Almost Adopted: The H&K XM-8 Family
Germany • 16m
Today we are in H&K's Grey Room in Virginia, taking a look at the XM-8 program. The rifle evolved form the kinetic energy carbine portion of the doomed XM29/OICW program, and eventually became the G36 rifle. In between those two, however, it was the XM-8, and it came close to adoption by the US military.The XM-8 was designed to be a very modular system, with a variety of interchangeable stocks, handguards, optics and accessories. We will take a look at all of these different elements, as well as the disassembly and mechanical function of the design.
Up Next in Germany
-
HK XM-8: What Was it and Why? (With L...
Larry Vickers has the closest thing most any of us will ever have to a true XM-8 rifle, and has more than a little trigger time on the original XM-8 rifles. So, I asked him to explain what the rifle was and why it failed to become the new American service rifle. It's a fascinating story that will...
-
Polish and German Police Silenced CZ-...
Today we are looking at two suppressed CZ-27 pistols, one Polish and one German. The Polish one was issued by the Ministry of Public Security, an agency which only existed from 1945 until 1954. It uses an aluminum suppressor with 5 baffles and 5 rubber wipes, threaded onto an extended barrel. It ...
-
WW2 Mauser Becomes Heckler & Koch: th...
After the Mp44/StG44 Sturmgewehr was starting to see substantial production and field use, the German military and the Mauser company began working on a way to simplify production of the weapon. The design for the Gerät 06H actually began with the Gerät 03, an attempt to make a roller-locked G43 ...
