The CETME IS NOT a H&K Contract Gun
It irritates me that almost everyone is getting it wrong! The CETME is not a H7K Contract Gun... That is to say that the spanish did COPY "under contract" the CETME from Heckler& Koch.. It is in fact the other way around. 1948: The CETME (Centro de Estudios Tecnicos de Materiales Especiales - Special Materials Technical Studies Center) is conceived, as a medium to counter the effects that the international isolation was having on the army.1949: The CETME is createdThe Spanish War Ministry established the base requirements for a new assault rifle that was to replace the Spanish Mauser rifles. The cartridge should have enough of a punch to incapacitate an enemy up to 1000 m. away (that was 200 m. more than the 7'92 Kurz). So was born the 7'92x40 CETME, a light (6'8 g.), long bullet (5.8 calibers) with an aluminium core and a brass band. In a time of international freezing, without even the raw materials (as a curiosity, the first magazines were handmade from diesel fuel barrels), the first prototypes began to be built (even the tools were hand-made!). A gas-operated model was abandoned as the inertial locking system was so promising. In 1952, the demonstrations began, and so did the critics: The 7'92 CETME projectile hadn't a full metal jacket, so its use was against the war conventions; the NATO adopted the 7'62x51 mm cartridge and, by then, the international isolation began to unfreeze. Then , a new cartridge was developed, the 7'62 CETME, with a full metal jacket, lighter projectile. To fire those cartridges, the model B should be developed.The Model A and its variants, the A1 (with the fire selector at the right side, fixed cocking handle, and folding stock) and the A2 (with free-floating cocking handle and a carrying handle) were adopted by the Army in September 20th, 1957.This same year, the CETME was introduced to Europe by Nederlansche Wapen Munitiefabrik, and only Germany showed interest on it. At the end of 1957, H&K signed an accord to co-develop the rifle.The Model B was born to fire two cartridges, the 7'62 CETME and 7'62 NATO; their principal innovations were a flash suppressor (doubling as a grenade launcher), an anatomic grip, improved carrying handle, and an integrated bipod. The fire selector was still at the left side, and the sights had no modifications. It replaced the Model A in 1958, and was adopted this same year by the Navy and the Air Force. From 1961 on, the mark CETME dissapeared from the German models. In 1964 the Model C was adopted by the Army, Navy and Air Force. The chamber was fluted to allow cartridge extraction even in the worst conditions, a separate bipod doubled as wire-cutter, a cleaning tools capsule was added, using the top as a bayonet lug, and the handguard was made of wood (by the way, so the CETME recovered the old nickname for a rifle: the "chopo" - poplar - referring to the wood used). The sights changed to a four distance (100, 200, 300 and 400 m) fixed type, and the fire selector was now at the left side, to be activated with the thumb. A lock for a telescopic sight was also added. As tough and reliable as anyone could expect, it was undoubtedly one of the best assault rifles ever made. Unlocking at 3 Kg (its handsome cousin, the G3, unlocks at 1 Kg), its punch was something to be seen... from the right side.The Model C is the model that is being offered for sale most often here at Gunbroker.com and in places like shotgunnews.
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I'm glad you said that! Yes, I was getting tired of it too! It's almost as though everyone holds HK's in such high esteam, that they think that it "must", be this way, but they really know very little about the HK's origin. Very indept info by the way. 0 -
HEY! Where did you cut and paste that from? No one in this forum can write that good. 0 -
though I have only Hks, I appreciated your through and detailed article. Well done! Best, Robert
"Endurance"0
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