H&K's Middle Child: The HK33 and HK53 in 5.56mm
The History of Roller-Delayed Actions
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Introduced in 1968, the HK33 was Heckler & Koch's adaptation of their roller-delay operating system to the 5.56mm / .223 Remington cartridge. In addition to the standard full-length rifle (with a 15.35 inch barrel) a shorter version was made as the HK33K (with a collapsing stock and 12.4 inch barrel) as well as a "submachine gun" variant, the HK53 (with an 8.3 inch barrel). While it was never adopted by a first-tier global military, substantial numbers were purchased by a number of smaller forces, including Malaysia, Brazil, and Thailand.
Up Next in The History of Roller-Delayed Actions
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HK-32 Prototype in 7.62x39mm
Among the large family of roller-delayed rifles produced by Heckler & Koch, one of the rarest and least known is the HK32. This was the select-fire shoulder rifle chambered in 7.62x39mm. These rifles appeared in H&K sales literature for a time, but were only made in very small numbers for one or ...
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HK51: The SAS' Full Auto Flashbang Di...
The HK51 is not a gun that was ever actually produced by Heckler & Koch. It is instead a variation on the G3/HK91 originally developed by American H&K specialist Bill Fleming. He was contracted by a UK-based company called FR Ordnance to produce a submachine gun sized version of the G3 for Britis...
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Heckler & Koch's Modular Machine Gun:...
In 1961, Heckler & Koch introduced a new light machine gun based on their roller-delayed blowback system as a companion piece to the G3/HK91 rifle. While the German military was quite happy with its MG3 machine guns, H&K expected that other, smaller nations adopting the G3 would be interested in ...
