Glock 17 dimensions drawing. Encyclopedia of weapons. The plastic that Glock pistols are made of is brittle and short-lived.

Glock is perhaps the most popular and recognizable pistol, one of the most reliable, invariably in high demand both from law enforcement agencies and the armed forces around the world, and from ordinary citizens who buy weapons for shooting sports and self-defense. Because of this, it is often shown in movies and computer games.

History of creation

In 1980, the Austrian military decided to upgrade their 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 a 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, trench tools, sapper shovels, spare parts for machine guns, hand grenades and machine gun belts. In the course of his activities, Glock graduated from the Ferlach Higher Weapons Technical School and decided to try his hand at the weapons field. He did not himself design a pistol under the order of the military, but recruited a team of gunsmiths from all over Europe.
After 3 months, a prototype 9-mm pistol was ready, called the Glock 17 (since the magazine had a capacity of 17 rounds). After passing the tests, in 1982 the pistol was adopted by the Austrian army. After some time, Glock was already in the service of the armies of Norway and Sweden, and in 1985 Gaston Glock's company began to take an active interest in the American market. In the same year, the Glock GmbH product manufacturing company was established in Georgia, and in January 1986, final approval was received to import the pistol into the States.

Design

The automatics of the Glock 17 pistol work according to the scheme of using recoil with a short barrel stroke. The design used a modernized system Colt-Browning (Brauning Cam), which is a modernization of the Browning earring. Under the breech, a tide is made with an inclined groove, coinciding with the guide ledge of the frame. The groove is made at such an angle that, moving along the ledge, it causes the moving barrel to decrease, due to which the latter disengages from the shutter-casing, and then stops, allowing the shutter to roll back unhindered.
The barrel bore is locked with the help of a descending breech, which enters with its rectangular ledge located above the chamber into the window for ejection of spent cartridge cases of the shutter-casing. The reduction occurs when the bevel of the lower tide of the breech breech interacts with the protrusion of the frame. After the shot, the bolt, moving backward, bends the uncoupler, thereby releasing the thrust, which then rises under the action of the thrust spring. When the bolt moves forward, the striker's hook encounters the thrust hook and returns the trigger through the thrust to the forward position. In this case, the drummer is pre-cocked. Pistols of the latest releases are equipped with an ejector, which also acts as an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber.
trigger mechanism(USM) striker type with preliminary partial cocking of the drummer when the shutter-casing moves back and additional cocking when the trigger is pressed. When the trigger is pressed, the firing pin block is first removed, then the sear releases the combat platoon, and a shot is fired. Glock calls the trigger of this design only self-cocking (DAO). However, this system is in fact a classic single-action trigger with an additional firing pin.
In Glock pistols, the drummer is cocked by moving the shutter-casing back, and relatively long stroke trigger and slightly more than a conventional single-action trigger, the force required to cock the drummer replaces the manually controlled fuse. To ensure maximum ease of handling weapons in the design of this pistol, it was decided to abandon the use of manual safety catches, only automatic ones were left, which made it possible to significantly reduce the time interval from the moment the pistol was removed to the moment the fire was opened.
In the absence of cartridges, the shutter delay is turned on, fixing the shutter in the allotted position. The length and force of the stroke in this case prevent random shot in the absence of a flag fuse. The trigger pull is 2.5 kg and can be adjusted from 2 to 4 kg. A small effort required to pull the trigger allows you to increase the accuracy of fire even for a poorly trained shooter.
The gun is equipped with three independently operating automatic safety locks. 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 is consciously pressed. The automatic fuse of the striker makes it impossible for the striker to hit the primer of the cartridge in the event of an accidental failure from the cocking sear. The trigger rod, with its special protrusion, raises the fuse, which is a cylinder with a groove, and opens the way forward for the drummer. The shockproof fuse is a protrusion trigger pull, having a cruciform shape, included in the groove of the shutter-casing. It prevents the combat platoon from falling off the sear during an external impact.
The sights of Glock pistols, made of plastic, are removable and installed in transverse dovetail grooves, consist of a rear sight with the possibility of making horizontal adjustments by shifting it and a front sight, which can be replaced with another one with a different height for vertical correction. For ease of aiming in low light conditions, a luminous dot is applied to the front sight, and a luminous frame is applied to the rear sight. The rear sight can be adjustable, but this is not usually the case in military models. Since 1988, pistols of this model in most cases are equipped with a special guide for attaching a laser target designator (LTC) or a 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" offhand shooting, high safety, convenience, comfort during constant hidden or open wear, maximum ease of use, ease of maintenance, huge 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 a really great weapon, which is preferred by professionals involved in real combat and special operations, fighters of the best special forces in the world. The Glock is also very much loved by those who simply love guns and shooting, and especially those who prefer guns with no problems. People living in countries where personal handguns are allowed to be sold to civilians are guided by the same principles as the military and police when choosing a Glock for shooting or for self-defense. 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 difficult to handle, which is especially true for people who do not have the opportunity to regularly train with their pistol in the use of weapons in extreme situations. It's no secret that owners in such conditions, where there is simply no time to think, and all actions are performed automatically, simply forget about whether the fuse 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 an ordinary person who is not used to often face extreme situations, the simplicity of his pistol is vital.

