Heckler & Koch MP5

Overview:

The Heckler & Koch MP5 (From Maschinenpistole 5 - German: "machine pistol model 5") is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the West German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) of Oberndorf am Neckar. It is currently used by the armed forces and law enforcement units of over 40 countries. The MP5 remains one of the most widely deployed of all current submachine guns and has been developed into a family with numerous variants. In the 1990s, Heckler & Koch developed the Heckler & Koch UMP, the MP5's successor, though both remain in production. The primary version of the MP5 submachine gun family is the MP5A2, which is a lightweight, air-cooled, selective fire delayed blowback operated weapon with a roller-delayed bolt. The weapon fires from a closed bolt (bolt forward) position and the bolt rigidly engages the barrel extension – a cylindrical component welded to the receiver that the barrel is pinned into. The delay mechanism is of the same design as that used in the G3 rifle. The two-part bolt consists of a bolt head with rollers and a bolt carrier. The heavier bolt carrier lies up against the bolt head when the weapon is ready to fire and inclined planes on the front locking piece lie between the rollers and force them out into recesses in the barrel extension. When fired, expanding propellant gases produced from the burning powder in the cartridge exert rearward pressure on the bolt head transferred through the base of the cartridge case as it is propelled out of the chamber. A portion of these forces is transmitted through the rollers projecting from the bolt head, which are cammed inward against the inclined flanks of the locking recesses in the barrel extension and to the angled shoulders of the locking piece. The selected angles of the recesses and the incline on the locking piece produce a velocity ratio of about 4:1 between the bolt carrier and the bolt head. This results in a calculated delay, allowing the projectile to exit the barrel and gas pressure to drop to a safe level before the case is extracted from the chamber. The delay results from the amount of time it takes for enough recoil energy to be transferred through to the bolt carrier in a sufficient quantity for it to be driven to the rear against the force of inertia of the bolt carrier and the forward pressure exerted against the bolt by the recoil spring. As the rollers are forced inward they displace the locking piece and propel the bolt carrier to the rear. The bolt carrier's rearward velocity is four times that of the bolt head since the cartridge remains in the chamber for a short period of time during the initial recoil impulse. After the bolt carrier has traveled rearward 4 mm, the locking piece is withdrawn fully from the bolt head and the rollers are compressed into the bolt head. Only once the locking rollers are fully cammed into the bolt head can the entire bolt group continue its rearward movement in the receiver, breaking the seal in the chamber and continuing the feeding cycle. Since the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge is relatively low powered, the bolt does not have an anti-bounce device like the G3, but instead the bolt carrier contains tungsten granules that prevent the bolt group from bouncing back after impacting the barrel extension. The weapon has a fluted chamber that enhances extraction reliability by bleeding gases backwards into the shallow flutes running along the length of the chamber to prevent the cartridge case from expanding and sticking to the chamber walls (since the bolt is opened under relatively high barrel pressure). A spring extractor is installed inside the bolt head and holds the case securely until it strikes the ejector arm and is thrown out of the ejection port to the right of the receiver. The lever-type ejector is located inside the trigger housing (activated by the movement of the recoiling bolt).

Specifications:

Type

• Submachine gun.

Place of Origin

• West Germany.

Weight

• 2.54 kg (5.6 lb) (MP5A2, MP5A4).
• 3.08 kg (6.8 lb) (MP5A3, MP5A5).
• 2 kg (4.4 lb) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5).
• 2.78 kg (6.1 lb) (MP5K-PDW).
• 2.80 kg (6.2 lb) (MP5SD1, MP5SD4).
• 3.10 kg (6.8 lb) (MP5SD2, MP5SD5).
• 3.60 kg (7.9 lb) (MP5SD3, MP5SD6).
• 2.67 kg (5.9 lb) fixed stock / 2.85 kg (6.3 lb) retractable stock (MP5/10).
• 2.67 kg (5.9 lb) fixed stock / 2.85 kg (6.3 lb) retractable stock (MP5/40).

Length

Fixed Stock:

• 680 mm (26.8 in) (MP5A2, MP5A4, MP5/10, MP5/40).
• 790 mm (31.1 in) (MP5SD2, MP5SD5).

Telescoping Stock:

• 700 mm (27.6 in) stock extended / 550 mm (21.7 in) stock collapsed (MP5A3, MP5A5).
• 603 mm (23.7 in) stock extended / 368 mm (14.5 in) stock folded (MP5K-PDW).
• 805 mm (31.7 in) stock extended / 670 mm (26.4 in) stock collapsed (MP5SD3, MP5SD6).
• 660 mm (26.0 in) stock extended / 490 mm (19.3 in) stock collapsed (MP5/10, MP5/40).

Receiver End Cap:

• 325 mm (12.8 in) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5).
• 349 mm (13.7 in) (MP5K-PDW).
• 550 mm (21.7 in) (MP5SD1, MP5SD4).

Barrel Length

• 225 mm (8.9 in) (MP5A2, MP5A3, MP5A4, MP5A5, MP5/10, MP5/40).
• 115 mm (4.5 in) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5).
• 140 mm (5.5 in) (MP5K-PDW).
• 146 mm (5.7 in) (MP5SD1, MP5SD2, MP5SD3, MP5SD4, MP5SD5, MP5SD6).

Width

• 50 mm (2.0 in) (MP5A2, MP5A3, MP5A4, MP5A5, MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5, MP5K-PDW, MP5/10, MP5/40).
• 60 mm (2.4 in) (MP5SD1, MP5SD2, MP5SD3, MP5SD4, MP5SD5, MP5SD6).

Height

• 260 mm (10.2 in) (MP5A2, MP5A3, MP5A4, MP5A5, MP5SD1, MP5SD2, MP5SD3, MP5SD4, MP5SD5, MP5SD6, MP5/10, MP5/40).
• 210 mm (8.3 in) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5, MP5K-PDW).

Cartridge

• 9x19mm Parabellum.
• 10mm Auto (MP5/10).
• .40 S&W (MP5/40).

Action

• Roller-delayed blowback.
• Closed bolt.

Rate of Fire

• 700 rounds/min (MP5SD series).
• 800 rounds/min (MP5A series, MP5/10 and MP5/40).
• 900 rounds/min (MP5K series).

Muzzle Velocity

• 400 m/s (1,312 ft/s) (MP5A2, MP5A3, MP5A4, MP5A5).
• 375 m/s (1,230.3 ft/s) (MP5K, MP5KA1, MP5KA4, MP5KA5, MP5K-PDW).
• 285 m/s (935.0 ft/s) (MP5SD1, MP5SD2, MP5SD3, MP5SD4, MP5SD5, MP5SD6).
• 425 m/s (1,394.4 ft/s) (MP5/10).
• 315 m/s (1,033.5 ft/s) (MP5/40).

Effective Range

• 25 to 100 m sight adjustments.

Maximum Range

• 150 m.

Feed System

• 15 or 30-round detachable box magazine.
• 100-round Beta C-Mag drum magazine.

Sights

• Rear: rotary drum.
• Front: hooded post.