Type 58 Chinese 14.5mm Towed Anti-Aircraft Gun

The Type 58 Chinese 14.5mm Towed Anti-Aircraft Gun is a Chinese version of the Russian ZPU-2 The ZPU-2 consists of two Model KPV machine guns mounted on a two-wheel carriage. The ZPU-2 was introduced in 1949 and is a twin version of the ZPU-1 basic Soviet 14.5MM machine gun. The ZPU-2 was used in Korea and considered a dangerous opposition in Vietnam. The Type 58 is the Chinese version, while the individual KPV machine guns as the Type 56. The twin ZPU-2 has appeared on two different two-wheeled carriages. The earlier model has larger fenders and a double tubular tow bar. In firing position, the crew removes the wheels, and the weapon rests on a three-point platform. The later model, which is lighter in weight, has smaller fenders, a tighter single tow bar, and a tower silhouette. When in firing position the wheels are raised, but not removed. A very similar carriage is used for the twin 23mm automatic antiaircraft gun ZU-23, although the ammunition boxes, barrels, and flash hiders are distinctly different. The ZPU-2 was used in the 1970s by some Warsaw Pact armies and by security elements such as the East German Workers' militia. All weapons in this series fire the API (BS 41) projectiles weighing 64.4 grams having a muzzle velocity of 1000 meters per second which will penetrate 32 mm of armor. This is a Chinese-produced version of the later production Soviet model. It no longer serves in China but is in service in third-world nations. The Type 58 differs from the ZPU-2 in several aspects: weight, 1,234 lb (560 kg); elevation/depression, -15 deg to 90 deg; effective anti-aircraft range, 6,561 ft (2,000 m); and effective ground range, 1,093 yd (1,000 m). The Type 58 has a muzzle velocity of 3,264 fps (995 m/s) and a combined cyclic rate of fire of 1,100 rounds/min.