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

2. An interesting feature Glock pistols is the ability to fire underwater. In this case, not only rupture, but also swelling of the trunk does not occur. However, for stable operation of the primer, a special striker with transverse grooves or a set of Spring cups amphibia is required: the mainspring of the striker with a plastic pallet with holes. Available only for pistols chambered in 9 mm Parabellum. However, for firing under water without the risk of barrel swelling, the use of cartridges with FMJ-type full-shell bullets is recommended. Glock pistols allow shooting underwater at a depth of up to three meters. The bullet retains great energy at a distance of up to two meters when fired at a depth of one meter. Shooting at close range from under the water is also effective, while the sound of the shot is not audible.

3. There is a widespread misconception that due to the extensive use of polymers in the design of the pistol, the Glock 17 is not detected by metal detectors. In reality, this is not at all the case. This misconception was personally refuted by Gaston Glock, when he passed through the frame of a metal detector several times with a pistol, 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 the pistol that was subjected to the most severe tests and retained its combat effectiveness after that. The Glock 17 is capable of firing from under water, in heavily dusty conditions, in mud, in conditions of any humidity, after being removed from liquid mud and sand.

5. Since January 31, 2009, the Glock 17, among other pistols chambered for 9 × 19 mm Parabellum, has been included in the list of weapons allowed in Russia by investigators and employees of the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to use as a weapon of self-defense.

Pistol Glock 17 third generation

Pistol Glock 17 Gen 4 fourth generation

The Austrian Glock 17 is currently one of the most popular and recognizable self-loading pistols, which is in consistently high demand both from police and military forces around the world, and from ordinary citizens who buy weapons for shooting sports and self-defense. Many experts in the field of personal weapons and its combat use consider Glock pistols to be the best in the world due to the excellent combination of such qualities as reliability in the most difficult operating conditions, accuracy more than sufficient for combat shooting and self-defense, both aiming and speed "instinctive" offhand shooting, high safety, convenience, comfort with constant concealed or open wear, maximum ease of use, ease of maintenance, huge 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.

Update: in 2017-2018, the manufacturer released the fifth generation of pistols. More about Glock 17 Gen5

This weapon is preferred by professionals participating in military operations and special operations, fighters of the best special forces in the world. People living in countries where personal short-barreled weapons are allowed to be sold to civilians, choosing a Glock for shooting or for wearing for self-defense, are guided by the same principles as the military and police. 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 true for those who do not have the opportunity to regularly train with their pistol in the use of weapons in extreme situations. It's no secret that owners in conditions where there is simply no time to think, and all actions are performed automatically, sometimes they simply forget whether the fuse 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 an ordinary person who is not used to often face extreme situations, ease of handling his pistol is vital.

Today, there are many easy-to-handle models of large and well-known manufacturers that have earned a good reputation on the arms market around the world. Compliance with this requirement is achieved primarily by the presence of only a self-cocking trigger mechanism and the absence of a manually controlled safety lever, or the pistol is equipped with a double-action trigger with a safe release lever from the combat cocking and, again, without a safety lever. There are, of course, a lot of options. But the choice of police, military and civilians is dictated not only by ease of use, but also by the presence of other advantages of Glock pistols, which make these weapons practical and suitable for any task.

