Heckler & Koch

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Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) (pronounced "ˈhɛklɐʔʊntˈkɔx"[1]) is a German weapons manufacturing company famous for various series of small firearms, notably the MP5 submachine gun, G3 and more modern G36 assault rifle, the MP7 personal defense weapon, USP series of handguns and the high-precision PSG1 sniper rifle. Heckler & Koch is known for the extreme precision, durability, reliability and accuracy of their firearms. All firearms made by H&K are named by a prefix and the official designation, with suffixes used for variants.

Heckler & Koch has a history of innovations in fire arms, such as the use of polymers and polygonal rifling. Most believe that Austrian company Glock was the first firearms manufacturer to use polymers in their hand guns, however it was Heckler & Koch who actually claimed that title when they released the VP70 pistol in 1970. Heckler & Koch also developed modern polygonal rifling, noted for its high accuracy and increased muzzle velocity and barrel life. Not all of its technologically ambitious designs have resulted in successful products (for instance, the advanced but now abandoned G11 assault rifle). HK produces the whole range of small arms, from pistols to grenades and machine guns. In its extensive product range, HK has used most of the operating systems for small arms: blowback, short-recoil, roller-delayed blowback, gas-delayed blowback, and gas-operated. All of their firearm models have achieved reputations for excellent accuracy and reliability at prices that sometimes deter civilian purchases.

Contents

History

HK was founded by Edmund Heckler, Theodor Koch, and Alex Seidel in 1949 from the remnants of Mauser, and the company was registered in 1950. In the beginning, the company produced sewing machine parts and other fine mechanical devices, but this changed in 1956 when the company constructed a rifle for the Bundeswehr (Federal German Army). In 1991 in the wake of the cancellation of the G41 and G11 rifles, H&K was bought by British Aerospace's Royal Ordnance division. Their major contribution to weaponry since then was the modification of the SA-80 rifle for the British Army, clearing up a number of issues, and the development of the lightweight carbon fiber–reinforced polymer assault rifle G36, the current main service rifle of the Bundeswehr and numerous other military and police forces. In 2002 BAE Systems, as it was by now known, resold HK to a German group (H&K Beteiligungs-GmbH) that was created for this purpose.

The company is located in Oberndorf in the state of Baden-Württemberg, but also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France and the United States. The company slogan is: "In a world of compromise, some don't". The slogan emphasizes that HK aims to incorporate accuracy, reliability, and ergonomics into their designs without sacrificing one over the other. Because of this paradigm many fans feel that HK is the world's premiere firearm manufacturer. This idea is supported by the fact that Heckler & Koch provides firearms for many of the world's elite military and paramilitary units, like the Special Air Service, U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force, FBI HRT, the German KSK and GSG 9 and countless other counter terrorist and hostage rescue teams.

HK has been contracted by the U.S. Army to produce the kinetic energy subsystem (see: kinetic projectiles or kinetic energy penetrator) of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon, a planned replacement for the M16/M203 grenade launcher combination. The OICW was designed to fire 5.56 mm bullets and 25 mm grenades. The kinetic energy component was developed separately as the HK XM8, though both the OICW and XM8 are now indefinitely suspended.

HK is also contracted to refurbish the SA80 range of weapons for the British Army, mainly because at the time the contract was put out to tender HK was part of BAE Systems.

Recently, H&K developed an improved version of the United States issued M4 carbine, called the HK416. H&K replaced the direct gas impingement system used by the Stoner design on the original M16 platform with a piston system. At this date, there is no indication that the rifle will be adopted by the U.S. Armed Forces. However, the elite Delta Force and other Special Operations units have used the HK416 in combat, and Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn has called for a "free and open competition" to determine whether the Army should buy the HK416 or continue to purchase more M4 carbines. Incoming Secretary of the Army Pete Geren agreed in July 2007 to hold a "dust chamber" test, pitting the M4 against H&K's HK416 and XM8, as well as rival Fabrique Nationale's SOF Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) design. Coburn had threatened to stop Geren’s Senate confirmation if he did not agree to the test.[2] The XM8 and FN SCAR had the fewest failures in the test, closely followed by the HK416, while the M4 had by far the most. The Norwegian Army has chosen the HK416 to be its new standard issue rifle.

HK sells its pistols in the United States to both the civilian and law enforcement market. In 2004 H&K was awarded a major handgun contract by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) , worth a potential $26.2 million for up to 65,000 pistols. This contract ranks as the single largest handgun procurement contract in US law enforcement history. Many HK civilian rifles that were briefly sold in the United States now command a high value on the secondary market. HK firearms are often seen as a status symbol among American gun owners due to their quality, scarcity, and high price tag.

Heckler & Koch products

Pistols

Submachine guns

Assault Rifles

Semi-automatic rifles

Sporting rifles: traditional styles

H&K has produced a number of semi-automatic rifles in the style of traditional hunting rifles, with wood stocks of typical sporter contour.[3] The 270 and 300 were .22 rimfires. The 630/770/940 centerfire series used a roller locked action as did the SL6/SL7 which had shorter barrels and a less traditional stock style. The SLB-2000 uses a gas operated rotating bolt, and the design permits barrels to be switched.

Sporting rifles: military styles

These are civilian adaptations of rifles originally designed for military or police use.

Sniper rifles

Machine guns

Grenade launchers

Other weapons

  • G11: Experimental assault rifle utilizing 4.73mm caseless cartridges.
  • G41: Assault Rifle meant to replace the HK G3; replaced by the HK G36.
  • P11: Underwater pistol.
  • WSG2000: Experimental bullpup sniper rifle, chambered in 9 x 90mm MEN cartridge.

See also List of Heckler & Koch products

Heckler & Koch abbreviations

(Format: Abbreviation = German Text (English Text))

  • A = Ausführung ("Version")[4]
  • G = Gewehr ("Rifle")
  • K = Either Kurz ("Short") for pistols and submachine guns or Karabiner ("Carbine") for rifles and assault rifles.
  • AG = Either stands for Anbau-Gerät ("Attached Device") or Anbaugranatwerfer ("Attached Grenade Launcher")
  • GMG = Granatmaschinengewehr (Grenade machine gun)
  • GMW = Granatmaschinenwerfer (Automatic Grenade Launcher)
  • MG = Maschinengewehr ("Machinegun")
  • MP = Maschinenpistole ("Submachinegun") or ("Machine Pistol")
  • PSG = Präzisions-Schützen-Gewehr ("Precision Marksman's Rifle")
  • SD = Schalldämpfer ("Sound dampened", in the case of the MP5 having an integral silencer, in the case of the USP, an extended threaded barrel for attaching a silencer)
  • SG = Schützen-Gewehr ("Marksman's Rifle")
  • UMP = Universal-Maschinenpistole ("Universal Machine Pistol")
  • UCP = Ultimate Combat Pistol
  • USP = Universal-Selbstladepistole ("Universal Self-loading Pistol")
  • ZF = Zielfernrohr ("Telescopic Sight")

See also

References

  1. ↑ HKPro - How do you correctly pronounce "Koch?"
  2. ↑ M4 to face new rifles in dust-chamber test
  3. ↑ See, for example, images of the 770 found here, 2007-11-08.
  4. ↑ HKPro - definition of 'A' designation

External links


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