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Glock GmbH (pronounced Glock GmbH in Russian) is an Austrian arms manufacturer founded in 1963 in Deutsch-Wagram, a town near Vienna, Austria. Named after its founder, Gaston Glock. It gained the greatest popularity due to its pistols, but also produces knives and infantry shovels.
Company founder Gaston Glock was born in 1929 in Austria, the son of a railway worker.
Little is known about Glock's youth, they say that Gaston is a very secretive person, and does not like to talk about his personal life (by the way, he is alive and well at the age of 85).
But some facts from his biography still received publicity. For example, Glock, when he had already become famous, was reluctantly forced to admit in an interview that at the end of the war, as a teenager, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht. To this day, however, he downplays the significance of his military service in every possible way, saying that young recruits were only trained for a few days and then sent home. How true this is, how long he served in the Wehrmacht and whether he took part in the battles - no one knows.
After the war, Glock worked at a little-known factory producing car radiators, where, thanks to his complaisance and diligence, he succeeded and, in time, took the post of general manager.
Simultaneously with the main work, Gaston was also engaged in private business - he bought a Soviet mechanical press with his wife Helga, installed it in the garage, and, having hired two workers, stamped copper hinges for windows and doors.
Over time, cornices, as well as steel blades, were added to the list of manufactured products.
The quality of the product was excellent, and the price was quite low, so the Austrian Ministry of Defense offered Glock to produce knives and bayonets for the Austrian army. This was the first step towards great success, as Glock began to make connections in a circle of people with great opportunities. He waited in the wings, often stopped by the MO to talk with different people always hoping that some opportunity to make money will come up.
And the chance presented itself! In February 1980, Glock, who at that time was 50, accidentally overheard a conversation between two colonels in the corridor of the Austrian Ministry of Defense. They expressed dissatisfaction with each other about the quality of the Steyr pistol, proposed by this company as a replacement for the Walter P-38 pistol, which had been in service with the Austrian army since the Second World War.
Glock asked if he could take part in the competition for a new pistol for the Austrian army. The military accepted his proposal half-jokingly, but, nevertheless, described all the necessary requirements for a new pistol:
- Pistol must hold more 9mm magazine than Walther P-38 (Walter magazine holds 8 rounds)
- Weight must not exceed 800g
- The descent should be easy
- The width of the gun must not exceed 3cm
- Weapons must have less than 40 parts
Glock, who had never dealt with the design of weapons before, was confident that he could make such a pistol.
Through his new high-ranking military friends, he secured an audience with the Austrian Minister of Defense, in which he was officially allowed to enter the competition for the best pistol if the development was fully financed with Glock's own money. He agreed.
I must say that Glock set to work thoroughly.
He never owned a weapon, so he began work on creating his pistol by buying samples available on the market - the Italian Beretta 92F, the Swiss Sig Sauer 220, the Czech CZ-75 and the German Walter P-38, all in 9mm caliber.
Gaston learned to disassemble and assemble all these pistols, drew attention to the difference in design, spent weeks in the library and in the patent office, studying the weapons already developed.
When Glock decided that he had learned enough about the design of various pistols, then, using his connections in the ministry, he invited familiar experts in the field small arms to his dacha, in the town of Velden in southern Austria, in order to find out their professional opinion on what a new pistol should be in a relaxed atmosphere conducive to conversation.
Among the invitees were people like Colonel Frederick Dechant - the champion of many shooting matches, besides the person responsible for the purchase of weapons for the Austrian army (yeah, the first corruption calls !! Glock always knew what kind of people to get acquainted with !!), and also Siegfried Habner - a well-known weapons expert, author of many books about weapons, as well as a product specialist for Mauser and Heckler & Koch.
The basic concept of the new pistol was developed that evening, in May 1980.
In addition to the main features - 9mm caliber, double-row magazine to accommodate more rounds, the ability to withstand up to 40,000 shots, other important details were discussed.
For example, the audience decided that the safety on a pistol was optional, and often harmful. There were cases when the soldiers and officers of the Austrian army, wearing the P-38, forgot whether the pistol was on the safety or not, as a result they pressed trigger, relying on the fuse, and fired a shot. After weighing all the facts, the audience decided that there should not be a fuse in an ideal pistol.
The ergonomics of the future pistol was also discussed. Glock hammered together two planks with a nail, and asked the experts what angle of the handle to the barrel would be ideal for them. Many tried to "aim" with a wooden "pistol", changing the angle of the handle, including with their eyes closed - in order to understand whether it was possible to bring the weapon to the target instinctively, without seeing the sights. The general consensus was to choose an angle of 22 degrees (subsequently, Glock slightly reduced it).
In short, before even trying to create prototype, Glock, using his new connections, received an unusually free helpful tips from leading experts, moreover, involved in the process of adopting a pistol into service !!
Well, then, having received as much information as possible about the requirements of the Austrian army for weapons, and how the best shooters see the perfect pistol, Glock began to develop a prototype. For testing, he built a shooting gallery in the basement of his own house, where he shot from the first samples.
An interesting moment - during the shooting of the first pistols of his own design, Glock fired, holding the pistol in his left hand - in case the weapon breaks and it injures his hand. Gaston, right-handed, did not want to lose right hand, to be able to continue working on the blueprints for the gun even if an accident occurs.
In total, the process of creating a pistol took Glock only about a year, amazing speed !! On April 30, 1981, he filed a patent for a new pistol, which he called the Glock 17 - by patent number, it was his seventeenth patented invention.
After another year of testing and refinement, four Glock pistols were handed over to the Austrian army for testing on May 19, 1982.
What distinguished the Glock from other competitors was the polymer frame. Glock hired modern plastics specialists to create the pistol, which helped him create a polymer-framed weapon.
