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102-616: The Heckler & Koch G3 ( German : Gewehr 3 ) 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

204-460: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it

306-402: A second language , and 75–100   million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220   million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90   million people, or 16% of

408-587: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become

510-464: A 22 mm rifle grenade can easily be as powerful as a 40 mm grenade, in spite of the seemingly smaller size. A 22 mm grenade is launched on the spigot principle, like a spigot mortar ; a tube slightly under 22 mm is attached to the end of a rifle barrel to serve as the spigot, and left open on the muzzle end so bullets can be fired through it. The grenade consists of a heavy warhead section of 30–75 mm (1.2–3.0 in) in diameter for

612-459: A 305 mm (12.0 in) twist rate to adequately stabilize the military 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition of the era – terminates with a slotted flash suppressor which can also be used to attach a bayonet or serve as an adapter for launching rifle grenades . From the G3A3 the barrel was free floated from the stock and had polygonal rifling . The barrel chamber is fluted with twelve flutes, which assists in

714-498: A 7.62×51mm version of the rifle. The resulting CETME Model A was chambered for the 7.62×51mm CETME cartridge which was identical in chamber dimensions but had a reduced-power load compared to the 7.62×51mm NATO round. Further development of the rifle with input from H&K produced the CETME Model B which received several modifications, including the ability to fire from a closed bolt in both semi-automatic and automatic firing modes,

816-723: A basis for many other weapons, among them: the PSG1 and MSG90 precision rifles, the HK11 and HK21 family of light machine guns , a semi-automatic version known as the HK41 , a "sporterized" model called the SR9 (designed for the civilian market in countries where the HK91 would not qualify, primarily the US after the 1989 importation restrictions) and the MC51 carbine. The G3 rifle

918-511: A different flash suppressor , and a synthetic handguard and shoulder stock), resulting in the most recent production models, the G3A3 (with a fixed polymer stock) and the G3A4 (telescoping metal stock). The rifle proved successful in the export market, being adopted by the armed forces of over 40 countries. Of that figure, 18 countries undertook domestic production of the G3 under license. Known manufacturers of

1020-556: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from

1122-676: A license. In the case of the G3, the Dutch firm Nederlandse Wapen en Munitiefabriek (NWM) held production and sales rights to the CETME design outside of Spain. To acquire production rights, the West German government offered NWM contracts to supply the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) with 20mm ammunition. Production of the G3 was then assigned to Rheinmetall and Heckler & Koch. The latter company already had ties to CETME, and had worked to further optimize

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1224-453: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained

1326-583: A new perforated sheet metal handguard (the folding bipod had been the foregrip in previous models), improved ergonomics and a slightly longer barrel with a 22 mm rifle grenade launcher guide. In 1958, this rifle was accepted into service with the Spanish Army as the Modelo 58 , using the 7.62×51mm CETME round. In 1956, the Bundesgrenzschutz canceled their planned procurement of the CETME rifles, adopting

1428-465: A partial aluminium bullet was abandoned in 1947. Löffler's design, designated Carabine Mitrailleuse Modèle 1950 , was retained for trials among 12 different prototypes designed by CEAM, MAC , and MAS . Engaged in the Indochina War and being the second NATO contributor, France canceled the adoption of these new weapons for financial reasons. In 1950, Vorgrimler moved to Spain where he created

1530-679: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In

1632-423: A proper and safe functioning parameters bandwidth Heckler & Koch offer a variety of locking pieces with different mass and shoulder angles. The angles are critical and determine the unlock timing and pressure curve progression as the locking pieces act in unison with the bolt head carrier. The G3 is a modular weapon system. Its butt-stock, fore-stock and pistol-grip/fire-control assembly may be changed at will in

1734-492: A relatively high trigger pull of 50–55  N (11.2–12.4  lb f ) due to a drop safety requirement. An interchangeable set-trigger pack assembly featuring a trigger stop and less trigger pull is available for the G3SG/1 and other sniping orientated variants. The original G3 and G3A1 rifle variants had a relatively low iron sight line that consisted of a Klappvisier, an "L-type" flip up rear sight and hooded front post. From

