Unique Thing: A Chinese-Style Silent Pistol (3 photos)

Today, we'll talk about a unique product developed by Chinese gunsmiths – the Type 64 silenced pistol. It's unique not so much because it's silent, but because, when creating it in 1964, the Chinese didn't copy the first suitable Soviet, European, or American system they came across, but created their own from scratch.





Type 64 pistol. Left side view.

Design Features

The pistol's action was recoil-operated.

Lockdown was achieved by rotating the bolt head, which had two locking lugs and was very similar to a similar part from a Kalashnikov assault rifle (only much smaller). To lock the chamber, the bolt head rotated, and its lugs engaged corresponding cutouts in the pistol frame.

The return spring was located in the upper part of the bolt casing.

Another design detail was the mechanism that blocked the automatic operation after firing: pressing a special pushbutton located on the bolt blocked its recoil after firing. However, the shooter could manually pull the bolt back by extracting the spent cartridge and cocking the weapon again.

This was done for a simple purpose – to avoid unnecessary noise from the clanking of the automatically moving bolt.

The trigger mechanism was double-action, but the hammer could also be cocked by hand.

The safety lever was located on the left side of the handle, at the top.

The suppressor consisted of two main chambers: the first was located in line with the barrel and had a system of baffles and a mesh filler inside. The second was located under the barrel and divided into two parts – the upper chamber, a simple expansion chamber, and the lower chamber, which had its own mesh filler. This chamber was accessed through a hole in the barrel, located closer to the muzzle, after the system of baffles installed in the first chamber.

This system made the suppressor very effective.

The silencer was secured to the pistol with a special screw (on the left side): screw the screw into the socket, and then the silencer could be unscrewed.



Partial disassembly of the Type 64 pistol. Note the firing pin.

But Chinese gunsmiths didn't limit themselves to just the pistol.

A new 7.65x17mm cartridge was also developed for the new weapon. Although similar in technical and tactical characteristics to the Browning .32 ACP (7.65x17mm), it, unlike the latter, had no rim at all (the .32 ACP has a small flange). Considering global trends (the prevalence of rimless cartridges), it can be said that the Chinese improved the design of the .32 ACP cartridge, which was created, as we know, as far back as 1899.

The cartridge's bullet, weighing 4.8 grams, accelerated to 240 m/s with an energy of 138 J.

An interesting detail was that the pistol could also use a special cartridge with a plastic-encased bullet. The cartridge was designed for use in aircraft, and its effective range did not exceed 15 meters.

The magazine, designed to hold 9 rounds, was similar to that of the Makarov pistol.

Technical Specifications

Overall Length: 222 mm

Barrel Length: 95 mm

Weight: 1.88 kg

7.65×17 mm cartridge



Type 64 pistol at the Hoi An Museum (Vietnam). The inscription in English reads: Major Tran Trung, commander of the 2nd Company, used this pistol to kill numerous enemies in two major battles (1968-1969).

The Fate of the Weapon

According to available information, the pistol was produced in small numbers in 1965 and used during the Vietnam War. In fact, this pistol gained worldwide fame after one example was captured in combat.

Apparently, the Chinese took a liking to silent weapons: they not only produced a new silent pistol to replace the Type 64 (Type 67) pistol, but also an entire family of silent submachine guns.