| Heckler & Koch G41 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) HK G41 in the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung Koblenz. | |
| Type | Assault rifle Carbine (H&K G41K) |
| Place of origin | West Germany |
| Service history | |
| Used by | SeeUsers |
| Wars | Lebanese Civil War Turkish-Kurdish conflict 2007 Lebanon conflict |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Heckler & Koch |
| Designed | late 1970s to early 1980s |
| Manufacturer | Heckler & Koch |
| Produced | 1984–1996 |
| Variants | SeeVariants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | G41/A1: 4.1 kg (9.04 lb) G41A2/A3: 4.4 kg (9.7 lb) G41K: 4.3 kg (9.5 lb) |
| Length | G41/A1: 997 mm (39.3 in) G41A2/A3: 985 mm (38.8 in) stock extended / 800 mm (31.5 in) stock folded G41K: 930 mm (36.6 in) stock extended / 740 mm (29.1 in) stock retracted |
| Barrel length | G41: 450 mm (17.7 in) G41K: 380 mm (15.0 in) |
| Width | 72 mm (2.8 in) |
| Height | 214 mm (8.4 in) |
| Cartridge | 5.56×45mm NATO |
| Caliber | 5.56mm |
| Action | Roller delayed blowback |
| Rate of fire | 850 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | G41 using SS109: 920 m/s (3,018 ft/s) G41K using SS109: 880 m/s (2,887.1 ft/s) G41 using M193: 950 m/s (3,116.8 ft/s) G41K using M193: 910 m/s (2,985.6 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 200–400 m (219–437 yd) sight adjustments 600 metres (656 yd) with Fero Z24-G telescopic sight |
| Feed system | VariousSTANAG magazines |
| Sights | Rotary rear diopter drum, hooded front post |
TheHeckler & KochG41 is a German5.56×45mm NATOassault rifle introduced in 1981 and produced in limited quantities byHeckler & Koch. It was designed to replace the7.62×51mm NATO chamberedHeckler & Koch G3 and the G3 based.223 Remington/5.56×45mm and later 5.56×45mm NATO chamberedHeckler & Koch HK33 service rifles providing a more modern weapon compatible with then recently introducedNATO standards.[1] It can use both the then newSTANAG 4172 compliant 5.56×45mm NATO SS109, SS110, and SS111 ammunition and older .223 Remington/5.56×45mm M193 ammunition and was the last Heckler & Koch service rifle designed around the roller-delayed blowback mechanism.
Commercially the G41 was not as successful as the preceding Heckler & Koch service rifle designs with a similar operating mechanism. It was rejected by various military trial programmes and it never won a major military production contract.[2] Assembly of the G41 has been discontinued by Heckler & Koch; however, production rights to the rifle were acquired by the Italian arms manufacturerLuigi Franchi.[1]
The G41's engineering origins lay in the7.92×33mm KurzStG 45(M)assault rifle, and later the commercially successful 7.62×51mm NATOG3battle rifle and its 5.56×45mm NATO HK33 derivative.[1] It is aselective fire automatic weapon that employs aroller-delayed blowback system of operation relying on geometrical transmission ratio relationships between parts. The two-piece bolt mechanism consists of a bolt head that contains two cylindrical locking rollers and a wedge-shaped locking piece, attached to a heavy bolt head carrier. Based on the geometric relationship arising from the angles of the roller contact surfaces of the wedge-shaped locking piece locking piece and the barrel extension recesses, the rearward motion of the bolt head is delayed by a predetermined ratio. Thus during the same period of time, the bolt head carrier moves significantly faster than the bolt head by the predetermined ratio. This ratio is continued until the locking rollers have been withdrawn from the barrel extension recesses. After the rollers retract entirely behind the bolt head, the locking recesses of the barrel extension are cleared, and all parts continue moving rearward together, opening the breech and actuating the extraction and feeding cycles. The chamber is opened under high pressure, thus the chamber received a series offlutes in order to increase extraction reliability and prevent sticking of the spent casing to the chamber walls.
Like the G3 and HK33 bolts the G41 bolt features an anti-bounce mechanism that prevents the bolt from bouncing off the barrel's breech surface. The "bolt head locking lever" is a spring-loaded claw mounted on the bolt carrier that grabs the bolt head as the bolt carrier group goes into battery. The lever essentially ratchets into place with friction, providing enough resistance to being re-opened that the bolt carrier does not rebound. The spring-powered claw extractor is also contained inside the bolt while the lever ejector is located inside the trigger housing (actuated by the recoiling bolt).
The G41receiver isstamped from a smooth 1.0 mm (0.04 in)sheet of high-tensilesteel rather than the 1.2 mm (0.05 in) thick sheet steel used by the HK33.
The G41 also had a redesigned bolt assembly. It was designed around 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition with revised geometries between the bolt mechanism components to work with NATO STANAG magazines. It could also use older .223 Remington/5.56×45mm M193 ammunition.