Shooters competing in the IPSC field shooting competition, in the mass-produced firearm class, also often prefer the simple, accurate, reliable, and convenient Glock 17 to more expensive handguns. Of course, the design features of its trigger and the need to ensure safe handling require a rather large force and length of the trigger stroke, which are generally quite acceptable, but nevertheless adversely affect accuracy. aimed shooting, say at a distance of 14 meters, in comparison with pistols equipped with a double or single action trigger. However, apart from the advantages in combat over such classic designs, it should be noted that Glock pistols consistently demonstrate quite good accuracy for a combat pistol with a variety of shooter stances and weapon holding methods. In addition, its accuracy is quite enough even for fans of precisely aimed shooting from serial pistols and achieving maximum results. With a new, just bought Glock pistol, you can immediately go to the shooting range and it will shoot accurately.

However, controversy continues over the design of these popular Austrian pistols. Let's just say that most of the self-loading pistols on the market today are more visually pleasing than the monotonous Glocks with a strictly functional and, so to speak, ascetic design. Although many people like strict forms more than elegant models. But this is a matter of taste. This controversy does not subside in the gun press, shooting clubs and forums on the Internet. Moreover, shooters and gun lovers are mostly divided into those for whom Glock is the best pistol in the world, and those who hold the opposite opinion, or argue in favor of other manufacturers and their models that are superior to Glock in one way or another.

Sometimes those who prefer the Glock 17 choose another weapon as their main pistol, and opponents of these Austrian pistols become their ardent supporters. There were many legends about the pistols of this company at the very beginning of their entry into the market that detectors at airports could not recognize these weapons. Of course, this was pure fiction, blown up by incompetent journalists. There are more than enough metal parts in the gun to detect it. However, Gaston Glock had to personally demonstrate in public the "visibility" of his company's pistol detectors, as a result of which the myth was dispelled. In any case, Glock has achieved tremendous success, supplying its products to the arms markets of various countries around the world. And those who have tried these pistols in shooting, even in the case of a not particularly positive attitude towards their design, choose Glock for themselves to use as a main, one of the main or reserve weapons.

Glock, was created in 1980 by a group of designers with the participation of Friedrich Dehant under the leadership of Gaston Glock from an Austrian company founded in 1963, which had never before been engaged in the design and manufacture of weapons. At first, the company specialized in the manufacture of tools, then began the production of military goods - machine-gun belts, grenades and knives. By the way, the company still produces high quality knives. And the search for a new personal weapon by the Austrian army in 1980 prompted the production of Gaston Glock pistols. The designers managed to implement solutions that were revolutionary at that time, which, as practice has shown, work great in combat pistols. The result was one of the leading positions of the company in the global arms market and the widest popularity of its products. The Glock 17 is the first plastic-framed pistol that has earned great success in the global gun market. The frame, trigger and magazine are made of high-strength polymer.

The pistol for the first time combines light weight, large magazine capacity, compactness and safety in use, when carried with a cartridge in the chamber. The Austrians borrowed the barrel lock from the Sig Sauer P220 pistol. Designers abandoned the flag, manually operated, fuse in favor of automatic ones. The trigger mechanism was the simplest, created on the basis of the same Austrian Roth-Steyr M1907 pistol. It should be clarified that index 17 does not indicate the number of rounds in the magazine. This is the patent number of Gaston Glock. In 1982, under the designation P-90, the pistol was adopted by the Austrian army and police. Glock 17 was equipped with the anti-terrorist unit of the Austrian Federal Police EKO Cobra (Einsatzkommando Cobra).

Later, the Glock 17 pistol began to be used by the armed forces, law enforcement agencies and special forces of Sweden and Finland, and since 1986 it was adopted by the Norwegian army. Since the start of production of the first Glock model, three generations of these pistols have already changed, and the fourth generation, Gen 4, is currently in production. The first generation did not have a notch on the front and back surfaces of the handle, which appeared in the second, which began to be produced in 1990. The third generation, in addition to notches and chaotic corrugations on the sides of the handle, also received recesses for fingers on the front surface of the handle and recesses with a lower protrusion under thumb, both in the left and in the right surface of the handle, as well as guides in the front of the frame for attaching additional devices.