I must say that Glock was not a pioneer, using plastic to make a pistol frame. Long before the Glock, way back in 1970 famous company Heckler & Koch designed the VP70Z pistol, which is considered the first polymer pistol. The gun was frankly bad - very capricious about the ammunition used, often jammed, and, as a result, did not gain distribution.
The use of plastic made the glock the lightest of all that took part in the competition - 661 grams. The main competitors were monster arms companies such as H&K (sample weighed 928 g), Steyr (1,100 g). I note that Glock did not have a factory at that time at all, only that very own garage, where the gun was made, literally on his knee.
The Glock model was recognized as the easiest to maintain, consisting of only 34 parts. For comparison, the Sig Sauer pistol consists of 53 parts, Beretta - 70, H&K - 77.
During range testing, the glock only had one delay per 10,000 rounds fired!! The pistol during the tests was frozen to -50 degrees, then tested at a temperature of 50 degrees, it was fired in the field, after falling asleep with mud and earth, after immersion in water. The weapon worked flawlessly, much better than its competitors.
The logical result - at the beginning of 1983, the Austrian Ministry of Defense ordered the first batch of 20,000 units !!
Many copies have been broken about how Gaston Glock managed to outdo the famous gun companies in just a year and develop a pistol that is, indeed, one of the most important small arms developments of the 20th century.
As Glock himself says, he was helped by the fact that he approached the creation of weapons from scratch, and he did not have an established production.
What can I say, Gaston Glock was lucky, the state order for the first batch of pistols and laid the foundation for the giant weapons empire that Glock is today.
The robbers were not ordinary criminals - both were veterans of the armed forces, with the appropriate skills. In the past, Matix served as a military police officer in the famous 101st airmobile brigade, and Platt served in the special forces. They were not going to give up, especially since the list of their crimes already included at least three murders and several robberies - in those days - a clear ticket to the electric chair. A shootout ensued.
Undoubtedly, the most important moment in the history of the Glock company, was the opening of a representative office in the United States.
Gaston Glock himself, judging by the sources that he managed to find, at first was not very interested in the American arms market. He was busy expanding production and sales in Europe - after the Glock 17 was adopted by Austria, orders poured in from other countries - Norway, Sweden, who decided to purchase a new pistol for their armed forces.
But there was an enterprising person who sensed the potential to get rich selling a pistol in the United States.
It turned out to be Carl Wolter, an Austrian living in the US who makes a living selling weapons to police departments in various cities across the country.
Carl kept a close eye on new developments in small arms, and was aware of the new "super" pistol. As soon as it became known that the Glock 17 had been adopted in Norway, Karl flew to Europe to offer his services to Gaston Glock.
Common Austrian roots played a role, Walter received consent to open a Glock branch in the USA, in the city of Atlanta, and became its director.
Karl had connections in the police departments, so he decided to start by selling new weapons to the police.
I must say that in the 80s of the last century, the main weapon of the US police was a .38 special caliber revolver.
Everything changed after the tragic incident known as the "Miami Shootout" - "Shootout in Miami", which occurred on April 11, 1986.
On this day, bandits Michael Platt and William Matix robbed a bank in the city and tried to escape with money, but the car of FBI agents came to the rescue and rammed the car of criminals, tightly blocking the exit.
The robbers were not ordinary criminals - both were veterans of the armed forces, with the appropriate skills. In the past, Matix served as a military police officer in the famous 101st airmobile brigade, and Platt served in the special forces. They were not going to give up, especially since the list of their crimes already included at least three murders and several robberies - in those days - a clear ticket to the electric chair.
A shootout ensued.
Matix had an 8-round pump-action shotgun in his hands. The Platt was armed with a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle, chambered in .223 remington (the same cartridge used in M-16 rifles), and had several loaded magazines (one of them held 40 rounds!). As you understand, with such an arsenal, the density of fire from the criminals was very high.
Agents were forced to reload their Smith and Wesson revolvers, chamber by chamber, after every 5-6 shots.
The results of the 4-minute battle were monstrous. Although Matix and Platt were killed, the FBI's losses were two killed and three badly wounded agents, who remained disabled for the rest of their lives.
After this incident, FBI Director William Sessions gave the order to begin the search for a repeating pistol to replace obsolete revolvers.
This terrible story played into the hands of Karl Walter - after the massacre, it was easy for him to persuade his acquaintances in the police departments to buy a new, "fashionable" 17-round pistol.
I must say that the US police really liked the glock. Due to the soft trigger and simplicity of design, police officers, including new recruits, could very quickly learn how to properly handle a pistol, and began to shoot an order of magnitude better.
In addition, Karl sold Glocks to the police at a very large discount. The calculation was simple - firstly, the company still had a huge profit, since the cost of producing a Glock pistol was low. Secondly, by making the Glock the main pistol of the police throughout the country, Karl hoped to enter the huge market for civilian weapons in the United States. Indeed, what kind of gun lover would not want to buy the same gun that the cops are armed with? But Glocks were already sold to civilians at exorbitant prices, so the discounts for the police paid off handsomely !!
If the person responsible for the purchase of weapons for the police in some big city suddenly refused to buy Glocks, then Karl Walter used the old, like the world, way to get his way - bribery!
Carl invited his potential buyers to discuss possible options selling weapons to himself, in Atlanta, for a few days, entirely at the expense of Glock. Moreover, the whole trip, of course, was paid for at the highest level - a flight on a private plane, huge suites in the most expensive hotels in the city, a lot of entertainment, trips, chic restaurants.
In Atlanta, this building still stands - The Gold Club, although now some kind of charitable or church organization is located in it. And in the last century it was an elite striptease club!!! One of the most famous in the USA, "spent time" here famous musicians and athletes, the most beautiful girls danced here, in general place cereal - nowhere else!!
