Glock 17 sizes. Need blueprints for Glock17. Glock has an extremely complex design and a lot of parts

Currently, there are several families of Glock pistols for all major pistol calibers (9 mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, 10 mm Auto, .357 SIG, .45 ACP, .380/9x17 mm Kurz).

The frames of all pistols are made of impact-resistant plastic. The valves are made of steel using high-precision casting and are subjected to special treatment to increase corrosion and wear resistance. Early releases of pistols had handles with flat cheeks and grooved front and back surfaces.

Pistols of later releases have recesses for fingers on the front side of the grip and small “shelves” for the thumb on their sides. In addition, on the frame of full-size and semi-compact models, now fashionable guides for attaching accessories (laser pointer or flashlight) appeared under the barrel.

For most modifications, options are available with an integrated barrel flip compensator. The compensator is made in the form of a group of holes in the upper muzzle of the barrel, and corresponding cutouts in the bolt next to the front sight. The compensator is designed to reduce barrel vibrations. Such models have the letter “C” added to their name. The following models are equipped with a compensator: G17C, G19C, G20C, G21C, G22C, G23C, G31C, G32C.

All families (except caliber .380) consist of a full-size, compact and sub-compact model and are built according to the scheme with short stroke barrel and locking using a protrusion on the barrel that fits into the bolt window for extracting cartridges. The reduction of the trunk is carried out by a figured tide made under the trunk.

.380 caliber pistols are built according to the blowback design. All pistols have a striker-fired trigger of the so-called “Safe Action”, with 3 automatic safeties, including one on the trigger. A feature of the “safe action” trigger is that during the reloading cycle of the pistol, the firing pin is only partially cocked, while it is blocked using an automatic safety lock. The firing pin is re-cocked only when the trigger is pressed, while the firing pin remains blocked from moving forward until the trigger is fully pulled.

In this way, it is possible to achieve a uniform force on the trigger from the first to the last shot, which has a positive effect on shooting accuracy. The trigger force is adjusted from 2.5 to 5 kgf by replacing the spring.

The disadvantages of this design sometimes include the inability to re-fire a cartridge that has misfired. Another unpleasant consequence of the design without manual safeties is a fair number of accidents among American police officers, with enviable regularity, shooting themselves in the legs while holstering a pistol.

In the absence of the proper skills, they often try to put the pistol into the holster without removing their finger from the trigger, the finger hits the edge of the holster, squeezes the trigger... and urgently call 911. However, this is, of course, more a question of lack of skills than the design of the pistol.

Sights Glocks are removable and installed in transverse dovetail grooves. Non-adjustable sights with white or luminous (tritium) dots are installed as standard for easy aiming in low-light conditions. “Sporting” models (for example Glock17 L) can be equipped with an adjustable rear sight and front sight.

Another highly touted feature of the Glock 17 pistol (and only the 17 model) is the ability to fire underwater. To do this, a special return spring is installed on the gun. In itself, this possibility is not of particular value, since shooting can only be carried out at shallow (on the order of several meters) depths and at ultra-short ranges (a meter or two).

On the other hand, such tricks, firstly, demonstrate high structural strength and, secondly, allow you to use the weapon in the presence of water in the barrel (in the rain, for example), which in some other pistols can lead to swelling or even rupture of the barrel.

First generation Glock 17 pistol

second generation Glock 17 pistol

third generation Glock 17 pistol

fourth generation Glock 17 pistol

Glock 18 pistol (automatic)

Glock 9mm pistols. The .357 and .40 caliber weapon families look the same and have similar dimensions

Glock .45 caliber pistols

Glock pistols caliber 9x17 (.380)

Glock 17 pistol on x-ray. All bright, contrasting parts are made of steel and only the plastic frame and trigger are visible as a faint outline

Performance characteristics of pistolsGlock caliber9x19

TTXpistolsGlock caliber9×17

TTXpistolsGlock caliber.357SIG

TTXpistolsGlock caliber.40S&W

TTXpistolsGlock caliber10mm Auto

Performance characteristics of pistolsGlock .45GAP

TTXpistolsGlock caliber.45ACP

In 1980, due to the moral and physical obsolescence of the pistols in service in Austria, a competition was announced for a new army pistol called Pistole 80. Pistols from such experienced manufacturers as Beretta, Heckler-Koch, Steyr took part in the competition, but in 1982 Austrian army The pistol of the hitherto practically unknown company Glock Model 17 was officially adopted for armament under the designation P80. Before the start of the competition, Glock was known mainly as a manufacturer of military knives and sapper blades. Its ambitious owner, Gaston Glock, specifically recruited a team of experienced gunsmith designers to participate in the competition and gave them the opportunity to create a pistol “from scratch,” and they succeeded. Using several unorthodox, but essentially not new ideas, the Glock team managed to create an exceptionally simple, reliable and inexpensive pistol.
Based on the existing positive experience of using polymers in the creation of small arms in pistols (VP-70 from the German company Heckler-Koch) and assault rifles(AUG of the Austrian company Steyr) Glock engineers created a pistol with a polymer frame. This solution made it possible to reduce the cost of production, increase survivability and corrosion resistance, and make the weapon lighter. To ensure the simplest possible handling of weapons, the Austrians abandoned manual safeties, leaving only automatic safeties. The striker-operated trigger design with pre-cocking of the striker was inherited from the Austrian Roth-Steyr pistol of the 1907 model, the automatic safety on the trigger is from German pistol Sauer 1930, modified Browning barrel locking system - from a SIG-Sauer P220 pistol. The total number of parts of the new pistol, including the magazine, was only 33.

In 30 s extra years Since the appearance of the first Glock model 17 pistol, the company has created on its basis several dozen models in all the most popular pistol calibers (9x17, 9x19, .357SIG, .40SW, .45ACP) and even tried to create its own cartridge.45GAP (Glock Auto Pistol) , which turned out to be not so successful. Glock pistols have gained worldwide popularity as army weapons(are in service not only in Austria, but also in Great Britain, Sweden and many other countries). In addition, these pistols are popular as police weapon(in particular in the USA), as well as as a civilian weapon for self-defense and sport.

Over the years of production of Glock pistols, they have changed four generations of models.

First generation of Glock pistols consisted of a Glock 17 / P80 pistol, which had smooth handles with fine corrugation “in a circle”.

Second generation of Glock pistols, introduced in 1988, additionally included the first compact Glock 19 model and featured larger checkering on the front and rear grip surfaces.

Third generation of Glock pistols, which appeared in 1998, received a guide for mounting a flashlight or laser sight under the barrel, recesses for fingers and a “shelf” for thumb on the handle of the weapon and a new ejector, which additionally serves as an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber.

Fourth generation of Glock pistols, launched into series in 2010 and produced in parallel with the 3rd generation models, received pistol grips of a reduced cross-section with replaceable linings on back side handles that allow you to adapt the weapon to shooters with a wide variety of palm sizes. In addition, the 4th generation pistols received an enlarged magazine release button, which can be moved to both sides of the weapon, and a number of smaller design improvements.

The Glock 18 automatic pistol stands apart from this entire line of weapons. Created for law enforcement services, this pistol was never put on public sale and was produced in small quantities.

As mentioned above, the main advantages of Glock pistols are ease of design and use, high reliability, significant service life, and relatively low weight. The disadvantages of these pistols usually include the not very comfortable shape of the handle (corrected in the currently produced 4th generation of pistols) as well as the absence of any manual safeties, which, if users are insufficiently trained, periodically leads to accidental shots.
Widely circulated in media mass media The “plastic” design of the Glock pistol, which supposedly made the pistol invisible in X-rays and not detected by metal detectors, is nothing more than a fabrication of the press. In fact, any Glock pistol consists of metal for more than half of its mass and is perfectly detectable by any special means.

The automatic operation of all pistols of the Glock series (except for pistols models 25 and 28 of 9x17 caliber) is based on the Browning scheme with a short barrel stroke and rigid locking of one protrusion in the breech of the barrel behind the window for ejecting cartridges in the bolt. The distortion of the breech of the barrel to unlock and lock it is carried out by the interaction of the figured tide under the barrel with a steel insert in a polymer frame. The valves are made of steel using precision casting and have a special coating that is highly resistant to external influences. The barrels have polygonal rifling. Trigger mechanism- striker-fired, with preliminary cocking of the mainspring and its additional cocking by the muscular force of the shooter at the moment of pressing the trigger. To pre-cock the mainspring, simply pull the bolt back about 15mm and release. The pistol does not have non-automatic (manual) safeties. The automatic safety system (safeaction) includes a fuse on the trigger (blocking its movement if pressed incorrectly), a blocking of the firing pin when the trigger is not pressed, and a blocking against the striking of the firing pin from the sear when strong blows. The frame of the pistol is made of impact-resistant plastic in black or olive green (more recently) color. When it is cast, steel guides for the bolt are integrated into the frame, as well as a small metal plate on which the serial number of the weapon is engraved. In the front part of the frame of modern pistols there is a guide for attaching a combat flashlight or laser target designator. The sights are open, with white contrasting or luminous inserts. Glock pistols with the index “C” after the model number have a barrel toss compensator, made in the form of upward-pointing holes in the muzzle of the barrel and the bolt casing. On the frame above the trigger guard on both sides there are sliders, when pressed downwards the incomplete disassembly pistol (removing the barrel, recoil spring and bolt from the frame). The cartridges are fed from box-shaped double-row plastic magazines with cartridges exiting in one row (with the exception of the most compact models 36 and 42, which have single-row magazines).

The Glock 18 automatic pistol differs from the basic Glock 17 model by the presence of a fire mode translator on the left side of the slide. For this pistol, extended magazines with a capacity of 33 rounds were developed and produced, also compatible with 9mm Glock pistols models 17, 19 and 26.

Despite the fact that our fellow citizens have personal short-barreled weapon for self-defense will not be seen for a long time, you need to be able to understand it at least a little. Let it be theoretically, let it be at the level of “click here, shoot there,” but it’s necessary. You never know how life will turn out... And so we will tell you something interesting about Glock pistols.

Why Glock? Oh, there are as many as 7 reasons for this, or rather, myths that only people are surrounded by. So…

1. Glock pistols are the most common short-barreled weapon in the world

Partly true. Yes, employees love Glocks. law enforcement. Same Glock 17 and its various variations are in service with the law enforcement forces of Norway, Austria, Canada, Mexico, the USA and a bunch of other NATO countries. Not to mention America, where Glock pistols are generally a ubiquitous phenomenon.

But other brands can boast of the enviable popularity of their pistols. We are talking about the arms companies CZ (Czech Republic), Beretta and Tanfoglio (Italy), Walther and Heckler & Koch (Germany), FN (Belgium) and Colt (America).

In Russia, the APS (Stechkin Automatic Pistol), PYA (Yarygin Pistol) and PM (Makarov Pistol) pistols are extremely popular among security forces, and the Glock pistol is only gaining momentum.

2. The Glock doesn't have a safety.

This is perhaps the main feature of the pistol. The Glock has three safeties (on the trigger, on the hammer and shockproof), and all of them are automatic. In order to start shooting, you do not need to intentionally press a button or switch the safety switch, the protection system will work automatically.

And this is also the reason why Glock pistols are categorically not recommended for beginners, so that they do not shoot something at themselves.

Glock is well suited for people who use weapons for work or sport and who train for several hours every day. The same law enforcement officers hone their skills in using Glock to the point of automaticity. And they are very pleased that there is no need to make unnecessary movements to remove the pistol from the safety.

3. Glock is invisible to metal detectors

A lie, of course, but there is a grain of truth here. The Glock actually shows up quite poorly on detectors because half the design is heat-resistant plastic. At least the latest models.

But the recognizable outline of the weapon, which is visible on the detector screen, is still preserved. Plus, it hasn’t worked out yet, so it will “ring” like any other weapon. And the myth that it can still be carried unnoticed appeared after the release of the film “Die Hard 2” and Bruce Willis’s phrase about it.

4. Plastic makes the Glock pistol weigh too little

Yes, the gun is relatively light, but not too light. Lightening the design - main reason, why they started using heat-resistant plastic. It really significantly reduced the weight of the pistol, while maintaining the proper level of strength.

Discharged Glock 17 weighs about the same as three full ammunition loads for it - 51 rounds of 9x19 caliber. These are 649 and 612 grams, respectively. When fully loaded, the pistol weighs 941 grams (pistol with magazine and 18 rounds). Which is comparatively more than that of PM. But given the greater power, this is quite logical.

5. The plastic Glock pistols are made of is fragile and short-lived.

And this myth is almost the opposite of the previous one. The official name of the plastic used in the production of Glocks is Polymer 2. There is information that this is simply an alternative name for another material - Glass-Reinforced Zytel® Nylon from DuPont. Which, by the way, is used to produce especially durable sneakers. So far, no one has been able to refute this information.

6. Glock has an extremely complex design and a lot of parts

Basic model Glock 17 consists of only 34 components. For comparison, the same PM of component parts has 32 positions. That is, Glock pistols are very easy to disassemble and repairable.

And taking into account the fact that Western gunsmiths are more inclined towards reliability at the expense of complexity, the Glock was almost a revolutionary concept.

7. The Glock is dangerous and very easy to accidentally shoot.

Partially true, but remember that “guns don’t kill, people kill.”

Yes, the lack of a mechanical safety can play a cruel joke on the shooter. Gaston Glock himself, after creating experimental models, preferred to work with the new pistol using only one hand - his left. That is, reload, and pick up, and clean. The gunsmith rightly feared that even an accidental pull on the trigger could trigger a shot.

Beginner Glock users are also afraid of this, but with practice the fear goes away quite quickly.

Glock is perhaps the most popular and recognizable pistol, one of the most reliable, in constant high demand both among law enforcement agencies and armed forces around the world, and among ordinary citizens who buy weapons for themselves. sport shooting and self-defense. Thanks to this, he is often shown in films and computer games.

History of creation

In 1980, the Austrian military decided to update its weapons and announced an order for the development of a new pistol to replace the Steur model. The future star of Austrian gunsmiths, engineer Gaston Glock, at that time owned the small company Glock GmbH, which he himself founded back in 1963 in the town of Deutsch-Wagram near Vienna. Initially, Glock was engaged in the production of machine tools for completely peaceful purposes, and later retrained as a manufacturer of military products - combat knives, entrenching tools, sapper blades, spare parts for machine guns, hand grenades and machine gun belts. During his career, Glock graduated from the Ferlach Higher Weapons Technical School and decided to try his hand at the weapons field. He did not design a pistol himself to order from the military, but recruited a team of gunsmiths from all over Europe.
Within 3 months, a prototype 9-mm pistol was ready, called the Glock 17 (since the magazine had a capacity of 17 rounds). After passing tests, in 1982 the pistol was adopted by the Austrian army. After some time, Glock was already in service in the armies of Norway and Sweden, and in 1985, the Gaston Glock company began to take an active interest in the American market. In the same year, a company was created in the state of Georgia to manufacture Glock GmbH products, and in January 1986, final approval was received to import the pistol into the States.

Design

The automatic operation of the Glock 17 pistol works according to the scheme of using recoil with a short barrel stroke. The design used the upgraded Colt-Browning Cam system, which is a modernization of the Browning earring. A lug with an inclined groove is made under the breech of the barrel, coinciding with the guide protrusion of the frame. The groove is made at such an angle that, moving along the protrusion, it forces the moving barrel to decline, due to which the latter disengages from the bolt-casing, and then stops, allowing the bolt to roll back unhindered.
The barrel bore is locked using the descending breech of the barrel, which fits into the ejection window with its rectangular protrusion located above the chamber spent cartridges shutter-casing. The reduction occurs when the bevel of the lower tide of the barrel breech interacts with the protrusion of the frame. After the shot, the bolt, moving backward, bends the disconnector, thereby releasing the rod, which then rises under the action of the rod spring. When the bolt moves forward, the striker hook encounters the rod hook and returns the trigger through the rod to the forward position. In this case, the drummer is pre-cocked. The latest pistols are equipped with an ejector, which also serves as an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber.
The trigger mechanism (trigger mechanism) is striker-type with preliminary partial cocking of the firing pin when the bolt-casing moves back and additional cocking when the trigger is pressed. When you press the trigger, the striker lock is first released, then the sear releases the firing pin, and a shot is fired. The Glock company calls the trigger of this design only self-cocking (DAO). However this system in fact, it is a classic single-action trigger with additional additional cocking of the firing pin.
In Glock pistols, the striker is cocked by moving the bolt-casing backwards, and comparatively long stroke trigger and a slightly greater force than a conventional single-action trigger, required to re-cock the firing pin, replace a manually controlled safety. To ensure maximum ease of handling when designing this pistol, it was decided to abandon the use of manual safeties; 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.
If there are no cartridges, the bolt stop is activated, locking the bolt in the retracted position. The stroke length and force in this case prevent accidental shot in the absence of a flag fuse. The trigger pull is 2.5 kg and can be adjusted from 2 to 4 kg. The small force required to pull the trigger allows for increased accuracy of fire even for a poorly trained shooter.
The pistol is equipped with three independently operating automatic fuses. Glock called this system Safe Action. The safety lever, which is equipped with the trigger, blocks its movement back and releases it only when the shooter consciously presses it. The automatic firing pin safety makes it impossible for the firing pin to hit the cartridge primer in case of accidental de-cocking of the sear. The trigger rod, with its special protrusion, lifts the safety, which is a cylinder with a groove, and opens the way forward for the striker. The shockproof fuse is a protrusion trigger pull, having a cross-shaped shape, included in the groove of the shutter-casing. It prevents the combat platoon from falling off the sear during an external strike.
The sights of Glock pistols, made of plastic, are removable and installed in transverse dovetail grooves, consist of a rear sight with the ability to make horizontal adjustments by moving it and a front sight, which can be replaced with another one with a different height for vertical adjustment. For ease of aiming in low light conditions, there is a luminous dot on the front sight and a luminous frame on the rear sight. The rear sight can be adjustable, but this is not usually used on military models. Since 1988, pistols of this model are in most cases equipped with a special guide for attaching a laser designator (LTS) or tactical flashlight.

Overall rating

Many experts in the field of personal weapons and their combat use consider Glock pistols to be the best in the world due to the excellent combination of such qualities as reliability of operation in the most difficult operating conditions, accuracy more than sufficient for combat shooting and self-defense, both aimed and high-speed “instinctive” shooting offhand, high safety, convenience, comfort when constant hidden or open carry, maximum ease of use, ease of maintenance, enormous service life, interchangeability of parts, very high strength and resistance of the coating of steel parts to corrosion and wear, and finally, relatively low cost.
This is truly an excellent weapon, which is preferred by professionals participating in real combat operations and special operations, fighters of the best special forces in the world. Glock is also very popular among those who simply enjoy guns and shooting, and especially those who prefer a weapon with no problems. People living in countries where handguns are legal for sale to civilians are guided by the same principles as military and police officers when choosing a Glock for shooting or self-defense use. It's always better to own a gun that won't let you down on the range or on the street. It is better to have a weapon that is convenient and easy to use than one that is difficult to handle, which is especially important for people who do not have the opportunity to regularly train with their pistol on using weapons in extreme situations. It is no secret that owners in such conditions, where there is simply no time to think, and all actions are performed automatically, simply forget whether the safety on their pistol is on or not, and often about its location. Of course this is not a problem for a trained professional, but for ordinary person, not accustomed to often dealing with extreme situations, the simplicity of his pistol is vital.

1. High wear resistance of components and mechanisms. The barrel allows you to fire 300-350 thousand shots before burning out (for other pistols, on average, this value is 40-50 thousand shots).

2. Interesting feature Glock pistols have the ability to fire underwater. In this case, not only there is no rupture, but also no swelling of the barrel. However, for stable firing of the primer, a special firing pin with transverse grooves or a set of Spring cups amfibia is required: a firing pin mainspring with a plastic tray with holes. Available only for pistols chambered for 9 mm Parabellum. However, for underwater shooting without the risk of barrel inflation, it is recommended to use cartridges with full-jacket FMJ bullets. Glock pistols can be fired underwater at a depth of up to three meters. The bullet retains more energy at a distance of up to two meters when fired at a depth of one meter. Shooting at close range from under water is also effective, without the sound of a shot being heard.

3. There is a widespread misconception that due to the extensive use of polymers in the pistol's construction, the Glock 17 is undetectable by metal detectors. In reality this is not the case at all. This misconception was refuted by Gaston Glock personally when he walked through a metal detector with a pistol several times, and each time the weapon was correctly detected. This is due to the fact that, despite the widespread use of polymers, the mass of metal components in it is about 400 g.

4. The Glock 17 is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as a pistol that has been subjected to the most severe tests and has retained its combat effectiveness. The Glock 17 is capable of firing from underwater, in dusty conditions, in mud, in any moisture conditions, and after being removed from liquid mud and sand.

5. Since January 31, 2009, the Glock 17, along with other pistols chambered for the 9x19 mm Parabellum cartridge, has been included in the list of weapons permitted in Russia by investigators and employees of the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for use as a self-defense weapon.

First generation Glock 17 pistol

second generation Glock 17 pistol

third generation Glock 17 pistol

fourth generation Glock 17 pistol

Glock 18 pistol (automatic)

Glock 9mm pistols. The .357 and .40 caliber weapon families look the same and have similar dimensions

Glock .45 caliber pistols

Glock pistols caliber 9x17 (.380)

Glock 17 pistol on x-ray. All bright, contrasting parts are made of steel and only the plastic frame and trigger are visible as a faint outline

Performance characteristics of pistolsGlock caliber9x19

TTXpistolsGlock caliber9×17

TTXpistolsGlock caliber.357SIG

TTXpistolsGlock caliber.40S&W

TTXpistolsGlock caliber10mm Auto

Performance characteristics of pistolsGlock .45GAP

TTXpistolsGlock caliber.45ACP

In 1980, due to the moral and physical obsolescence of the pistols in service in Austria, a competition was announced for a new army pistol called Pistole 80. Pistols from such experienced manufacturers as Beretta, Heckler-Koch, Steyr took part in the competition, but in 1982 the Austrian The army officially adopted the pistol of the hitherto practically unknown company Glock model 17 under the designation P80. Before the start of the competition, Glock was known mainly as a manufacturer of military knives and sapper blades. Its ambitious owner, Gaston Glock, specifically recruited a team of experienced gunsmith designers to participate in the competition and gave them the opportunity to create a pistol “from scratch,” and they succeeded. Using several unorthodox, but essentially not new ideas, the Glock team managed to create an exceptionally simple, reliable and inexpensive pistol.
Based on the existing positive experience of using polymers in the creation of small arms in pistols (VP-70 from the German company Heckler-Koch) and assault rifles (AUG from the Austrian company Steyr), Glock engineers created a pistol with a polymer frame. This solution made it possible to reduce the cost of production, increase survivability and corrosion resistance, and make the weapon lighter. To ensure the simplest possible handling of weapons, the Austrians abandoned manual safeties, leaving only automatic safeties. The striker-operated trigger design with pre-cocking of the striker was inherited from the Austrian Roth-Steyr pistol of the 1907 model, the automatic safety on the trigger was inherited from the German Sauer pistol of 1930, and the modified Browning barrel locking system was inherited from the SIG-Sauer P220 pistol. The total number of parts of the new pistol, including the magazine, was only 33.

