Kbs wz. 1996 Beryl
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The karabinek szturmowy wzór 1996 Beryl (English: ''assault rifle model 1996 beryllium'') is a Polish 5.56mm assault rifle, designed and produced by the Łucznik Arms Factory in the city of Radom. The rifle is to replace the 7.62×39mm AKM and
5.45×39mm The 5.45×39mm Cartridge (firearms), cartridge is a Rim (firearms), rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge. It was introduced into service in 1974 by the Soviet Union for use with the new AK-74. The 5.45×39mm gradually supplemented and then ...
FB Tantal The ''karabinek wzór 1988'' (Carbine Model 1988) Tantal is a 5.45×39mm assault rifle designed and produced in Poland in the late 1980s. Development Design work on the new rifle officially began in 1984 at the government-owned ''Ośrodek Bada ...
used in the Polish Armed Forces.


Development

Development work on a new service rifle (both a standard and carbine variant) adapted to use the intermediate
5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and ...
cartridge had been undertaken in 1995, however a functioning 5.56 mm rifle and carbine variant had already been available in Radom since 1991, known as the wz. 1991 (a rechambered wz. 88 Tantal rifle). The new weapon's specifications were approved in February 1995 and in December the same year, a prototype production batch consisting of 11 Beryl rifles was produced. In 1997 the weapon had been successfully evaluated and adopted into service as the ''5,56 mm karabinek szturmowy wz. 1996'' ("assault carbine pattern 1996"). The Beryl subsequently became the standard Polish rifle. In 2011, there were more than 45,000 in the inventory, accounting for about half of the assault rifles in the Polish Army. On May 25, 2016, FB "Łucznik" Radom announced an order from the Polish Army for 26,000 Beryls and Mini-Beryls, though did not break it down by system. Apart from Poland, 80 wz. 96A Beryls and 10 wz. 96A Mini Beryls are used by Lithuania (donated in May 2000 by Poland, including 10 rifles with Pallad grenade launcher and 10 rifles with CWL-1 scope with integrated laser rangefinder). Until 2002/2003 they were equipment of a special forces unit SOJ Aitvaras, operating in Afghanistan.


Design

The Beryl's design layout and system of operation are similar to those of the Tantal rifle, and the principal differences, resulting primarily from using a different cartridge, include the following components: the barrel, receiver housing, buttstock, foregrip, muzzle device, sight system and magazine. With an adapter, it can use M16 NATO standard magazine. The 457 mm-long barrel, has six right-hand grooves and a 228 mm (1:9 in) twist rate. The barrel's external profile (from the breech to the front sight base) is identical to the Tantal's barrel, but the length from the foresight base has a visible tapered contour with a decreasing diameter towards the muzzle end, used to mount a flash suppressor. The flash hider can be used to mount and launch rifle grenades. The flash hider has a slight taper at the front that supports a bayonet and a little further to the rear – six side ports arranged in pairs. These ports are placed asymmetrically around the circumference of the flash hider and stabilize the weapon during continuous fire. Internally the flash suppressor features threading at the muzzle used to screw-in a blank firing attachment. Located mid-length on the flash hider is a cut-out with a ring retainer spring that secures a rifle grenade to the barrel. The receiver housing contains several modifications over the receiver of the wz. 1988 rifle. It uses a reinforced rear stock trunnion, adapted for the new shoulder stock and a top-mounted Picatinny rail for mounting optical sights. The side-folding tubular metal
stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
is coated with a thermal polymer shrink film. It has a metal shoulder stop covered with a rubber recoil pad. More recent models come with a collapsible stock (see picture of wz. 2004 model on right side of page). The standard lower handguard features an angled rib pattern designed to enhance gripping by the support hand. The rear of the handguard features two molded notches that enable the
40 mm 40 mm grenade (also styled 40mm grenade) is a generic class-name for grenade launcher ammunition ( subsonic shells) in caliber. The generic name stems from the fact that several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in ...
wz. 1974
grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...
to be mounted under the barrel (early versions of the wz. 1996 lacked these notches, fitted instead with handguards with lateral grooves). Some Beryl handguards are equipped with short Picatinny rails and an integral vertical foregrip. The Beryl's sighting system is very similar to the setup used on the Tantal, it does however differ with the addition of twin cuts made into the sides of rear sight base that are used to fasten a bracket for mounting the following optical sights: the passive PCS-6 night sight, a CK-3 reflex optical collimator ( red dot sight), LKA-4 telescopic sight and CWL-1 scope with integrated laser rangefinder. However, the most used additional sight for Beryl is
EOTech EOTECH is an American company that designs, manufactures, and markets electro-optic and night vision products and systems. The company is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan. They produce holographic weapon sights for small arms that have bee ...
552
holographic weapon sight A holographic weapon sight or holographic diffraction sight is a non- magnifying gunsight that allows the user to look through a glass optical window and see a holographic reticle image superimposed at a distance on the field of view. The hologram ...
and PCS-5M passive night sight. PCS-6 and CWL-1 are introduced in small number. The weapon's unique magazine is molded from plastic and is not interchangeable with magazines from the kbk wz. 1988 Tantal. The Beryl has a long, trapezoid-shaped selector switch, similar to those found on the AK-47 or almost all of the AK series. The Beryl fires 5.56×45mm ammunition with a steel-core standard round, a tracer cartridge and a training slug, which are produced by Zakłady Metalowe Mesko in the town of
Skarżysko-Kamienna Skarżysko-Kamienna is a city in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland by Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major cities. Prior to 1928, it bore the name of ''Kamienna''; i ...
. Standard equipment shipped with the rifle includes: three spare magazines, four 15-round stripper clips, a stripper clip guide,
bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...
, cleaning kit, lubricant bottle, cleaning rod (two-piece, stored in the cleaning kit pouch), sling, a magazine pouch and bipod. The rifle can also be fitted with a mounting system for optical sights and a blank-firing adaptor. The Beryl was used to create a carbine variant known as the
Mini-Beryl The karabinek wz. 1996 Mini-Beryl is a Polish compact assault rifle (carbine) derived from the FB Beryl service rifle and chambered for 5.56×45mm. It was developed in parallel with the wz. 1996 Beryl by the "Łucznik" Arms Factory in Radom an ...
.


