The MP5 is a You must login or register to view this content. You must login or register to view this content. of You must login or register to view this content. design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the You must login or register to view this content. arms manufacturer You must login or register to view this content. of You must login or register to view this content.. The company, motivated by the success of the You must login or register to view this content. You must login or register to view this content., developed a family of small arms consisting of four types of firearms (all based on a common G3 design layout and operating principle), where the first type was chambered in You must login or register to view this content., the second – using the You must login or register to view this content. round, third – the intermediate You must login or register to view this content. caliber and the fourth type – chambering the 9x19mm Parabellum You must login or register to view this content. cartridge. The MP5 (short for Maschinenpistole 5) was created within the fourth group of firearms, initially known as the HK54.
Work on the MP5 began in 1964 and scarcely two years later it was adopted by the You must login or register to view this content., border guard and army special forces. It is currently used by the armed forces and law enforcement units of over 40 different countries. The submachine guns are manufactured under license in several nations including: You must login or register to view this content. (Hellenic Arms Industry), You must login or register to view this content. (You must login or register to view this content.), You must login or register to view this content. (You must login or register to view this content.), You must login or register to view this content. (You must login or register to view this content.), You must login or register to view this content. (You must login or register to view this content.), You must login or register to view this content. (You must login or register to view this content.), and the You must login or register to view this content. (initially at You must login or register to view this content., later diverted to Heckler & Koch Great Britain). 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 early 1970s You must login or register to view this content. introduced a conversion kit for the MP5 that enables it to use sporting ammunition (You must login or register to view this content.). This unit consists of a barrel insert, a bolt group and two 20-round magazines. This modification reduces the cyclic rate to 650 rounds/min.
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The roller-delayed locking mechanism.


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A You must login or register to view this content. fires the MP5.


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A view through the weapon's aperture sight.




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Technical patent drawing of the MPSD suppressor.


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MP5K-PDW.


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The MP5SD3.

• MP5A1: MP5 with endplate/receiver cap; "Navy"/"SEF" trigger group.
  
• MP5A2: Fixed stock, "Navy"/"SEF" trigger group.
  
• MP5A3: Retractable stock, "Navy"/"SEF" trigger group.
  
• MP5A4: Fixed buttstock, 3-round burst trigger group.
  
• MP5A5: Retractable buttstock, 3-round burst trigger group.
  
• MP5SFA2: "SF" denotes single-fire; fixed stock.
  
• MP5SFA3: MP5SFA2 with retractable stock.
  
• MP5-N: Model developed specifically for the You must login or register to view this content.. Ambidextrous "Navy" trigger group, 3-lug/threaded barrel for attaching a sound suppressor; retractable stock.
  
• MP5F: Model developed specifically for the You must login or register to view this content. military. Rubber-padded retractable stock, ambidextrous sling loops/bolts and internal modifications to handle high-pressure ammunition.
  
• MP5K: Short version of the MP5; "SEF" trigger group.
  
• MP5KA1: MP5K with smooth upper surface and small iron sights; "SEF" trigger group.
  
• MP5KA4: MP5K with 3-round burst trigger group.
  
• MP5KA5: MP5KA1 with 3-round burst trigger group.
  
• MP5K-N: MP5K with "Navy" trigger group and 3-lug/threaded barrel for mounting suppressors or other muzzle attachments.
  
• MP5K-PDW: Personal Defense Weapon; MP5K-N with added folding stock and 3-lug/threaded barrel for mounting of suppressors; "Navy" or 3-round burst trigger group. Introduced in 1991.
  
• MP5SD1: Integrated suppressor (Schalldämpfer), A1-type buttplate with sling loop; "Navy"/"SEF" trigger group.
  
• MP5SD2: Integrated suppressor (Schalldämpfer), fixed stock; "Navy"/"SEF" trigger group.
  
• MP5SD3: Integrated suppressor (Schalldämpfer), retractable stock; "Navy"/"SEF" trigger group.
  
• MP5SD4: MP5SD1 with 3-round burst trigger group.
  

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Spanish Navy special forces You must login or register to view this content. operators armed with MP5's.

• MP5SD5: MP5SD2 with 3-round burst trigger group.
  
• MP5SD6: MP5SD3 with 3-round burst trigger group.
  
• MP5SD-N: MP5SD with "Navy" trigger group and You must login or register to view this content. stainless steel suppressor; retractable stock.
  
• MP5/10: Chambered in You must login or register to view this content., available in various stock/trigger group configurations. It was produced from 1992 to 2000.
  