Another one interesting story about how the Glock gained popularity in the US is linked to Syria and Libya.
The fact is that both Muammar Gaddafi and Hafez Al-Assad were very interested in the invention of the Glock.
It is known for certain that Glock made a special batch of pistols for the protection of Al-Assad, with gold inserts in the form of Arabic script.
It is also known that Gaddafi personally visited the Glock factory, he was so intrigued by the new weapon.
Glock, by the way, to this day denies that his weapons were sold to Libya.
However, the fact that the Middle East is actively interested in the plastic Glock pistol became known to Israeli intelligence, which reported its concerns to colleagues in the United States.
What started here!
Senators and congressmen, who knew little about weapons, launched a high-profile state investigation into whether the glock pistol could become a terrorist weapon, because it is plastic, which means it can be carried anywhere unnoticed!
Avid for sensationalist journalists, without understanding properly, they immediately published completely illiterate articles in many media, which said that, they say, "a plastic pistol cannot be seen when passing through a metal detector at the entrance to the airport."
The public, of course, was horrified, immediately imagining Libyans or Syrians seizing passenger liners, and was already ready to ban the spread of "terror weapons" in the United States, when experts explained that the pistol had a steel bolt, and, therefore, this pistol could be detected just like any other.
The investigation was quickly hushed up, but the terrible bacchanalia in the press certainly helped the Glock company - the name of this pistol has become a household name, like the iPhone, I guess!
By the way, there is another little-known continuation of the history of the Glock pistol as a "weapon for terrorists."
The New York City Police Department is the largest in the United States, with more than 35,000 police officers (for comparison, there are only 18,000 agents in the entire FBI).
As you understand, it would be very profitable for Glock to rearm such a number of policemen!
But, in addition to the huge police department (called the NYPD for short, the New York Police Department), New York is also known as a city with very strict gun laws.
So, during the media hype, the leadership of the NYPD department introduced a complete ban on possession of a Glock pistol in the city. New York. The ban applied to everyone, without exception, including the police.
Even after all charges against the company were dropped, New York was not going to allow the Glock.
And it all ended with the fact that in September 1988, one of the main policemen of the city, a New York Police Commissioner named Benjamin Ward, was caught in a secretive wearing of a Glock 19!! So he broke his own law!
The very next day, the NYPD lifted the ban on Glock possession in the city, allowing Carl Walter to arm the department with new pistols.
The NYPD currently uses 3 pistols: the Sig Sauer P226, the Smith & Wesson Model 5946, and the Glock 19, with around 20,000 New York cops choosing the Glocks, an impressive number!
Due to the frequent mention in the press, interest in the pistol grew, the Americans did not spare money and bought the pistol for their private collections, sales revenues went up.
Being in the spotlight of the press became one of the tricks of the representatives of the Glock company, as this attention resulted in a net profit. More and more new ways were looked for, how to get into the newspapers or get positive reviews for their weapons.
For example, in order to attract the press to his booth at the huge annual ShotShow 1990, Carl Walter spread the word that an FBI secret agent would be demonstrating Glock samples.
The rumor spurred interest, everyone tried to find the Glock stand. And when the public saw that the "secret agent of the FBI" - unbelievable beautiful girl, happy to talk about the gun to visitors, then favorable reviews in the press were provided.
In fact, of course, there was no agent, but there was a stripper hired by Karl from the same Gold Club named Sharon Dillon, who was trained for 4 days before the exhibition on the device of a glock pistol so that she could answer questions from visitors.
In 1991, in the city of Killeen, Texas, the first tragedy occurred, mass kill at Luby's Restaurant.
The perpetrator, George Hennard, crashed his pickup truck into a restaurant window and then started shooting people. In total, he managed to kill 23 people, and injure 20 more. After that, the killer shot himself.
The motives are unknown, it seems that he was shouting something about his hatred of women, but he shot at everyone.
Hennard was armed with Glock-17 and Ruger-P89 pistols.
After this shooting, the question was again raised in the US Congress whether it is necessary to impose restrictions on the allowed number of cartridges in the store for civilian gun owners.
I must say that in those days, talk about the need to introduce a ban on private ownership certain types weapons and limiting the size of stores, were fought in the Senate and Congress quite often. The fact is that in both chambers the majority were Democrats - traditional opponents of weapons.
However, it did not come to the adoption of a specific law, because the president was the Republican George W. Bush (senior), who has the right to veto, so any such bill would simply not be signed by the president.
That all changed in 1992, when Democrat Bill Clinton won the presidential election, and the Democratic Party was able to retain control of both the Senate and Congress. All power was in the hands of the Democrats, and they immediately rushed to change the gun legislation!!
As a result, a federal law known as the Assault Weapons Ban was passed in Congress and the Senate, signed into law by President Clinton, and went into effect on September 13, 1994.
From that day on, for a long 10 years (the law was adopted as a "trial", its term automatically expired after 10 years), private owners of weapons were limited in the right to acquire certain types assault rifles, as well as new magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds.
It would seem that in such a situation, Glock's income in the US civilian arms market should have fallen ... But no, exactly the opposite!
The fact is that the company's leaders foresaw Clinton's victory in the elections, so since 1991 Gaston Glock's factories have been working 24 hours a day, producing .. Exactly, high-capacity stores!
The point is, as a general rule, US gun laws cannot outlaw a product that has already been made in the past. Well, let's say I spent money to buy a high-capacity magazine. Now, after the adoption of the new law, such stores are prohibited. And what should I do, who will return the money? You can safely go to court!
So usually bans are introduced only in relation to a remake produced after the date of the adoption of the prohibiting law.
