Firearms / Assault rifles / G36
G36
General Facts
- TYPE
Assault rifle - ORIGIN
Germany
- NICKNAMES
HK 50
Project 50 - DESIGNED
1990 - 1995 - DESIGNER
Heckler & Koch - PRODUCTION
1996 - present - PRODUCERS
Germany - Heckler & Koch
Spain - Santa Barbara
- QUANTITY
Unknown - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Very reliable
Optics fitted as standard
Limited costs
Average ergonomics
Overheating on early models
Introduction
The G36 is an assault rifle of German origin. It was developed by Heckler & Koch in the early 1990's as a new assault rifle for the German army. The G36 is a departure from H&K's high quality, but very expensive and heavy roller locking system. The G36 has been influenced by various weapon systems and the internal mechanism is rather similar to the AR-18. The name G36 stands for Gewehr 36.
Design
The G36 is a modern assault rifle that has been influenced by The G36 is gas operated, has a short stroke gas piston, uses a rotating bolt and fires from a closed bolt position. Most of the exterior is made of high strength polymer and results in low weight. The German model has a dual sight unit consisting of a 3x scope with a non-magnifying reddot scope on top. The export model has a 1.5x reddot sight and later a Picatinny rail for mounting various optics became available. From the full size G36 model the G36K carbine and G36C compact models were derived.
Firepower
The G36 fires the 5.56x45mm NATO round from a 30 round translucent magazine or 100 round C-mag. It is a select fire rifle that is available with a variety of trigger groups. The cyclic rate of fire is 750 rpm. The effective range is 400 meters for the full size G36 and 200 meters for the sub compact G36C. The G36K and G36 can be fitted with the AG36 under barrel grenade launcher.
Users
The G36 was adopted by the German military as the standard issue assault rifle. The G36 has been adopted by Spain and several smaller nations as its standard issue weapon. Additionally various law enforcement, counter terrorist and special forces units around the world have the G36 in their inventory.
G36C
The G36C is the shortest and most compact version of the G36 and is considered a sub machine gun by some. The C stands for Compact, but is also incorrectly referred to as Commando. The G36C has a very short barrel and the short forearm only features two slots on each side. The G36C is available with a Picatinny rail with iron sights or with the dual sight unit and integrated carrying handle as used on the full size G36. The latter configuration is uncommon however. The G36C cannot be fitted with a bayonet or AG36 grenade launcher.
- Specifications:
- G36C
Type | Assault rifle |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
Magazine | 30, 100 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F, 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 750 rpm |
Barrel length | 228 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand polygonal twist |
Muzzle velocity | ? |
Stock | Foldable |
Length | 720 mm / 500 mm |
Width | 64 mm |
Height | 278 mm with magazine |
---|---|
Weight | 2.82 kg empty |
Sights | Iron sights, optional optical sights |
Remarks | - |
G36K
The G36K is a carbine version of the G36 assault rifle. While the full size G36 is mostly issued to infantry the G36K model is favored by special forces and law enforcement units. The K stands for Kurz, which is German for short. The G36K has a shorter barrel and the shorter forearm only has four slots on each side. The G36K comes with the same sight setups as the full size model. The G36K has the German dual sight setup and the G36KE has the Export sight setup. The G36KE has been redesignated G36KV and is available with export sights and Picatinny accessory rail. The G36K can be fitted with a AG36 grenade launcher, but cannot mount a bayonet or launch rifle grenades.
Type | Assault rifle |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
Magazine | 30, 100 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F, 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 750 rpm |
Barrel length | 318 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand polygonal twist |
Muzzle velocity | 850 m/s |
Stock | Foldable |
Length | 860 mm / 615 mm |
Width | 64 mm |
Height | 318 mm with magazine |
---|---|
Weight | 3.30 kg empty |
Sights | Dual sight unit with 1x reddot and 3x scope, backup iron sights |
Remarks | - |
Type | Assault rifle |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
Magazine | 30, 100 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F, 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 750 rpm |
Barrel length | 318 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand polygonal twist |
Muzzle velocity | 850 m/s |
Stock | Foldable |
Length | 860 mm / 615 mm |
Width | 64 mm |
Height | 285 mm with magazine |
---|---|
Weight | 3.00 kg empty |
Sights | 1.5x reddot sight, backup iron sights, optional Picatinny rail |
Remarks | - |
G36
The G36 is a full size rifle and the version from which all variants were derived. The original G36 features the German dual sight units and the G36E is the version with the Export sight unit. The G36E has been redesignated G36V and is available with export sights or a Picatinny accessory rail. Late production versions feature additional Picatinny rails around the forearm for mounting accessories. The G36 is capable of mounting a bayonet, launching rifle grenades and can be fitted with the AG36 under barrel grenade launcher.
Type | Assault rifle |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
Magazine | 30, 100 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F, 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 750 rpm |
Barrel length | 480 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand polygonal twist |
Muzzle velocity | 920 m/s |
Stock | Foldable |
Length | 999 mm / 758 mm |
Width | 64 mm |
Height | 318 mm with magazine |
---|---|
Weight | 3.63 kg empty |
Sights | Dual sight unit with 1x reddot and 3x scope, backup iron sights |
Remarks | - |
Type | Assault rifle |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
Magazine | 30, 100 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F, 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 750 rpm |
Barrel length | 480 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand polygonal twist |
Muzzle velocity | 920 m/s |
Stock | Foldable |
Length | 999 mm / 758 mm |
Width | 64 mm |
Height | 285 mm with magazine |
---|---|
Weight | 3.33 kg empty |
Sights | 1.5x reddot sight, backup iron sights, optional Picatinny rail |
Remarks | - |
MG36
The MG36 is a light machine gun based on the G36 rifle. The MG36 is a G36 with that is fitted with a bipod, uses the 100 round C-mag and features a barrel that his slightly thicker. The barrel is not of a quick change design. The MG36 features the German dual sight unit and the MG36E features the export sight unit. Since the MG36 wasn't capable of providing a substantially larger volume of fire over the original G36 the MG36 was of little value. Only limited quantities have been produced and production ceased soon with the introduction of the MG4.
Type | Light support weapon |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
Magazine | 30, 100 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F, 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 750 rpm |
Barrel length | 480 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand polygonal twist |
Muzzle velocity | 920 m/s |
Stock | Foldable |
Length | 999 mm / 758 mm |
Width | 64 mm |
Height | 318 mm with magazine |
---|---|
Weight | 3.83 kg empty |
Sights | Dual sight unit with 1x reddot and 3x scope, backup iron sights |
Remarks | Bipod |
Type | Light support weapon |
---|---|
Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
Magazine | 30, 100 rounds |
Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt, closed bolt |
Fire selector | 0-1-F, 0-1-3-F |
Rate of fire | 750 rpm |
Barrel length | 480 mm |
---|---|
Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand polygonal twist |
Muzzle velocity | 920 m/s |
Stock | Foldable |
Length | 999 mm / 758 mm |
Width | 64 mm |
Height | 285 mm with magazine |
---|---|
Weight | 3.50 kg empty |
Sights | 1.5 reddot sight, backup iron sights |
Remarks | Bipod |