Heckler & Koch MP5

The Heckler & Koch MP5 (from German: Maschinenpistole 5, meaning machine pistol 5) is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) of Oberndorf am Neckar. There are over 100 variants of the MP5, including a semi-automatic version.

The MP5 is one of the most widely used submachine guns in the world, having been adopted by 40 nations and numerous military, law enforcement, intelligence, and security organizations. It is widely used by SWAT teams in North America.

In 1999, Heckler & Koch developed the Heckler & Koch UMP, the MP5's successor; both are available as of 2015.

History

Heckler & Koch, encouraged by the success of the G3 automatic rifle, developed a family of small arms consisting of four types of firearms all based on a common G3 design layout and operating principle. The first type was chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO, the second for the 7.62×39mm M43 round, the third for the intermediate 5.56×45mm NATO caliber, and the fourth type for the 9×19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge. The MP5 was created within the fourth group of firearms and was initially known as the HK54.

Heckler & Koch USP

The USP (Universelle Selbstladepistole or "universal self-loading pistol") is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) of Oberndorf am Neckar as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns.

History

Design work on a new family of pistols commenced in September 1989 focused primarily on the U.S. commercial and law enforcement markets. USP prototypes participated in rigorous testing alongside H&K's entry in the Offensive Handgun Weapon System (OHWS) program requested by the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and which would later result in the Mk 23 Mod 0. The USP prototypes were then refined in 1992, based on input from the OHWS trials, and the design was finalized in December of the same year. The USP was formally introduced in January 1993 with the USP40 model (the base version) chambered for the increasingly popular .40 S&W cartridge, followed soon by the USP9 (using the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge), and in May 1995—the USP45 (caliber .45 ACP). In contrast to the ambitious and innovative P7, P9S, and VP70Z designs, the USP uses a more conventional Browning-style cam-locked action, similar to that used in the Hi-Power - but with a polymer frame.

9×19mm Parabellum

The 9×19 mm Parabellum (abbreviated 9 mm, 9 mmP, 9×19 mm or 9×19) cartridge was designed by Georg Luger and introduced in 1902 by the German weapons manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) for their Luger semi-automatic pistol. For this reason, it is designated as the 9 mm Luger / 9 mm Luger +P by the SAAMI and the 9 mm Luger by the C.I.P. (differentiating it from the 9 mm Makarov and 9 mm Browning cartridges). Under STANAG 4090, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries.

The name Parabellum is derived from the Latin: Si vis pacem, para bellum ("If you seek peace, prepare for war"), which was the motto of DWM.

According to the 2006 edition of Cartridges of the World, the 9×19 mm Parabellum is "the world's most popular and widely used military handgun cartridge." In addition to being used by over 60% of police in the U.S., Newsweek credits 9×19 mm Parabellum pistol sales with making semiautomatic pistols more popular than revolvers. The popularity of this cartridge can be attributed to the widely held conviction that it is effective in police and self-defense use. Its low cost and wide availability contribute to the caliber's continuing popularity.

Heckler & Koch

Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK) (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛklɐʔʊntˈkɔx]) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, military rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

The Heckler & Koch Group comprises Heckler & Koch GmbH, Heckler & Koch Defense, NSAF Ltd., and Heckler & Koch France SAS. The company motto is "Keine Kompromisse!" (No Compromise!). HK provides firearms for many military and paramilitary units, like the Special Air Service, U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force, FBI HRT, the German KSK and GSG 9 and many other counter-terrorist and hostage rescue teams.

Their products include the MP5 SMG, the G3 battle rifle, the HK33, G36, HK416 assault rifles, the Heckler & Koch HK21 general-purpose machine gun, the MP7 PDW, the UMP SMG, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision PSG1 sniper rifle. All firearms made by HK are named by a prefix and the official designation, with suffixes used for variants.

Episode II

Episode II, Episode 2 or Episode Two may refer to:

See also