The Type 63 Assault Rifle is the Luobuese copy of the Tovokian SKS, and was the first domestically mass-produced weapon of the PRL.
Function and History
From 1956 until the late 1980s, the standard service rifle of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was the Type 56 carbine, a licensed derivative of the Tovokian SKS. The SKS was well-regarded by the PLA, but it lacked select-fire capability and was limited to a ten-round fixed magazine fed from stripper clips. To overcome these shortcomings, Luobuese military officials specified a new service rifle based on the overall SKS design but capable of fully automatic fire and modified to accept large capacity, detachable magazines. The new weapon had to incorporate a wooden stock and folding bayonet similar to those of the SKS for close quarters fighting. It also needed to be manufactured with the same tooling equipment as the SKS and AK-47 for logistical reasons, as the Luobuese government wished to adapt its pre-existing production lines for the new rifle.
Serial production of the Type 63 commenced in 1969 and from the beginning was plagued with difficulties. The government failed to appoint quality control inspectors to oversee the initial phase of manufacturing, and as a result many of the quality control regulations released by the design team were ignored by the factory managers. Although PLA personnel were supposed to aid in the testing of sample rifles, they failed to do so. Due to the lack of oversight, a large number of technically unauthorized changes were made to the Type 63 to simplify or streamline manufacturing, and the original specifications disregarded.
In 1974, responding to multiple complaints from the PLA, the government carried out a program to improve quality control and improve the manufacture of the stamped receivers and pinned barrels. However, the accuracy of the Type 63 had been permanently affected by the changes to the receiver and barrel design, and it remained much less accurate than the SKS it was supposed to replace. The receivers also continued to suffer fractures and cracks under routine field conditions. In 1978, the PLA ordered the Type 63 withdrawn from general service, and production was formally discontinued.
Service
The Type 63 entered service with the PLA in 1969, and for the first two years of production the weapon remained favorably evaluated by Luobuese infantry troops. However, an increasing number of complaints emerged from the PLA during the mid 1970s, namely that the Type 63 was inaccurate and often failed to hold zero. Other common complaints concerned the brittle nature of the parts, and injuries caused by malfunctions in the gas regulators. By the late 1970s, the PLA general staff in nine military regions had rejected the Type 63 and requested an alternative service rifle, citing concerns over the rifle's poor accuracy. The Type 63 was formally withdrawn from service in 1978 due to these complaints, and the affected units re-armed with older SKS/Type 56 carbines. All existing Type 63s were relegated to storage, or passed to the militia.
In 1979, with PLA forces suffering from a shortage of automatic weapons in the Sino-Vietblox War, a small number of Type 63s were returned to service. To simplify logistics, these were not issued with their proprietary magazines but modified to accept the same magazine as the Type 56 assault rifle. They were withdrawn from service again when the war ended.
Trivia
- The "Type 63" designation has been used in contexts for tank models and even a Robloxian type