Firearms / Sub machine guns / Type 85
Type 85
General Facts
- TYPE
Sub machine gun - ORIGIN
China - NICKNAMES
QCW85 (modern designation for silenced Type 85) - DESIGNED
Early 1980's - DESIGNER
Norinco - PRODUCTION
Mid 1980's - present? - PRODUCERS China - Norinco
- QUANTITY
Unknown - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Cheap
Very light
Easy to use
Reasonable quality
Introduction
The Type 85 is a sub machine gun of Chinese origin. It was designed to replace the earlier Type 79 sub machine gun and Type 64 silenced sub machine gun in Chinese service.
Design
The Type 85 is a simplified version of the Type 79 sub machine gun. It uses blowback operation opposed to the more complex short stroke gas piston used in the Type 79. The blowback mechanism is equivalent to the one used on the Type 64 and especially the silenced version of the Type 85 looks very similar to the Type 64.
Firepower
The Type 85 fires the 7.62x25mm round from a curved 30 round magazine, which is also used in the earlier Type 64. For the silenced version of the Type 85 subsonic ammunition is available. The cyclic rate of fire is about 800 rpm. The maximum effective range is 150 to 200 m for the Type 85 and 100 to 150 m for the silenced version.
Users
Both versions of the Type 85 are in use with the Chinese armed forces. Given the recent development of more capable sub machine guns of Chinese origin the Type 85 may not become as widely proliferated as the Type 64 and Type 79 it was designed to replace.
Type 85
The Type 85 is a Chinese sub machine gun chambered for the 7.62x25mm round. The Type 85 uses an altered version of the Type 64 blowback mechanism and is not a silenced weapon. The Type 85 is easily distinguished from the Type 79 as it has a cylindrical shaped receiver and shorter magazine well.
- Specifications:
- Type 85
| Type | Heavy machine gun |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 12.7x108mm Soviet |
| Magazine | Belt fed, 60 rounds |
| Operation | Gas operated, direct impingement, open bolt |
| Fire selector | 0-F |
| Rate of fire | 650 - 700 rpm |
| Barrel length | 1.003 mm |
|---|---|
| Rifling | ? |
| Muzzle velocity | 825 m/s |
| Stock | Fixed |
| Length | 2.150 mm |
| Width | ? |
| Height | ? |
|---|---|
| Weight | 24 kg plus 17.5 kg tripod |
| Sights | Iron sights, optional optical sights |
| Remarks | - |
Type 85 silenced
The silenced version of the Type 85 features an integrated silencer. This makes it a much longer weapon than the standard version. It is normally employed with the subsonic version of the 7.62x25mm round as used in the Type 64, but can fire normal ammunition if required. With subsonic ammunition the sound is reduced to 80 dB.
- Specifications:
- Type 85 silenced
| Type | Sub machine gun |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 7.62x25mm Tokarev |
| Magazine | 30 rounds |
| Operation | Blowback |
| Fire selector | 0-1-F |
| Rate of fire | 800 rpm |
| Barrel length | ? |
|---|---|
| Rifling | ? |
| Muzzle velocity | 300 m/s |
| Stock | Foldable |
| Length | 869 mm / 631 mm |
| Width | ? |
| Height | ? |
|---|---|
| Weight | 2.5 kg empty |
| Sights | Iron sights, blade front and flip aperture rear, 100 and 200 m gradations |
| Remarks | Integrated silencer |
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