HK P7
| HK P7 | |
|---|---|
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|
| general information | |
| Civil name: | HK PSP, P7 |
| Military designation: | P7 |
| Country of operation: | Germany |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Heckler |
| Development year: | 1976 |
| Manufacturer country: | Germany |
| Production time: | since 1979 |
| Model variants: | see model variants |
| Weapon Category: | gun |
| Technical specifications | |
| Ammunition supply : | Bar magazine |
| Fire types: | Semi-automatic |
| Number of trains : | Polygon run |
| Twist : | Right |
| Visor : | Open sights |
| Closure : |
gas-braked ground lock (except P7 K3) |
| Charging principle: | Recoil loader |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Heckler & Koch P7 or PSP ( police self-loading pistol ) is a self-loading pistol in all-steel construction. You verschießt cartridges of caliber 9 × 19mm . The variant P7M10 has the caliber .40 S&W and was mainly built for export to the USA .
functionality
According to its functional principle, the P7 is a recoil charger with an unlocked, but gas-braked, ground lock . In contrast to a gas pressure charger , gas is diverted into a gas cylinder through a hole in the barrel directly in front of the cartridge chamber in the weapon, which pushes a gas piston forward and thus brakes the breech as it returns until the bullet has emerged from the barrel.
This type of breech means that the weapon has a permanently installed barrel similar to the Walther PP , which does not move when firing (in contrast to the otherwise common, locked recoil loaders with swivel bolt or Browning breeches ). For this reason, among other things, the P7 is characterized by a high level of intrinsic precision.
Another advantage is that it can be dismantled into four assemblies (handle with barrel, lock with gas piston, firing pin with firing pin spring, locking spring) without any tools.
The system was patented in 1927 by the Belgian designer John Destree and further developed by Karl Barnitzke at the Gustloff works for the Volkssturmgewehr 1–5 ( "Barnitzke system" ). Later it was also used by the Steyr GB and the Norinco M77B.
Process at the shot
When the shot is fired, part of the hot powder gases are diverted from the barrel through a bore directly in front of the cartridge chamber and diverted into a gas cylinder below. The closure itself carries a gas piston which protrudes into the gas cylinder. As long as the bullet is in the barrel, there is a very high gas pressure on the piston, which brakes the bolt when it retracts. The gas pressure of the cartridge thus causes a pneumatic deceleration of the weapon. The gas relief grooves in the cartridge chamber , which are also used in HK rifles with a roller lock , ensure that the case, which is gas-tight when the shot is fired , can be pulled out easily and reliably, even if the extractor claw should break.
On its way to the rear, the breech conveys the empty case out of the weapon, on its way to the front it then strips off the topmost cartridge from the magazine and pushes it into the chamber of the barrel. This process is repeated when the trigger is pulled through again. As soon as the magazine is empty, the slide remains caught in the rearmost position.
Cocking handle
With its cocking handle , the P7 has a unique hand cocking system that ensures that the weapon is relaxed until it comes to the stop immediately before the shot is fired. For this reason, the P7 does not need any manual safety , but can be fully loaded / fully loaded (ie with a cartridge in the chamber) and carried safely. At the front of the cocking handle is a bar with finger hollows that the shooter grips as soon as he takes the weapon in hand. If the shooter closes his hand, he pushes the cocking lever into the handle and cocks the firing pin lock of the pistol. This is audible through a clear cracking, visible through the emergence of the firing pin from the rear end of the breech and felt through a release of the spring tension when the firing pin engages. The shooter does not have to keep the cocking handle closed all the time against the firing pin and handle spring, but only against the spring of the cocking handle after tensioning the firing pin spring. Now you can fire, with a constant low trigger weight to overcome from the first to the last shot (unlike with a cocked trigger ) .
As soon as the shooter loosens his grip (or drops the weapon), the cocking lever springs back into its starting position under spring pressure - the pistol is immediately relaxed and completely safe. This process is also noticeable by a clear cracking and by the sinking of the firing pin in the breech.