In the late 1990s, the Glock 17 replaced the Jericho 941 in YAMAM - special unit Israeli police. After that, some special units of the Israel Defense Forces adopted it to replace the Sig Sauer P226 and Sig Sauer P228. Currently, Glock pistols are used in the armies and various law enforcement agencies in about 60 countries around the world. In 1986, Austrian pistols began to be imported into the United States. The first law enforcement agency to adopt Glock 17 pistols was the police department of Colby, Kansas, and the first large batch was delivered to the department of St. Paul, Minnesota. Noteworthy are the tests of Austrian pistols, conducted by 25 police officers from Miami.

The weapon was tested for safety when dropped onto steel and concrete from a height of 18 meters with a cartridge in the chamber. The shot didn't happen. The weapon was kept in salt water and a fully equipped magazine was fired at a high pace. There wasn't a single delay. It fired 1,000 rounds of expansive bullets continuously for 45 minutes without any problems. After these tests, the Miami Police Department adopted the Glock 17 pistols into service. Currently, various variants of Glock's personal short-barreled weapons are in service with the US FBI (models 22, 23 and 27), the New York Police Department (with the New-York Trigger trigger, which has a greater trigger force), the police departments of Florida, Miami, Boston, Kansas and South Carolina State Police (South Carolina police first adopted the Glock 22 pistol) and Mississippi, the Customs Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as various special forces, for example US Navy Seals and Delta. Approximately 5,000 US federal and local police departments have adopted it.

Glock pistols make up slightly more than half of all handguns purchased by US law enforcement. They are used by police officers around the world, for example, the Glock is in service in Canada, Holland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, India and the Philippines. Glock 17 is used by the Hong Kong police. Iraqi cops also use Glock pistols along with others handguns, for example, manufacturers such as Beretta and Sig Sauer. In Germany, the Glock 17 is in service with the famous Special Forces Unit of the German Federal Police GSG9 (Grenzschutzgruppe 9 - Border Guard Group 9) and SEK - the special forces of the German police (Saxony-Anhalt Spezialeinsatzkommando). In France, Glock 17, along with models 19 and 26, are in service with the GIGN National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (Groupe d "Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale), the RAID Search, Assistance, Intervention, Dissuasion Anti-Terrorist Special Forces and the GIPN French National Police Investigation Group .

In Belgium, Glock is used by the assault unit of the National Gendarmerie - ESI (Esquadron d "Intervention Special) and the BBT special unit of the Antwerp Police Department. Glock pistols are used by the Polish Mobile Rapid Response Group GROM (Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno-Manewrowego). Glock 17 is used in law enforcement agencies and departments Russian Federation, along with other Western models, such as CZ 75 B, and Russian ones - SPS, PYa, GSh-18, firing 9 × 19 cartridges. For example, these pistols were adopted by the FSB, the GRU, the FSO, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation and the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The success of the pistol is not to a small extent also facilitated by the wide advertising company manufacturer. But not only. In comparative tests, Glock has always withstood tests for reliability, ease and safety in handling, and accuracy of fire. Glock is famous good service. All defective parts are replaced with new ones without any problems, and instead of the old coating with a worn outer black layer, a new one is applied for a nominal fee. At the moment, the manufacturer has sold more than 2,000,000 pistols of various modifications.

The principle of operation of the Glock 17 pistol

Automation works according to the scheme of using recoil with a short barrel stroke. Locking is carried out with the help of a descending breech breech, which enters with its rectangular ledge located above the chamber into the window for ejecting spent cartridge cases of the shutter-casing. The reduction occurs when the bevel of the lower tide of the breech breech interacts with the protrusion of the frame. The firing mechanism of the striker type, with a preliminary, partial cocking of the firing pin when the shutter-casing moves back and additional cocking when the trigger is pressed. Glock calls the trigger of this design only self-cocking (DAO). However, this system is in fact a classic single-action trigger with an additional firing pin. In Glock pistols, the drummer is cocked by moving the shutter-casing back, and the relatively long trigger stroke and the slightly larger force than the conventional single-action trigger required to cock the drummer replace a manually controlled fuse. The length and force of the stroke in this case prevent an accidental shot in the absence of a safety lever.