Glock was fully prepared to ban large-capacity magazines by churning out a huge number of them. All stores were manufactured before September 13, 1994, which means that they are absolutely legal for sale in the USA! Only now these, albeit completely new, from the warehouse, but "old" according to the law, the shops were much more expensive! Prices skyrocketed from $19 to $50 per store, not only not reducing, but also increasing Glock's profit from sales in the US!
Moreover, at the suggestion of Carl Walter, another idea was implemented to re-equip police stations throughout the country.
Just as in the 80s Carl offered the police to replace revolvers with glock pistols at a big discount, now police departments were offered to change the old 9mm glocks for new glock 22s in the larger 40SW caliber. And - completely free!
It would seem - why did it need to be done? The secret is simple. The old police glocks were manufactured prior to September 13, 1994 (date of entry into force of the new prohibition law), therefore they were absolutely legal for resale in the US to private owners, along with high capacity magazines !! Due to the adoption of a prohibiting law, the prices for such pistols, albeit second-hand ones, have skyrocketed !!!
In general, Glock once again cashed in in the 90s, even using prohibiting laws to his advantage.
In the mid-90s, enough time has passed since the opening of the Glock representative office in the USA, and now it was in America that the Austrian company earned the main money.
I must say that taxes on corporate profits in the United States are quite high. That is why Charles Evert needed the cunning Gaston Glock.
Evert made a living by advising wealthy individuals and corporations on how to reduce tax costs. Living in Luxembourg (where business is not taxed), Evert was a master at setting up shell and offshore companies. Financial flows flowed through these companies, as a result, money surprisingly “evaporated” from the tax zone, saving the client significant amounts.
This business, of course, is legal only from the point of view of Luxembourg. In the USA for such tricks you can go to jail for many years.
However, Gaston Glock hired Evert, and he created a huge intricate network of companies in different countries with preferential taxation to redistribute Glock's income, and avoid taxes.
It is known that Glock bought the Panama company Reofin. In turn, Reofin bought Unipatent, which was registered in Luxembourg and owned by Evert. Further, 50% of Glock shares were transferred to Unipatent.
As a result, 50% of the income from Glock's American business was no longer taxed in the US - the profits officially belonged to the company in Luxembourg.
For this scheme, by the way, Charles Evert was nicknamed "Panama Charlie".
In addition to Luxembourg, front companies were opened in Ireland, Liberia, Curacao, Latin America, Hong Kong, quite possibly somewhere else.
Everyone was happy, Glock saved and paid meager taxes, Charles Evert received a lot of money for his help, many even said that Evert and Glock are now business partners.
Everything would be fine, but Evert was stealing. :) That's why money corrupts people, right? It would seem - live on these earnings, why do you need more, because Charles Evert earned millions !!!
But no, he didn't. :) When transferring finances between countries, Evert did not hesitate to “apply” a little to this money, again transferring amounts for “consulting” to firms owned, through nominees, by himself :)
In 1999, Glock had suspicions that the cunning financier lives by constantly getting into his pocket (Glock was snitched, at first he did not believe in such a betrayal, but then, having studied the accounting documents personally, he realized that he had been led by the nose for many years).
Furious, Glock flew to Luxembourg, having told Evert in advance that he wanted to meet him to discuss corporate finance.
Evert met Glock at the airport the next day in person. Before driving to the office, Evert persuaded Gaston Glock to stop by the parking lot to look at a new sports car that Evert had recently bought.
Glock agreed, and the two of them drove to the underground garage on Prince Henry Boulevard. As soon as Glock approached to examine the car, a tall masked man ran out from behind the column and began to strike Glock on the head with a large rubber mallet (mallet).
Evert, instead of standing up for the life of the boss, fled.
But Glock, even in his 70s, was able to give a worthy rebuff, knocked out several teeth from the attacker, and knocked him out.
The police arrived in time to arrest the killer. It turned out to be 67-year-old Jacques Pechur, a veteran of the French Legion, who took part in fights without rules under the pseudonym Spartacus.
Glock, although he received 7 blows to the head with a hammer and lost a liter of blood, was not seriously injured.
An investigation was conducted, it turned out that Evert stole more than $ 100 million from the Glock company, and when he realized that he was about to be exposed, he hired a killer to get rid of Gaston Glock.
The Glock company is aimed at making money, and it does not seem to shy away from dirty schemes, bribery, or tax evasion.
And at the head of this cuttlefish is Gaston Glock himself, holding tight control over every tentacle of a giant organism called "Glock".
P.S. By the way, in 2011 Gaston Glock divorced his wife Helga, with whom he lived all his life, and abandoned his three children. As it turned out, it was their shares in the Glock company that were once resold to various shell companies. As a result, now neither the ex-wife nor the children belong to absolutely anything.
Yes, Helga is trying to sue the children, but how many years these lawsuits will take is unknown.
Well, Gaston Glock, almost immediately after the divorce, married a nurse who cared for him in the hospital after a stroke - Catherine Tschikoff. She is only 50 years younger than him and now takes an active part in the management of the concern.
favAmong the most fashionable militaristic disputes of the season is finding out who was the true creator of the Kalashnikov assault rifle. Like, some “illiterate sergeant” could not invent such a useful invention ... But there is a much more dubious subject in the design hall of fame - this is Gaston Glock, the creator of the pistol of the same name.
The canonical version of the creation of "the world's best shooting plastic brick" is known to everyone. A modest owner of a bayonet and spade office bought a polymer casting machine, and having nothing to do, at the suggestion of a couple of colonel friends, he took up the invention of a pistol. In 1980, in a few months, working day and night and shooting from prototypes with his left hand (to make it easier to tie the shoelaces if the structure is torn apart), our Gaston made a candy. The gun turned out to be light, simple, with a minimum of parts and super reliable. First, it was adopted by the Austrian army, and then there was a breakthrough to the US market, where the police, followed by ordinary citizens, rushed to buy Glocks like hamburgers and iPhones combined.