1836-475: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it

1938-639: A variety of configurations (listed below). Simple push-pins hold the components in place and removing them will allow the user to remove and replace parts rapidly. The weapon made extensive use of cost-saving pressed and stamped steel components rather than machined parts and spot welding to connect parts. The stamped sheet metal cocking handle tube and receiver are large exposed parts that are prone to deformation from hard impact as they were designed to be relatively thin to save weight. If dented severely or deep enough during field service, reliability problems due to internal parts movement impairments can occur that put

2040-414: Is a selective-fire automatic weapon that employs a roller-delayed blowback operating system. The two-piece bolt assembly consists of a breech (bolt head) and bolt carrier. The bolt is held in battery by two sliding cylindrical rollers that engage locking recesses in the barrel extension. The breech is opened when both rollers are compressed inward against camming surfaces driven by the rearward pressure of

2142-580: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as

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2244-596: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German

2346-672: Is always used for indirect fire ; the closer the target, the higher the angle the rifle is held, much like a mortar. The first rifles to utilize the 22 mm grenade were the American M1903 Springfield , M1 Garand and M1 carbine , all of which required an adapter (the M1 , M7 , and M8 grenade launchers, respectively). After the formation of NATO , the 22 mm grenade was adopted as its standard rifle grenade. The French have been producing 22 mm grenades fired with 7.62×51mm NATO rounds since 1956. Many NATO small arms, such as

2448-546: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic

2550-472: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German

2652-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25   million speak it as

2754-520: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in

2856-595: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as

2958-559: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are

3060-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and

3162-587: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as

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3264-413: Is or was produced under license in the following countries: Pakistan, Brazil, Iran, France, Greece, Norway, Mexico, Myanmar, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Turkey. The Pakistani manufacturer, Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) uses the same model number for both automatic versions as well as versions of different manufacturing that are made as semi automatic for the civilian market. POF's definition of

3366-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German

3468-510: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c.  1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period

3570-750: Is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ),

3672-566: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish

3774-412: Is then pulled and the high-velocity gases rush down the barrel. The gas is slowed by the obstructing grenade, and the low-pressure, high-velocity gas transforms into low-velocity, high-pressure gas very rapidly, which forces the grenade off the launcher at a relatively high speed, whereupon it follows a ballistic arc to the target. A rifle grenade cannot be easily or safely fired directly at a target, and

3876-481: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers

3978-673: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to

4080-627: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as

4182-557: The Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German

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4284-522: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share

4386-417: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language

4488-514: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout

4590-724: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in

4692-495: The M7 bayonet , but with a different grip because of its mounting above the barrel. The weapon can also mount a 40 mm HK79 under-barrel grenade launcher , blank firing adapter , a straight blowback bolt (called a "PT" bolt, lacks rollers) used for firing 7.62×51mm ammunition with plastic bullets, a conversion kit used for training with .22 Long Rifle ammunition and a sound suppressor (that uses standard ammunition). The G3 served as

4794-644: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c.  765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in

4896-640: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung

4998-536: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit.   ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this

5100-503: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and   Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German

5202-476: The Yugoslavian M59/66 (SKS) and Zastava M70 , have built in flip-up ladder sights that allow for accurate ranging of the shots, by giving a graduated series of "rungs" which correspond with various ranges. The rifle is aligned with the target, and the user looks through the ladder sight, adjusting the angle until the sighting mark on the tip of the grenade matches the proper range on the sight. The trigger

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5304-462: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from

5406-419: The "E" or "1" position – single fire mode ( Einzelfeuer ), "F" or "20" – automatic fire ( Feuerstoß ), "S" or "0" – weapon is safe ( Sicher ), trigger disabled mechanically). The weapon can be fitted with an optional four-position safety/fire selector group illustrated with pictograms with an ambidextrous selector lever. The additional, fourth selector setting enables a three-round burst mode of fire. The rifle has