Model variants
| variant | Total length mm |
Barrel length mm |
Height mm |
Width mm |
Weight g |
caliber | Max. Magazine filling |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSP | 166 | 102 | 127 | 29 | 785 | 9 × 19mm | 8th | Original variant; Magazine catch on the bottom of the handle |
| P7 | 171 | 129 | 780 | First execution by authorities; Wider magazine catch on the bottom of the grip, deeper grips conceal the magazine catch on the side | ||||
| P7M8 | 171 | Magazine release on both sides of the grip at thumb height, heat shield in the trigger guard | ||||||
| P7M13 | 175 | 135 | 33 | 850 | 13 | Magazine release on both sides of the grip at thumb height, heat shield in the trigger guard | ||
| P7M10 | 175 | 145 | 1,250 | .40 S&W | 10 | Magazine release on both sides of the grip at thumb height, heat shield in the trigger guard | ||
| P7K3 | 160 | 96.5 | 125 | 29 | 750-775 |
.22 lfB 7.65 width 9 mm short |
8-10 | Interchangeable barrels, magazines and locking springs in a set; Magazine release on both sides of the grip at thumb height (no heat shield, as the slide works without a gas brake) |
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There are six prototypes of the P7 M7 in .45 ACP caliber that never went into production.
Problems and criticism
In Lower Saxony, several people died due to incorrect operation in the 1990s . This was favored by a design feature of the weapon: a shot is released on the P7 when the trigger and cocking handle are pressed at the same time; the weapon does not differentiate which lever is pressed first. As a result, several accidents occurred in stressful situations , when police officers reflexively not only pulled the cocking handle, but also pulled the trigger with their index finger, injuring and killing colleagues and suspects. The German Weapons Journal reported on it in 1996 and published an article on how the P7 could be changed so that the trigger does not work if it is pulled with the grip relaxed and after pulling the grip only after relieving the load, such as after a shot, is re-sharp becomes. It is not known whether and how many weapons were converted accordingly.
As a matter of principle, the weapon gets very hot in the area of the front handle, where the gas cylinder is located. That is why the P7M8 has a plastic heat shield above the trigger guard compared to the original P7 PSP.
Although it is possible to reduce the sound of the firing pin relaxing, according to the HK operating instructions, by pulling the slide back a little while relaxing, the movement of the handle is still clearly audible when tensioning and relaxing, which is perceived as a disadvantage in certain tactical situations .
use
The P7 was introduced for a long time by the GSG 9 of the Federal Border Police (today Federal Police ), it is still part of the equipment of many special units and also police authorities in Germany and abroad. In 2002 the Bavarian and Saxon state police increased their stocks (880 Bavarian pistols, 65 Saxony pistols), which came from the sale of the Lower Saxony police . This switched to the HK P2000 between 2002 and the end of 2006 for 7.5 million euros . The military personal protection of the German police force led the P7. It was then replaced by the P30 from HK. The penal system in North Rhine-Westphalia still existed in 2004.
literature
- Chris McNab : Small Arms of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Pistols, revolvers, rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, grenade weapons . German first edition. Neuer Kaiser Verlag, Klagenfurt 2007, ISBN 978-3-7043-1440-6 (“Worth knowing - Sport, Technology”).
- Heckler & Koch: P7 M8 / P7 M13 self-loading pistols caliber 9mm × 19 (9mm Luger) instruction manual . 1982, Ident-No. 927 829.
- Heckler & Koch: Pistol P7 - P7 M8 - P7 M13 9mm × 19 repair instructions . 1996, Ident-No. 987 161.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e cf. HK: P7 M8 / P7 M13 self-loading pistols caliber 9mmx19 (9mm Luger) operating instructions , 1982, pp. 3–4.
- ↑ HK P7 on hkpro.com
- ↑ cf. HK: Pistol P7 - P7 M8 - P7 M13 9mm x 19 repair instructions , 1996, p. 16.
- ↑ The HK P7M7 - Only Six in the World on hkpro.com
- ↑ A small question from MP Ralf Briese (GRÜNE) to the Lower Saxony state parliament in June 2009, printed matter 16/1609 (PDF, 43.2 kB), accessed on December 11, 2010
- ↑ P2000: This weapon is a direct hit . Hamburger Abendblatt dated April 9, 2002, accessed on December 11, 2010
- ^ Pistol P7 on streitkraeftebasis.de
- ↑ Der Vollzugsdienst, specialist journal for the prison staff, issue 4, 2004, available online, (accessed December 7, 2010) (PDF; 2.0 MB)