In addition to this, the trigger of Glock pistols does not allow the shooter to re-trigger after a misfire by trying to initiate the primer again. It is necessary to extract the defective cartridge, thereby putting the drummer on a preliminary platoon, and send a new cartridge from the magazine into the chamber to fire a shot. This is also a sign of the classic single-action trigger, it's just that in this case the stroke and trigger pull are greater. The pistol is equipped with three independently operating automatic safety locks. Glock called this system Safe Action. The trigger safety lever blocks the movement of the trigger back and releases it only when the shooter is consciously pressed. The automatic fuse of the firing pin makes it impossible for the firing pin to strike the cartridge primer if the sear is accidentally released from the cocking due to external impact. The trigger rod, with its special protrusion, raises the fuse, which is a cylinder with a groove, and opens the way forward for the drummer. The shockproof fuse is a protrusion of the trigger rod, which has a cruciform shape, which is included in the groove of the shutter-casing. It prevents the disruption of the whisper from the cocking during an external impact.

In practice, this design turned out to be very simple and effective. It ensures the production of a shot in the shortest possible time and safe handling. Pistols of the latest releases are equipped with an ejector, which also acts as an indicator of the presence of a cartridge in the chamber. The trigger pull is 2.5 kg and can be adjusted from 2 to 4 kg. The polymer frame is equipped with four steel guides along which the shutter-casing moves. The ergonomically shaped handle has a 112 degree inclination. On the left side of the frame is a small slide stop lever. Its small surface area is often the reason for criticism, but the original lever can be easily replaced with an enlarged one if necessary. The barrel lock is double-sided, located above the trigger guard. The magazine latch is located at the base of the trigger guard.

Right-hand rifling has a hexagonal profile with rounded side edges, which reduces friction and evenly distributes the load on the barrel when a bullet passes through it. A barrel with such a profile lasts longer, and the bore is less covered with a layer of brass or copper from bullet shells and deforms the shells themselves less. That is, such a barrel is easier and faster to clean, and the integrity of the bullet shell increases accuracy. The shell of the bullet adheres more closely to the edges of the bore, creating a better obturation of the powder gases, due to which they betray it with somewhat more energy and initial speed, but in general this is hardly noticeable. Sights made of plastic consist of a rear sight with the possibility of making horizontal corrections by shifting it, and a front sight that can be replaced with another one with a different height for vertical correction. The double-row magazine holds 17 rounds, but higher capacities can also be used. The gun consists of only 34 parts and can be completely disassembled with a pin or nail in one minute. Glock pistols are currently chambered in .380 ACP, 9mm Parabellum, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, 10mm Auto, and .45 ACP.

Glock 17 pistol customization

Today, there is a huge amount of “customization” parts on the market for weapons, various additional devices and accessories from enlarged safety levers or bolt delays to adjustable sights and even steel frames, produced by both large and well-known, and small private firms. The most popular parts for Glock pistols are oversized magazine catches, recoil springs of various resilience, steel front sights and adjustable rear sights with tritium inserts. Practice has shown that replacing a standard magazine latch with an enlarged one for faster replacement can lead to its spontaneous loss in a holster and when removing a weapon. It is advisable to replace the return spring only if the shooting will be carried out with the same, as a rule, reinforced cartridges, since when using less powerful ammunition there will be delays in firing due to insufficient opening of the shutter-casing.

The best solution to improve and increase the effectiveness of the pistol would be to replace the standard front and rear sights with sights such as TFO (Tritium Fiber Optic) from Truglo, equipped with green light-collecting fiber optic inserts containing tritium. Green color is distinguished better than red and white in good light. Fiber optic plastic directs most of the light along the axis of the insert cylinder, resulting in the shooter's attention being instantly focused on them and aiming much faster. At the same time, at dusk or in a dark room, aiming is carried out using brightly luminous tritium. These sights, for obvious reasons, are of course more expensive than usual ones, but they work perfectly day and night, significantly increasing the speed of aiming.

The Glock range includes a series of pistols with integrated compensators. These pistols are designated by the letter C (Compensated) in addition to the index of the original sample - Glock 17C. Such models are intended mainly for practical shooting competitions, as well as for beginner shooters. The main function of the compensator is to reduce the toss of the weapon when fired. The jet stream of powder gases, directed upwards, counteracts the tossing of the pistol. As a result, the rate of fire and accuracy of high-speed fire increases. The disadvantage is a strong flash. In low light, the image of this flash is stored in memory for a short time, making it difficult to quickly fire the next shot accurately. Such a pistol gets dirty faster, and when firing from the hip, the flow of powder gases unpleasantly hits the shooter in the face. There are also delays if weak cartridges are used.

