the Chinese small arms used by the Taliban were provided by Pakistan). Since the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S.-led Coalition forces in late 2001, the Chinese Type 56 assault rifle has been utilized by the Afghan National Army, with many rifles serving alongside other AK-47 and AKM variant rifles. The Type 56 has been seen regularly in the hands of militants from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas in the Palestinian territories. The Type 56 has been used by the Janjaweed in the Darfur region of Sudan with pictures and news footage showing members of the Janjaweed carrying Type 56 rifles (most of them provided by the Sudanese government). In 1987, Michael Ryan used a legally owned Type 56 rifle, and two other firearms, in the Hungerford massacre in the United Kingdom, in which he shot 32 people, 17 of whom died. The attack led to the passage of Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, which bans ownership of semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and restricts the use of shotguns. In the United States, a Type 56 rifle, purchased in Oregon under a false name, was used in the 1989 Stockton schoolyard shooting in which Patrick Purdy fired over 100 rounds to shoot one teacher and 34 children, killing five. The shooting led to the passage of California's Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Type 56 assault rifle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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