The reliable functioning of roller-delayed blowback mechanisms is limited by specific ammunition and arm parameters like bullet weight, propellant charge, barrel length and amount of wear. For obtaining a proper and safe functioning parameters bandwidth Heckler & Koch offer a variety of locking pieces with different mass and shoulder angles. The angles are critical and determine the unlock timing and pressure curve progression as the locking pieces act in unison with the bolt head carrier.[3][4][5]
The G41 bolt assembly is lighter than the HK33 bolt assembly. The redesigned bolt was paired with a new recoil spring which consisted of five wound strands around a central coil. This reduced recoil.
The revised buttstock on the G41 is held in place by two pins. Unlike the earlier HK33, the G41’s pistol grip assembly is not retained by a pin at the front of the assembly behind the magazine well housing and can be removed by the user during a field strip.
The spent cartridge casing extractor is installed inside the bolt head, while the tilting lever ejector is contained in the trigger housing. The rifle is hammer-fired and has a trigger group with a fire control selector that enables selecting safe, semi-automatic, burst and continuous fire modes. The fire selector's positions are marked with bulletpictograms and it also serves as a manual safety against unintentional discharge. The selector is ambidextrous and its lever is mirrored on both sides of the trigger housing. In the "safe" position, the trigger and sear are disabled.
The G41 uses NATOSTANAG magazines (from theM16 rifle) with a capacity of 30 rounds.[6] The magazine release is located on the left side of the rifle, above the magazine well.
The weapon incorporates a manualforward assist that can be used to positively close the bolt, similar to the one used on the AmericanM16A1 rifle, and a side-folding heavy-gauge wire carrying handle near its point of balance which resembles that of theFN FAL. It also has a "hold-open" bolt catch which holds the bolt open after the last round in the magazine has been fired (the bolt release button is just above the magazine release) and has a spring-loaded polymer dust cover that seals the ejection port from debris.
Despite reducing the weight of some components, the weight of the G41 exceeded the 3.65 kg (8.05 lb) weight of the preceding 60 mm (2.4 in) shorter barreled HK33A2, making the G41 relatively heavy compared to other 5.56×45mm NATO chambered assault rifles of its era.
The cold hammer-forged barrel has a hexagonalpolygonal bore. It comes rifled for either the NATO-standard, Belgian SS109 62 grain bullet with a twist of 178 mm (1:7 in) or in a 305 mm (1:12 in) twist for use with American .223 Remington/5.56×45mm ammunition with the M193 55 grain projectile. The barrel end of the chamber is fluted to assist in the extraction of spent cartridges.[1] The barrel is equipped with aflash suppressor that is also designed to launchrifle grenades.
The firearm is equipped with a relatively lowiron sight line that consists of aDrehvisier rotary rear drum and hooded front post. The rear sight is mechanically adjustable for both windage and elevation with the help of tools. This deliberately prevents non-armorers from (re)zeroing the iron sight line. The rotary drum features an open V-notch (numbered 1) for rapid target acquisition, close range, low light and impaired visibility use and three apertures (numbered 2, 3 and 4) used for: 200–400 metres (219–437 yd) in 100 metres (109 yd) increments for more precise aiming. The 1 V-notch and 2 or 200 metres (219 yd) aperture settings have an identical point of aim. The V-notch and apertures are calibrated for5.56×45mm NATO ball ammunition.
Thereceiver housing has a NATO pattern optics mount (meetingSTANAG 2324) that replaced HK’s claw-mount system used to mount day (typically the Hensoldt 4×24 telescopic sight) or night aiming optics.The Hensoldt Fero 4×24telescopic sight and mount assembly were developed for designated marksman use. The Fero elevation knob featuresBullet Drop Compensation (BDC) settings for 100–600 metres (109–656 yd) in 100 metres (109 yd) increments calibrated for5.56×45mm NATO ball ammunition.[7]
Many accessories are based on NATO standard or previously issued items.
The rifle can be fitted with a barrel-mountedbipod based on the one issued with the M16A1's cleaning kit. It also uses thebayonet from the G3. It also can mount theFERO Z24-G 4×24 optical sight on a proprietary detachable bracket on the receiver and a clip-on winter trigger.
The G41 can also mount a detachable40 mmHK79grenade launcher that replaces the synthetic forearm. The weapon in this configuration is known as theG41TGS, or"Tactical Group Support".
Note: the 1:178mm (1:7 in) rifling was compatible with the European-standard SS109 round and the 1:305 mm (1:12 in) rifling was compatible with the US-standard M193 Ball round.
Argentina: Small quantities adopted by theGrupo de Operaciones Especiales of theArgentine Air Force.[8]
Denmark: Small quantities adopted by theFrogman Corps andJaeger Corps.[8]
India: Some acquired for Para commandos.[9]
Spain: Small quantities adopted by theSpecial Intervention Unit (Unidad Especial de Intervención; UEI) and theSpanish National Police force'sGEO counter-terrorist unit who employ the G41TGS.[10]
Turkey: Used by theGendarmerie Special Operations during the 1990s, very few being used byGendarmerie General Command conscripts.[11][12]
| Lever delayed |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Roller delayed | ||
| Gas delayed | ||
| Hesitation locked | ||
| Flywheel delayed | ||
| Radial delayed | ||
| Screw/Turnbolt delayed | ||
| Toggle delayed | ||
| Vector delayed | ||