The frame, made of polymer, makes the weapon light and at the same time has high strength. Early release pistols had grips with flat sides and grooved front and back surfaces. The wide-angle handle is very comfortable to hold, with finger lugs on the front surface, thumb rests on both sides, and front and back knurling. Such a grip makes the weapon well controlled and ensures accuracy, both with careful aiming and with high-speed shooting. When firing a double shot for all full-size and compact models feature is a high accuracy and strictly vertical arrangement hits. Glock pistol grips do not "cool" the hand at low temperatures. On the front of the frame there are slots for attaching tactical lights and laser designators. The shutter-casing is produced by high-precision casting. A special treatment of steel parts called Tenifer, which is carbonitriding, increases their surface hardness to 64 HRC, and also greatly improves corrosion resistance.

The drum trigger was chosen by the designers not only because of the ease of production. It allows you to minimize the distance from the butt plate of the frame to the axis of the bore. In turn, the recoil shoulder decreases and, accordingly, the toss of the weapon when firing. This design also does not require the frame to be reinforced with steel inserts that increase the weight. The Glock 17 was the first pistol to use a helical recoil spring with rectangular coils. In modern models, this spring is fixed on its own guide, which simplifies and facilitates the disassembly and assembly of weapons. The magazine has a plastic body - the result of the absence of equipment for the manufacture of magazines from sheet steel in the production during the start of production of the pistol. They did not begin to produce a steel store in the future due to deunification.

Like any weapon, Glock pistols have their drawbacks. Often the cause of misfires is contamination of the channel of the striker, as a rule, due to sand that has got there. With a weak grip, sometimes there are cases of missing cartridges. Plastic front sights turned out to be not strong and get off the shutter-casing when hit from behind, but this drawback can be easily eliminated by replacing the sights with steel ones. Another disadvantage is the small dimensions of the slide delay and the magazine latch, but this is again eliminated by replacing them with larger ones. 17C pistols and other versions with integrated compensators, when using underpowered cartridges or loaded with light bullets, often do not extract spent cartridges and do not send cartridges due to the fact that part of the energy necessary for the stable operation of automation is consumed by the compensator. There were problems with the guides that broke from side impacts, which arose due to errors in production, but they were quickly eliminated. Glock pistols are easy to shoot, but in order to shoot very accurately, quite a lot of practice is needed. The reason for the breakdown of parts and the destruction of frames are too powerful, as a rule, manually loaded cartridges, but this is no longer a direct drawback of the design itself. The disadvantages can also be indirectly attributed to the chatter of parts relative to each other, for example, the bolt on the frame and the magazine in the neck of the handle.

An interesting feature of Glock pistols is the ability to fire underwater. In this case, not only rupture, but also swelling of the trunk does not occur. However, for stable triggering of the primer, a special striker with transverse grooves or a set of Spring cups amfibia is required - the mainspring of the striker with a plastic pallet with holes. Available only for pistols chambered in 9mm Parabellum. But for firing under water without the risk of blowing up the barrel, it is recommended to use cartridges with full-shell bullets of the FMJ type. Glock pistols allow shooting underwater at a depth of up to three meters. The bullet retains great energy at a distance of up to two meters when fired at a depth of one meter. Shooting at close range from under the water is also effective, while the sound of the shot is absent. This method of shooting is taught in many special forces.

Tests in different conditions

It is necessary to mention a series of tests that the serial Glock 17 successfully passed. Ice: a pistol with a loaded magazine was frozen in an ice cube for 60 days. After that, he was removed from the ice and fired 100 shots of 10 rounds. Dirt: The gun was oiled, closed and immersed in mud of varying consistency: dry sand, clay, wet river sand. After each such procedure, repeated 5 times, 100 shots were fired. Mud: The gun was completely soaked in water and submerged in river mud. After a single shaking from a pistol with silt residues, 10 series of 10 shots were fired. Water: a fully equipped pistol was immersed in water for 1 hour to a depth of 1 meter, then the pistol was removed from the water and immediately fired 10 series of 10 shots. Durability: A loaded pistol was placed on coarse gravel, after which a heavy truck drove over it. The truck was then left parked with a wheel on a gun for an hour. After that, 100 shots were fired. All tests were carried out in the specified sequence with the same pistol and one magazine. None of them had any delays.

