HK 36
Encyclopedia
The HK36 was a rifle
introduced by Heckler & Koch
in the early 1970s. At the time, research in small caliber military cartridges had become more popular thanks to the United States
' adoption and combat use of the M16
and its 5.56 mm round.
The HK36 rifle fired a 4.6x36mm spoon point ("Löffelspitz") round designed by CETME
's Dr. Gunther Voss. Low bullet weight and the straight line layout of the rifle reduced recoil
. The high velocity of the round gave it an almost flat trajectory out to 300 meters (1000 feet), which was also the limit of its effective range. Beyond that point, the bullet lost velocity very quickly.
The HK36 used H&K's delayed blowback
system, and reloading was accomplished by inserting a pre-packaged box of cartridges into the open side of the permanently mounted magazine. An unusual departure from modern systems, the concept was intended to reduce weight along with eliminating the handling of individual rounds.
Despite never being accepted for military service, the rifle was notable for introducing the three-round burst concept and integrated optics. The various innovations gave H&K some interesting ideas for the future, which have resurfaced in the Heckler & Koch MP7
PDW and G36
rifle.
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
introduced by Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms. Some of their products include the SA80, MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle, the G36 assault rifle, the HK 416, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision...
in the early 1970s. At the time, research in small caliber military cartridges had become more popular thanks to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' adoption and combat use of the M16
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
and its 5.56 mm round.
The HK36 rifle fired a 4.6x36mm spoon point ("Löffelspitz") round designed by CETME
CETME
CETME is an acronym for Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales , a Spanish government design and development establishment. While being involved in many projects CETME was mostly known for its small arms research and development...
's Dr. Gunther Voss. Low bullet weight and the straight line layout of the rifle reduced recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
. The high velocity of the round gave it an almost flat trajectory out to 300 meters (1000 feet), which was also the limit of its effective range. Beyond that point, the bullet lost velocity very quickly.
The HK36 used H&K's delayed blowback
Blowback (arms)
Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gases created by the ignition of the propellant charge....
system, and reloading was accomplished by inserting a pre-packaged box of cartridges into the open side of the permanently mounted magazine. An unusual departure from modern systems, the concept was intended to reduce weight along with eliminating the handling of individual rounds.
Despite never being accepted for military service, the rifle was notable for introducing the three-round burst concept and integrated optics. The various innovations gave H&K some interesting ideas for the future, which have resurfaced in the Heckler & Koch MP7
Heckler & Koch MP7
The MP7 is a German submachine gun manufactured by Heckler & Koch and chambered for the 4.6×30mm cartridge. It was designed with the new cartridge to meet NATO requirements published in 1989, as these requirements call for a personal defense weapon class firearm, with a greater ability to defeat...
PDW and G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...
rifle.