Roller bolt guns from Heckler & Koch

The roller shutter arms of Heckler & Koch are a weapon system of guns , submachine guns , assault rifles and machine guns, the manufacturer Heckler & Koch , as the common technical feature through a movable supported reel closing feature.

The combination of roller lock and rigid barrel enabled the construction of recoil loaders with high precision and good handling and firing properties. The Heckler & Koch company gained worldwide fame through the use of this function principle, which was previously neglected.

Development history

During the Second World War , the engineer Werner Heynen from Moers Stähle developed the movable roller lock for the Mauser 06 H experimental weapon for the Mauser-Werke. After a few modifications, it was to be introduced to the Wehrmacht as the Mauser 45 M rapid fire carabiner . However, due to the end of the war, there was no longer any series production.

Ludwig Vorgrimler also belonged to Heynen's group . After the war he worked at Manurhin in France , but then developed new weapons in the Spanish research and development center for defense material CETME based on the movably supported roller lock. These included the CETME A and CETME B (model 58) rapid-fire rifles in the 7.62 × 51 mm CETME / NATO caliber, built by Empresa Nacional from 1956, and the CETME C in the 7.62 × 51 mm NATO caliber from around 1965 .

Originally, at the end of the 1950s, the Federal Republic of Germany wanted to continue to rely on the G1 rapid-fire rifle from the Belgian manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN Herstal). However, the Belgians refused Germany a production license. So they looked around for an alternative because they wanted to produce in their own country. This alternative was found in the form of the CETME rifle.

In 1958, CETME issued a production license to the Nederland Wapens & Munitiefabrik de Kruithoorn BV, because it was not wanted at international level for Germany to build weapons on a large scale again. In the end, however, Germany prevailed, so that the production license could still be acquired from Heckler & Koch.

In cooperation between CETME and Heckler & Koch, the weapon was technically modernized and set up for the 7.62 × 51 mm NATO cartridge. Heckler & Koch then became the sole producer of this rifle, which was introduced as the G3 by the German Armed Forces and exported to many other countries.

In the following years, further rifles as well as pistols, submachine guns and machine guns were designed and produced from this weapon or according to this system. The export took place in around 50 countries and many countries also received production licenses. This weapon system can now be found all over the world.

At the moment, in addition to submachine guns, only sniper rifles with roller locks are manufactured. In order to survive in the market, cheap weapons must be offered. However, this cannot be guaranteed with the complex roller lock.

However, the types listed below are still being built by the foreign licensees. Some of these weapons are re-imported for the German civil market and modified in accordance with German regulations. Up until 2002, Section 37 WaffG - known as an apparent paragraph - required extensive changes to the appearance of the weapons, which had to be clearly recognizable as non-war weapons. The focus now is on not being able to convert the weapon back into a fully automatic machine.

construction

The weapons are characterized by the extensive use of stamped sheet metal parts, which enabled the housing parts to be produced quickly, easily by machine and relatively inexpensive.

Early rifles were equipped with a wooden stock (barrel jacket and butt) for this purpose. However, Heckler & Koch was a pioneer in the use of plastics in weapon construction, and so plastic pistons, plastic barrel jackets and plastic handles were soon found on all types of weapons. Only civil versions like the SL6 and SL7 still kept a wooden stock. A hallmarked wooden handle was often used on sniper rifles, as it was not about easy maintenance, but about comfortable and even shooting.

The weapons in this weapon system are recoil loaders with a movably supported roller lock . This is structured slightly differently depending on the caliber and intended use of the weapon.

While many of the simple rapid-fire rifles were equipped with cold-hammered, chrome-plated barrels, polygonal barrels were used in sniper rifles and some versions of rapid-fire rifles and machine guns . These do not have a train / field profile. The inner profile is designed as if a polygon (usually hexagon) with rounded edges had been drawn through the barrel and rotated around its axis. This makes the barrel very smooth and free of corners and edges. In this way, the profile can neither be worn down, nor can larger deposits form. The barrel is easier to clean and retains its precision longer.

Versions produced later could not only be set to single and continuous fire, but also to 3-shot bursts. Most rifles were suitable for firing rifle grenades without further modifications or alterations , provided they had a flash hider fitted.

For the guns were as accessory bayonet and small caliber - insert barrel available. They were also to be equipped with additional optical sighting devices ( telescopic sight , night vision device ) and bipods . The police practiced with a device that triggered a camera on the weapon when the trigger was pulled. In this way it was possible to check whether a hit would have been achieved during exercises with living people.

The rapid fire rifles consisted of 6 assemblies:

• Housing and barrel, flash hider, charger , rear sight
• Clasp
• Handle with trigger and safety
• rear housing end and piston / shoulder rest, buffer device
• Hand protection
• magazine

In machine guns, the barrel is a separate assembly.

The weapons were manufactured in the calibers 7.62 × 51 mm NATO and 5.56 × 45 mm NATO . However, there were also versions for the 7,62 × 39 mm Soviet cartridge, aka M43.

Most of the rapid fire rifles in this system can be converted to the "TGS" version with the Heckler & Koch 40 × 46 mm HK79 add- on grenade launcher. The launch tube for the 40 mm grenades is located under the fore-end.

Sights

After the first G 3 only had a folding rear sight , Heckler & Koch developed a number of different sights in the period that followed. For the weapons listed below, it is usually one of three different diopter sights. Only the sniper rifles are partially designed for exclusive use with telescopic sights.

The grain is protected forward in all versions either on the housing or attached to the mouth, and by an annular metal ring (grain protection) against damage.

One version of the rear sight, which is only used on machine guns, consists of a metal plate with a hole. With the knurled adjustment wheels on both sides of this plate, the plate can be raised / lowered and thus adjusted to the target distance by changing the angle between the barrel axis and the line of sight.

The other versions have a tower at an angle. At the top it has either a rear sight and three diopter holes or four diopter holes. The holes are made at different heights. The distance can be adjusted by turning the tower.

The rear sight had to be moved to the side to adjust the windage. This required a screwdriver to loosen a retaining screw.

Fire selector switch

Heckler & Koch has produced a wide range of different trigger groups. The identification consists of white and red letters or numbers or symbols that represent one or more projectiles. In the symbol representation, 7 projectiles mean continuous fire. "Secured" is always shown in white, red indicates " single fire ", " burst of fire " (2 or 3 shots) or " continuous fire " depending on the identification .

When marked with letters, S stands for safe, E or EF for single fire and F for continuous fire. In the numerical designation, S stands for safe, 1 for single fire and 20 or 25 for continuous fire. Trigger groups are also referred to in parlance as 0-1-2 or 0-1-3 if they can only emit single fires and bursts of fire. These trigger groups are also available in combination with a permanent fire facility. Contrary to various sources, there is only one Navy withdrawal group. This shoots single and continuous fire.

Some versions, e.g. B. those of the police in North Rhine-Westphalia have a push button on the right side of the gun to protect against accidental triggering of continuous fire. The fire selector lever can only be set to continuous fire when this is pressed.

literature

• John Walter, Rifles of the World Verlag Krause Publications, 3rd Edition, 2006, ISBN 978-0-89689-241-5
• Steve Crawford, Twenty-first century small arms: the world's great infantry weapons , 2003, ISBN 978-0-7603-1503-3
• Terry Gander, Ian Hogg, Jane's Guns Recognition Guide , 4th Edition, London, HarperCollins Publishers, 2005, ISBN 978-0-00-718328-9
• Walter Lehmann, The Federal Republic and Franco-Spain in the 1950s , Oldenbourg Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-486-57987-1