Type 67 7.62mm Heavy Machine Gun

Last updated: 16 August 2007

The Type 67 7.62mm machine gun was developed by 356 Factory of NORINCO in the 1960s as a replacement for the Type 57 heavy machine gun in service with the PLA. The Type 67 was originally designed as a general purpose machine gun, which could either use as a light weapon mounted on a bipod, or as a heavy weapon mounted on a tripod. However, in practice the weapon was only used as a heavy machine gun in the PLA due to its weight. The improved variants included the Type 67-1 and Type 67-2.

Type 67 General Purpose Machine Gun

The Type 67 was China’s first independently developed general purpose machine gun. The weapon development began in 1959, and the design was certified for finalisation in 1967. The machine gun entered the PLA service in 1970.

The Type 67 was a gas-operated, belt-fed, crew-served automatic weapon. Its barrel is quick-detachable. When mounted on a tripod, the machine gun could engage targets within 1,000m range and provide sustained fire support for infantry troops. When mounted on a bipod as a light machine gun, the Type 67 could engage targets within 800m range. If necessary, the machine gun could also be used to engage airborne targets (0~250m/s) such as aircraft and paratroopers within 500m range.

The machine gun could be fed from either a 250-round cartridge case or a 50-cartridge case. A standard fire unit was equipped with a machine gun, six 250-round cartridge cases, two 50-round cartridge cases, and two spare gun barrels.

The Type 67 featured a simplified ammunition feeding mechanism in comparison with the old Type 57 heavy machine gun. However, user experience showed that the machine gun had a poor reliability. The accuracy of the weapon also decreased significantly after a period of service.

Type 67-1 Heavy Machine Gun

The improved Type 67-1 was introduced in 1978 and certified for production in 1980. The weapon was similar to the Type 67 in design and performance. The bipod was removed and the weapon could only be used in the heavy weapon mode mounted on a tripod. As a result, the Type 67-1 was categorised as heavy machine gun instead of general purpose machine gun by the PLA. The Type 67-1 featured reduced rate of fire and recoil to help tackle the reliability issue.

Type 67-2 Heavy Machine Gun

The Type 67-2 was a further improved variant of the Type 67-1 with better reliability. The development began in 1978 and the weapon was certified for design finalisation in January 1982. The machine gun used composite material component to reduce the combat weight, and uses an unique segmental feeding (25 rounds on each segment) to replace the original metallic link-belt feeding mechanism. The machine gun was equipped by the PLA in significant numbers in the 1980s.

Specifications