Heckler & Koch G11 Disassembly & How It Works

[@TheArmourersBench]

Thanks for watching guys, I hope you enjoyed our look inside the space magic! If you'd like to see more photos of the G11's internals you can find a whole load of them over on the TAB blog now: armourersbench.com/2018/11/23/stripping-the-hk-g11/ - Matt

[@TheArmourersBench]

@wood1155 thank you for watching, very glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheArmourersBench]

@Bitcoin Broker without a doubt!

[@oddyseus91]

@@TheArmourersBench Seems the Technology is being further developed by AAI in the States in the Lightweight Small Arms Technologies Program. Supposedly they have already developed a caseless LMG/LSW. Could only imagine how much further it would have been developed if the Bundeswehr had adopted it as planned. If only the Berlin Wall stayed up for a few more years lol. I have the book "Die G11 Story" by Wolfgang Seel but had to get it Translated from German since they did not print any in other languages as far as I know. This is such an excellent Video, I would be shocked if you did not gain a strong following of subscribers if you keep putting out in depth content like this and the AR10 series you guys made. Cheers.

[@TheArmourersBench]

@@oddyseus91 Thank you for the kind words! I agree, its one of those big what if questions. But I think they made the right choice, it was just too expensive. It has some great features though and it was a real pleasure to field strip it. I'm glad you enjoyed the video, that makes the project worthwhile, I hope we continue to grow - I'd love to hit 3,000 subscribers by the end of the year, we will see. We will continue to do our best to put out detailed, researched videos on the stuff we find fascinating! - Matt

[@oddyseus91]

@@TheArmourersBench I agree it was expensive, but through the economy of scale the price would have come down slowly over the life of the rifle. I also think they would have made some changes to the chamber to improve service life. Such a cool piece. H&K is/are always on the bleeding edge of small arms development. 3,000 subscribers will be a distant memory if you can find more rarities like this.

[@davidhyer3404]

Wow full auto wheel lock.

[@davidprice7162]

I know right. Next we’ll have heavy duty semi auto flint locks.

[@darkspire91]

'Control disk' and 'gears' should never be in a sentence when the topic is a gun.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Definitely no ordinary gun! Thanks for watching :)

[@yves2348]

Only combined with the word "german".

[@britishmuzzleloaders]

Incredible.... I have no other words.

[@Wolf_Larsen]

This video is what I expected Ian to do when he got into the green room. Instead he made a video with the informational quality of skimming a wikipedia article. Thank God for your channel! It's great and informative all around.

[@westcoastwonder88]

Ian usually at an auction house for a gun like this id imagine. The owner or just already having seen one before on the inside. he was like ya no I don't have $20,000,000 incase I loose one of 100,000 components lol

[@livingcorpse5664]

@@westcoastwonder88 It's good to know your limits. I don't blame Ian, I would be scared of losing a part out of the 440 parts. I rather he be cautious and play it safe then fuck around and find out like some arrogant idiot.

[@Purpmaster]

Jeez, you can’t really have a true appreciation of the G11 until you see the action. What a insanely complex work of at this this was.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

G11 was proof-of-concept of something completely new. No wonder it was complex as everything about it was new and untested technology.

[@Yorihime]

I've waited for this kind of video on the G11 for years. Finally there was a planet alignment and my wish has been granted. Thanks a lot for sharing this incredible overview on the infamous Kraut Space Magic rifle.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Very happy we should provide it! Now if only we could fire one... - Matt

[@Yorihime]

​@@TheArmourersBench I hope that one day some of "culture and history" related guns channels (like Ian from Forgotten Weapons and Larry from Vickers Tactical) will do some sort of collaboration. I'm sure that there will be more chance for owners (private collections, museums or actual societies whhich produced these guns) to let people access to their guns and let shoot them. We saw a Gyrojet being fired in a video of TAOFLEDERMAUS or various British prototype rifles being presented and shot by Ian. It would make a lot of good footages and first hand reviews on how it felt while being able to put it more easily into the present context of firearms development.

[@yoyoyofool09]

Holy shit. You literally just uploaded this. I was bored and typed in g11 disassembly on KZbin a mere 5 days after you uploaded this! Craziness

[@TheArmourersBench]

Haha, good timing, hope you enjoyed the video!

