 | |
| Company type | GmbH |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1840 |
| Founder | Carl Gottlieb Haenel |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Firearms |
| Revenue | € 7.15 million (2018) |
Number of employees | 9 (2018) |
| Parent | Merkel |
| Website | https://www.cg-haenel.de/en/ |
C.G. Haenel is a German weapon manufacturer located in Suhl, Germany.
The Prussian commissioner for firearms manufacturing, Carl Gottlieb Haenel, began producing bicycles and weapons in 1840 — a combination which was not uncommon at the time as it required similar means of production and skills. In 1887, the Suhl-based weapons designer C. W. Aydt joined the company in order to produce his Aydt target rifle and later the Aydt target pistol for sporting. [1] In 1879, the German Army introduced the M1879 Reichsrevolver and a smaller derivative, the M1883. Haenel was awarded a share of the manufacturing for these firearms as part of a consortium, named the Suhl Konsortium, formed with the sporting arms manufacturer V. Ch. Schilling. The firearms they produced were marked with the signature "VCS CGH Suhl" in reference to their initials and Suhl origin.
After the adoption of the Gewehr 1888 the consortium was awarded the production of cavalry and artillery carbines on its action, but after the introduction of Gewehr 98, production of which was limited to government arsenal, expensive tooling for it the company acquired suddenly became out of demand. [2] Thus, they modernized the action, fixing the teething problems which led to the rearmament to G. 98. [2] Those included replacement of Mannlicher-style en-bloc clip with a double-stack fixed magazine of their own design (in order not to infringe on Mauser patents). [2] However, like the similar OEWG Exportmodell 1904, Haenel Modell 1900 and improved Modell 1909 rifles (which were widely known as Haenel-Mannlichers or Mannlicher-Haenels despite the absence of any Mannlicher influence) were not adopted by any major military (only Paraguay bought a small batch) and were not really popular as hunting and sporting firearms due to dominance of Mauser. [2]
Haenel later produced hunting weapons, bayonets and, during World War I, produced vast quantities of the Mauser Model 98 for the German Army.
In 1921, Hugo Schmeisser joined the company which then began manufacturing pocket pistols based on his designs. [3] This period also marked the introduction of the automatic firearm and, despite a ban by the Treaty of Versailles, the company began developing automatic submachine guns to Schmeisser's designs. Schmeisser drew upon experience and knowledge he had gained from his father, Louis Schmeisser, otherwise known as the "Father of the Automatic Carbine" due to his work on Bergmann machine guns. [4] In 1928, the company developed the MP28, a submachine gun derived from the MP18, and it was in use with the German police by 1928. Deliveries were also made to South Africa, Spain, Japan and the Republic of China through a license agreement with a Belgian company, named Baynard.
Despite the success of Hugo Schmeisser, the company ran into bankruptcy several times between 1929 and 1934. [5] In 1933, the company formed an association with ten other Suhl and Zella-Mehlis arms companies to guarantee a share of armament contracts from the newly-arisen Nazi government. This association was named the United Suhl-Zella-Mehlisser Arms Factories (German : Vereinigte Suhl-Zella-Mehlisser Waffenfabriken) and had direct relations with the Wehrmacht administration. The company, along with its associates, established their own offices in Berlin. [5] [6]
1935 saw a dramatic increase in arms production in the build up to World War II and a new automatic firearm with an intermediate cartridge was developed. The 7.92×33mm chambered MP43 (originally known as the Mkb 42(H)) assault rifle was devised to stand out from the Erma Werke MP38/MP40 submachine gun with its higher performance and economic design which was manufactured through a then innovative factory stamping technique. Over 10,000 units were produced as early as 1943 but, in the same year, production was halted by Adolf Hitler. Hitler later approved mass production following testing with troops. On entering service, the weapon was known as the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44).
Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, U.S. forces briefly occupied the city of Suhl and imposed a production ban on all arms factories. Following the evacuation of American troops, the area became occupied by the Soviet Army in what would later become East Germany. Around 50 StG 44's were transferred to the Soviet Union for technical analysis, as well as 10,785 weapon blueprints which were considered war reparations. [5] The company was then consolidated as the VEB Vehicle and Hunting Weapons Factory "Ernst Thälmann" (German : VEB Fahrzeug- und Jagdwaffenwerk „Ernst Thälmann“) and later began producing air rifles and hunting carbines under the brand name Haenel Suhl.
In 2008, the company was reestablished and adopted its original name of C. G. Haenel. [7] It now belongs to Merkel, which is in turn part of Caracal International in the United Arab Emirates. [8] The company's first product in 2008 was the Haenel RS8 7.62×51mm NATO/.308 Winchester sniper rifle which, in 2009, lead to the development of a larger Haenel RS9 .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70mm) version. That same year saw the introduction of a new range of hunting rifles, named the Jaeger 8 series. This was followed by the single-shot Jaeger 9, the bolt action Jaeger 10, the semi-automatic SLB 2000+, which was originally developed by Heckler & Koch, and the Jaeger 11 shotgun.
