User:Fallen Legends/QBS-06 Underwater Assault Rifle

The type 06 Underwater Automatic Rifle (QBS-06, Chinese: 06式水下自动步枪, Pinyin: Qīngwuqi Bùqiāng Shuǐxià) is an underwater automatic rifle designed and manufactured by Norinco and is issued as a service rifle for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The QBS-06 is a Chinese localized and modified model of the APS underwater rifle. It is the fourth small-caliber rifle manufactured by the People's Republic of China. The QBS-06 fires the domestically produced 5.8×42mm DBS-06 underwater ammunition.

Description
For years, there were rumors of Chinese-designed underwater pistols and rifles reverse engineered from the Soviet/Russian SPP-1 Underwater Pistol and APS Underwater Assault Rifle. The former has now been proven to exist as the Type 05 Underwater Pistol (QSS-05), firing 4.5×40 DAS-05 underwater ammunition. The latter is the QBS-06 with its original 5.56mm cartridge expanded to 5.8mm caliber of the other small caliber weapons of China. The QBS-06 is currently in service in the People's Liberation Army, arming Chinese Navy special forces as well as a number of combat diver units in the PLA Navy Marine Corps to execute missions such as underwater reconnaissance and attack missions, anti-infiltration, and protection of key locations.

As a copied and modified version of the APS, the QBS-06 highly resembles its original. The most significant deviation in appearance is its large 25-round magazine. The QBS-06 uses flat-bottom staggered column magazines with a wide magazine spring, resembling normal box magazines, while the APS magazine has a enlarged bulk on the bottom to place the smaller spring. This design can solve feeding issues caused by a shorter spring pushing longer bullets, ensuring the stability and reliability of the loading mechanism. There are also draining holes under the magazine.

The receiver of QBS-06 is produced using stamping-riveting similar to those of the Type 56 and Type 81 Automatic Rifle s, making it structurally simpler and less costly to produce.

Its front and rear sights appear to be sturdier than the thinner ones on the APS, as another design that resembles the Type 56 and Type 81, the QBS-06 also utilized wings and protection rings on the front and rear sights respectively.

Instead of using the crescent shaped charging handle on the APS resembling that of the AK-47, the QBS-06 uses a cylindrical design similar to the Type 81.

There are many small draining holes on the QBS-06's piston tube used to discharge water in the tube when the bolt returns, reducing friction when the piston moves to ensure that the bolt has enough power to fire. The firearm also uses a self-adapting gas conduction system, reducing the need to adjust the system to adapt different depths.

Apart from these differences, the QBS-06 also has an plastic ergonomic hand guard, which the APS lacks, as well as a muzzle device resembling the QBZ-95, also a bayonet lug to attach a Type-95 Bayonet (QNL-95) universal to the 5.8mm gun family, as well as attaching the Type-06 Underwater Bayonet (QNL-06) dedicated to underwater use.

The QBS-06 is heavier and have greater recoil than the APS, due to a larger cartridge and more parts than the original, this also caused it to have one less cartridge in its magazine.

Ammunition
The QBS-06 fires locally manufactured 5.8*42mm DBS-06 arrow-shaped special underwater rifle cartridge. It has a long, arrow-shaped 5.8mm bullet, and uses normal painted steel cartridge casings just like the normal 5.8*42mm cartridge. The bullet design is also quite special, having a small end-side face, and the centroid is located in the front. The front end of the bullet is a flat face 1.5mm in diameter, the objective of this design is to keep it stable while flying underwater. The full length of the cartridge is 150mm with a weight of 28g, almost reaching the weight of two standard 5.8mm rifle cartridges.

When the bullet leaves the chamber, water is separated in the area between the flat and conical faces, forming a bubble that covers the entire bullet when the bullet is moving at high velocity, due to this, only the front of the bullet is affected by significant fluid resistance. This design can reduce water resistance on the bullet, delay its deceleration, and stabilize its trajectory.

When the bullet hits its target, its inclination to tumble unstably due to its front heavy design can cause even further damage. Apart from that, the heavy steel bullet is excellent in penetration power, enough to penetrate wetsuits, waterproof face masks, and oxygen tanks.

Although this cartridge can be used above surface, but its accuracy beyond 50 meters is very undesirable due to the change of environment used, lack of the ability to travel long distances (in comparison to normal rifle cartridges), and weight and size of the rifle that is not favorable to accurate aiming. Also, the tremendous recoil caused by shooting underwater ammunition in the atmosphere is beyond the structural endurance of the gun, causing it to severely shorten its lifespan when shooting above surface.

Flaws
The QBS-06 still uses the traditional method of steel sheet stamping and riveting. Steel is not very resistant to corrosion, but seawater, the main environment of underwater rifles, is highly corrosive. This affects the lifespan of this weapon.

China acquired QBS-06s modeled from Soviet/Russian APS in the 2000s, but the Russian military since then made several accomplishments in underwater/amphibious firearms during the 1990s-2000s, such as the amphibious ASM-DT, and the more compact and modular ADS, making the capability shortfalls of the QBS-06 compared to other underwater rifles even more significant.

See also:

 * Underwater Firearms
 * HK P11 Pistol
 * SPP-1 Underwater Pistol
 * APS Underwater Rifle
 * ASM-DT Amphibious Rifle
 * ADS Amphibious Rifle
 * QBZ-87 Assault Rifle
 * QBZ-95 Assault Rifle
 * QBZ-95-1 Assault Rifle
 * QBZ-03 Assault Rifle
 * QTS-11 Integrated Combat System
 * QBZ-191 Assault Rifle