5508-701: The Belgian-made FN FAL as the Gewehr 1 (G1) instead. However, the newly formed West German Army ( Bundeswehr ) now showed interest and soon purchased a number of CETME rifles (7.62×51mm NATO chambering) for further testing. The CETME, known as the Automatisches Gewehr G3 according to German nomenclature, competed successfully against the Swiss SIG SG 510 (G2) and the American AR-10 (G4) to replace

5610-511: The Bundeswehr, each G3 went through functional checks, zeroing the sight line ( Anschießen ) and a shooting test at the factory. In the process, five shots were fired at a target at 100 metres (109 yd) with particularly accurate sighting-in ammunition. The 5-shot group could not exceed 120 mm (4.7 in) (1.2 mil /4.13 MOA ) diameter. The weapon was modernized during its service life (among other minor modifications it received new sights,

5712-458: The CETME rifle for use with the full-power 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge (as opposed to the downgraded CETME variant). In 1969, Rheinmetall gave up production rights to the G3 in exchange for Heckler & Koch's promise not to bid on MG 3 machine gun production. Later in 1977, the West German government ceded ownership of G3 production and sales rights exclusively to Heckler & Koch. After obtaining these rights, Heckler & Koch initially had to pay

5814-714: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In

5916-718: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of

6018-1039: The G3A2 variant the firearm is equipped with a relatively low iron sight line that consists of a Drehvisier a rotary rear drum and hooded front post. The rear sight is mechanically adjustable for both windage and elevation with the help of tools. This deliberately prevents non-armorers to (re)zero the iron sight line. The rotary drum features an open V-notch (numbered 1) for rapid target acquisition, close range, low light and impaired visibility use and three apertures (numbered 2, 3 and 4) used for: 200–400 metres (219–437 yd) in 100 metres (109 yd) increments for more precise aiming. The 1 V-notch and 2 or 200 metres (219 yd) aperture settings have an identical point of aim. The V-notch and apertures are calibrated for US M80 / German DM111 series or other equivalent 9.5 grams (147 gr) 7.62×51mm NATO ball ammunition. The receiver housing has recesses that work with STANAG claw mounts/HK clamp adapters used to mount day or night aiming optics. The rifled barrel – four right-hand grooves with

6120-417: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of

6222-399: The German states; the invention of the printing press c.  1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of

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6324-623: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by

6426-547: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are

6528-418: The LV-50 rifle chambered for the Kurz cartridge and later, the proprietary 7.92×40mm CETME M53 round. At this point, the rifle was renamed the Modelo 2 . The Modelo 2 drew the attention of the West German Bundesgrenzschutz (Border Guards), who sought to re-equip the newly formed national defense forces. Not willing to accept a cartridge outside of the NATO specification, the Germans asked CETME to develop

6630-469: The Light Weapon Development Group ( Abteilung 37 ) at Oberndorf am Neckar designed the Maschinenkarabiner Gerät 06 (MKb Gerät 06, "machine carbine device 06") prototype assault rifle chambered for the intermediate 7.92×33mm Kurz cartridge, first with the Gerät 06 model using a roller-locked short recoil mechanism originally adapted from the MG 42 machine gun but with a fixed barrel and conventional gas-actuated piston rod. With careful attention to

6732-408: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c.  thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c.  1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy

6834-426: The StG 45(M) were taken to work in France at Centre d'Etudes et d'Armement de Mulhouse (CEAM). The StG 45(M) mechanism was modified by Ludwig Vorgrimler and Theodor Löffler at the Mulhouse facility between 1946 and 1949. Three versions were made, chambered in .30 Carbine , 7.92×33mm Kurz , and the experimental 7.65×35mm French short cartridge developed by Cartoucherie de Valence in 1948. A 7.5×38mm cartridge using

