Heckler & Koch

Infobox Company
company_name = Heckler & Koch GmbH
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1949
location_city = flagicon|Germany Oberndorf am Neckar
location_country = Germany
key_people = Edmund Heckler, Theodor Koch, Alex Seidel, founders
industry = Defense
products = Firearms, weapons
revenue =
num_employees = 700 (December 2002)
homepage = [http://www.heckler-koch.de/ www.heckler-koch.de] [http://www.heckler-koch.de/ www.heckler-koch.de] ]

Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) (pronounced IPA2|ˈhɛklɐʔʊntˈkɔx [ [http://www.hkpro.com/koch.htm HKPro - How do you correctly pronounce "Koch?"] ] ) is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms, for example the MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle and the more recent G36 assault rifle, the MP7 personal defense weapon, USP series of handguns and the high-precision PSG1 sniper rifle. Heckler & Koch firearms are known for their precision, durability, reliability and build quality. All firearms made by H&K are named by a prefix and the official designation, with suffixes used for variants.

Heckler & Koch has a history of innovation in firearms, such as the use of polymers in their weapon designs and polygonal rifling. Contrary to popular belief which holds that the Austrian company Glock was the first manufacturer to use advanced polymers in their pistols, it was in fact Heckler & Koch with the release of their VP70 semi-automatic pistol in 1970. Heckler & Koch also developed modern polygonal rifling, noted for its high accuracy, increased muzzle velocity and barrel life. Not all of its technologically ambitious designs have translated into commercially successful products (for instance, the advanced but now abandoned G11 assault rifle, which fired caseless high-velocity ammunition). H&K produces a whole range of small arms, from pistols to grenade launchers and machine guns. In its extensive product range, H&K has used most of the operating systems for small arms: blowback operation, short-recoil, roller-delayed blowback, gas-delayed blowback, and gas operation. All of their firearm models have achieved a reputation for excellent accuracy and reliability at prices that sometimes deter civilian purchases.

History

H&K was founded by engineers Edmund Heckler, Theodor Koch, and Alex Seidel in 1949 from the remnants of the Mauser company; the company was registered in 1950. Initially the company manufactured machine tools, sewing machine parts, gauges and other precision parts, but this changed in 1956 when the company proposed the G3 automatic rifle for the Bundeswehr (Federal German Army). Since then H&K has designed and manufactured more than one hundred different types of firearms and devices for the world's military and law enforcement organizations. In 1991, in the wake of the cancellation of the G41 and G11 rifles, H&K was bought by British Aerospace's Royal Ordnance division. Their major contribution to weaponry since then was the modification of the SA80 series of rifles for the British Army, addressing a number of reliability issues, and the development of the lightweight carbon fiber–reinforced G36 polymer assault rifle, the current (2008) service rifle of the Bundeswehr and numerous other military and police forces. In 2002 BAE Systems, as it was by now known, resold H&K to a German group (H&K Beteiligungs-GmbH) that was created for the purpose of this acquisition.

The company is located in Oberndorf in the state of Baden-Württemberg, but also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France and the United States. The company motto is: "No Compromise". The slogan emphasizes that H&K aims to incorporate accuracy, reliability, and ergonomics into their designs without sacrificing one over the other. Because of this paradigm many fans feel that H&K is the world's premiere firearms manufacturer. This idea is supported by the fact that Heckler & Koch provides firearms for many of the world's elite military and paramilitary units, like the Special Air Service, U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force, FBI HRT, the German KSK and GSG 9 and countless other counter-terrorist and hostage rescue teams. [cite web|url=http://www.sasspecialairservice.com/sas-assault-rifles-guns.html|title=UnOfficial SAS Website|accessdate=2008-08-28|format=HTML] [cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/sealteams/seal_index.html|title=Unofficial US Navy Seals Website|accessdate=2008-08-28|format=HTML] [cite web |url=http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-29416.html|title=US Special Forces Unofficial website|accessdate=2008-08-28]

H&K has been contracted by the U.S. Army to produce the kinetic energy subsystem [cite web |url=http://www.thegunsource.com/Heckler-Koch.aspx|title=The Gun Source - H&K|accessdate=2008-08-30|format=HTML] (see: kinetic projectiles or kinetic energy penetrator) of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon, a planned replacement for the M16/M203 grenade launcher combination. The OICW was designed to fire 5.56 mm bullets and 25 mm grenades. The kinetic energy component was also developed separately as the XM8, though both the OICW and XM8 are now indefinitely suspended. [cite web|url=http://azk87.deviantart.com/art/Heckler-and-Koch-G36-71095972|title=Deviant Art H&K page|accessdate=2008-09-03|format=HTML]

H&K is also contracted to refurbish the SA80 range of weapons for the British Army, mainly because at the time the contract was put out to tender H&K was part of BAE Systems.cite web |url=http://www.army.mod.uk/equipment/support-weapons/1458.aspx|title=British Army Website information page on the SA80 A2 rifle|accessdate=2008-08-28|format=HTML]

