Beschussamt (Germany)
In Germany there are six active fire protection offices that are responsible for testing hunting, sporting and defense weapons and their ammunition . The shooting law forms the basis for this .
history
In order to regulate the firearms in Germany, the law of May 19, 1891 stipulated proof tests for all civilian firearms . The intended test marks (also called proof marks or marks) were prescribed by ordinance of June 22, 1892. The test centers were set up by order of the state governments on April 1, 1893. At first there were three shelling stations in Suhl , Zella-Mehlis and Oberndorf am Neckar , which later became shelling offices. In 1905 there were further test centers in Frankfurt an der Oder , Sömmerda , Munich , and Germersheim . Seven active offices have been recorded since 1991. Some of the offices that had been operated in the meantime have been given up (see section “Former firing offices”).
Locations
The offices that have been active since 1991 are in Hanover , Cologne , Eckernförde, Mellrichstadt , Munich , Suhl and Ulm-Jungingen . They differ in their tasks. While only weapons tests are carried out in Hanover, ammunition tests are also carried out in all other offices. In addition, material tests (e.g. armored glass , protective vests , special protection vehicles ) are carried out in Mellrichstadt, Munich and Ulm .
tasks
The most well-known task of the fire department is the fire test . In addition, weapons are also marked in accordance with Section 24 of the Weapons Act and checked for their functional reliability and dimensional accuracy. Each firefighting office has its own location sign for these markings in order to e.g. B. to be able to understand at which fire department the respective test was carried out.
Firecrackers and muzzleloaders that are shot down by traditional clubs during public appearances must be fired at regularly and a proof of fire is also issued. For ammunition to be sold, it must be checked with regard to its type as well as its uniformity in industrial production.
The firefighting offices also prepare expert reports for courts and public prosecutors. The fire protection office in Ulm is also involved in the creation of police specifications, e.g. B. for police pistols involved.
Fire offices
- Locations of the German proof offices
Shooting office Cologne
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The Beschussamt Cologne is an operating point of the North Rhine-Westphalian State Office for Metrology and Calibration in Cologne. The main focus of activity is fire tests and approvals.
Shelling office Mellrichstadt
The Mellrichstadt Proof Office is also known as the Bavarian State Office for Weights and Measures , which has the function and status of a Proof Office.
Shooting office Munich
The Munich Proofing Office is also known as the Bavarian State Office for Weights and Measures , which has the function and status of a proofing office.
Shelling Office Suhl
Functional tests have been mandatory in Germany since 1891. The Suhl shooting office is the oldest and the only one that works continuously, especially at the historic location. In the bulletins of the Prussian official press, under the title “Etat der Handels- und Gewerbeverwaltung” from January 13, 1893, page 2, the note: “Newly listed are 50,000 marks income from the shooting establishment in Suhl.” The shooting office in Suhl has been in existence since At the end of the 20th century, affiliated to the Thuringian State Office for Metrology and Calibration.
Shooting office Ulm
The largest fire protection office in Germany is in Ulm-Jungingen . The Ulm Proofing Office was founded in 1952 and is affiliated to the Tübingen Regional Council as Section 106 (Proofing, Security Technology). Among other things, it is equipped with 100 m shooting lanes, an outdoor area for explosive tests, four firing chambers and various materials testing machines. They also have around 200 test runs for a corresponding number of types of ammunition.
Around 70% of German bullet tests are carried out in Ulm. Because of the various large weapons manufacturers in the catchment area of the shooting office, "clearance points" are maintained at Blaser , Heckler & Koch , Feinwerkbau , JG Anschütz and Carl Walther GmbH . So-called alarm and signal weapons must also be fired at if they have a caliber over 7 mm.
Former proof offices
In Germany, other proof offices are known (formerly also called proof houses) that have their own proof marks. These are the bulletproof offices in Berlin, Eckernförde, Frankfurt an der Oder, Germersheim, Hanover, Oberndorf am Neckar and Zella-Mehlis. The fire protection office in Zella-Mehlis was put into operation on April 1, 1893 and abandoned in 1949 in favor of the fire protection office in Suhl. The recent events are recorded in detail in the filing of the "Beschussanstalten Suhl and Zella-Mehlis 1944–1949" (City Archives Suhl, 2.5./70). The shooting office in Kiel stopped shooting operations in 2017.
criticism
In 2019, the Bavarian Supreme Audit Office criticized the fact that the Bavarian firing offices in Munich and Mellrichstadt could not prove their profitability as required. Income of € 2.4 million was offset by expenses of € 2.9 million.
Other authorities
Other authorities also perform some tasks in this context. The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is responsible for the type approval of handguns and plug-in barrels and awards the PTB test mark . The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) processes the approval of pyrotechnic ammunition and issues the BAM markings .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Meyers 1905, entry Handfeuerwaffen, last section (accessed on September 20, 2010)
- ^ Beschussamt Köln, official information, (Online-PDF 505 kB) ( Memento from February 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Official press of Prussia, Latest Mittheilungen. Responsible editor: O. Hammann. Berlin, Friday, January 13, 1893, at the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (online, viewed on September 20, 2010) ( Memento from March 10, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ DSB rule 1.58 - Ordonnance rifle PDF file "DSB-rule-compliant weapons, ammunition, accessories and equipment", (3rd edition from 2009), Appendix 2-2, valid proof marks Source: DSB, (viewed on September 20, 2010) , (online PDF 2.9 MB) ( Memento from January 22, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The bombardment institution in Zella-Mehlis, official website of the Historical and Museum Association Zella-Mehlis e. V. ( Memento from July 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Lothar Schreier: Interesting facts about the Beschussanstalt , in Der Museumskurier Heft 4 1998 Publisher: Geschichts- und Museumsverein Zella-Mehlis e. V., pages 7 to 10 PDF file ( Memento from January 20, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The Verification Directorate North informs: Shooting operations in the Eckernförde shelling point are discontinued , (Online-PDF 156 kB) ( Memento from January 21, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Bavarian Supreme Court of Auditors: Annual report 2019 part no. 48
