G11 Country of origin Germany Designer Heckler und Koch Production began 1960 Production ended 1989 Weapon type Assault rifle Caliber 4.73×33mm caseless Action Gas operated, Rotating breech Overall length 750 millimeters Barrel length 540 millimeters Weight empty 3.6 kilograms Magazine/Cylinder capacity 45 or 50 rounds Cyclic rate 600 rounds per minute Maximum effective range 400 meters

The G11 is a gas operated assault rifle made by Heckler and Koch. It uses caseless ammunition, which is rare among firearms.

The G11 project was created by Mauser GmbH in the 1960's. The Mauser G11 fired 4.75 caseless rounds from an internal 10-round magazine. It was trailed and rejected by NATO, but the project was overtaken by Heckler and Koch shortly afterward.

The Heckler and Koch G11 was originally slated to replace the aging G3. Production began in the 1970's and field testing began in the 1980's. It was modified further, and in 1989, the G11K2 was released. However, in the 1990's, the German government shut down the program, most likely due to lack of funds due to the unification of West and East Germany. The G11 was then altered slightly to participate in the ACR Program in the United States of America, along with three other contestants. The winner would replace the M16. However, none of the four contestants were "good enough". It is believed that the USA Army was looking for 100% improvement, which is perhaps too lofty a goal for such a program.

The rifle features unique cylinder breech/chamber system that rotates 90 degrees. The cartridges in the magazine are located above the barrel, bullets down. Prior to each shot, the first cartridge is pushed down from the magazine into the chamber and then the breech/chamber rotates 90 degrees to align the cartridge with the barrel. After that, the cartridge is fired and the breech/chamber rotates back, ready for the next cartridge to be chambered. In the case of the cartridge ignition failure, the failed cartridge is pushed down from the chamber by the next cartridge. The breech can be manually "cocked" by the rotating handle at the side of the rifle, located beyond the pistol handle. The cocking handle does not move when gun is fired. Another interesting detail is that the barrel, rotating breech, feed module, and magazine are mounted in the housing that can move back and forth in the rifle. When firing single shots, the housing moves back and forward after each shot. When firing the full-auto, the housing moves back and forward during each shot, resulting in moderate rate of fire of some 600 round per minute. But, when firing the three-round bursts, second and third cartridges are fed and fired as soon as the chamber is ready for it, and third bullet leaves the barrel prior to the moment when the housing comes to its rearward position. This results in very high rate of fire with three-shots bursts - around 2000 rounds per minute. Also, this results in the actual recoil affecting the rifle after the last bullet in the burst is fired, thus increasing accuracy and making for tighter grouping.

See AlsoEdit

• H&K G11K2
• H&K LMG11
• H&K G36
• MBA Gyrojet
• Voere VEC-91
• Steyr ACR
• Colt ACR
• AAI ACR

ReferencesEdit

• "Калашников" 4_2007 "Не перевелись еще "специалисты на Руси..."
• Modern Firearms - Heckler und Koch G11 (Germany)
• Wikipedia: Heckler & Koch G11
• Wikipedia: Advanced Combat Rifle