Recently, H&K developed an improved version of the United States issued M4, called the HK416. [cite web |url=http://world.guns.ru/assault/as75-e.htm|title=Modern Firearms|accessdate=2008-08-30|format=HTML] H&K replaced the direct gas impingement system used by the Stoner design on the original M16 platform with a piston operating system. At this date, there is no indication that the rifle will be adopted by the United States Armed Forces. However, the elite Delta Force and other special operations units have fielded the HK416 in combat,cite journal |last=Cox|first=Matthew|date=March 1, 2007|title=Better than M4, but you can't have one|journal=Army Times |volume= |issue= |pages= |id= |url=http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/atCarbine070219/|accessdate=2007-03-15 ] and Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn has called for a "free and open competition" to determine whether the army should buy the HK416 or continue to purchase more M4 carbines.cite journal |last=Lowe |first=Christian |date=April 30, 2007 |title=Senator Tells Army to Reconsider M4 |journal=Military.com |volume= |issue= |pages= |id= |url=http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,133962,00.html |accessdate=2007-06-16 ] Incoming Secretary of the Army Pete Geren agreed in July 2007 to hold a "dust chamber" test, pitting the M4 against H&K's HK416 and XM8, as well as the rival Fabrique Nationale's SOF Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) design. Coburn had threatened to stop Geren’s Senate confirmation if he did not agree to the test.cite web|url=http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/07/army_rifle_070715/|title=M4 to face new rifles in dust-chamber test] The XM8 and SCAR had the fewest failures in the test, closely followed by the HK416, while the M4 had by far the most. [cite web |url=http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003908.html|title=Defence Technology Website|accessdate=2008-08-30|format=HTML] The Norwegian Army has recently chosen the HK416 to be its new standard issue rifle.cite journal |last=Bentzrød |first=Sveinung Berg |date=April 13, 2007 |title=Arvtageren til AG-3 |journal=Aftenposten.no |volume= |issue= |pages= |id= |url=http://www.Aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article1733557.ece |accessdate=2007-06-16 ]

H&K sells its pistols in the United States to both the civilian and law enforcement markets. In 2004, H&K was awarded a major handgun contract for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), worth a potential $26.2 million for up to 65,000 pistols. [cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_11_49/ai_n7579143|title=findarticles.com|accessdate=2008-08-30|format=HTML] This contract ranks as the single largest handgun procurement contract in US law enforcement history. [cite web |url=http://www.hksystems.com.au/news.htm|title=H&K Australia website|accessdate2008-08-30|format=HTML] Many H&K civilian rifles that were briefly sold in the United States now command a high value on the secondary market. H&K firearms are often seen as a status symbol among American gun owners due to their quality, scarcity, and high price tag.

Heckler & Koch abbreviations

(Format: Abbreviation = German Text (English Text))

*A = "Ausführung" ("Version") [ [http://www.hkpro.com/HK33.htm HKPro - definition of 'A' designation] ]
*G = "Gewehr" ("Rifle") [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=Gewehr Translation Website Page] ]
*K = Either "Kurz" ("Short") for pistols and submachine guns or "Karabiner" ("Carbine") for rifles and assault rifles. [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=Karabiner Translation Website Page] ]
*AG = Either stands for "Anbau-Gerät" ("Attached Device") or "Anbaugranatwerfer" ("Attached Grenade Launcher")
*GMG = "Granatmaschinengewehr" (Grenade machine gun) [http://www.dict.cc/?s=maschinengewehr Translation for machine gun Website Page] ]
*GMW = "Granatmaschinenwerfer" (Automatic Grenade Launcher) [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=werfer Translation Website Page] ]
*MG = "Maschinengewehr" ("Machinegun")
*MP = "Maschinenpistole" ("Submachinegun") or ("Machine Pistol") [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=maschinenpistole Translation Website Page] ]
*PSG = "Präzisions-Schützen-Gewehr" ("Precision Marksman's Rifle") [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=Pr%E4zisions-Sch%FCtzen-Gewehr Translation Website Page] ]
*SD = "Schalldämpfer" ("Sound dampened", in the case of the MP5 having an integral silencer, in the case of the USP, an extended threaded barrel for attaching a silencer) [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=Schalld%E4mpfer Translation Website Page] ]
*SG = "Schützen-Gewehr" ("Marksman's Rifle") [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=Sch%FCtzen Transpation Website Page] ]
*UMP = "Universal-Maschinenpistole" ("Universal Machine Pistol") [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=universal-maschinenpistole Translation Website Page] ]
*UCP = Ultimate Combat Pistol
*USP = "Universal-Selbstladepistole" ("Universal Self-loading Pistol") [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=Universal-Selbstladepistole Translation Website Page] ]
*ZF = "Zielfernrohr" ("Telescopic Sight") [ [http://www.dict.cc/?s=Zielfernrohr Translation Website Page] ]

ee also

*List of Heckler & Koch products
*List of modern armament manufacturers

References

External links

* [http://www.heckler-koch.de Heckler & Koch] , official homepage (international).
* [http://www.hkd-usa.com Heckler & Koch USA] , official homepage (U.S.).
* [http://photos.imageevent.com/smglee/cltactical/HK%20Military%20LE%20Catalog.pdf 2008 Heckler & Koch Military and LE brochure]
* [http://www.hkpro.com HK Pro] , comprehensive fan page.
* [http://www.remtek.com/arms/hk/index.htm Remtek] , Heckler & Koch page of general firearms information site.
* [http://www.hkwebshop.com Heckler & Koch Webshop] , official webshop (international).