Glock brand pistols, with their birth, revolutionized the production of small arms. What legends about them did not go - and go so far. Bruce Willis, as hero cop John McClain in Die Hard 2 (1990), authoritatively explains to an airport security officer that the Glock is a German china pistol that can't be picked up by metal detectors and costs a fortune.

In fact, the Glock is not at all German, but an Austrian pistol, porcelain and ceramics are completely absent in its design, but plastic is present in a considerable amount, and plastic has always been cheaper than steel.

Previously, gunsmiths have already tried to create weapon with plastic elements. Back in the late 1960s - early 1970s, the designers of the German company Heckler & Koch developed pistols of the VP 70 and P9S models, some of the parts of which were made of plastic, or rather, of plastic reinforced masses. However, then the idea was not approved - there was an opinion that the weapon should be made of steel, and other materials only reduce the strength of the unit.

In 1980, the Austrian military decided to upgrade their 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 a 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 shovels, spare parts for MG74-3 and MG42 machine guns (7.62 mm NATO), hand grenades and machine gun belts. In the course of his activities, Glock graduated from the Ferlach Higher Weapons Technical School and decided to try his hand at the weapons field. He did not himself design a pistol under the order of the military, but recruited a team of gunsmiths from all over Europe.

After 3 months, a prototype 9-mm pistol was ready, called the Glock 17 (since the magazine had a capacity of 17 rounds). After passing the tests, in 1982 the pistol was adopted by the Austrian army. After some time, Glock was already in the service of the armies of Norway and Sweden, and in 1985 Gaston Glock's company began to take an active interest in the American market. In the same year, the Glock GmbH product manufacturing company was established in Georgia, and in January 1986, final approval was received to import the pistol into the States.

Glock pioneered the production of "plastic" pistols. The use of plastic in the manufacture of most parts turned out to be logical in a world where plastic was steadily gaining ground in industrial production.

First of all, the plastic body significantly reduced the weight of the pistol - the Glock 17 with a full magazine weighs only 870 grams. For comparison, the weight of the Beretta 92 with 2 rounds less magazine is 950 grams.

For the manufacture of the frame and magazine of the pistol, a high-strength polymer is used, like a monocoque, which is able to withstand temperatures up to 200 degrees. True, the threat remains hard frost- if the frozen Glock is unsuccessfully dropped, then it can simply split.

Plastic is an order of magnitude more durable than steel, and the steel parts of modern Glocks are processed using Tennifer technology, which is a unique development of Glock GmbH. As a result of such treatment, the surface to a depth of 0.05 mm acquires a hardness of about 69 Rockwell units (the hardness of technical diamonds is 71-72). Even the Americans assemble Glocks in their factories only from parts sent from Austria, since this technology is a closely guarded secret of the company.

The special processing of the parts makes the gun exceptionally resistant to corrosion. He is not afraid salty water and sand. Unlike many other pistols, the Glock can shoot even underwater, though not far and slightly.

The tale about the Glock's elusiveness for a metal detector was refuted by Gaston Glock himself. He personally paraded several times with a pistol in his hand through the metal detector arch at the airport in front of US Secretary of Defense Kasper Weinberger. The metal detector honestly pointed to the presence of weapons with each pass.

In addition to the above, it should also be noted that other advantages of Glocks, which were also appreciated by civilians. All pistols of this brand consist of only 34 parts, including the magazine. Parts from one model are mostly suitable for other Glock models. The plastic frame provides unusually soft feedback. Glock shoots accurately and accurately, while the barrel can withstand up to 350 thousand shots.

Modifications of Glock brand pistols differ mainly in caliber, barrel length and sights.

There is a heated debate about the safety of Glocks. Proponents of this weapon claim that in the US, in 99.9% of cases, the cause of the "crossbow" with the participation of Glock pistols is mishandling it. This is motivated by the fact that the pistol uses the Safe Action system - a proprietary development with a DAO (Double Action Only) trigger, consisting of three independent fuses. However, according to official statistics, there are too many accidents. The Glock 21 is especially famous in this regard. It is this model that takes the first place in the statistics of misfires and spontaneous firing, and Glock GmbH is on the list of 15 weapons manufacturing companies that have been sued for damages.

