Bullpup

This article describes the design for handguns known as the bullpup . There was also an American air-to-surface missile with this proper name, the AGM-12 Bullpup .

Steyr AUG A1

Under Bullpup [ bʊlpʌp ] (naming motivation unclear) refers to a type of long guns , in which, unlike the conventional concept closure and often the magazine behind the handle in the buttstock are. This reduces the total length of the weapon while maintaining the same barrel length. The German technical term for this design is buttstock loader .

history

Prototypes

The first known, full-fledged bullpup rifle was the British Thorneycroft carbine from 1901. It was shorter than the Lee-Enfield rifle and had an internal magazine with half the capacity.

The first Bullpup assault rifle was developed in 1943 by the British Stanley Thorpe. Other early military buttstock loaders include the Soviet TKB-408 from 1946, followed by the British post-war prototypes Enfield EM-1 and EM-2, both gas-operated guns with experimental caliber and optical sights.

Ordnance weapons

The first bullpup weapon in the world to be mass-produced and accepted as an orderly was the Czech-German anti - tank rifle M.SS41 , which was introduced in 1941 and used by the Waffen SS during the Second World War .

Models

The bullpup version of the Dragunov sniper rifle (SWU), total length: 900 mm

The Dragunow sniper rifle in conventional design (SWDS), total length: 1135 mm

The bullpup design is now widespread. The most famous representatives include the Austrian Steyr AUG (Sturmgewehr 77 / StG 77), the French FAMAS and the British L85 . Corresponding developments also come from China ( Type 95 ), Singapore ( SAR-21 ), Croatia ( HS product VHS ) and Israel ( Tavor TAR-21 ). In addition to other assault rifles, there are various, e.g. Partly converted sniper rifles ( QBU-88 , Barrett M90 & 95 , Steyr IWS 2000 , Walther WA2000 , Keppeler KS V ) and submachine guns ( Steyr AUG para ) in bullpup design. Another development is the Pancor Jackhammer , a fully automatic shotgun in Bullpup design from the 1980s. Occasionally the bullpup design is also used for handguns, such as the Boberg XR9S.

Internationally, for example, the armies of France , Great Britain , Austria and Australia rely on Bullpup, while the armies of the United States , Switzerland and Germany , for example , prefer the conventional design.

• Well-known bullpup rifles
• 

   People's Republic of China
  Type 95

• 

   France
  FAMAS

• 

   United Kingdom
  SA80

• 

   Russia
  KBP A-91

• 

   Singapore
  SAR-21

• 

   Israel
  Tavor TAR-21

literature

• Thomas B. Dugelby: Modern military bullpup rifles. The EM-2 concept comes of age. Collector Grade Publications, Toronto et al. 1984, ISBN 0-85368-659-9 .

Web links

Commons : Bullpup  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stock loader models of the early 20th century. In: all4shooters.com. Retrieved February 28, 2018 .