In February 2016, the Bundeswehr ordered the Haenel RS9 as its new medium-range sniper rifle, designated the G29. [9] This was followed by an order from the Hamburg Police for the company's Haenel CR 223 semi-automatic rifle in November. These were reportedly withdrawn from use in 2017 due to persistent jamming. [10] These problems were attributed to the ammunition being used by the Hamburg Police and Haenel stated it would rectify the problem. [11]
In January 2019, the company's MK 556 assault rifle was shortlisted alongside the Heckler & Koch HK416 and HK433 as a potential replacement for the Bundeswehr's G36 service rifle. The competition was widely expected to be won by Heckler and Koch which has supplied previous service rifles to the German military, including the most recent two, the G3 and the G36. [12] However, despite expectations, the Bundeswehr selected the MK 556 on 15 September 2020. The contract, worth €245 million, was to deliver 120,000 rifles. [13] On 9 October 2020, the German Federal Ministry of Defence withdrew their intended award decision, seemingly leaving the potential remaining G36 replacements as either the HK416, HK433 or MK 556 after concluding a reentered evaluation phase. [14] [15]
In 2021 the Jaeger NXT straight-pull rifle was introduced that differs from conventional bolt-action mechanisms in that the manipulation required from the user in order to chamber and extract a cartridge predominantly consists of a linear motion only. [16] [17]
Products manufactured by C. G. Haenel include:
Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German firearms manufacturer that produces handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar, Baden-Württemberg, and also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.
A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. In contrast, a bolt-action rifle requires the user to cycle the bolt manually before they can fire a second time, and a fully automatic rifle fires continuously until the trigger is released.
The StG 44 is a German assault rifle developed during World War II by Hugo Schmeisser. It is also known by its early designations as the MP 43 and MP 44. The StG 44 was an improvement of an earlier design, the Maschinenkarabiner 42(H).
The Heckler & Koch G3 is a select-fire battle rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO developed in the 1950s by the German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch, in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned firearms manufacturer CETME. The G3 was the service rifle of the German Bundeswehr until it was replaced by the Heckler & Koch G36 in the 1990s, and was adopted into service with numerous other countries.
The Heckler & KochG36(Gewehr 36) is an assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, and replaced the heavier G3 battle rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm. The G36 was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997. Since then, it has been a popular export, and has seen active service in military and police units in several countries, including Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The G36 is gas-operated and feeds from a 30-round detachable box magazine or 100-round C-Mag drum magazine.
Gewehr is the German word for a rifle. Prior to the 1840s, rifled guns were not widespread, usually muzzle-loading and termed Büchse, as they are still in German hunting jargon today. Afterwards, Gewehr became the standard term for military-type rifles.
Hugo Schmeisser was a German developer of 20th century infantry weapons.
The Heckler & Koch SL8 is a semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Heckler & Koch. It is a civilian version of the Heckler & Koch G36.
The Heckler & Koch HK416 is an assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. It is designed and manufactured by the German company Heckler & Koch.
J. P. Sauer und Sohn GmbH is a manufacturer of firearms and machinery and is the oldest firearms manufacturer still active in Germany. The products of this company are frequently referred to as Sauer.
The Heckler & Koch HK417 is a battle rifle designed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch.
The StG 45(M) (abbreviation of Sturmgewehr 45, "Assault Rifle 45") sometimes referred to as the MP 45(M), was a prototype assault rifle developed by Mauser for the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II, using an innovative roller-delayed blowback operating system. It fired the 7.92×33mm Kurz (or "Pistolenpatrone 7.9mm") intermediate cartridge at a cyclic rate of around 450 rounds per minute.
The evolution of German military rifles is a history of common and diverse paths followed by the separate German states, until the mid-19th century when Prussia emerged as the dominant state within Germany and the nation was unified. This article discusses rifled shoulder arms developed in or for the military of the states that later became Germany; it excludes firearms of the Austrian Empire, except where they were used substantially by German troops.
An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate-rifle cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles were first put into mass production and accepted into widespread service during World War II. The first assault rifle to see major usage was the German StG 44, a development of the earlier Mkb 42. While immediately after World War II, NATO countries were equipped with battle rifles, the development of the M16 rifle during the Vietnam War prompted the adoption of assault rifles by the rest of NATO. By the end of the 20th century, assault rifles had become the standard weapon in most of the world's armies, replacing full-powered rifles and submachine guns in most roles. The two most successful modern assault rifles are the AK-47 and the M16 designs and their derivatives.
Ludwig Vorgrimler is the man most commonly associated with the design of the Spanish roller-delayed CETME rifle, and its prolific offspring from the German gunmaker Heckler & Koch such as the G3, HK21, P9 and MP5.
The Heckler & Koch HK433 is a modular assault rifle chambered for 5.56×45mm which combines features of the G36 and the HK416 families of assault rifles.
The Maschinenkarabiner 42(H) or MKb 42(H) (machine carbine Model 1942 (Haenel)) was an early German assault rifle firing an intermediate round of World War II. Designed in 1940 – 1941 by Hugo Schmeisser working for C. G. Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik, several thousand were made and the gun was used on the Eastern Front in 1943.
The Haenel MK 556 is a gas-operated selective-fire 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle designed by German company C.G. Haenel. The MK556 was finalised in September 2020, and it is a fully automatic version of an earlier Haenel design, the CR 223, which was already in limited use by law enforcement agencies since 2017. On 14 September 2020, the Haenel MK 556 was selected by the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) as a replacement for the G36, making it the first service rifle used by the Bundeswehr produced by a company other than Heckler & Koch, who had submitted their own designs.
The Haenel RS9 is a bolt action sniper rifle manufactured by C.G. Haenel. It is the Bundeswehr's medium-range sniper rifle and replaces the Accuracy International AWM in the Kommando Spezialkräfte and Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine.
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