6936-673: The United Kingdom ( Royal Ordnance ). The Bundeswehr was working on improving their G3 rifles in the 1990s with a brass deflector that deflects spent cartridge cases down and frontwards from the operator and a new polymer pistol-grip/fire-control assembly module that allows better ambidextrous operation of the safety lever when they had their G3 rifles replaced for the Heckler & Koch G36 . Currently (2018) hundreds of thousands of G3A3A1, G3A4A1 and G3KA4A1 modernized variants rifles are maintained by Bundeswehr personnel and kept in reserve or are available in military base small arms storages. The Iranian version remains in production as of 2024. The G3

7038-465: The West German Heckler & Koch G3 , French MAS-36/51 , MAS-49/56 and FAMAS , British SA80 , and American M16 / M4 are equipped to launch 22 mm grenades without an adapter. The same 22 mm thread diameter for these rifles has also been referred to as a " STANAG muzzle device " size for flash hiders and other attachments by civilian firearm traders. Two non-NATO members, Yugoslavia and Spain, adopted locally-manufactured rifles, such as

7140-406: The barrel extension recesses. The bolt features an anti-bounce mechanism that prevents the bolt from bouncing off the barrel's breech surface. The "bolt head locking lever" is a spring-loaded claw mounted on the bolt carrier that grabs the bolt head as the bolt carrier group goes into battery. The lever essentially ratchets into place with friction, providing enough resistance to being re-opened that

7242-417: The bolt carrier does not rebound. The spring-powered claw extractor is also contained inside the bolt while the lever ejector is located inside the trigger housing (actuated by the recoiling bolt). The chamber has longitudinal gas relief flutes cut in the chamber wall to ease the cartridge case's extraction upon firing. These flutes allow propellant gas to flow between the case and chamber wall, equalizing

7344-514: The civilian versions are "Semi Auto Irreversible". The Pakistani models are manufactured in both automatic and civilian semi automatic versions sharing the same model number. German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It

7446-478: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with

7548-452: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in

7650-507: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of

7752-407: The expanding gases upon the bolt head. As the rollers move inward, recoil energy is transferred to the locking piece and bolt carrier which begin to withdraw while the bolt head slowly moves rearward in relation to the bolt carrier. As the bolt carrier clears the rollers, pressure in the bore drops to a safe level, the bolt head is caught by the bolt carrier and moves to the rear as one unit, continuing

7854-432: The gas being tapped off, which might affect the accuracy and range of the grenade. The tail of the grenade is slipped over the muzzle attachment, where it indexes itself so the aiming mark is on the top. The rifle is lined up with the target, butt to the ground, and held to the proper angle to ensure the correct ballistic trajectory, a skill which must be learned in training. This can be done by eye, but some rifles, such as

7956-425: The government 4 Deutsche Marks per rifle, despite having been awarded the contract by the German government. Initial production G3 rifles differed substantially from more recent models; early rifles featured closed-type mechanical flip-up sights (with two apertures), a lightweight folding bipod, a stamped sheet steel handguard, a wooden buttstock (in fixed stock models) or a telescopic metal stock. Before delivery to

8058-449: The grenade is clear of the launcher, and sometimes a metal o-ring to create a final seal and to lock the grenade in place until pressure has risen high enough. To fire the grenade, firstly a special blank cartridge is loaded into the weapon. There is often some sort of cutoff device on gas operated rifles that can be engaged to disable the gas piston, both to eliminate the possibility of a live round chambering itself, and to prevent any of

8160-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,

8262-474: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of

8364-519: The initial extraction of a spent cartridge casing (since the breech is opened under very high barrel in internal cartridge case pressure). The G3A3 (A4) uses either steel (260 g) or aluminium (140 g) 20-round double-stacked straight box magazines , or a 50-round drum magazine. H&K developed a prototype plastic disposable magazine in the early 1960s, but it was not adopted as aluminum magazines were just as light and proved more durable, as well as easier to produce. Standard accessories supplied with

