Heckler & Koch G3

Heckler and Koch G3
HK G3A3 (the most popular version of the G3)
Type	selective-fire rifle
Specifications
Mass	10.5 kg
Length	1026 mm

The G3 is a battle rifle, manufactured by Heckler und Koch and adopted by the Bundeswehr in 1958.

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] 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, or the rollers will not lock and the bolt will 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.

Operation

It is important to remember to always keep the finger off of the trigger until target has been selected and you are ready to fire. Always point weapon in safe direction. Always treat weapon as if it were loaded.

Loading

1. On models with "SEF" trigger group, rotate rear of selector (found on the left side of weapon, above pistol grip) all the way up to "S" position. On models with "0-1-20" trigger group, selector should be placed on "0" option. On models with "Pictogram" trigger group rotate rear of selector all the way up, so that front of selector points to depiction of bullet with X through it (will be only depiction outlined in white). Weapon is now safed.

2. Holding the weapon by the pistol grip with the right hand, grasp charging hadle loacated on front left side of weapon with the left hand and pull all the way to rear, lock into place by manuvering handle clock-wise into slot found near top of weapon.

3. Insert loaded magazine into magazine well located directly behind rear of foregrip.

4. Grasp charging handle with left hand, manuver handle down back into travel slot. Release handle, allowing it to slam forwards.

Weapon is now loaded.

Firing

1. While holding the weapon by the pistol grip with the right hand, and having the left hand supporting front of weapon by grasping the foregrip (reverse hand positions if left handed), place butt of weapon firmly against shoulder.

2. Depending on model*, rotate selector down one position to "E" or to image of single red bullet. Weapon will now fire one bullet each time trigger is pulled. If fully-automaic fire is desired, rotate selector to "F", or depiction of 7 red bullets in a row.

3. Close left eye and look through sights with right eye (reverse eye positions if left handed). Select target and place top of post sticking up from front site over target, center top of post inside aperture of rear sight (see [2] for more in depth sighting procedures), gently squeeze trigger.

*Some models will have burst options (2 or 3 red bullets in a row), or will be labeled numerically (0 for safe, 1 for semi-automatic, 20 for fully-automatic)

Unloading

1. Holding weapon by the pistol grip with the right hand use the right thumb to rotate selector to safe position.

2. With left hand, grasp magazine. Place left thumb between magazine release (~4mm thick piece of metal sticking down from bottom of gun) and front of trigger guard. While grasping the magazine with the left hand, use the left thumb to push the magazine release towards the magazine, and while holding the release in this position, pull the magazine out of the magazine well.

3. Pull back charging handle and lock to rear via slot mentioned in step two of loading procedure, if weapon is "condition 1" (meaning cocked with round chambered) prepare for round to be ejected from right side of weapon when charging handle is brought to rear. Collect round and temporarily store in a place where it will not be lost.

4. After charging handle has been locked in the rearward position, visually inspect weapon to be sure no round remains in the chamber. This is done by rotating the weapon so that the right side faces up, and looking forwards into the ejection port. Chambered round should be fairly easy to spot by its golden-brass color. If any doubt remains as to status of weapon, inspect chamber physically by inserting finger through ejection port and feeling around chamber.

WARNING: Be sure charging handle is securely positioned to the rear, the handle going forwards when a finger is inside the weapon will cause injury to the user.

After the weapon has been visually/physically inspected it can be declared as "Condition 3" (unloaded). When the weapon is unloaded the charging handle should remain in the rearward position, with no magazine inserted in order to signify its condition to any others who may be around, or handling the weapon.

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

Image of the rifle

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

File:G3ka4.gif

image of the rifle

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, marketed to civilians. In order to comply with US firearm regulations a number of modifications were made. The internal parts required for fully automatic fire were removed. A shelf was welded onto the receiver where the push-pin of the trigger pack would normally go, to prevent installation of a fully automatic trigger pack. This precluded the use of the paddle style magazine release. A button on the right side of the magazine well is used instead. This was considered awkward by many owners. It is otherwise identical to the G3A3/A4. Importation into the United States began in 1974 and ceased in 1989, with some 48,000 rifles being imported.

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 similar rifles, like the FN FAL. The barrel also has to be pressed into the trunnion, a seemingly unnecessary complexity and various welds have 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.

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 - as M/75
• Mexico
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Portugal
• Estonia
• 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
• HK Musuem
• Modern Firearms
• Heckler and Koch G3 disassembled