Norinco CQ
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| Norinco CQ 5.56 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Assault Rifle |
| Place of origin |  People's Republic of China |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Anti-Soviet guerillas in Afghanistan |
| Wars | Soviet War in Afghanistan |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Norinco |
| Manufacturer | Norinco |
| Produced | 1980s - Present |
| Variants | CQ M311 (Select-fire assault rifle); CQ M311-1 (Semi-automatic sporter rifle) [1]; CQ 5.56mm Type A (Select-fire carbine); DIO S-5.56 (License-manufactured Iranian model); MIC "Terab" (Clone manufactured in Sudan, license status unknown at this time) |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2.9 kg (Empty) |
| Length | 986 mm |
| Barrel length | 508 mm |
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| Cartridge | 5.56x45mm NATO (only non-NATO standard 55-grain M193 "Ball" cartridge), .223 Remington (Semi-automatic sporter model) |
| Action | Gas operated, rotating bolt - Semi-automatic or select-fire operation |
| Rate of fire | 900 RPM (Select-fire version only) |
| Muzzle velocity | 990m/s |
| Maximum range | 460m |
| Feed system | 20/30-round magazine (STANAG 4179) |
| Sights | Iron sights |
The CQ is an unlicensed copy of the Colt M16 rifle. It is currently being manufactured by Norinco. According to the Norinco website, the rifle is officially known as CQ 5.56.
Contents |
[edit] History
The CQ was first introduced in the early 1980s. This weapon is chambered for 5.56x45mm cartridges and never entered service with the People's Liberation Army and appears to be intended for sale as an export [2]. Two variants of the CQ rifle are made: the CQ 5.56, also known as the CQ-311 or CQ M-311, the select-fire variant for Military/LE sales; and the CQ M311-1, the semi-automatic version for the civilian market. Later, a carbine variant has been introduced, called the CQ 5.56mm Type A.
As a semi-automatic sporter rifle, the Type CQ quickly gained popularity where it was marketed, as a highly-competitive and good quality low-cost alternative to other more expensive AR-15 rifles, particularly the models made in the USA by Colt Manufacturing.[citation needed] As a military rifle, however, the Type CQ was unsuccessful. It was never adopted by the Chinese military or even unofficially distributed within Chinese troops, with the only significant use of this weapon in war during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s,[1] when it was sold to Mujaheddin forces in a Chinese attempt to thwart Soviet influence in the Far East. The most likely reason of this sale is the US backing of the Mujaheddin, who Chinese officials might have thought would supply Afghan fighters with 5.56x45mm ammunition. By the time Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in 2001, however, the use of Type CQ rifles by Afghan fighters' was rare.[citation needed] Other military uses of the Type CQ assault rifle have been reported within guerrilla/insurgent movements in the South-East Asian area. Rumors of shipments of quantities of Type CQ rifles to countries like North Korea and Cuba have been around for years, yet them remain unconfirmed.
[edit] Media Appearance
British Police had seized what is believed to be a CQ rifle after arresting a teenager during a police operation in Islington, North London on August 7, 2001.[3] The Type CQ rifle is one of the least-known of the variants of the AR-15 rifle.
[edit] Differences
Though it has the same look as the M16 rifle, there are some modifications to various parts. Distinguishing features of this weapon that can be used to tell it apart from an M16 rifle is its forward hand guard, stock, and pistol grip.
The Type CQ rifle, in both its Military/LE and Civilian variants, has a 1:12 rifling pitch which allows it to properly stabilize the M-193 "Ball" variant of the 5.56 mm ammunition or the Type CJ Chinese clone, as well as any .223 Remington commercial cartridge variant that can be stabilized by the 1:12 pitch rifling barrel (normally Varmint or other simple sporter cartridges). Since the M-193 "Ball" 5.56 mm cartridge has never been a NATO standard, calling the Type CQ a "5.56x45mm-NATO" rifle is incorrect: it will not properly stabilize the NATO standard 5.56 mm ammunition (the SS-109, M-855 in US service), which requires a 1:9 or 1:7 pitch rifling barrel.