[@TheArmourersBench]

If you enjoyed the video guys don't forget to subscribe! We have many more videos in the pipeline!

[@mediamattersismycockholste562]

is there a source for the G11 armorer's manual? thanks!

[@TheArmourersBench]

Yep, it's in the link to the accompanying blog on our site, check it out. - Matt

[@falafelbomber]

Where did you get the G11? I have to ask?

[@TheArmourersBench]

A UK military collection! Privilege to have access to it.

[@falafelbomber]

The Armourer's Bench wow! I’m extremely jealous!

[@TheArmourersBench]

Sorry the live chat ended guys - jump into the BRAND NEW (literally) TAB discord here: discord.gg/DAjRSBc

[@fresheFresse]

So it contains about 100 levers, gears, disks, or springs alright. Not exactly a practical weapon but absolutely awesome engineering indeed.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Agreed, Incredible engineering!

[@jic1]

I would agree if this was just a design exercise, but since it was supposed to be a wide-issue infantry weapon, it's actually terrible engineering. Good engineering takes end use and user into account.

[@TheSultan1470]

@@jic1 Well then you might as well just use an AK

[@ebofthechill8008]

If you look at the maxim gun it's pretty complex but is still perfectly functional and it's showing it can hold it's own even today. But I have no doubt if this took it would have been simplified. Because what's harder than invention is simple invention.

[@thegoldencaulk2742]

I'd like to think I understand quite a bit about guns, but this thing has me lost beyond all measure...

[@TheArmourersBench]

I know what you mean, Imagine how I felt taking it apart!

[@friartuck103]

Does Ian know you're being fed after midnight? Lmfao, jk, I see your comment on Forgotten Weapons all the time. Your avatar is unmistakable, lol. Have a good night man.

[@rouge5140]

yet clockmakers understand it perfectly.

[@BIadelores]

I've seen firearms experts calling this weapon "The most insane, over-engineered weapon" they've ever seen, so you aren't alone in that one.

[@nickbownz]

This action is actually a lot closer to a sewing machine than it is to a clock. Memes aside I would be willing to bet a vast majority of the cost and complexity comes from the fact that it was the first of it's kind in so many respects, added to the fact it was made by Germans (HK of all people). It very well may have been possible to develop a more economically feasible design the second time around with the Russians, Americans or even Belgians making simplifications from the g11 proof of concept, if this had turned out to be something that caught on. This was just too much at a time when Germany had neither the funds nor the inclination for this sort of program.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Agreed, now it represents a fascinating footnote in small arms design history. I think simpler and better designs will emerge that achieve what the G11 aimed to but in a more cost effective and frankly less insanely complex way. - Matt

[@zibingotaeam3716]

Germany DID have the funds. They were all the way to the initial procurement contract. in 1992 before the gun got canned. A lot of complexity stems from the needs of various rifle programs, like the ACR, requiring an unloading mechanism. That was never intended in the first designs. They ended up with a system that minimizes control devices, replicatig previous firearms - To unload, you pull he mag and rach the handle. Rotate. Sorry. Another problem was the firing pin melting due to the lack of a case, hence the weird spring mechanism in the back of the system. The firing pin doesn't get pushed in, it rotates in to the cartridge. This allows for the tip of the pin to be in contact with another surface, where it can dump heat. The gun was added to quite a lot in later stages, mostly to improve the reliability and handling of the system. I doubt that it would have been possible to further simplify the system with the rotating breech drum, although an argument can be made that a revolver could in theory be less complex. HK found that their drum gave them a better gas seal though.

[@nickbownz]

@@zibingotaeam3716 obviously there are going to be specific issues with a unique system, but like anything else we can't see what might have happened had this rifle become a benchmark other countries fought to reach. It's possible that any of the issues facing this rifle could have been solved not through tight tolerances and cutting edge material science, but clever, lateral design problem solving.