True, according to the world-famous OBS news agency, the Glock owed this success in no small part to the original marketing of the local dealer. In the style of Sex Sells, he invited the police to strip clubs and the like ... But who is not without sin: they say that Colt did the same.
In general, Gaston and his firm thrive, releasing several dozen different versions of the pistol in various sizes and calibers. It should be noted that Gaston, among other gunsmiths, is famous for a strange fad: he is extremely reluctant to make any, even minimal changes, to the basic design. For example, interchangeable pads, in order to more conveniently adjust the handle to the palm, appeared quite recently, only on the fourth generation of Glocks.
Maybe, of course, grandfather is just a conservative at heart and acts according to the principle “it works - don’t interfere!” But there is another, much larger mystery.
Gaston Glock is actually the only designer in history of not just one successful sample of small arms, but also the only sample in general. The same “illiterate sergeant” Mikhail Kalashnikov, before his famous machine gun, managed to make two versions of submachine guns, a self-loading carbine, a machine gun, and something else. After the AK, he spawned a bunch more designs, including one of the best modern machine guns. Makarov, after his pistol, went into air cannons, and then into anti-tank missiles. In John Browning, you are tormented to list what he just did not invent. Even the Finn Lahti managed to invent both the Suomi submachine gun and a pistol named after himself, a loved one, and an anti-tank rifle.
Okay, let's say Gaston is a perfectionist, and he is embarrassed to show his early imperfections. But for more than 30 years since the creation of the gun, it was possible to tighten up and give birth to at least something decent? Moreover, the army of Glock fans around the world would buy almost anything, as long as the cherished G.
But if we assume that the king is a little undressed, everything becomes much more logical.
Without going into the theory of who, how and why could make the first pistol, we can confidently assume that Gaston failed to find such suckers twice. That's why he's so reluctant to change something in the base model. Simply because he himself is poorly versed in the design of pistols. Hired engineers insist that nothing will change much, but the impostor is still scared. Therefore, in addition to pistols, the company produces only those notorious knives and shovels that Glock had dealt with before: it is difficult to break firewood in the design there.
Of course, maybe we got carried away. Suddenly, after the death of Gaston, a whole bunch of ingenious samples will be removed from the cellars of Deutsch-Wagram, which for some reason the designer did not want to present to the public.
Well, or someone who wants to tell a different story of the best plastic pistol of all time will appear. In which there will be many more names and surnames than now.
Wait and see.
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Glock 17 third generation
Type: self-loading pistol
Country: Austria
Service History
Years of operation: 1982 - present
Used by: Army of Austria, Germany, Sweden, Police of Norway and Police of the Netherlands, New York Police, Northern Ireland Police, Tasmanian Police, Russian Interior Ministry
Production history
Constructor: Gaston Glock
Designed: 1982
Manufacturer: Glock GmbH
Years of production: 1982 - present
Options: See existing modifications
Characteristics:
Weight, kg: 0.625 (without cartridges), 0.905 (equipped)
Length, mm: 186
Barrel length, mm: 114
Width, mm: 33
Height, mm: 138
Cartridge: 9x19 mm Parabellum (+P,+P+)
Caliber, mm: 9
Principles of operation: recoil of the barrel with its short stroke
Muzzle velocity, m/s: 350-360
Maximum range, m: 50
Ammunition type: magazine for 17 (standard), 19 or 33 rounds
Sight: removable open
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Glock 17 (Glock 17) is an Austrian pistol developed by Glock for the needs of the Austrian army. He became the first type of weapons developed by this company. The resulting sample turned out to be quite successful and convenient to use, thanks to which it was later adopted by the Austrian army under the designation P80. Later, Glock pistols gained wide popularity due to their combat qualities and prevalence as weapons of the heroes of various Hollywood films. The weapon of this model is widely used around the world. Now there are many different versions of this pistol, which are designed for different cartridges (9x19 mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, 10 mm auto, .357 SIG, .45 ACP and others).
A design feature of the pistol is the absence of a fuse box and a trigger. The gun is mostly made of high-strength heat-resistant - up to 200 ° C - plastic. This makes the Glock 17 lightweight and extremely durable. The principle of operation is “grab and shoot”, there is no fuse, however, the shot will not occur without fully pressing the “safe action” trigger. Consists of 33 parts and incomplete disassembly carried out in seconds.
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History of occurrence
After the end of World War II, the Austrian armed forces were armed with two main models of pistols Colt M1911А1 and Walther P38. The Austrian police were equipped with Walther PP and Walther PPK military and even pre-war years of production, or released in the post-war years under license in France. To resolve the situation in 1980, it was decided to announce a competition for a new pistol to equip the Austrian police and army.
The following requirements were imposed on the contestants:
ammunition type: 9x19 mm Parabellum;
minimum magazine capacity: 8 rounds;
the ability to control the gun with the right and left hand;
quick bringing into combat position (without the need to switch the fuse);
the possibility of assembly and disassembly without special equipment, the number of parts in the gun - no more than 58;
all parts must be interchangeable within the same model without mutual adjustment;
there should be no more than 20 delays per 10,000 shots;
the gun should maximally maintain integrity and functionality under external influences and temperature extremes;
maximum safety for the user: the shot should not occur when hitting a steel plate from a height of 2 meters.
Various weapons manufacturers took part in the struggle for such a promising order. Among them was the then little-known company Glock, founded in 1963 in the town of Deutsch-Wagram. At that time, the company was engaged in the production and supply of sapper shovels, bayonet-knives, belts and various ammunition for the Austrian army. Back in the mid-1970s, Gaston Glock, the founder and owner of the company, set the task of creating the simplest, most effective and reliable pistol for his designers.
