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Heckler & Koch G36

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Heckler & Koch G36
Gewehr G36 with retracted bipod.
TypeAssault rifle
Place of originGermany
Service history
In service1995-present
Used byService rifle in Germany, Spain and Cyprus; used by other armed forces and police units
WarsAfghan War, Iraq War
Production history
DesignerHeckler & Koch
Designed1990
ManufacturerHeckler & Koch, Oberndorf am Neckar, Germany
Produced1995–present
VariantsSee Variants
Specifications
MassSee Variants
LengthSee Variants
Barrel lengthSee Variants
Cartridge5.56 × 45 mm NATO
ActionGas-operated, Rotating bolt
Rate of fire750 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity920 m/s
Effective firing range200 to 800 m Sight Marks
Feed system30 round detachable box magazine,
100-round C-Mag drum magazine
SightsReflex sight with x1.1 magnification and scope with 3× magnification (1.5× for export)

The G36 (company designation, Bundeswehr designation Gewehr G36) is an assault rifle designed in the early 1990s and manufactured in Germany by Heckler & Koch. It is the current service rifle of the German Armed Forces and the Spanish Armed Forces among others. A family of variants exists, many of which have been adopted by police or military forces.

History

Heckler & Koch started designing the G36 in 1990, when the Bundeswehr asked them to develop a new weapon system to replace the 1950s vintage 7.62 × 51 mm G3 rifle. Two earlier Heckler and Koch designs, the revolutionary G11 and the more conventional G41, were both rejected in the 1980s.

For their new HK50 (or Project 50), the company borrowed features from a variety of older designs and added a few novel innovations guided by experience with the previous HK 36, VP70, and G11. The firing system is most similar to the Armalite AR-18, utilizing a gas-operated short-stroke piston and rotating Johnson/Stoner bolt. Where the AR-18 used a conventional piston and dual guide rods, the G36 utilizes a piston with gas rings similar to the M16 and only a single guide rod.

The kinetic energy component of the U.S. Objective Individual Combat Weapon program was developed by H&K in the late 1990s utilizing a modified G36. Like many other U.S. Army programs, the OICW was reworked in favor of developing the rifle and grenade launcher separately. The kinetic energy component was reborn as the XM8 rifle, which was eventually suspended indefinitely. The XM8 rifle program still exists at H&K and will likely continue to compete for American contracts as they come up for bid, now with competition from the recently adopted FN SCAR.

Users

The G36 has replaced the G3 as the main infantry weapon of the Bundeswehr since 1997, a process that is now considered complete, and has been in use by the Fuerzas Armadas Españolas since 1999 replacing the CETME Mod L. It has also been used since the late 1990s by the Norwegian Coastal Ranger Command. In the late 1990s a small number of G36s were procured by the British Army with a view to possibly adopting it as the standard infantry weapon of the British Army; however, no decision has been made to the successor of the L85A2. The G36 is also used by a number of European police forces, such as various Armed Response Units of the British Police, French RAID and GIGN, Portuguese Republican National Guard, Dutch police forces, and the GIS, or Gruppo di Intervento Speciale, Special Operations unit of the Italian Carabinieri. The Polish police has equipped its counter-terrorist units with G36C and G36E. It is also used by a number of North American law enforcement agencies and sherriff's offices including, but not limited to, the United States Capitol Police and the Los Angeles Police Department. A small batch of G36 rifles are currently used by Philippine Navy SWAG (Special Warfare Group) and LRB (Light Reaction Battalion) personnel; as like the Portuguese Navy Marines, the Portuguese Air Force's Air Police (Polícia Aérea) and NFOT. Several armies, including the Chilean Army[citation needed] and the Portuguese Armed Forces, are currently evaluating the G36 as a replacement for their current service rifle, the G3. Lithuanian special forces (SOJ) uses HK G-36 with AG-36 grenade launcher. In 2006, the Latvian Army also adopted G36 as their main assault rifle. Both of Malaysia and Indonesia's elite armed forces, including Kopassus, Grup Gerak Khas and Pasukan Gerakan Khas purchased G36, especially G36C (Compact) version. Royal Thai Marines and Royal Thai Navy Seals use G36. The United Nations Safety and Security Service also operates some G36K weapons for tactical response operations.