[@BW022]

@@zibingotaeam3716 With todays tech, alloys, and polymers I'm sure it would be possible to simply the mechanism or "black box" it. You'd be amazed what CAD folks can do on a modern computer - or twenty of them. Modern materials would probably eliminate the need to remove the rotating bolt entirely. Flexible polymer materials can replace small springs. You can clean it via the ejection port and the life span would be in the hundreds of thousands of rounds. Use polymers for all the gears, pins, leavers, etc. and then encase and seal the entire unit. Absolutely no need to clean its outside then, less chance anything would break or bend, and the cost goes way down. Make the barrel detachable and then simply issue a few spares. Anything goes wrong... disassemble, put in a spare, and send the original back to the factory. There are ways to print polymers to avoid needing pins or metal edging. Remember today we can print two polymer parts which clip together and are both lighter, cheaper, stronger, and operate better than two metal parts, a washer, a screw, and a bolt.

[@zibingotaeam3716]

@@BW022 No? polymers are polymers, especially printed ones are thermoplastics which are not that durable, especially under heat. I could see ceramics, but even then, metal is probably the easiest way to go here as it is easier to get precisely right. Besides, issueing a soldier with loads of spare parts defeats the point of the system, which was to save weight. Same goes for the small plastic parts that were supposed to be on the inside as springs. Metal is far more elastic than anything else. Drop a ball bearing and a rubber ball on the floor and see which on jumps higher. If plastics had been an option on the inside of the gun, HK would have used them, as they have on the outside.

[@SteenWinther]

This is almost as complex as the collapsible cup holder in a 2003 Audi A4. Maybe the same engineer...?

[@crimsonscull]

15:21 i shivered a bit.

[@TheRealColBosch]

Ian Hogg related an anecdote about a British (IIRC) officer who, after attending a seminar on the G11, exclaimed that it worked just like the engine in his old VW. Not quite, but I certainly see what he meant. Let me see if I've got this right: On firing, the entire mechanism starts to recoil backwards. As it does so, the chamber rotates 90 degrees, a round is pushed down into it, and then the chamber returns to the horizontal. On semi-auto, the mechanism then returns to the rest position, ready for the trigger to be pulled again. On full auto, it also returns to rest, but immediately fires as long as the trigger is held. On hyperburst, the mechanism continues to chamber and fire as it moves backwards, a total of three times, then returns to the rest position.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Ahh I miss Ian Hogg, I loved his books and he was great on Tales of the Gun! Great anecdote. Yes, that is my understanding of how it works too! - Matt

[@TheRealColBosch]

I just love this gun's ridiculous mechanism. It's gas operated, but along the way it's also long-recoil *and* a vertical turret. Thank you so much for sharing, Matt! For literally three decades I'd wondered just what the G11 looks like under the plastic ray gun housing and where they hid the German Space Magic, and now I know!

[@TheArmourersBench]

@@TheRealColBosch You are more than welcome, this is exactly why we started the channel to bring people cool stuff like this! Really glad you enjoyed it. - Matt

[@gilbertgotfried]

The three round burst was the intended design looking at it; the gun was built specifically for burst fire, with options for single round for one third the recoil or low ammo, and full auto strictly for suppressive fire. I'm noticing a lot of people falling for the full auto meme, thinking that full auto is the best way to fire the G11 (and therefore being put off by its low rate of fire). The truth is burst is king here, and this is greatly supported by the fact that the shooter would feel zero recoil until the third round was fired, meaning the first two rounds in a given burst would've been smooth as butter, at the cost of triple the kick (a small price to pay; it's amazing what you can learn to get used to). Another thing I'm noticing is that people are failing to understand that even the G11 K2, its field approved design, was still a prototype, and an exceptionally functional prototype at that. With proper field testing and continued R&D its few problems (action maintenance, overheating, firing life) would've quickly been solved, and potentially this could've kickstarted an evolution into caseless munitions that would be felt to this day. What I'm seeing here isn't just a good rifle and a swandive into mad genius, it's also a very important rifle.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Agree Joe, thanks for watching!

[@rickchadwick7378]

Thats quite the mechanism

[@thegael1996]

A collectors grade publication book or something similar on the G11 would be amazing if it ever happens.

[@Panzerfan93]

And they wanted to issue this gun to conscripts... I trained conscripts in field stripping the SIG 550 and was amazed at how complicated it was for some of them to take it apart. and the 550 is just a fancy AK

[@TheArmourersBench]

Panzerfan93 I know! It seems highly improbable they would have made it to general issue. With elite units perhaps...

[@marcelbork92]

@@TheArmourersBench You are mistaken. It had been finally approved by the German Army's weapon evaluation authority, in March 1990, and mass production was up to begin soon after. It was cancelled solely for political, not for technical or any other reasons. They were seemingly quite confident that German conscripts would be able to handle it.

[@piRaufasertapete]

Earlier than Ian McCollum's G11 video(s). Surprised to find this when I searched for his video, yours is really good!

[@TheArmourersBench]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. We're looking forward to Ian's too. - Matt

[@DrRob-gr5br]

This is literally the most Rube Goldberg weapon ever made. So many precision parts, subject to wear and lube and a breech life of 3500 rounds. What an exercise in over engineering.

[@elitearbor]

It's up there, anyway. There are certainly more than a few which have greater complexity, but they generally aren't small arms.

[@bakatzen6243]

germans, they engineering for the sake of engineering

[@txm100]

Where is it over-engineered? Is has to be that complex to do what it was designed to do.

[@txm100]

@@bakatzen6243 No because the US and the West fed us and helped us during the cold war to stop the Warsaw Pact and perish while during so under the nuclear winter.

[@bezahltersystemtroll5055]

you might want to look up the meaning of the word "over engineered".

[@finnpikapika]

man what a beautiful gun truly

[@Barbaroossa]

I watched this video twice and I'm still convinced that only witchcraft can make this thing work.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Haha, thanks for watching! I think a little magic must have helped... - Matt

[@brotherrabbit5525]

This is a really cool gun but theres no military that could effectively field this thing. The average soldier would destroy or lose parts immediately. Thanks for the video.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Haha, I knew what gun this was about even before I checked which video the comment was on haha. Thanks for watching!

[@marcelbork92]

Which parts would the average soldier destroy or lose? The outer hull seems to be robust, and the average soldier thus is not supposed to ever open it. Besides, German soldiers are not average soldiers, right. At least 30 years ago they were not,

[@brotherrabbit5525]

@@marcelbork92 Most soldiers are not as professional as you would think some are not happy to be in the military. That weapon has to be cleaned. Just because you're not supposed to ever open it is exactly why the average solider will. I've seen soldiers completely strip their rifle in the field and lose parts. This applies to every military.

[@d3203]

@@marcelbork92 why shouldnt they be average soldiers? I mean you could say that because most were conscripts back then. But that doesnt make them smarter than ie french or british grunts.

[@LukeBunyip]

Would love to watch a video of Mark from C&Rsenal watching this. This gun is more of a warren than a rabbit hole...

[@TheArmourersBench]

Oh man that would be awesome, a Mark reaction vid!

[@snowflakemelter1172]

He's a bullshitter not an expert, I served my apprenticeship in gun making and worked in the trade, his work is laughable, and his repair jobs are blotched.

[@LOUDcarBOMB]

5:28 I'm going to nerd out here since looking at the G11 is amazing and insane with how its built. I compared and did some math (correct me if I'm wrong), but the service life of the chamber being 3,500 rounds is low especially with a high burst fire-rate (2,100 rpm). My math is showing me that you get like 5 minutes of shooting time before you have to replace the chamber. An M-16A2/A4 rifle will have to replace it's chamber at 10,000 rounds and has a burst rate (750 rpm) that will let you shoot it like for 40 minutes.

[@danielwatters1203]

Of course, you have to remember that the Germans only intended to issue two magazines per rifle. After your magazines were empty, you'd be busy refilling them via chargers. The G11K2 had two tracks for the spare magazine, one on each side of the center track for the primary. They realized that the magazine was simply too long to carry on the soldier's web gear. The US Army noticed this as well with the single track G11 ACR, and recommended reducing the magazine's length.

[@TheArmourersBench]

@@danielwatters1203 Yes, the chargers are almost anathema to what we think sensible (then and now). Thanks as always for the input Dan! - Matt

[@TheArmourersBench]

That's about what I was thinking too. In a high cadence fire fight then it's hard to see how much use burst and full would have been if you didn't want to break down your rifle mid fight. - Matt

[@whyjay9959]

Maybe the breech would've lasted longer with cylindrical propellant blocks instead of cuboid. Corners and high pressure don't go well together...

[@smorrow]

@@whyjay9959 Round propellant blocks possibly are more likely to get crushed in the magazine though.

[@SuperMegaKolbaska]

OHMYGAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! Really... First on youtube! THANKS!!!)))))))))) And, of course, i'll be waiting for FULL DISASSEMBLY!

[@joewboe]

It would be very helpful if you added arrows pointing to the part your mentioning. Great video, I love your content. I can barely imagine the man hours, engineering and money that went into manufacturing these.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Great suggestion, I'd have liked to. Glad you enjoyed the video! Sadly, that would have been a lot more editing and I just can't put more time in at the moment with work. As stands the editing took over a week. Will bear it in mind for the future though. - Matt

[@matthayward7889]

I’ve been waiting years to watch something like this... fascinating 👍 The cogs reminded me a bit of the St Etienne model 1907 machine gun internals (but turned up to 11)

[@TheArmourersBench]

Thanks Matt, I'm glad you enjoyed it, I had too so it was really cool to get to put it together! Yes I know exactly what you mean about the St Etienne, such a complex action just to avoid patents.

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

Really an incredible presentation. I've been a gun owner and a shooter for a long time, and probably had an amateur interest in everything weird and wacky firearms-related for just as long. I've watched this video three times already, and trying to make sense of what's going on with that mechanism there feels like trying to translate the Rosetta Stone with a pocket calculator. I can't make hide nor hair of it. But it's cool as hell.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Thanks for watching! I know what you mean, I spent a good few hours reading manuals that try to explain it. Basically the simplest explanation I can think of is that the gas piston acts on the teo main gears which turn the breech cylinder. All the other stuff built up around it just makes it even more complex haha. By the way there's links to the manuals on our site if you want to check those out. - Matt

[@whyjay9959]

Amazing. Thank you.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Glad you enjoyed it! - Matt

[@chrausis]

Recoil mitigation system looks like a quarter inch jack

[@Carbide195]

A bit like the new 40mm CTA for the Ajax and Warrior . . . except this looks about twice as complex.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Yes it is a bit like those.

[@shaggyrogers9028]

Looking at this, it's a miracle it works, and from what I can make out of your video, it works damn well, for a short time, but it does

[@pkre707]

I hope a CG artist will make a working mock-up of this gun someday.

[@TheArmourersBench]

I'd happily work on it with them.

[@pkre707]

@@TheArmourersBench I just followed this comment with a request on vbbsmyt’s latest video. He’s really good. If he responds, I’ll let him know you are able to help.

[@CheseeeburgerXL]

Cleaning it is like cleaning clock

[@jaredneaves7007]

Wew lads. Finding your old vid was the best thing ever. Do you do loans? Haha

[@TheArmourersBench]

Glad you found us! Haha if only.

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Cool gun, The Demolition Man movie got me here. God bless.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Ahh cool, one of the few movies it's featured in. Thanks for watching.

[@ryanp6072]

What a video! If you don’t find this fascinating you just don’t like guns or the engineering or mechanics aspect of it

[@TheArmourersBench]

Very glad you enjoyed it Ryan! Much more to come.

[@ianmiles7916]

Amazingly ambitious and a slightly similar system now on the new CT40 canon. The fact that you could carry 150 rounds on the gun and it would only weigh the same as the G3 with several hundred rounds is impressive. What stopped it being finally adopted by the German Army. 5.56mm standard? Reliability?

[@randomcow505]

how do you not have more views bro??

[@TheArmourersBench]

We're a relatively new channel so we rely on word of mouth and people sharing the videos!

[@TheArmourersBench]

I'll be in the live chat when the episode 'premiers' feel free to join me and ask any questions! -Matt

[@wauser5456]

​I'm freaking ready dude, will this be available to watch after the stream? I feel like I won't understand it all first time around, so that would be nice.

[@TheArmourersBench]

@@wauser5456 so am I! Yes it will, it'll be available like all our normal videos :)

[@TheArmourersBench]

@@wauser5456 Yes, it will be available on our KZbin channel after the live stream. This is just an early 'reveal'... a sort of Thanksgiving gift ;-) Vic

[@TheSuburban15]

Was anyone else wondering how many rounds this rifle can go before readjusting and/or replacing the points of its distributor?

[@TheArmourersBench]

Its distibutor?

[@TheSuburban15]

@@TheArmourersBench The control disk looks like the mechanism inside an automotive distributor. Electronic distributors began replacing mechanical distributors in the 80s, which had no points or springs to wear out.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Ahhh I get you! Well the chamber life was just 3000 rounds.

[@bob445566DE]

how did the G11 handle heat? As there are no cases extracted all the heat stays inside the gun. Is there Any information about how many rounds it took to melt the gun or made it uncomfortably hot?

[@TheArmourersBench]

I'm not sure it did have a number of issues with the ammo the chamber piece is I imagine a heat sink, which would explain the short chamber life. I have a few links to reports here: armourersbench.com/2018/02/18/advanced-combat-rifle-prototypes/

[@oguzakar1997]

The legend

[@VeryProPlayerYesSir1122]

Take note to self: Never reinvent the wheel.

[@toolthoughts]

if the finns had these in the winter war, they'd all be speaking russian now

[@kfoalbfkdkd5302]

thank god for the user friendly KP-31 and Pystykorva

[@lefr33man]

You could make 150 suomis with the machining time needed to lake a G11

[@jeremiasmeier2061]

@@lefr33man but give one soldier a g11 and kraut magic will overpower his enemies

[@quarkdoe4380]

When you want to make a Swiss watch, but forced to make a gun.

[@riddnic]

Ingenious!!! 13:07 This design was made for paintball not machine gun!!!

[@horizon04]

AWESOME! Thank you!

[@aBRUSHforCONFUCIUS]

Isn't this where you Brits say, "are you taking a piss?" I couldn't stop laughing, as you broke this mess down. As your trench is being attacked, "pardon me mister enemy, a hair may be jammed in the action. I need 10 minutes to analyze the problem properly, is that okay?" W'hat farce!

[@user-cg9nr5rq9u]

Надо было разобрать по винтику.

[@Cabal2600]

What a damn complicated clock developed by H&K..

[@demos113]

So glad you popped up on my selection list... subbed! :-)

[@TheArmourersBench]

Very glad you found us!

[@zephyrhills1802]

Amazing

[@wauser5456]

For the blog post about the G11 you guys have on your website, would there be anyway to get full res pictures? I can only seem to get the thumbnail sized images, and I'd like to use some as desktop backgrounds and just general looking at. I understand if you guys want the keep the full size ones to yourselves though.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Sure drop us an email, address on out contact page, and we'll sort it. I'll have to tweak the image settings so they link to the full res.

[@2Potates]

Found the manual of this thing, it's opperation reminds me of a steam engine. The cylinder looks like they could've been milled as just one part. Also, looking forward for the Steyr ACR full dissasembly video.

[@TheArmourersBench]

I can see the comparison, lots of camming, gears and pistons.

[@elitearbor]

It even has a similar steam whistle - "shoot, shoot!"

[@TheArmourersBench]

Haha it did too!

[@domhogan7842]

I can’t remember who made the comparison, but it has been described as a cross between an atomic bomb and a clock!

[@2Potates]

@@domhogan7842 Ina McCullom form forgotten weapons?

[@JimmySailor]

Makes a Madsen look like a Sten

[@xmeda]

Hi, are there any rounds available for this gun, or only option is to fire extremely rare rounds from development era?

[@TheArmourersBench]

The Ammunition is no longer in production sadly, so it's extremely rare and is solely from the batches made for development and testing.

[@tiortedrootsky]

Someday we'll see a proper comprehensive animation by vbbsmyt or somebody. But thats still very interesting, thank you.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Let's hope so! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@ErwinHolland.]

The recoil system alone is pretty much as complicated as a normal gun!

[@Antidemonn]

I wanna see it disposabled down to the single screw

[@pepebeezon772]

The Germans taught a clock to shoot

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Cool, could oyu explain how the ammunition works & why they didn't use this gun? Thanks.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Basically it's self contained with the projectile in the centre of a block of hardened propellant. This removes the need for a cartridge case. It wasn't adopted because it was eventually thought to be too complex and too expensive for mass issue. Thanks for watching!

[@SevenDeMagnus]

@@TheArmourersBench The hardned propellant (like a hard medicine tablet) was the casing? Cool concept though I think that would break or chips overtime reducing the power and it's not a durable ammunition. I get the complexity.

[@friartuck103]

I bet Ian from forgotten weapons is jealous... lmao

[@192mickey]

I can't imagine what sort of dogfuckery you would have to perform to clear a malfunction on that thing.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Basically if cracking the cocking tab didn't work then you had to field strip it pretty much like I did. That or pick up the nearest G3...

[@vergil4418]

*HEY! DID YOU PUT YOUR CLOCK IN MY GUN?* *NO! YOU PUT YOUR GUN IN MY CLOCK!*

[@SevenDeMagnus]

New subscriber here.

[@yves2348]

Do NOT disassemble without manual and filming while doing so :)

[@rattingcheese687]

“Spring free the control disk...” I’m sorry the w h a t

[@VeryProPlayerYesSir1122]

Am I the only one having a hard time understanding the mechanism ?

[@KISH_MISH_kish_mish]

А нитки как заправлять? А ажурные строчки делает? Пуговицу пришьет? А челнок горизонтальный?

[@LithiumDeuteride-6]

Это ещё ерунда, а вот когда на солдате взорвутся или загорятся эти патроны, то тут будет намного смишней.

[@democracy_enjoyer]

this gun is more complex than dwarf fortress

[@nutz4gunz457]

While they were designing this did it ever occur to them that no military in their right minds would adopt such a hideously complex rifle. Even by German standards it's a nightmare. The cherry on the sundae is the 3500 round chamber life. They had to know this thing was going nowhere.

[@zibingotaeam3716]

They got *this* close to getting it adopted i germany. Then the UdSSR fell apart. Damn Ruskies. If they'd held on a few more years, the G11 would be a reality today. Other nations that were seriously interested at the time: The UK, Sweden, France and Denmark. Source: Die G11-Story by Wolfgang Seel.

[@IAnolastname]

We almost adopted it, actually, but then the collapse of the USSR made the ACR program implode.

[@Calvin_Coolage]

It was a prototype.

[@txm100]

It was the cold war. Militaries had money to spend on things.

[@corporalpunishment1133]

This is a excellent example of why you cannot always trust engineers. 😮

[@comentedonakeyboard]

I beginn to understand why the G11 was never adopted into service. Especially since the Bundeswehr was a conscript army back then.

[@remko1238]

This is a watch - plain as that 🤜🏿

[@smorrow]

And watches are made immensely simpler by using electronics. Lesson learned.

[@matchesburn]

German over-engineering at its finest. Part of me is wondering if an Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priest was going to make an appearance.

[@RangerOfTheOrder]

I wasn't sure any of these still existed.

[@TheArmourersBench]

They're very very rare. I was lucky. - Matt

[@LerrySanders]

These youtube early reminder events are lame.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Trying it out so I can use the live chat feature.

[@whyjay9959]

@@TheArmourersBench Is this going to be a live episode? Or just have the chat open for a certain period after release?

[@TheArmourersBench]

Alas no, it's pre-filmed for a few reasons, there's no real Internet access at the collection and I've included quite a few diagrams and photos to help explain the action. A live episode would be fun though, might try that in the future. I'll be in the chat throughout though to answer questions! - Matt

[@jamesbutler1029]

@@TheArmourersBench oh ok

[@whyjay9959]

@@TheArmourersBench That makes more sense, just wasn't sure how this KZbin feature works. Looking forward to it.

[@emperorbunnybun7513]

Now lets do a mud test on it!

[@LISTEN0011able]

Is this a watch or a gun?

[@iamt_tl]

i'm going to show how to disassemble with some steps missed and pre-disassembled

[@marksmanmichodzi674]

Where I can buy it

[@My-Opinion-Doesnt-Matter]

What were they thinking? You need an armorer to strip the gun for cleaning, and God forbid you have a jam... It's so over engineered that it's useless for what it is intended for.

[@zacharyr666]

You didn't fully reset/lock the breach cylinder retaining catch. O well, its not like anyone going to be firing this anytime soon. Or ever again.

[@jic1]

Cyberpunk on the outside, Steampunk on the inside.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Haha love it

[@apusakagi7875]

It's seem that The Manual in Bibliography Link disappear,where i can get it or it is only accessible to Premium . Sorry for my abrupt question....

[@TheArmourersBench]

No it's the original source at Small Arms Review I'm afraid, they had a wonderful archive and they moved servers and every link on there now is dead. It's a huge loss sadly. I hope they fix it.

[@apusakagi7875]

@@TheArmourersBench sad...

