Type 58 assault rifle
{{short description|Assault rifle made in North Korea derived from the Soviet AK-47}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name=Type 58
| image= North korea T58 ATF.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=The Type 58
|origin= North Korea
|type=Assault rifle
|is_ranged=yes
|service=1958–present
|used_by=See Users
|wars=*Vietnam War
- Salvadoran Civil War
- Nicaraguan Revolution
- United States invasion of Grenada{{cite book|title=Interagency Intelligence Assessment: Grenada: A First Look at Mechanisms of Control and Foreign Involvement|url=https://archive.org/details/doc-0000696919/|date=19 December 1983|publisher=CIA}}
- Syrian Civil War
|designer=Mikhail Kalashnikov{{efn|Being the inventor/designer of the AK-47, which the Type 58 is based on.}}
|design_date=
|manufacturer=Factory 61/65
|unit_cost=
|variants=
|weight=
|length=
|part_length=
|width=
|height=
|diameter=
|cartridge=7.62×39mm
|action=Gas-operated
|velocity=
|range=
|max_range=
|feed=30-round detachable AK magazines
|sights=Iron sights
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
|context=north
|hangul=58식자동보총
|hanja=五八式自動步銃
|rr=Opalsik jadongbochong
|mr=Op'alsik chadongboch'ong
}}
The Type 58 ({{langx|ko|58식자동보총}}) is an assault rifle made in North Korea derived from the Soviet AK-47 designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. This was the first weapon made in North Korea alongside the PPSh-41, made under license as the Type 49.{{Cite web|last=Iannamico|first=Frank|date=11 September 2018|url=https://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/rifles/north-korean-ak-rifles/|title=DPRK's AKs: Inside the Shadowy World of North Korean AK Rifles|work=Tactical Life Gun Magazine|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312213305/https://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/rifles/north-korean-ak-rifles/|archive-date=March 12, 2023}} It was made in Factory 61 and 65 in Chongjin.
History
After the Korean War (1950–1953), North Korea was allied with the Soviet Union and continued to receive military support from them throughout the Cold War.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forgottenweapons.com/north-korean-type-58-milled-ak/|title=North Korean Type 58 Milled AK|first=Ian|last=McCollum|date=19 September 2016|website=Forgotten Weapons}} President Kim Il Sung ordered the fabrication of the Type 58. The assault rifle was first produced in 1958. These were made initially with Soviet components until the North Koreans were able to make the parts on their own.
Before production of the Type 58 ceased, it's reported that around 800,000 were made. North Korea turned production towards the Type 68 in 1968 since it was too time-consuming to make the Type 58.
The Type 58 was exported to Cuba and Vietnam in the 1960s before it showed up in parts of Africa, the Middle East and South America.
The Type 68 was reported to be exported to the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front covertly in the 1980s.
Design
=Type 58=
While the Type 58 is based on the AK-47 with the milled receiver, the difference between the two assault rifles is that the former has identifying marks such as the five-point star in a circle and Type 58 in hangul. The Type 58 has a firing rate at 600-650 RPM.
The Type 58's quality of finish bluing depends, which usually ranges from average to poor.
Initial production models were not made with bayonet lugs.{{sfn|Roodhorst|2015|p=1417}} Later models were produced with said bayonet lugs.{{sfn|Roodhorst|2015|p=1417}}
=Type 68=
The Type 68 was made with features from the Type 58 with features such as the solid catalpa wood stock, wood pistol grip, handguards and smooth sheet-steel top covers. It has a swivel retaining bracket spot-welded on the left side of the receiver. The pistol grip stud and lower stock tang are riveted in place. The milled gas block is flat on both sides and, like the Type 58, has a sling swivel that extends outward from the left side. The folding stock variant of the Type 68 has the Soviet underfolding design with stamped steel struts and buttplate. The rear sights are graduated to a distance of 800 meters. The trigger group is not based on the Soviet AKM. Instead, the trigger is a double-hook design based on milled receiver-based AKs.
The rifle has a barrel length of 415 mm with a velocity of 715 m/s.{{Cite web |title=Type 68 Assault Rifle |work=Military-Today.com |url= http://www.military-today.com/firearms/type_68.htm }}{{dead link|date=December 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Its practical rate of fire is at 40-100 RPM. While it has a sight range of 800 meters, its effective range is at 300 to 400 meters.
While Type 68s used hangul markings in the fire selectors, exported versions uses non-hangul markings with 1 for semi-auto and an infinity symbol for automatic fire. The markings consist of a five-point star in a circle and Type 68 in hangul.
