February 27th, 2024
7minute read
Iam simply fascinated by guns.
Were that not the case we wouldnt both be chilling here atThe Armory Life.
Because we appreciate the unique role of firearms in the history of the human species.
The Chicom Type 56 rifle was a direct copy of the 1940s-vintage Soviet SKS.
For me at least, little is cooler than a genuine veteran bring-back weapon.
So, it was with this beaten and battered Chicom SKS rifle.
Origin Story
The SKS rifle was designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov.
As the SKS was semi-automatic only, it was a popular vet bring-back weapon during the Vietnam War.
That the Soviets chose to develop and field two dissimilar rifles simultaneously is itself fascinating.
By any reasonable metric, the AK-47 was the better rifle.
However, by the standards of the day, the SKS was nonetheless still superb.
In this Cold War-era funeral procession, Polish soldiers in the honor guard are carrying SKS rifles.
The Soviets produced some 2.7 million copies.
More than 15 million SKS rifles were produced in total.
The SKS is a short-stroke gas-operated semi-automatic rifle that locks via a tilting bolt.
From left to right we have the 5.56x45mm, the Combloc M43 7.62x39mm and the US 7.62x51mm. All three rounds saw extensive use in the Vietnam War.
The integral 10-round box magazine pivots open from the bottom for maintenance, but is not readily removable.
The bolt locks to the rear automatically on the last round fired.
The safety is a pivoting lever on the right side just behind the trigger.
Soldiers with the 101st Airborne inspect the damage on “Hamburger Hill” in the wake of Operation Apache Snow. Image: U.S. Army
Its easy to manipulate the safety with your trigger finger.
The charging handle is an integral part of the bolt carrier and cycles with the action.
Drilling Down
This particular SKS was built in the Chinese Jianshe Arsenal in 1966.
Members of the 101st Airborne on Hamburger Hill in May 1969. The soldier on the right is a U.S. Army photographer. Image: U.S. Army
That makes it the same age as I am.
Apparently, 1956 was a pretty big year in Chinese gun making.
The design of the Chicom punch in 56 SKS evolved substantially between 1956 and the present.
A grenade fragment punched this hole in the magazine of the author’s SKS. The damage does not adversely affect the rifle’s function.
Sometimes two examples built in the same factory exhibited significant mechanical differences.
Chicom key in 56 rifles with serial numbers less than 9 million typically sported the Soviet-style folding blade bayonet.
Most guns above that serial number cutoff were fitted with the spike-style cruciform bayonet.
Whoever crafted this replacement buttstock for this storied rifle did not bother to bore out the hole for the cleaning kit.
Both worked just fine for their intended purposes.
Recoil is soft, and the trigger rates a solid decent.
The sights are optimistically graduated out to 1,000 meters.
When the smoke cleared, the troops who seized this godforsaken place would come to call it Hamburger Hill.
The overarching designation was Operation Apache Snow.
Over the next roughly four weeks, American forces suffered 113 killed.
The ARVN 1stDivision lost a further 31.
U.S. forces recovered the bodies of 977 NVA regulars and took five prisoners.
U.S. forces captured the blood-soaked hill at great cost, but almost immediately packed up and went home.
In this bizarre war, the objective was often seemingly more about stacking bodies than seizing terrain.
Mike survived the war, but Vietnam nonetheless ended up killing him.
However, in short order, his marriage went south, and Mike got sick.
In 1991, Mike succumbed to the long-term effects of Agent Orange exposure.
He was only 41 years old.
I was over the moon to be granted custodianship of such a profoundly significant artifact.
Part of the agreement was that I would also tell Mikes story.
The wood is heavily varnished but fairly soft.
The upper hand guard was literally burnt to a crisp.
There is just no telling how many rounds it took to do that.
This weapon was run so hard in combat as to burn up the handguard.