Using the existing experience in the use of polymers in the manufacture of weapons, the Glock 17 pistol was created. The fundamental innovation of this model was the widespread use in its design polymer materials, impact-resistant polyamide was predominantly used. In 1982, according to the results of military tests, the Glock 17 pistol was adopted by the Austrian army under the designation P.80. Glock was ordered 25,000 pistols, production facilities were not ready for such a significant order, so subcontractors were involved until the full deployment of their own production facilities. Soon after the arrival of the new pistol to the troops, this model gained considerable popularity, which prompted Glock to further expand and improve the model range, but the design of existing models of pistols from this company still retains those successful technical solutions that were first successfully used during developing Glock pistol 17.
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Design
This type of pistol is a fairly simple and reliable design, consisting of 33 parts and can be disassembled without the help of special equipment.
The automation of the Glock 17 pistol is based on the recoil of the barrel with its short stroke. The design used a modernized system Colt-Browning (Brauning Cam), which is a modernization of the Browning earring. The principle of operation of this system is as follows. Under the breech, a tide is made with an inclined groove, coinciding with the guide ledge of the frame. The groove is made at such an angle that, moving along the ledge, it causes the moving barrel to decrease, due to which the latter disengages from the shutter-casing, and then stops, allowing the shutter to roll back unhindered. The barrel bore is locked by connecting its rectangular breech to the bolt, which engages with the bolt and the window for extracting cartridge cases (that is, the rear of the barrel has a rectangular section and due to this it fits snugly against the bolt). The barrel bore is unlocked due to its skew, according to the principle of the Colt-Browning system.
The trigger mechanism is a striker type, self-cocking. When the trigger is pressed, the firing pin block is first removed, then the sear releases the cocking and a shot is fired. The force required for a shot when the trigger is pressed can be adjusted from 2 to 4 kg. Before the shot, the drummer is in a half-cocked position. A shot from this position is considered one of the advantages of the Glock. After each shot, the pistol automatically resets until the next trigger pull. A fairly small effort required to pull the trigger allows you to increase the accuracy of fire, even for a poorly trained shooter. To ensure maximum ease of handling weapons, when designing this pistol, it was decided to abandon the use of manual safety catches, only automatic ones were left, which made it possible to significantly reduce the time interval from the moment the pistol was removed to the moment the fire was opened. In the absence of cartridges, the shutter delay is turned on, fixing the shutter in the allotted position.
The sights of the Glock pistols are made removable and are installed in transverse dovetail grooves. They, as a rule, consist of a front sight and a replaceable unregulated rear sight. For ease of aiming in low light conditions, a luminous dot is applied to the front sight, and a luminous frame is applied to the rear sight. The rear sight can be adjustable, but this is not usually the case in military models. Since 1988, pistols of this model, in most cases, are equipped with a special guide for attaching a laser pointer or a tactical flashlight.
Equipped as standard with a 17-round magazine, it can also use magazines with a capacity of 19 and 33 rounds.
In addition to the generally accepted design features, the Glock 17 has a number of specific technical solutions, which were then used in the pistols of subsequent models.
Many parts of the pistol were created using polymer materials, including the frame (except for the barrel and bolt cover), which made it possible to reduce the weight of the weapon to 900 g in running order, compared to Beretta pistol 92 with a magazine of 15 rounds, the mass of which is 950 g in running order. Moreover, the mass of the equipped store in the Glock 17 is 250 g, that is, about 25% of the weight is ammunition.
Also hallmark pistols Glock is a high survivability of components and mechanisms. If, on average, a pistol is considered wear-resistant, if about 30-40 thousand shots can be fired from it, then 300-350 thousand shots can be fired from the Glock 17. Such superiority in wear resistance is due to the extensive use of polymer parts and the unique barrel manufacturing technology patented by Glock.
Outer body and frame can be made of plastic various colors. The most famous is classic black, there is also a Glock 17 in camouflage. In the production of parts that are subjected to the greatest load, plastic is reinforced with metal plates. The guide frames along which the shutter casing moves are reinforced with steel inserts. At the bottom of the frame is a small metal plate stamped with the gun's factory serial number.
On the pistol frame above the trigger guard on both sides there are latches, when pressed, incomplete disassembly of the pistol, removal of the bolt barrel and return spring from the frame becomes available.
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Existing modifications manufactured by Glock
The Glock 17 pistol served as the basis for the entire range of pistols manufactured by Glock. Glock pistols, which have the “C” index in the model designation, are equipped with a built-in compensator, made in the form of several upwardly directed holes located at various intervals in the muzzle of the barrel, and an elongated cutout in the upper part of the casing-bolt. The presence of this device made it possible to reduce the recoil when fired, which somewhat increased the accuracy of fire.
The following derivatives of the Glock 17 pistol currently exist:
The Glock 17L is a target version of the model with an extended barrel, introduced in 1988.
Glock 17C - a modification equipped with a compensator cut in the barrel and casing.
The Glock 17R is a variant of the pistol with a red plastic body.
Glock 17T - blue body variant.
Glock 18 - a modification adapted for firing bursts.
Glock 19 is a compact model with a short barrel (102 mm). Initially called Glock 17 Compact, since 1990 it has acquired the current designation.
Glock 20 - modification of the Glock 17 chambered for 10 mm Auto, has a magazine for 15 rounds and a built-in compensator.
Glock 21 - modification chambered for .45 ACP, in this regard, it has a number of design differences. The profile of the barrel has changed, which has become octagonal with right-hand cutting, the magazine capacity has decreased to 13 rounds.