Variants

* kbs wz. 96A Beryl (1996): standard version of Beryl, the most produced version for Polish Forces, some examples were equipped with POPC I rail, where Polish sights (CWL-1, CK-3, LKA-4, PCS-6) could be mounted, but most mounted rail is POPC III. In Iraq, some Beryls were modified in the field and received wooden foregrip from
PM md. 63 PM or pm (also written P.M. or p.m.) is an abbreviation for Latin ''post meridiem'', meaning "after midday" in the 12-hour clock. PM or Pm or pm may also refer to: Arts and entertainment *Palm mute, a guitar playing technique * ''PM'' (Australia ...
* kbs wz. 96B Beryl (2004): same as standard version, but with fixed foregrip and rails on it. Also, "B" version get new rail, POPC II (short) and POPC III (long) which subtended the Picatinny standard (however, some "B" Beryls get POPC I rail). * kbs wz. 96C Beryl (2009): version with new buttstock (which is fixed and telescopic), new rails (POPC IV), new handguard, magazines and new foregrip. * kbs wz. 96D Beryl: an option available by the manufacturer, which allows to freely complete the rifle from elements of versions A, B and C *Beryl M545 (2011): proposed
5.45×39mm The 5.45×39mm Cartridge (firearms), cartridge is a Rim (firearms), rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge. It was introduced into service in 1974 by the Soviet Union for use with the new AK-74. The 5.45×39mm gradually supplemented and then ...
export variantWilk, Remigiusz: ''Broń strzelecka w Kielcach'', "RAPORT Wojsko Technika Obronność" Nr. 11/2013, p. 37 (in Polish) *Beryl M762 (2013): "C" export variant chambered to fire 7.62×39mm ammunition. Bought by Nigeria.


Users

* : An unspecified number was donated by Poland * : 90 units of which 80 are wz. 96A in use by special forces and recon units (10 with wz. 74 Pallad grenade launcher and 10 with CWL-1 telescopic sight with laser pointer) and 10 are wz. 96 Mini-Beryl variant. Until 2003 used by SOJ Aitvaras elite special forces unit in Afghanistan. * : 3,200 units (in March 2018, the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria signed a letter of intent to manufacture the rifles in Nigeria) * : Current standard-issue rifle of the
Polish Land Forces The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...
, with around 86,000 units in service. *: An unspecified number was donated by Poland during the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.


See also

*
FB Mini-Beryl The karabinek wz. 1996 Mini-Beryl is a Polish compact assault rifle (carbine) derived from the FB Beryl service rifle and chambered for 5.56×45mm. It was developed in parallel with the wz. 1996 Beryl by the "Łucznik" Arms Factory in Radom an ...
*
FB MSBS FB, Fb, or fb may refer to: Arts and media * F♭ (musical note) * FB (band), an electronic music collaboration of Benny Benassi and Ferry Corsten * Facebook, a social networking website, also known as FB.com ** Meta Platforms, formerly Facebo ...
*
FB Tantal The ''karabinek wzór 1988'' (Carbine Model 1988) Tantal is a 5.45×39mm assault rifle designed and produced in Poland in the late 1980s. Development Design work on the new rifle officially began in 1984 at the government-owned ''Ośrodek Bada ...
* Kbkg wz. 1960


References


External links


Fabryka Broni "Łucznik" Radom home page
{{AK47 derivatives 5.45×39mm assault rifles 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles 7.62×39mm assault rifles Assault rifles of Poland Kalashnikov derivatives Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1997