Variants
=Type 58-1=
=Type 68=
The Type 68 also known as Type 68 NK, is a North Korean version of the AKM, it was adopted in 1968 to replace the Type 58. It has no rate reducer.{{cite book|title=North Korea Country Handbook 1997, Appendix A: Equipment Recognition|chapter=TYPE-68 (AKM) ASSAULT RIFLE|page= A-77|author=US Department of Defense |chapter-url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/nkor.pdf}} It has its own bayonet, which is based on the AK-47 bayonet, but it has a different pommel mount for it.{{Cite web|last=Cobb|first=Ralph E.|date=2010|url=http://worldbayonets.com/Bayonet_Identification_Guide/North_Korea/north_korea_2.html|title=Bayonets of North Korea|website=worldbayonets.com}} These bayonets were also issued in Cuba, which have green scabbards instead of tan scabbards, which is used in the Korean People's Army.{{Cite web|last=Cobb|first=Ralph E.|date=2009|url=http://worldbayonets.com/Bayonet_Identification_Guide/Cuba/cuba_2.html|title=Bayonets of Cuba|website=worldbayonets.com}}
=Type 68-1=
Users
- {{flag|Cuba}}: Known to have the Type 58 in the 1960s. It also received the Type 68. Provided free of charge due to allegations that the Soviet Union did not want to honor Cuban orders for AK-47s.{{sfnp|Mitzer|Oliemans|2020|p=23}}
- {{flag|Ethiopia}}: North Korea provided assistance to set up Type 68 production lines in the 1980s.{{sfnp|Mitzer|Oliemans|2020|p=24}}
- {{flagicon|Grenada}} Grenada: Recovered by US troops after Operation Urgent Fury.
- {{Flag|Nicaragua}}: Sandinista Popular Army/Ejército Popular Sandinista. In addition to receiving Type 58s and Type 68s, they also received Type 68 magazine pouches and slings.{{Cite web|title=Communist Military Aid to Nicaragua:Trends and Implications.|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP97R00694R000800340001-5.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123055800/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP97R00694R000800340001-5.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 January 2017|date=8 December 1987|website=CIA.gov|access-date=19 May 2020}}
- {{flag|North Korea}}
- {{flag|Peru}}: Type 68 used by Peruvian National Police, most refurbished by Desarrollos Industriales Casanave.{{Cite web|url=http://www.discasanave.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=300049|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413125030/http://www.discasanave.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=300049|archive-date=13 April 2014|title=Fusiles De Asalto|publisher=Desarrollos Industriales Casanave Perú|language=es}} Around 200 were modernized by DC as of 2012.
- {{flag|Syria}}: Imported Type 58 and Type 68 rifles or components prior to the Syrian Civil War. Produced under license in Syria.[https://x.com/DimasqS/status/1808082726945206772?t=atCX90Yhok8vY1VLsJtvYg&s=19 A Syrian-produced North Korean Type 68 rifle on sale in Yemen. We can notice the Syrian Defense Laboratories logo stamped on it, which we have seen in the past across Syria. (h/t @FighterXwar_ar).]{{better source needed|date=July 2024}}
- {{flag|Vietnam}}: Reported to be used by the former North Vietnamese military in the 1960s.
=Non-State Actors=
- {{flagicon image|Bandera_-_Frente_Farabundo_Martí_para_la_Liberación_Nacional.svg}} Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front: Also received Type 68 slings and ammunition pouches, probably from Nicaragua.
- {{flag|Islamic State}}: At least 18 Type 68 rifles were found in a weapons stash in northeast Syria in 2022.{{cite report |title=Islamic State Weapons in High-Profile Operations in North-East Syria |date=January 2024 |publisher=Conflict Armament Research |location=London |url=https://www.conflictarm.com/download-file/?report_id=3960&file_id=3964 |access-date=7 March 2024 |pages=34–36}}
Gallery
File:North Korean Type 58 and Type 68.jpg|Type 58 on top Type 68 on bottom
0945 - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjöngjang - Parade zum 75. JT der Arbeiterpartei (22354122704).jpg|Type 68 in DPRK service
0961 - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjöngjang - Parade zum 75. JT der Arbeiterpartei (22950726176).jpg|Type 68 in DPRK service
0962 - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjöngjang - Parade zum 75. JT der Arbeiterpartei (Cropped).png|Type 68 in DPRK service
0963 - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjöngjang - Parade zum 75. JT der Arbeiterpartei (22353978314).jpg|Type 68 in DPRK service
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
{{commons category|Type 58 assault rifle}}
- {{cite book |last1=Roodhorst |first1=Cor |date= 2015|title= The Kalashnikov Encyclopedia: Recognition and Weapon Forensic Guide for Kalashnikov Arms and Derivatives II: Italy-Russia |location=Netherlands |publisher=Roodhorst Publications |isbn=978-90-9027549-9 }}
- {{cite book |last1=Mitzer |first1= Stijn |last2=Oliemans |first2=Joost |date= 2020|title=The Armed Forces of North Korea: On the Path of Songun|publisher=Helion and Company|isbn=978-1910777145}}
{{AK47 derivatives}}
Category:Rifles of the Cold War
Category:Infantry weapons of the Cold War
Category:7.62×39mm assault rifles
Category:Kalashnikov derivatives
Category:Assault rifles of North Korea