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Type 58

1958 COLD WAR MODERN VIETNAM WAR

History

During the Cold War following World War II, Korea became a divided country after the Japanese occupation ended. The North was ruled by the communist-leaning Soviet Union, and the South was ruled by the United States. Of course, this affected the stockpile of weapons for the next few decades.

When North Korea invaded the South to force unification as part of a communist agenda, both Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and neighboring China applauded the effort, beginning the Korean War (1950-1953).

After the war, a relaxed armistice was instituted (although the war was never fully declared), and Soviet influence over North Korean weapons continued. With the widespread acceptance and subsequent use of the famous AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle, North Korea began to adopt this type as the "Type 58".

The Type 58 officially entered service in North Korea through localized production in 1958 and continues to fulfill its defining role as an assault rifle today. About 50,000 Type 58s were produceda relatively small total for a Kalashnikov-style weapon system.

Essentially, the Type 58 retains most of the design and functionality of the original AK-47. These include an internal rotating bolt design, automatic functions and gas operation - the latter via a cylinder mounted on top of the barrel assembly, which expels the expelled gas from the barrel and uses that pressure to drive the piston. The receiver remains largely unchanged, with a firepower selector allowing semi-automatic and fully automatic firepower.

The weapon is loaded with a Soviet 7.62x39mm rifle cartridge, fed from the same curved, detachable magazine in front of the trigger group. The spent cartridges are ejected through the opening on the front right of the receiver.

The trigger is an oval ring, and the magazine release is just in front of it. Behind the trigger is a separate pistol grip. As usual, a solid stock is attached to the end of the receiver. The barrel protrudes from the receiver and is partially covered by the handguard. The lugs under the barrel made the AK-47 and its derivatives one of the most visible weapons of the Cold War.

The barrel is equipped with a short muzzle and rear sight. The sight is placed above the receiver in front of the magazine area. The furniture (stock, upper and lower handguard sections) is wooden and the sling loops allow the attachment of the shoulder straps and facilitate transport.

A field bayonet can be installed under the muzzle.

The Model 58 weighs 8.4 lbs and measures 890 mm in overall length. The barrel length is 415 mm. The rate of fire is about 600 rounds per minute, and the muzzle velocity is 715 meters per second.

The effective target range is approximately 300 to 400 meters, while the maximum range of the target area is specified at 2,500 meters.

In addition to North Korean use, the Type 58 was purchased in limited quantities in Cambodia, Laos, and northern Vietnam (and subsequently Vietnam). Additionally, the type has been identified and used throughout Iran and Nicaragua.

Its influence made it in the Vietnam War (1955-1975), Laos Civil War (1953-1975), Cambodian Civil War (1970-1975) and Cambodia-Vietnam War (1977-1989). , the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua (1961-1990).

The Type 58 Assault Rifle has since come in two different forms - the original with a solid stock (Type 58A), the other with a stamped steel folding stock for a more compact, foldable double support gun The tray folds under the receiver (Model 58B). North Korea also produced the AKM/AKMS as the Type 68A/B and the AKS-74 as the Type 88.