Glock 22 - modification chambered for .40 S&W. This model was released in 1990. In May 1997, this model was adopted by the FBI as a service weapon. It is a standard weapon for duty officers.
Glock 23 - a shortened version of the Glock 22, is a standard weapon for field officers.
Glock 24 - target modification of the Glock 22 with an elongated barrel and increased accuracy of fire.
Glock 25 - a modification of the Glock 22 model chambered for .380 ACP, a compact low-power weapon for civil self-defense. First introduced general public in 1995.
The Glock 26 is a compact variant of the Glock 17 with a magazine capacity of 10 rounds and a weapon length of 160mm.
Glock 27 - compact modification chambered for .40 S&W. Much like the Glock 26, but has a 9-round magazine due to the slightly thicker ammo used.
Glock 28 is a compact modification of the Glock 25.
The Glock 29 is a compact version of the Glock 20 with a magazine capacity of 10 rounds.
The Glock 30 is a compact version of the Glock 21.
Glock 31/31C - modification of the original model chambered for .357 SIG.
The Glock 32/32C is a slightly shorter version of the Glock 31 pistol with a smaller magazine.
Glock 33 - a significantly shortened and reduced modification of the Glock 31, positioned as an "ultra-compact pistol".
Glock 34 - target modification of the Glock 17 pistol with an extended barrel and increased accuracy of fire. Introduced to the public in 1998.
Glock 35 - target modification of the Glock 22 pistol, has an increased accuracy of fire, specially designed for clay target shooting and training personnel. Introduced to the public in 1998.
Glock 36 - a compact modification of the Glock 21, the magazine capacity is only 6 rounds, due to their single-row arrangement it has a small thickness, which facilitates covert carrying.
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Usage
Due to its successful design, the pistol has become widespread throughout the world. Various modifications of the Glock 17 pistol are in service with the army and police in more than 30 countries, for example, Austria, Sweden and Norway, this model is also approved by the NATO leadership as one of the main models of personal small arms, Glocks of various modifications are in service with the police and special services USA, Canada, Mexico, India, Philippines, Saudi Arabia and many other countries.
This pistol is a typical self-defense weapon. The maximum effective firing range is 50 m, effective shooting at such a distance requires good shooting training and experience in handling the weapon from which the fire is fired. On average, the Glock 17 is most effective at a distance of 20-25 m, due to the fact that even a poorly trained shooter is able to hit a target at such a distance. The muzzle velocity of a bullet fired from a Glock 17 at the muzzle is 350-360 m/s. muzzle energy is about 500 J. These characteristics determine the scope of this weapon model.
The energy of a bullet of 350-400 J is enough to inflict serious injury upon impact. The 9mm bullet has a sufficiently pronounced stopping effect, which allows the shooter to inflict incapacitating, but not lethal, wounds. This quality is especially necessary for police and intelligence officers in cases where you need to stop the target, but there is no need to kill him. Also, in the event that the enemy is protected by body armor, hitting the chest plate of the armor leads to strong concussion, and in some cases to loss of balance, which gives the shooter time to transfer fire to parts of the body that are not protected by armor.
Glock 17 can be effectively used in almost all climatic zones, with the exception of extreme north and areas with a sharply continental climate, where the air temperature can drop below -40 °C. This is due to its design features. Due to the wide use of polymers, this model is not afraid of the traditionally dangerous for pistols. high humidity, dustiness, jungle and rainforests. But under conditions low temperatures the plastic frame of the pistol turns from an advantage into a disadvantage, due to the increased fragility of the plastic, the components and assemblies of the pistol fail faster, and without proper regular Maintenance with the replacement of plastic components, in a critical situation, the gun may not be combat-ready.
In law enforcement forces, the Glock 17 is used as the main weapon on peacetime patrols.
AT army structures Glock 17 is an additional weapon for officers, in some cases sergeants. They can also arm crews of vehicles. In combat conditions, the Glock 17 is effective for self-defense when it is impossible to use the main weapon.
In civilian security structures and for private individuals, this pistol, as well as for the police, is a weapon of self-defense and a means of protecting entrusted property.
It is thanks to the fact that the Glock 17 effectively copes with the tasks in all three main areas of its application that it has become so widespread in the world.
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This model, like any other weapon, has its pros and cons.
Advantages
High resistance to corrosion, thanks to the use of a special patented Glock technology for processing barrels and a large number of polymer parts.
Smooth recoil and high accuracy of fire due to the use of a large number of polymer parts.
Less than pistols of a similar class, weight due to the manufacture of the body and frame of the pistol from plastic.
High wear resistance of units and mechanisms. The barrel before burning out allows you to make 300-350 thousand shots (for other pistols, on average, this value is 40-50 thousand shots).
Bringing into combat position does not require switching any fuse.
The manufacturer's declared ability to fire at aquatic environment without damage to the gun when changing the return spring.
The gun can be easily disassembled for cleaning and maintenance without the use of special equipment.
The ability to use stores with a large number of cartridges.
Flaws
The small area of the guides becomes the reason for their relatively rapid wear, which leads to the appearance of lateral play in the shutter casing, and as a result, to a decrease in the accuracy of fire.
There is a possibility that when carried in a pocket for a long time without regular maintenance, small debris can jam the firing pin release lever, making it impossible to fire. But, according to some sources, this event is too unlikely to affect the actual combat capability of the pistol.
Due to the use of polymer materials, Glock becomes more brittle at temperatures below -40 ° C, which can lead to cracks in the receiver and frame under mechanical stress. At high temperatures - over 200 °C - deformations of the plastic components of the pistol may occur. AT technical advice Glock company, the operating temperature range is specified from -40 to 200 ° C, the use of a pistol outside this temperature range can lead to failure of its main components and structural components.
