Type 48 Rifle


 * Not to be confused with the Type 48M Rifle.

The Type 48 Rifle, almost universally known as the 48, is a battle rifle that was designed by the Ko Tsizuun Arsenal in Oita in the Zetin Empire. Originally designed for the Zetin armed forces during the late 2nd Great Northern War, the Type 48 and its derivatives have seen extensive use across the world and remains the most widely-produced rifle in history.

Name
Type 48 stands for the year of production, 1947 in the Gregorian calendar, and 1948 on the Zetin one, literally "model of the year 1948." The name 48 can refer to the original model or the Type 48M series of rifles based on the original Type 48 model. The name 48 rifle is a alternate western name for the general Type 48 series of rifles.

History
The type 48 is the first proper battle rifle designed by the Zetin empire, like all things in Zetin, it was made to be cheap, rugged, easy to clean and functional. It was designed by the Ko Tsizuun arsenal in Oita, and is already entering service with the imperial guard. It was the main rifle for all branches by 1949, but by 1950 various flaws had been found in the design, the rifle was unwieldy, kicked hard, and was uncontrollable in automatic fire.

In 1950, the license to produce and design type 48 rifles was sold to the Varneian Empire

In 1952, the entirety of the already nearly obsolete type 48 rifles were sold to the Nilan Empire By 1951, the 48 was modified, this time more extensively, and was consequently adopted (after trials) as the Type 48M. The key changes were the switch from milling back to stamping as Zetin production techniques became precise enough to do this reliably, and improved trigger/hammer unit that introduced a hammer release delay device (often incorrectly referred to as a rate reducer). Other changes were effected, including a slightly raised buttstock, the pistol grip, and the addition of the removable muzzle flip compensator. This spoon-like compensator is screwed onto the muzzle and uses the muzzle blast to reduce muzzle climb during bursts of automatic fire. The caliber was also changed to 7.92x43mm, officially becoming an assault rifle.

Design detail
Type 48s are long-stroke gas piston operated rifles. Most Type 48s are select-fire rifles; some have been converted to only fire semi-automatically. In all cases, the selector doubles as a dust cover; when the rifle is on SAFE, the selector covers the channel the charging handle travels in.

Operating system
The piston rod (op rod, actuator rod) is permanently attached to the bolt carrier. The bolt carrier rides on the two rails machined in the receiver with significant clearances between the moving and stationary parts.

The bolt has two lugs that lock into the barrel extension, sealing the chamber when it goes into battery. Upon unlocking, it makes a primary extraction movement on the spent case. This, along with the significant taper of the 7.92x60mm results in very positive and reliable extraction, even with a dirty chamber and dirty or corroded cases. The rotation of the bolt is ensured by the curved cam track, machined in the bolt carrier, and by the appropriate stud on the bolt itself. The action spring and spring guide are located behind the gas piston and are partially hidden in its hollow rear part when the bolt is in battery. The base of the action spring assembly also serves as a receiver cover lock; the serrated end holds the cover down. The charging handle is permanently attached to the bolt carrier (in fact, it forms a single machined steel unit with the carrier), and does reciprocate when the weapon is fired.

Sights
The Type 48 rifles feature rear sights adjustable for range (100 to 800 meters on an Type 48, 100 to 1000 on everything else), and a front sight, adjustable for elevation and windage. The rear sight is adjusted by pressing in on the slide catch and moving the slide bar along the leaf until the front edge of the bar is aligned with the line below the number that corresponds with the range in meters.

The front sight post is adjusted for elevation by screwing it in and out of the front sight base; a wrench is used to do this. Windage is adjusted by using a tool to move the front sight post mount from side to side. A 1mm adjustment of the front sight changes the point of impact by 26 cm at 100 meters.

Manual of arms
Type 48s are short, compact, gas-operated, select fire weapons. They feed from 30-round box magazines, which have a significant curve if the Type 48 in question is of the Zetin Empire variety.

The magazine is inserted via a "rocking" motion, positioned so that the lug on the front of the magazine engages with its recess in the magazine well, into the magazine well. It should be pulled to the rear until it snaps into place.

In order to operate the charging handle, the selector must be off safe. The charging handle is pulled all the way to the rear and then released to chamber a round. As the bolt carrier goes forward, the lug on the bottom of the bolt will strip a round out of the magazine and feed it into the chamber.

When a round is fired, the gas produced by the propellant in the cartridge goes into the gas tube and impinges upon the operating rod, which then unlocks the bolt and cycles the bolt carrier rearward, which causes it to cock the hammer as it travels. The bolt carrier then strips another round from the magazine and chambers it as it travels forward, and locks the bolt, sealing the round in the chamber.

When the last round is fired, there is no bolt catch mechanism to catch the bolt carrier group and prevent it from closing on an empty chamber. Thus, when the shooter reloads, he will need to rack the charging handle to chamber the next round. If the shooter experiences a malfunction, in most cases racking the charging handle (or reloading, if the magazine is bad OR empty), will solve the problem.

Trivia

 * The type 48 is the most produced weapon in the history of Terra
 * It is used in various Zetin propaganda posters
 * It is considered the most reliable weapon in the empire, excluding the more modern Type 48M.


 * Regional Type 48 Variants

Imperial Weapons Platform(IWP)-68 - Empire of Varneia Type 52 License - Nilan Empire