[edit] Variants
[edit] Type CQ assault rifle
Also known as the CQ 5'56, the CQ-311 or the CQ M-311, this is the select-fire assault rifle version intended for Military and Police use. It is a gas-operated, rotating-bolt full-automatic firearm that feeds from factory-made 20 or 30 round magazines (STANAG magazine clones), firing the M-193 "Ball" 5.56x45mm cartridge (manufactured in China by Norinco as the Type CJ cartridge). The Type CQ rifle has a three-position fire selector: Safe, Single Shot, and Full-Automatic fire. The weapon sports a 508 millimetres (19,9 inches) barrel with a 1:12 rifling twist. The main differences within this weapon and the original American-made M-16 are in the shape of some metal and plastic parts (namely the stock, the grip, the handguard, and the flash hider), and in the type of metal the rifle is made of. While the American AR-15/M-16 rifles are built in T70-74 aluminium, the Chinese Type CQ is built in T60-60 aluminium, used to allow the process of Metal Injection Moulding to be used instead of forging. According to the manufacturer's website, the Type CQ assault rifle can be equipped with an under-carried grenade launcher. Norinco manufactures several models of grenade launchers in different calibers, generally clones of the American M203 (known as the LG2-I and LG2-II) or to the Russian GP-25/GP-30 (known as the LG-1, seen mated to the QBZ-95 assault rifle), and a wide array of anti-riot undercarriable launchers. However, seen the lack on the Type CQ assault rifle of a quick-attachment/detachment design hand guard as instead present on the American M16-A2 assault rifle and M4 carbine, the installation of an under-carried grenade launcher on the Type CQ assault rifle requires partial replacement of the handguard.[4]
[edit] Type CQ semi-automatic rifle
Also known as the CQ 311-1 or the CQ M311-1, this rifle is the civilian version of the above-mentioned Military model. Nothing changes from the select-fire version, except that the CQ M311-1 rifle is not capable of fully automatic fire. It is manufactured with a semi-automatic only trigger group, and the selector switch only has two positions, for Safety and Fire. The 1:12 barrel rifling allows the rifle to properly shoot and stabilize all .223 Remington commercial cartridges and the military surplus 5.56x45mm M-193 "Ball" ammunitions widely available on the market. The CQ M311-1 was first available in the North American market in 1987, when only 500 units were sold before the import was halted [1]; reasons for this halt are stated to be several by many sources: the restrictions applied in the United States since the year 1986, a copyright infringement lawsuit from Colt against Norinco or an agreement between the two companies; however none of these assumptions can be supported by official confirms. The CQ M311-1 semi-automatic rifle is today available in Canada, while any further import into the United States still remains impossible due to restrictions that apply since the year 1986 and after other pieces of legislation passed in the 1990s and in the early 2000s. The gun is also available in Europe (particularly Italy), where it is sold with a 5-rounds detachable clear plastic magazine manufactured in the USA by DPMS Panther Arms (this because the Norinco CQ M311-1 rifles and the DPMS Panther Arms products are imported in Italy by the same commercial entity).[5]
[edit] CQ 5.56mm Type A assault carbine
This variant introduced in the year 2006 in several Defense expos worldwide, including the MILIPOL, is a copy of the American M4A1 assault carbine.[6] It features a telescoping stock, a removable carrying handle mounted on a Picatinny rail, and a 368,3 millimetres (14,5 inches) barrel. The CQ Type A carbine variant is claimed to be able to stabilize both M193 "Ball" and SS-109/M-885 variants of the 5.56 mm cartridge, as would be expected from a rifle with a 1:9 barrel rifling twist. It will quickly accept the installation of grenade launchers due to the quick attachment/detachment handguard design and to the step-cut barrel.
[edit] DIO Model S-5.56 assault rifle
In the year 2003, the Defense Industries Organization of Iran began marketing the S-5.56 rifle, a clone of the Type CQ [7], that had been first unveiled in the West in the year 2001 by the authoritative Jane's Information Group [8]. The rifle itself is offered in two variants: the S-5.56 A1 with a 19.9-inch barrel and 1:12 pitch rifling (1 turn in 305 mm), optimized for the use of the M193 Ball cartridge; and the S-5.56 A3 with a 20-inch barrel and a 1:7 pitch rifling (1 turn in 177,8 mm), optimized for the use of the SS-109 cartridge [9]. The S-5.56 was originally announced to be solely offered for export, though since the years 2005 and 2006 Iranian soldiers armed with the S-5.56 have been seen and photographed during training operations [10].
[edit] TERAB rifle
The "Terab" rifle is a clone of the Norinco CQ manufactured by the MIC (Military Industry Corporation) of Sudan. The page about the "Terab" on the manufacturer's website lists it as a 7.62×51 NATO, but this is unlikely: should the rifle really be chambered in 7.62x51mm, it would be an AR-10, and judging from the picture found on the webpage, an expert observer could see that the proportions don't match the dimensions of an AR-10, so that there has probably been an error writing the webpage [11]. Another indication is that most of the products shown on the website are the same manufactured in Iran by the Defense Industries Organization, this may indicate that the Military Industry Corporation operates with technologies acquired from Iran, which doesn't manufactures any AR-10. However, the exact calibre of the "Terab" rifle can not be determined at this time, nor can be totally excluded the possibility that the "Terab" is actually an AR-10, since Sudan has in fact a background in military usage of the AR-10, having employed it as its standard service rifle from 1957 to 1989.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Sino Defense's CQ Page. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
- ^ Modern Firearms' CQ-311 Page. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
- ^ Ian Burrel. Teenager arrested after Yard seize hi-tech assault rifle, The Independent, 07 August 2007. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.
- ^ Chinese 40mm LG2-I grenade launcher underslung on Norinco Type CQ assault rifle Retrieved on April 27, 2008.
- ^ Norinco Type CQ M-311 semi-automatic rifle equipped with 5-rounds translucent plastic magazine manufactured in the United States by DPMS Panther Arms Retrieved on October 8, 2007.
- ^ Norinco CQ 5'56mm Type A assault carbine Retrieved on October 7, 2007.
- ^ Iranian Defense Industries Organization - Armament Industries Group. Retrieved on October 7, 2007.
- ^ The 5.56 X 45mm: 2000-2001 Retrieved on October 7, 2007.
- ^ S-5.56 rifle technical specifics table. Retrieved on October 7, 2007.
- ^ Iranian soldiers with S-5.56 rifles during "Zolfaqar" war games (August 19, 2006) Retrieved on October 7, 2007.
- ^ Sudanese "Terab" assault rifle Retrieved on October 31, 2007.