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Since January 31, 2009, the Glock 17, among other pistols chambered for 9x19 mm Parabellum, has been included in the list of weapons allowed in Russia by investigators and employees of the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for use as a weapon of self-defense.
Glock Company
Gaston Glock started with the production of curtain rods, as well as knives for the Austrian army, being also a specialist in the field of polymer materials. Until the age of 52, he did not design or manufacture firearms. In 1980, Glock buys a polymer molding machine for the handles and sheaths of army knives, which he makes in his garage. At the same time, he recruits employees from the film camera industry, who, like him, are versed in the production of polymer components. During the year, the team designs a pistol, designated Glock 17, with a frame made of polymer, having received the corresponding Austrian patent in 1981.
Personal life
Glock was married by his first marriage to Helga Glock, who bore him three children. In 2011, he divorced Helga and married Catherine Chicoff ( Kathryn Tschikof) was one of the nurses who cared for him after he suffered a stroke in 2008. In 2012, he suffered a second stroke.
Glock supports various charity organisations in Austria, donating over a million euros.
assassination attempt
In July 1999, Charles Evert, Glock's business partner, hired ex-French military mercenary Jacques Pescheux ( Jacques Pêcheur) to kill the Glock. Pescheux attacked Glock with a hammer in a garage in Luxembourg. Glock received seven head wounds and lost about a liter of blood, but he himself was able to inflict two hits on Pesho. As a result of the failed assassination attempt, Pesche was sentenced to 17 years in prison, and Evert, based on his testimony, to 20.
Book
In 2012, an English book was published. Glock: The Rise of America's Gun (Glock: Rise of the American Pistol), dedicated to Glock and his company. Reviewed by Daniel Goran Daniel Horan) from The Wall Street Journal the book is "a breathtaking look at one man's extraordinary success".
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Notes
Excerpt characterizing Glock, Gaston
Terrible news about the Battle of Borodino, about our losses in killed and wounded, and even more terrible news about the loss of Moscow, were received in Voronezh in mid-September. Princess Mary, having learned only from the newspapers about her brother’s wound and having no definite information about him, was about to go in search of Prince Andrei, as Nikolai heard (he himself did not see her).Having received the news of the Battle of Borodino and the abandonment of Moscow, Rostov not only experienced despair, anger or revenge and similar feelings, but he suddenly became bored, annoyed in Voronezh, everything was somehow ashamed and awkward. All the talk he heard seemed feigned to him; he did not know how to judge all this, and felt that only in the regiment would everything become clear to him again. He was in a hurry to complete the purchase of horses and often unfairly got into a temper with his servant and sergeant major.
A few days before the departure of Rostov, a prayer service was scheduled in the cathedral on the occasion of the victory won by the Russian troops, and Nikolai went to mass. He stood somewhat behind the governor and, with official gravity, thinking about a wide variety of subjects, survived the service. When the prayer was over, the governor's wife called him to her.
Have you seen the princess? she said, pointing her head at the lady in black standing behind the kliros.
Nikolai immediately recognized Princess Marya, not so much by her profile, which was visible from under her hat, but by that feeling of caution, fear and pity that immediately seized him. Princess Mary, obviously immersed in her own thoughts, was making her last crosses before leaving the church.
Nikolai looked at her face in surprise. It was the same face that he had seen before, the same was in him the general expression of subtle, inner, spiritual work; but now it was completely differently illuminated. A touching expression of sadness, prayer and hope was on him. As before with Nikolai in her presence, he, without waiting for the advice of the governor's wife, to approach her, without asking himself whether it would be good, decent or not, his appeal to her here in church, approached her and said that he had heard about her grief and sympathizes with him with all her heart. As soon as she heard his voice, suddenly a bright light lit up in her face, illuminating at the same time both her sadness and her joy.
“I wanted to tell you one thing, princess,” said Rostov, “that if Prince Andrei Nikolayevich had not been alive, then, as a regimental commander, this would have been announced in the newspapers now.
The princess looked at him, not understanding his words, but rejoicing at the expression of sympathetic suffering that was in his face.
“And I know so many examples that a shrapnel wound (in the newspapers it says a grenade) is either fatal right away, or, on the contrary, very light,” Nikolai said. “We have to hope for the best, and I’m sure…”
Princess Mary interrupted him.
“Oh, that would be so awful…” she began, and without finishing from excitement, with a graceful movement (like everything she did in his presence), bowing her head and looking gratefully at him, she went after her aunt.
On the evening of that day, Nikolai did not go anywhere to visit and stayed at home in order to settle some accounts with the horse sellers. When he finished his business, it was already late to go somewhere, but it was still early to go to bed, and Nikolai walked up and down the room alone for a long time, pondering his life, which rarely happened to him.
Princess Mary made a good impression on him near Smolensk. The fact that he met her then in such special conditions, and the fact that it was precisely on her at one time that his mother pointed out to him as a rich party, made him pay special attention to her. In Voronezh, during his visit, the impression was not only pleasant, but strong. Nikolai was struck by the special, moral beauty that he noticed in her this time. However, he was about to leave, and it never occurred to him to regret that, leaving Voronezh, he was deprived of the opportunity to see the princess. But the current meeting with Princess Mary in the church (Nikolai felt this) sank deeper into his heart than he foresaw it, and deeper than he wished for his peace of mind. This pale, thin, sad face, this radiant look, these quiet, graceful movements, and most importantly, this deep and tender sadness, expressed in all her features, disturbed him and demanded his participation. In men, Rostov could not stand to see the expression of a higher, spiritual life (that's why he did not like Prince Andrei), he contemptuously called it philosophy, daydreaming; but in Princess Marya, precisely in this sadness, which showed the whole depth of this alien to Nicholas spiritual world, he felt an irresistible attraction.
