Kraut Space Magic: the H&K G11

[Nilgiri]

If you are some form of gun nut/military enthusiast etc....well worth finding a half hour to watch this video, absolutely fascinating!:

Comments are appreciated.

@jhungary @MilSpec @Vergennes @Signalian @randomradio @hellfire @Joe Shearer @MastanKhan @Zarvan @django @Desert Fox @RescueRanger @Oscar @DESERT FIGHTER @randomradio @gambit @TOPGUN @Horus @waz @denel @vostok @James Jaevid @Oldman1 et al.

 

[Signalian]

Thanks for sharing

 

[django]

If you are some form of gun nut/military enthusiast etc....well worth finding a half hour to watch this video, absolutely fascinating!:

Comments are appreciated.

@jhungary @MilSpec @Vergennes @Signalian @randomradio @hellfire @Joe Shearer @MastanKhan @Zarvan @django @Desert Fox @RescueRanger @Oscar @DESERT FIGHTER @randomradio @gambit @TOPGUN @Horus @waz @denel @vostok @James Jaevid @Oldman1 et al.

Hazrat @Zarvan @Path-Finder

 

[MastanKhan]

Hi,

Thanks---. Only a german could design a complicated rifle like that for the military---.

 

[Nilgiri]

Hi,

Thanks---. Only a german could design a complicated rifle like that for the military---.

It actually quite elegant (the "bolt" mechanism/action) imo...most of the difficulty presenting itself RnD wise is the caseless ammo (cook-off resistance etc)....but I remember reading Germans having significant heritage here from even before WW1 (and picking up again pre WW2) when they were experimenting with application of their chemistry knowledge in creating better binding agents and such for powder charges for their large bore artillery, mortar and siege guns etc..

It is pretty remarkable they were able to shrink the concept down to sustainable use at this scale...but then again the cold war did have quite a dearth of funding the cutting edge, wherever it was.

@AUSTERLITZ @Psychic

 

[untitled]

The gun's careless ammo concept while intriguing has a major flaw. The weopon is much more susceptible to cooking off than it's brass ejecting cousins whose shells abdorb the heat while being ejected.

 

[Nilgiri]

The gun's careless ammo concept while intriguing has a major flaw. The weopon is much more susceptible to cooking off than it's brass ejecting cousins whose shells abdorb the heat while being ejected.

Yes this was the lingering issue (and mentioned in the video)...but they sorted it out apparently (with enough tinkering of the powder block) and it went into extended user trials even (by both Germany and US) and faired quite well. Just the costs and timing (cold war wrapping up and there not being enough advantage over existing platforms in ACR etc) doomed it. But then it could have been quite finicky in the next stages too (if adopted into service) ...even the G36 has had problems that have come up in the last few years.

 

[Arsalan]

Hazrat @Zarvan @Path-Finder

What? It was SCAR that was best rifle in the trials!!

 

[313ghazi]

I can't believe he made a 30 minute video and didn't fire it.

 

[Maarkhoor]

If you are some form of gun nut/military enthusiast etc....well worth finding a half hour to watch this video, absolutely fascinating!:

Comments are appreciated.

@jhungary @MilSpec @Vergennes @Signalian @randomradio @hellfire @Joe Shearer @MastanKhan @Zarvan @django @Desert Fox @RescueRanger @Oscar @DESERT FIGHTER @randomradio @gambit @TOPGUN @Horus @waz @denel @vostok @James Jaevid @Oldman1 et al.

Very bad recoil......

 

[Sine Nomine]

 

[Nein]

Hey its my man Ian!!

His actually living the life. The man is a walking guns encylopedia from muskets to present day arms along with prototypes.

For military history buffs it is a dream come true to least see one in person.

 

[django]

What? It was SCAR that was best rifle in the trials!!

I see what you did their bhai.Kudos

 

[Nilgiri]

I can't believe he made a 30 minute video and didn't fire it.

Required ammo is rarer than hen's teeth now. I believe most of the powder blocks made for user trials etc have long since expired.

Very bad recoil......

Actually quite ok given that's the 3 round burst (that too of user trials where they tend to gas up the system more than they settle for later). Ian in the OP video talks about the recoil only hitting you after the 3 rounds have left the barrel (because of the recoil rail system within the platform). Gas operation continually works on the bolt-feed (during the 3 round cycle), rather than there being an impulse hit from direct impingement/piston etc like one is used to in more conventional system. Use of recoil rail (esp making it work with the gas feed) like this is actually quite ingenious...I would say fine tuning of that is the 2nd biggest RnD intensive thing (after the ammo system) for the platform.

With sufficient soldier training, I believe target can be re-acquired (after the post-round recoil hit) without too much effort. Given something like 6 times more rounds available per soldier...I think definitely there is an overall relative advantage.

All the ACR platforms did quite well (and were deemed improvements over the M-16 system)...they just werent that much of improvement to merit a full swap out to them (and all the costs regarding that, esp logistics set up for the more traditional system and economies of scale achieved in NATO regarding 5.56 and 7.62 rounds.) esp given the cold-war ending climate of the era....so they were canned.

Hey its my man Ian!!

His actually living the life. The man is a walking guns encylopedia from muskets to present day arms along with prototypes.

For military history buffs it is a dream come true to least see one in person.

Yep one of the best hand's on channels on youtube....he really knows his beans too!

 

[MilSpec]

If you are some form of gun nut/military enthusiast etc....well worth finding a half hour to watch this video, absolutely fascinating!:

Comments are appreciated.

@jhungary @MilSpec @Vergennes @Signalian @randomradio @hellfire @Joe Shearer @MastanKhan @Zarvan @django @Desert Fox @RescueRanger @Oscar @DESERT FIGHTER @randomradio @gambit @TOPGUN @Horus @waz @denel @vostok @James Jaevid @Oldman1 et al.

I remember this gun from the Delta Force PC game, it's one of the retro futuristic things now.