Operators

A G36 of the Bundeswehr equipped with the AG36 grenade launcher and a laser light module LLM01

Design

A German infantryman stands at the ready with his G36 during a practice exercise in 2004. US troops watch in the background. All rifles in photo are equipped with blank firing adapters. (Photo: US Navy)

The rifle fires the NATO standard 5.56 × 45 mm round at a rate of approximately 750 round/min. Other modes include semi-automatic, bursts of two or three rounds (depending on the model) and fully automatic. The firing mechanism is gas-operated with a rotating bolt. The rifle uses a short-stroke gas system, keeping the receiver relatively clean. The rifle is capable of firing tens of thousands of rounds without having the need to clean. This is in contrast with the direct impingement system of the M16, which requires more frequent cleaning to cycle reliably. The bolt carrier hangs from the recoil spring guide rod and is restricted in side-to-side movement by steel plates embedded in the receiver. The rifle can be fitted with the AG36 40 mm grenade launcher and an AK-74 bayonet (many of which are left over in Germany from stocks of the former East German army).

The full-size rifle is slightly under a meter long with a 480 mm barrel and weighs 3.4 kg (7.6 lb) empty. It is equipped with a folding skeleton stock that allows the gun to be fired when the stock is folded. Most of the rifle's receiver is constructed of carbon fiber–reinforced polymer. It was the first production rifle to use such material for the receiver. The weapon can be stripped and re-assembled without tools through a system of cross-pins similar to that used on earlier HK designs. The distinctive translucent plastic magazine holds 30 rounds, weighs 400 g, and is fitted with studs to allow magazines to be clipped together easily. A 100-round Beta C-Mag drum magazine can also be fitted. The layout of the controls is ambidextrous and user friendly. Spent cases eject to the right and a brass deflector keeps cases from striking left-handed operators in the face.

Sights

3.0 x Optical sight topped with electronic red dot sight
Optical sight reticle pattern, G36 and G36K
(click for Description)

The Bundeswehr version has a unique dual sighting system with two optics on top of each other. The lower optical sight is a standard 3.0x magnification. The upper sight is a red-dot reflex sight with 1x magnification, to be used with both eyes open. The red dot sight relies on ambient light at day and battery power in zero light environment, since tritium, which is often used to illuminate weapon sights, is restricted in Germany (however, third-party tritium sights are available). The sighting "bridge" also functions as a carrying handle. There are rudimentary open sights molded on top of the handle, but these can only be used with the red dot sight absent, as in the G36E model. The G36E also only has a 1.5x magnification sight as opposed to the G36's 3x. In contrast, the G36C, a compact version designed primarily for use in entry situations, comes with standard open sights similar to those used on the Heckler & Koch UMP SMG.

The G36 has been equipped with these dual optical sights because of the nature of the Bundeswehr as a conscription army. The conscripts are supposed to achieve good shooting results after minimal training time, and for this purpose, maintenance-free fixed sights are better suited than iron sights or removable optical sights.

