NORINCO Type 77 HMG

History

The Type 77 Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) is a relatively late indigenous development of the Chinese military during the Cold War. This type was designed as a large-caliber heavy machine gun for use against low-flying aircraft (including helicopters) and lightly armored vehicles. Essentially, the Type 77 was developed to perform the same tasks as the American M2 Browning or the Soviet DShK series of heavy machine guns.

Production of the Type 77 was taken over by the defense industry giant Norinco. Machine gun systems were mass produced for the Chinese army.

For decades, Communist China enjoyed the benefits of a close relationship with the Soviet Union. This made them a major customer for Soviet military export sales. In fact, until recently, most of China's stockpile during the Cold War consisted of Soviet weapons and machinery.

Today, the final step to filling Chinese inventories with domestic products. The Type 77 became one of those early moves.

Like other weapons in this class, it is believed that the Type 77 can be mounted on a trunnion, vehicle or tripod, depending on the mission. The gun weighs 62 pounds, and the heavy-duty tripod adds another 63 pounds. When used in conjunction with a tripod to put out a fire, the entire rifle fleet is used to hold the machine gun, ammunition, and tripod in place. When mounted on the turret of an armored vehicle, the system is electrically ignited by using a solenoid actuated assembly. Otherwise, the system can be operated manually with a simple trigger and handle system.

With a barrel length of 85 inches, the Type 77 is by no means compact. The weapon is loaded with a 12.7x108 mm cartridge, which was also used in the Soviet DShK series. The rate of fire is 650 to 700 rounds per minute. The Type 77 was fed by a 60-round non-disintegrating belt (similar to the Soviet DShK). Its standard configuration deploys without traditional sights and, like most heavy machine guns, can only fire its devastating 12.7mm (0.50 caliber) bullet in fully automatic mode.

Optics can be installed to enable precision fire and greatly aid in tracking and engaging moving targets - especially air targets. The launch operation is recoil gas operation and fully automatic - the previous round uses the energy fired from the previous round.

Since the Type 77 is an "air-cooled" weapon system, overheating of the barrel when firing is a serious consideration - the operator needs to make short, controlled fires.

The "Type 77" designation indicates that the weapon officially entered front-line service sometime in 1977. Known operators other than the Chinese military are still only in Cambodia. The Type 77 was further developed into the more modern Type 85 - a model believed to have entered service in 1985.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes