Heckler & Koch G41

The G41 is a German 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle introduced in 1981 and produced in limited quantities by Heckler & Koch. It was designed to replace the 5.56mm Heckler & Koch HK33 in service providing a more modern weapon platform compatible with contemporary NATO standards. It is chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge and can use both SS109 and M193 ammunition. Assembly of the G41 has been discontinued by Heckler & Koch, however, production rights to the rifle were acquired by the Italian arms manufacturer Luigi Franchi.

Design details

Operating mechanism

The G41's engineering origins lay in the 7.62×51mm NATO G3 battle rifle. It is a selective fire automatic weapon that employs a roller-delayed blowback system of operation. The two-piece bolt mechanism consists of a bolt head that contains two cylindrical rollers and a wedge-shaped locking piece, attached to a heavy bolt carrier. When fired, the build-up of gas pressure generated by the ignited powder charge exerts rearward pressure on the bolt, which is then transferred onto the rollers. The rollers are cammed inward against appropriately shaped walls in the barrel extension, displacing the locking piece. The geometry of the camming ramps on the wedge-like locking piece ensure a rearward velocity that is greater than that of the bolt. This ensures that the bullet has left the barrel, allowing bore pressures to drop to a safe level before the rollers are fully retracted, clearing the barrel extension notches and releasing the bolt, which is then engaged by the bolt carrier and withdraws together with the entire moving assembly.

Heckler & Koch

Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK) (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛklɐʔʊntˈkɔx]) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, military rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

The Heckler & Koch Group comprises Heckler & Koch GmbH, Heckler & Koch Defense, NSAF Ltd., and Heckler & Koch France SAS. The company motto is "Keine Kompromisse!" (No Compromise!). HK provides firearms for many military and paramilitary units, like the Special Air Service, U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force, FBI HRT, the German KSK and GSG 9 and many other counter-terrorist and hostage rescue teams.

Their products include the MP5 SMG, the G3 battle rifle, the HK33, G36, HK416 assault rifles, the Heckler & Koch HK21 general-purpose machine gun, the MP7 PDW, the UMP SMG, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision PSG1 sniper rifle. All firearms made by HK are named by a prefix and the official designation, with suffixes used for variants.

Heckler & Koch HK33

The HK33 is a 5.56mm assault rifle developed in the 1960s by West German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K), primarily for export.

Capitalizing on the success of their G3 design, the company developed a family of small arms (all using the G3 operating principle and basic design concept) consisting of four types of firearms: the first type, chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, the second—using the Soviet 7.62×39mm M43 round, third—the intermediate 5.56×45mm caliber and the fourth type—chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge.

The HK33 series of rifles were adopted by the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira or FAB), the armed forces of Thailand and Malaysia where they were produced under a license agreement. The rifle was also license-built in France by MAS and in Turkey by MKEK.

Design details

Operating mechanism

The HK33 is a selective fire weapon with Heckler & Koch's roller-delayed blowback system of operation. It employs a two-piece bolt consisting of a bolt head with a pair of rollers and bolt carrier. Upon firing, the two cylindrical rollers in the bolt head are cammed inward by inclined surfaces of the barrel extension and impart a rearward motion on the locking piece, which also propels the bolt carrier rearward. This built-in mechanical disadvantage delays the movement of the bolt head relative to the bolt carrier which is withdrawing at four times the velocity of the bolt. The rollers soon compress entirely into the bolt head, clearing the locking recesses of the barrel extension, and both parts now continue rearward together, opening the breech and actuating the extraction and feeding cycles. The chamber is opened under very high pressure, thus the chamber received a series of flutes in order to increase extraction reliability and prevent sticking of the spent casing to the chamber walls.

Heckler & Koch HK43

The Heckler and Koch HK43 is a semi-automatic rifle based upon the Heckler & Koch HK33 assault rifle and is the predecessor of the Heckler & Koch HK93 semi-automatic rifle.

Overview

In the mid to late 1960s, Heckler & Koch developed the HK33, which was a scaled-down version of the Heckler & Koch G3, but chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO. The HK33 entered production in 1968. In 1974, a semi-automatic version of the HK33 was introduced by H&K and was designated the HK43. According to H&K’s numbering nomenclature, the “4” indicates that the weapon is a paramilitary rifle, and the “3” indicates that the caliber is .223.

A HK43 version KA1 with a shorter 322 mm barrel was used in 1977 by the German RAF terrorist group to assassinate general attorney Siegfried Buback and two policemen .

Today, an original HK43 can sell for around $5000 due to rarity. HK43s were sold with 25-round steel magazines. Of the approximately 377 HK43s produced, it is estimated that about 200 were imported by SACO into the U.S in 1974.