The Uzi submachine gun is one of the most iconic and recognizable firearms of the 20th century. As a highly successful design with more than 10 million produced to date, it has spawned numerous copies, licensed and otherwise, and has been manufactured everywhere from Belgium to southeast Asia. One entry in the unlicensed column comes from China. Not an official service arm of the Chinese military, the Uzi facsimile was, like so many other Chinese firearms, made for export sales.
Just as Israel Military Industries (IMI) found an international civilian market for a semi-automatic carbine version of the famed submachine gun, the Chinese followed suit. Manufactured by China North Industries Corp. (Norinco), they were exported, with the model name “Officers 9” marked on the left rear of the receiver inside a seven-pointed star, and given the model designation “320.”
The Norinco 320 is a semi-automatic, blowback-operated carbine with a 16" barrel, chambered for 9 mm Luger. The modifications that allowed it to be imported as a semi-automatic rifle are identical to those pioneered by IMI for its semi-automatic Uzi carbines. First, the action was modified to fire from a closed bolt, versus the original open-bolt design of the Uzi submachine gun. A blocking rail is welded into the receiver to prevent the use of a full-automatic bolt, with a corresponding cut in the semi-automatic bolt. The receiver also has a restrictor ring with an integrated feed ramp to prevent the use of a submachine gun barrel. The 320 has adjustable sights of the type used on the IMI Model B. Fit, as well as the gray phosphate finish, on the Model 320 is not up to the standard of IMI products, and sometimes tinkering is required to get a 320 to function reliably.
The earliest Chinese imports had a folding metal stock and the “Officers 9” marking (the manual supplied with later 320s show the carbine in this configuration). A small number were imported by Pacific Intl. before the 1989 non-sporting firearms import ban. Around 1993, a single batch of Model 320s was imported into this country by INTRAC of Knoxville, Tenn., and distributed by Action Arms of Philadelphia. Action Arms, the U.S. distributor of Israeli-made Uzi products, had not imported Uzi semi-automatic rifles since 1989. The company even designated the 320 the “Model B Sporter,” the same name it had previously used for IMI carbines.
The pictured Model 320 is of this latter type. It features post-1989 “sporting” modifications, similar to Chinese-made AK-type rifles imported during this period of time. This includes fitting the rifle with a wood thumbhole stock that resembled the original Uzi wood buttstock with a connecting loop to a wood pistol grip. Additionally, the bayonet lug is removed, the barrel nut is welded to the receiver and the 32-round magazine is plugged to limit its capacity to 10 rounds. The “Officers 9” moniker was removed by milling the words off and refinishing that area of the receiver.
Sometimes, Model 320s with the thumbhole stock will be referred to as “pre-ban,” as they were imported before the 1993 ban on all Chinese firearm imports. Approximately 10,000 Norinco 320s were imported into the country by this time. Chinese “Uzis” will often be found converted to the original folding or detachable wood stock configuration with Israeli-made parts.
The Model 320 pictured is brand new in the original box with original tags and all accessories, including sling, cleaning kit, sight-adjustment tool and manual. In this condition, it is worth $1,500.
Gun: Model 320
Manufacturer: China North Industries Corp. (Norinco)
Chambering: 9 mm Luger
Manufactured: c. 1993
Condition: NRA New (Modern Gun Standards)
Value: $1,500