For more than 30 years since the appearance of the first Glock model 17 pistol, the company has created on its basis several dozen models in all the most popular pistol calibers (9x17, 9x19, .357SIG, .40SW, .45ACP) and even tried to create its own cartridge.45GAP (Glock Auto Pistol), which turned out to be not so successful. Glock pistols have gained worldwide popularity as army weapons (they are in service not only in Austria, but also in the UK, Sweden and many other countries). In addition, these pistols are popular as police weapons (particularly in the USA), as well as civilian weapons for self-defense and sport.

Over the years of production of Glock pistols, they have changed four generations of models.

First generation of Glock pistols consisted of a Glock 17 / P80 pistol, which had smooth handles with fine corrugation “in a circle”.

Second generation of Glock pistols, introduced in 1988, additionally included the first compact Glock 19 model and featured larger checkering on the front and rear grip surfaces.

Third generation of Glock pistols, which appeared in 1998, received a guide for mounting a flashlight or laser sight under the barrel, recesses for fingers and a “shelf” for the thumb on the handle of the weapon, and a new ejector, which additionally serves as an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber.

Fourth generation of Glock pistols, launched into series in 2010 and produced in parallel with the 3rd generation models, received pistol grips of a reduced cross-section with replaceable pads on the back of the grip, allowing the weapon to be adapted to shooters with a wide variety of palm sizes. In addition, the 4th generation pistols received an enlarged magazine release button, which can be moved to both sides of the weapon, and a number of smaller design improvements.

The Glock 18 automatic pistol stands apart from this entire line of weapons. Created for law enforcement services, this pistol was never put on public sale and was produced in small quantities.

As mentioned above, the main advantages of Glock pistols are ease of design and use, high reliability, significant service life, and relatively low weight. The disadvantages of these pistols usually include the not very comfortable shape of the handle (corrected in the currently produced 4th generation of pistols) as well as the absence of any manual safeties, which, if users are insufficiently trained, periodically leads to accidental shots.
The “plastic” design of the Glock pistol, which was widely discussed in the media, supposedly made the pistol invisible in X-rays and not detected by metal detectors, is nothing more than an invention of the press. In fact, any Glock pistol consists of metal for more than half of its mass and is perfectly detectable by any special means.

The automatic operation of all pistols of the Glock series (except for pistols models 25 and 28 of 9x17 caliber) is based on the Browning scheme with a short barrel stroke and rigid locking of one protrusion in the breech of the barrel behind the window for ejecting cartridges in the bolt. The distortion of the breech of the barrel to unlock and lock it is carried out by the interaction of the figured tide under the barrel with a steel insert in a polymer frame. The valves are made of steel using precision casting and have a special coating that is highly resistant to external influences. The barrels have polygonal rifling. The trigger mechanism is striker-fired, with preliminary cocking of the mainspring and its additional cocking by the shooter’s muscular force at the moment the trigger is pressed. To pre-cock the mainspring, simply pull the bolt back about 15mm and release. The pistol does not have non-automatic (manual) safeties. The automatic safety system (safeaction) includes a fuse on the trigger (blocking its movement if pressed incorrectly), blocking the striker when the trigger is not pressed, and blocking the striker from being pulled off the sear during strong impacts. The frame of the pistol is made of impact-resistant plastic in black or olive green (more recently) color. When it is cast, steel guides for the bolt are integrated into the frame, as well as a small metal plate on which the serial number of the weapon is engraved. In the front part of the frame of modern pistols there is a guide for attaching a combat flashlight or laser target designator. The sights are open, with white contrasting or luminous inserts. Glock pistols with the index “C” after the model number have a barrel toss compensator, made in the form of upward-pointing holes in the muzzle of the barrel and the bolt casing. On the frame above the trigger guard on both sides there are sliders, when pressed downwards the pistol is partially disassembled (removing the barrel, return spring and bolt from the frame). The cartridges are fed from box-shaped double-row plastic magazines with cartridges exiting in one row (with the exception of the most compact models 36 and 42, which have single-row magazines).

The Glock 18 automatic pistol differs from the basic Glock 17 model by the presence of a fire mode translator on the left side of the slide. For this pistol, extended magazines with a capacity of 33 rounds were developed and produced, also compatible with 9mm Glock pistols models 17, 19 and 26.