8466-404: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . 22 mm grenade This measurement practice differs from conventional launched grenades , such as the US 40 mm grenade , which are measured at their widest point, since they are launched out of gun-like barrels . Thus,

8568-404: The mechanical ratios, the gas system could be omitted. The resultant weapon, Gerät 06H (the "H" suffix is an abbreviation for halbverriegelt - "half-locked") was assigned the designation StG 45(M) ( Sturmgewehr 45(M) , assault rifle 45) but was not produced in significant numbers and the war ended before the first production rifles were completed. The German technicians involved in developing

8670-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted

8772-630: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from

8874-407: The nose, and a lightweight hollow tube for the tail section. The inner diameter of this tube is 22 mm, and fits over the tube attachment on the muzzle with only a small amount of play, to create a good gas seal and promote accuracy. There are typically a series of rings machined around the perimeter of the tube, which serve as baffles to slow any escaping high-pressure gases created on launch until

8976-436: The operating cycle. Based on the geometric relationship arising from the angles of the roller contact surfaces of the locking piece and the barrel extension recesses, the recoil of the bolt head is delayed by a ratio of 4:1 for the 7.62×51mm NATO chambering. Thus during the same period of time, the bolt head carrier moves 4 times faster than the bolt head. This ratio is continued until the locking rollers have been withdrawn from

9078-508: The pressure between the inner and outer surfaces of the front of the cartridge case. The intentional propellant gas ingress at the gas relief flutes significantly reduces case friction against the chamber wall, making extraction more reliable by preventing the cartridge case from sticking and tearing. The reliable functioning of roller-delayed blowback mechanisms is limited by specific ammunition and arm parameters like bullet weight, propellant charge, barrel length and amount of wear. For obtaining

9180-585: The previously favored G1 rifle. In 1956 the Bundeswehr started extended troop trials with 400 CETME rifles. Heckler & Koch made a number of changes to the CETME rifles. In January 1959, the Bundeswehr officially adopted the technically improved CETME proposal. The West German government wanted the G3 rifle to be produced under license in Germany; purchase of the G1 had previously fallen through over FN's refusal to grant such

9282-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation

9384-404: The rifle include: a detachable bipod (not included with rifles that have a perforated plastic handguard), sling, cleaning kit and a speed-loading device. Several types of bayonet are available for the G3, but with few exceptions they require an adapter to be inserted into the end of the cocking tube. The most common type features a 6 3 ⁄ 4  inch spear-point blade nearly identical with

9486-452: The rifle out of action and can not be field solved by the user. To determine and correct such situations armorers are trained to employ specially designed "GO" and symmetry gauges and straightening mandrels to fairly quickly repair such problems. The rifle is hammer fired and has a trigger mechanism with a 3-position fire selector switch that is also the manual safety toggle that secures the weapon from accidentally discharging (fire selector in

9588-541: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,

9690-496: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in

9792-500: The weapon included France ( MAS ), Greece ( Hellenic Defence Systems ), Iran ( Defense Industries Organization ), Luxembourg ( Luxemburg Defense Technologie ), Mexico, Myanmar , Norway ( Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk ), Pakistan ( Pakistan Ordnance Factories ), Portugal ( FBP ), Saudi Arabia ( Military Industries Corporation (Saudi Arabia) ), Sweden (Husqvarna Vapenfabrik AB and FFV Carl-Gustaf in Eskilstuna), Thailand , Turkey ( MKEK ) and

9894-543: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during

9996-579: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching

10098-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of

10200-477: Was adopted into service with numerous other countries. The G3 has been exported to over 70 countries and manufactured under license in at least 15 countries. Over 7.8 million G3s have been produced. Its modular design was used for several other HK firearm models, including the HK21 , MP5 , HK33 , PSG1 , and G41 . The origin of the G3 can be traced back to the final years of World War II when Mauser engineers at

10302-530: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially

10404-485: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which

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