• MP5/40: Chambered in You must login or register to view this content., available in various stock/trigger group configurations. It was produced from 1992 to 2000.
  
• HK94: American import model of the MP5 with a 16 in barrel and special safe/semi-automatic trigger group, designed for civilian use. It was made from 1983 to 1989, in three different configurations.
  
• SP89: Sport Pistole M1989. Semi-automatic only version of the MP5K designed for civilian use. It had a modified foregrip redesigned into a traditional handguard that did not allow the fitting of the MP5K's foregrip to make it compliant with the Semi-Auto Weapons Ban of 1989. It was made from 1989 to 1994.
  
• HK54: This was the original model that was produced in the mid 1960s. It later became known as the MP5A1, a very slightly modified version.
  

Heckler und Koch MP-5 (Germany)

Unlike possible replacements for the M16/M4 such as the now canceled You must login or register to view this content., the REC7 is not an entirely new rifle, instead it is only made up of an You must login or register to view this content. (made by Barrett) that is attached to M16/M4 service rifle lower receivers and is compatible to many accessories intended for the M16/M4 family. It can also be mated to M16/M4 lower receivers currently in the possession of the US military. The rifle uses a short stroke piston mechanism, unlike the M16 or M4 which use You must login or register to view this content..
In addition, the REC7 uses the new You must login or register to view this content. (6.8 x 43) rounds that are very similar in size to the You must login or register to view this content. rounds used by the United States Military today. According to Barrett, the new 6.8 mm round is supposed to have 50% more stopping power than the 5.56 round and a longer effective range. The round has a slightly lower velocity than the 5.56 round, but Barrett claims it has 1.5 times the You must login or register to view this content. of the 5.56 mm round. The company claims that it is effective at six hundred meters and has a muzzle velocity of 2650 feet per second when fired from a 16 inch barrel. Like many You must login or register to view this content. type rifles, such as the M16/M4, the barrel is threaded to allow muzzle attachments such as a suppressor. The REC7 employs the S.I.R. handguard (Selective Integration Rail) manufactured by ARMS Inc, which allows many military accessories such as a You must login or register to view this content., You must login or register to view this content., and combat optics to be placed on the rifle. In addition the SIR system has flip-up iron sights already built in to the system that can be used if used as a stand alone rifle.

The rifle
Barrett's M468 (the name derived from M4 and 6. is a virtual clone of the Mk-12 Variant "Recce" (a Navy Seal designation). It's an M4 rifle made in both selective-fire (for military or law enforcement) and semi-automatic-only versions (for the general public).
Like the "Recce" rifle, the M468 uses the mid-length (piston) gas system developed by Mr. Mark Westrom, of ArmaLite. The M468-A1 comes equipped with the A.R.M.S. Mid-Length Selective Integrated Rail (S.I.R.) System and #40-A low Profile front Sight. The M468-A1 also uses the SOPMOD Folding Front Sight from Precision Reflex, Inc. along with PRI's new 6.8mm magazine.
The M468 has a muzzle brake and suppressor mounting threads just in front of the front sight. With the suppressor, the report was much like a .22 short.
Barrel length is 16 inches (6 groove, 1-in-10 RHT). Barrels are match grade. Overall length is 35.5 inches for the civilian semi-automatic with fixed synthetic stock. The LE version's stock can be collapsed to reduce overall length to 32 inches.
According to the web page; 5, 10, and 28-round magazines are available. [The article mentions a 26-round PRI magazine.]
The rifle weighs 7.3 lbs., according to the web page, with no accessories. [The article says 7.5 lbs.].


The 6.8mm SPC round
Whether the 6.8mm Special Purpose Cartridge (SPC) will ever be used by the military remains in doubt. Johnston says "the enemies of the project are coming out like insects from the woodwork."
The 6.8mm SPC was a grass-roots initiative originating in the Special Forces, 5th Group - Airborne, and the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU). It is based on the obsolete .30 Remington case. It may be the victim of "not invented here" thinking by military program managers.
[While XM8s with 6.8mm barrels have been tested, it seems more likely the standard issue XM8, if adopted as the replacement for the M16/4 family of rifles, will be chambered for 5.56mm. The military is currently scrambling to set up larger 5.56mm contracts, as the next post notes.]
Johnston feels the round is here to stay for LE and civilian use.
Johnston claims the 6.8mm SPC "out shoots" the 7.62x39mm, 5.45x39mm, 5.56x45mm, and 6.5mm Grendel; but the article offers no data to substantiate this claim in this article. Perhaps he did in his 2-part story in the March and April issues of SOF.