G36 Assault rifle

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 HK replacements were both rejected in the 1980s, the revolutionary G11 and the more conventional G41.

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, using the G36 as basis. 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 cancelled (as of 2005). 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.

Design

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 able to fire tens of thousands of rounds without cleaning. 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 drum magazine can also be fitted. The layout of the controls is ambidextrous and user friendly. Spent casings eject to the right and a brass deflector keeps cases from striking left-handed operators in the face.

Sights

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 (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.

Design Criticisms

• The forearm could overheat in early versions, making the weapon uncomfortable to hold; this problem was corrected with a heat shield in newer models.
• The integral sights of the export version are claimed to shift when the weapon is knocked heavily against the ground.

Variants

The weapon is manufactured in three main variants, G36, G36K (kurz: short) and G36C (compact/commando). A fourth variant was the SL8 designed strictly to cater to the US civilian market. While mechanically almost identical to the G36, it lacked automatic fire capability. The weapon was altered to comply with U.S. gun restriction laws. The magazine well features an indent that makes it impossible to load a high capacity 30-round magazine into the weapon. 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 LMG36 which is the standard weapon equipped with a heavier barrel, bipod, and 100-round drum magazine. All versions except for the SL8 and the LMG are in service with the Bundeswehr.

The Mexican Army Designed the FX-05 Xiuhcoatl which is based on the G36.