[@apusakagi7875]

@@TheArmourersBench is there any back up in Internet?Internet Archive seem didn't Capture it. Thank for you reply.

[@TheArmourersBench]

No sadly not. I have emailed them about it but no reply.

[@apusakagi7875]

@@TheArmourersBench 😢

[@quirkyusername1093]

It's like were back in renaissance, where we had to dissect a human to study its anatomy

[@user-kp6px6fn7t]

Can you imagine how many troops would have died carrying this thing?

[@xanderhebert6257]

I’m just gonna go and say what everyone is thinking, the control disc looks like a beyblade. Let it rip.

[@ronniesingleton8877]

Looks like a gunsmithing nightmare. Extremely complex.

[@cirinosaldana4289]

There's one thing that I really want to know about the g11.........is it reliable?

[@TheArmourersBench]

I would not want to be in a firefight with one. It would seem to be damaged ammunition which would cause the most problems and given the cocking handle which is used to clear the action is a plastic flap I'm not too confident.

[@cirinosaldana4289]

@@TheArmourersBench hmmm....I love the g11, but in a matter of practicality I'd stick to an hk 416 or ak.

[@clarkmirkbell880]

Fun fact : The G11 Has 451 Parts Only In the Mechanism and It was too Complex than the soldiers than was "assigned" this Rifle was prohibited to Make a field trip or try dissasembly it and In case of a malfuction they was obligated to Give the rifle back to H&K HQ To fix it and receive it back, thats why the G11 is Also called as the Kraut Space magic , It was too complex, looks like a space gun and his mechanism looks like works with magic

[@TheArmourersBench]

Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@clarkmirkbell880]

@@TheArmourersBench thanks for that But I hope they make a Dummy round of the G11 K2 ( 4.73x33mm Caseless )

[@SniperSnake50BMG]

kraut space magic ftw...

[@kingfriday555]

7:40 that sure doesn't look high tolerance to me.

[@sionsoschwalts2762]

Got an ammo board from a G11, Not sure what the actual caliber is... it's not the regular one.

[@ScottKenny1978]

This gun is in desperate need of a John Browning to simplify the mechanism. Way, way too many parts! And, based on how the rotary chamber disassembled, a ceramic chamber for heat mitigation, to address cook-off problems. One interesting advantage of cased ammunition is that the brass case acts as a heat sink and dumps heat out.

[@TheArmourersBench]

I like the idea of a ceramic chamber Scott! I would love to have Browning's impressions of it. Some of his prototypes are pretty intriguing and out of the box too like his pull apart rifle. We've got a video on my favourite, his detachable box magazine lever action. Thank for watching!

[@smorrow]

Cook-offs haven't been the problem in caseless systems for DECADES now - including the G11. Gas sealing, now there's a problem. Also, failure modes entirely unique to caseless like crumbling ammo.

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@smorrow the fancy propellant used in the G11 and the LSAT is designed to _minimize_ the risk of cook-off by increasing the auto-ignition temperature of the propellant. That is not to say that cook-off is not a potential issue for caseless ammo. Cased ammo allows the brass case to be used as a heat sink and removes some heat from the weapon. Plastic cased ammo reduces the heat built up in the weapon by insulating the chamber from the burning powder. Caseless ammo has neither the brass case for a heat sink, nor the plastic case for insulation. Therefore, all the heat of firing goes directly into the chamber. So a fancy ceramic chamber would be ideal to basically stop cook-off because no matter how hot the chamber gets it just doesn't conduct heat. Have you seen the picture of someone holding a glowing red hot space shuttle TPS tile *in their bare hand?*

[@smorrow]

@@ScottKenny1978 You've made me wonder if tungsten carbide, the first ceramic to come to mind to me as a layman, would solve both cookoff and gas seal in one fell swoop. As I understand it (from Wikipedia), sealing on the G11 is achieved just by ultra-tight tolerances, which gas-jet cutting then wears down. And since carbide is hard to wear down...problem solved?

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@smorrow I don't think TC is the right ceramic. At least not pure TC, since it's fairly heat-conductive. Maybe a mixed ceramic with TC in it, because the actual shuttle TPS ceramic is quite brittle. Something like the LI-2200 ceramic, as used around high stress areas of the Shuttle, might work. Or maybe a fancy combination of multiple ceramics. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LI-900

[@xandra9468]

is like a clock