Variants

The weapon is manufactured in three main variants, G36, G36K (kurz: short) and G36C (compact/commando, with even shorter barrel and standard iron sights). A fourth variant was the SL8 designed strictly to cater to the civilian markets of those Countries which allow private ownership of centerfire semi-automatic rifles. While mechanically almost identical to the G36, it lacked automatic fire capability. The weapon was altered to comply with gun restriction laws of several Countries. The samples sold to the U.S. civilian market feature an indent inside the magazine well that makes it impossible to load a high capacity 30-round magazine into the weapon; the SL8 rifles sold in other Countries, especially in Europe, instead are distributed with 10-rounds or even 5-rounds magazines, yet still retain the capability to fit the original G36 30-rounds magazine; even a bolt-action straight-pull version was manufactured for the sale in Wales, Scotland and England, where private ownership of semi-automatic rifles has been banned after the Hungerford Massacre of 1987 (this doesn't applies to other territories of the United Kingdom such as Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, where such ban was rejected by the local governments and never came into effect). A thumbhole stock replaced the pistol grip and folding buttstock. Finally, the carrying handle/sight unit was replaced with a simple optics rail equipped with an open sight. A fifth version is the MG36 which is the identical to the G36, except it is equipped with a heavier barrel and a bipod. Although not required, it is most commonly found with a 100 round Beta C-Mag. All versions except the SL8 samples sold in the United States can be fed by a normal 30 round box magazine or a 100 round Beta C magazine. All versions except for the SL8, the export versions and the MG36 are in service with the Bundeswehr.

HK G36 with bipod and 100 round c-magazine. (Note: Not an MG36.)

Trigger groups

For the G36K/C/KE versions the standard safety/trigger group has four possible selector positions:

  • S: safe (Sicher), E: single shot (Einzelschuss), 2 (two shots), F: continuous (Feuerstoß)

For the G36/G36E there exist four different trigger groups:

  • S (safe), E (single shot), F (continuous) (standard for Bundeswehr)
  • S (safe), E (single shot), 2 (two shots), F (continuous)
  • 0 (safe), 1 (single shot), 2 (two shots)
  • 0 (safe), 1 (single shot), 2 (two shots), 3 (three shots)
Version Length (mm)¹ Barrel length (mm) Mass (kg)² Sights Magazine
G36, Standard 999 (758) 480 3.6 (4.0) 3.0× Optical, Reflex sight Standard (30),
C-Mag Drum (100)
G36K, Kurz (Short) 860 (615) 318 3.3 (3.7)
G36C, Compact/Commando 720 (500) 228 2.8 (3.2) Picatinny rail, Aperture/Square notch
MG36, Light Machine Gun 999 (758) 480 3.6 (4.0) 3.5× Optical, Reflex sight
G36E, Export 999 (758) 480 3.3 (3.7) 1.5× Optical
G36KE, Kurz Export 860 (615) 318 3.0 (3.4)
MG36E, Light Machine Gun Export 999 (758) 480 3.3 (3.7)
SL8, Civilian 980–1030 (-) 510 4.2 (4.4) Open (iron) sights
(Telescopic sights available) 		Standard (10)
¹ Length: Stock Extended (Stock Folded)
² Mass: Empty Magazine (Full Magazine)

Evaluation

The rifle is very reliable, accurate (thanks to the dual sights) and controllable (with very little recoil), but is considered less rugged than the G3 by German soldiers. Bundeswehr regulations actually prohibit weapon disassembly/assembly drills with a time limit for the gas piston components of the G36, as it is feared that these might take damage from rough handling under time pressure.

In the Philippines, abuse tests were performed by the Army using G36K rifles. 2 Units were subjected to sand, water and oil exposure - firing 1000 rounds of 5.56 mm NATO ammunition between each exposure without weapon foul-up. The G36K's optics also proved to be resilient to impact on hard surfaces and exhibited the ability to maintain zero (at 200 m) in a stressful envoironment. When collapsed, the weapon was reportedly as easy to use as an MP5. The rifles accuracy in engaging moving targets was also tested with 21 of 30 rounds hitting a moving vehicle running at 80 km/h.

When using blank ammo, stoppages are frequent and might convey the image of an unreliable weapon, but in fact these stoppages are only due to overaged, leaking blank firing adapters (which are the same ones as for the G3). When firing live ammo, the weapon is extremely reliable.

The G36's operating mechanism was also used as the basis for the new, more adaptable HK416, which has been adopted by many agencies including the U.S. Delta Force.[2]

References

  1. ^ Folha de São Paulo. Retrieved June 23rd, 2007
  2. ^ http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/atCarbine070219/

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to G36.
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