Heckler und Koch G3
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The G3 is a battle rifle, manufactured by Heckler und Koch and adopted by the Bundeswehr in 1958.
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History
It was the standard infantry weapon of the German Bundeswehr until 1997, and is still being used by several national armies around the world. The G3 is typical of its day, a battle rifle chambered in 7.62 x 51 mm NATO, capable of semi-automatic or fully automatic fire and using a detachable magazine, like the FN FAL or the M14. It is equipped with a flash suppressor and can mount a bayonet. It was developed by former Mauser engineers, after having spent some time in Spain working for the arms developers there. These people helped build the CETME rifle and took it back to Germany. Indeed for a time the first G3s had "CETME" stamped on the side. The design was modified however.
G3 stands for "Gewehr 3", the German for "Rifle, 3". The G3 was adopted in 1958 as a replacement for the Bundeswehr's G1, a modified version of the Belgian FN FAL, which had been used since 1956, the year after West Germany had been accepted to NATO. [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/9/newsid_2519000/2519979.stm) The G3 was therefore the first indigenously-produced infantry rifle of the new West German army.
Construction details
The G3 is of modular construction, based around a stamped steel receiver, a pressed in barrel, and a detachable 'trigger group' which encompasses the handgrip, trigger, and fire selector mechanism. The selector switch is typically referred to by the acronym "SEF", which refers to the most common fire settings. The top setting stands for Sicher, which is German for "safe". The middle setting Einzelfeuer (Ine-tsell-foyer) which means "single shot" or "semi-auto". The bottom setting Feuerstoß (pronounced foyer-shtoss), meaning "burst shot," is sometimes jokingly referred to as "Frieden," meaning "peace." The modular trigger group allows for several different fire combinations; some G3 export versions include only safe and semi-automatic modes, and some use dot symbols or iconic representations of bullets instead, i.e. one dot (".") for single shot and three dots ("...") for burst mode.
The G3's folding charging handle is mounted on the left side of the weapon, in line with the forward handgrip. This in in contrast to the majority of competing designs, which mount the charging handle directly on the receiver. This has caused some criticism as some find it awkward to manipulate, particularly while prone. The G3 does not have a bolt hold-open device; when the final cartridge is fired, the bolt does not remain open, and thus the rifleman cannot tell if he has expended his ammunition. Again, this is in contrast to many of the G3's contemporaries, most notably the Armalite AR-15, which have a catch of some sort that keeps the bolt locked open after the last round. However, this is looked on as an advantage by some as there are fewer parts to break. The magazines are made of steel or aluminum, the latter being more popular on account of relatively light weight and durability. In military service the G3's magazine was typically of twenty-round capacity, though smaller and larger magazines are available on the civilian market. The magazine was removed via a "flapper" behind the magazine and forward of the trigger guard. This was pushed forward, dropping the magazine.
Stripping of the weapon is achieved by pushing two small pins from the buttstock, removing the buttstock, pulling the trigger pack down (it could be removed by pushing out another pin holding it in place), and pulling back the charging handle to push the bolt out of the rifle. For loading, the H&K manual of arms recommends charging the rifle, pushing the handle upward into a slot, putting in a magazine (rocking it slightly from front to back is recommended, though it is not as drastic as with the AK series), and releasing the bolt in a controlled fashion. The action requires that the rifleman allows the bolt carrier to fly forward with full power, lest the rollers not lock up and the bolt not fully close.
The G3 uses an firing mechanism that is closely related to the WW2-era MG-42 and StG.44. It is known as "Delayed Roller Locking" or roller-delayed blowback. The bolt is not locked into the receiver in the normal static manner. The bolt-head has a small roller on two sides that fit into a recess in the receiver. The bolt-head protrudes slightly from the rest of the bolt, being pushed backward when a round is chambered, locking the rollers into their recesses. When round is fired the intense pressure of 50,000 lbf/in² (300 MPa) must first overcome the rollers before the bolt pushes backward against the recoil spring, which then hurls it forward to strip another round from the magazine.
Variants of the G3
The G3 had, most notably, a wooden buttstock, a steel forearm with large perforations, and a "paddle wheel" sight. The "paddle wheel" consisted of one v notch set for 100 meters and aperture sights set for 200, 300, and 400 meters. The use of the 100 meter notch was discouraged with the 200 meter aperture being favored for both 100 and 200 meters. The 100 meter sight was relegated to volley fire and extreme close ranges.
G3A1
Side-folding stock.
G3A2
The same stock setup but with trademark H&K diopter drum sights. The settings were the same but now the sights were on a slightly tilted drum that was twisted to the left or right for the desired setting. This proved more secure than the paddle.
G3A3
G3a3.gif
The most well known version. Drum sights, a fixed plastic buttstock and a plastic forearm of the slim or wide variety (the latter allows for atatchment of a bipod). The G3A4 uses the drum sights and a retractable, single position, stock. Both versions can also be issued with a scope with the nomenclature G3A3(A4)Z. Z stands for 'Zielfernrohr' or "Telescope."
G3KA4
G3ka4.gif
Smallest of the line. It uses the drum sights, a retractable stock and a 12.4 inch (314.96 mm) barrel. Contrary to popular belief the HK51 is not made by H&K, being a creation of the American Class II manufacturers. The HK51 has no real standards but is usually a cut down and modified G3A3 or its semi-automatic clone, the HK91. Usually fitted with a retractable stock, it is a tiny 23.17/30.72 (stock closed and retracted) inches with a 8.31 inch barrel.
91
The H&K 91 is a semi-automatic version of the G3.
One final accessory is the HK79 40mm grenade launcher, with forearm, and ladder sight.
Advantages and disadvantages
The G3 was used by a number of countries, though it could never catch up to the FN FAL. It is/was a reliable weapon system, accurate, and easy to maintain. Some complaints that it was not very ergonomic. One complaint that can readily be made is that the rifle required more complex assembly than, say, an FN FAL. The barrel also has to be pressed into the trunnion, a seemingly unnecessary complexity and various welds had to be made. It is a heavy rifle, nine pounds (four kilograms) without a magazine. On the balance, this is a complaint that can be levied against many weapons. Some also complain that the detail strip is odd or complex. It also has another failing, shared with other rifles of its kind. Although the G3 is capable of fully automatic fire, in practice this was not extremely useful. The recoil generated by the 7.62 NATO cartridge makes full-auto mostly impractical. It can be done but normally only from a prone position.
Additional details
- Rifling: 4 grooves, right hand, 1:12 twist rate
- Sights: paddle wheel/diopter sights
- Maximum effective range: 400 m
- Magazine capacity: 20 rounds
Operators
- Norway - as AG-3 (Automatgevær 3)
- Sweden - as AK-4 (Automatkarbin 4)
- Saudi-Arabia
- Pakistan
- Greece
- Denmark
- Mexico
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Portugal
- Latvia
- Turkey
- Islamic Republic of Iran
- Colombia - Although it has been replaced since the mid 1990 by Locally produced Galil rifles.
In the German military, the Bundeswehr, it is being phased out and replaced by the Heckler und Koch G36.
External links
- Buddy Hinton Collection / HK (http://www.sturmgewehr.com/bhinton/Heckler_Koch/)
- HK Musuem (http://www.sturmgewehr.com/bhinton/HK_Plant_Mauser_Museum/)
- Modern Firearms (http://world.guns.ru/assault/as12-e.htm)
- Heckler and Koch G3 disassembled (http://www.bimbel.de/artikel/artikel-12.html)