Gaston Glock's website reports that in the United States alone, 65% of government agencies use his weapons, the largest of which are the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Police Department New York. At the same time, the Glock company is actively promoting supported pistols to civilians. And they get used pistols from the same policemen in exchange for newer models. Here's a marketing ploy. One trouble. Weapons that have already served their time fall into the hands of civilians, which again leads to new victims - this time among a peaceful, but weapon-loving population. Naturally, Glocks are also spreading among the criminal community. Perhaps that is why the Glock appears so often in American action films. It is Glocks that are armed with Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct, Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Eraser, Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive, etc.

It should be noted that Mr. Glock himself turned out to be no less stable than his famous weapon. In March 2003, an attempt was made on his life. 70-year-old Glock received 7 blows to the head with a rubber mallet, rested in the clinic and returned to the post of head of his company. The attacker turned out to be Charles Ewert, a stealing Glock financier.

The performance characteristics of the pistol Glock 17

And I would take the Glock-18, it has the ability to conduct automatic fire ...

Mankind has always gravitated towards a compact but powerful version of personal weapons, which, in fact, was the glock 17 pistol, created by the Austrian company of the same name. However, what made him legendary Active participation in Hollywood projects, which affected arms sales around the world. Various modifications are still used by the police and intelligence agencies of NATO countries.

Today we will talk about the ancestor of this line, the model under the index 17, which included only 34 parts, so a trained fighter without any effort could disassemble it in less than one minute. The weapon is distinguished by its small size, light weight, as well as practicality, because it has the ability to fire underwater.

The history of the creation and development of the Glock pistol

When World War II ended and Austria became independent state, her newly created army was equipped with pre-war pistols - Walther P38 and Colt M1911A1. The situation was worse for the police: they received a model produced in the 20s - Walther PP. However, Austria was not at war with anyone and maintained a clear neutrality in cold war, so they thought about modernization only in 1980, when the state organized a competition to create a new pistol, which would be received by both the police and the military.

The new version of the service weapon had to meet the requirements issued by the country's military ministry:

• 9 × 19 mm Parabellum cartridges;
• the minimum number of cartridges in the store is 8 units;
• the pistol must be safe, so even when falling from a height of 2 meters there should not be a spontaneous shot;
• for every thousand shots there should be only 2 misfires;
• interchangeability of parts.

All these requirements Glock met or exceeded the recommended data.

The competition was strong, and few expected that the tiny Austrian company, founded back in 1963 under the name Glock, would win. However, she has been involved in this project since 1970, which allowed her to present best option automatic pistol. Bribed and the fact that the model of this company with high performance cost 25% less than its competitors. As a result, Glock easily outperformed its competitors, and already in 1983 it was adopted by the Austrian army and police.

However, it is possible that if the pistol had been used only in Austria, it would have remained a locally successful option. However, the fact is that the Glock is almost entirely made of high-strength and heat-resistant plastic, so the screenwriters used it in the movie Die Hard 2. After that, these weapons began to be shown in almost all films, one way or another connected with shootings, which had a very good effect on sales and the overall popularity of the model.

In addition, another jump in popularity was that it began to be used in computer tactical shooters. Until now, it is Glock that remains the symbol of the legendary computer game Counterstrike.

Gun design

Structurally, the Glock had several innovations that eventually made it one of the most popular pistols in the world. First of all, the automation, which was incorporated in the first model, almost never changed, and all the variations are just an increase in the magazine, caliber and barrel length. There is only one exception - the model under the index 18 - it is capable of firing at speeds up to 1100 rounds per minute, so the internal parts of the sample were changed.

In addition, the original design of the automatic safety: it, being combined with the trigger, is removed only when the two components of the structure are pressed simultaneously. The magazine release button is located on the left side of the pistol, just below the trigger guard. Despite the large volume of the magazine (in some modifications, such as glock 20 -13 rounds), the weight is still one of the smallest in the world. The trigger guard was specially increased in order to be able to fire with two hands.

Principle of operation

The whole point of the work of automatic pistol is the recoil of the barrel with a short stroke. The designers decided to use the proven, but somewhat modernized Colt-Browning scheme. The essence of the operation of this system is as follows: a tide with an inclined groove is created under the breech breech, it coincides with the guide ledge of the frame. The Austrian designers made a groove at the required angle, which causes the driving barrel to decrease and it disengages from the shutter-casing. Then it stops, as a result of which the shutter rolls back.

Additions to the gun

At the moment, there are two main additions to the Glock 17. The first is the sighting device, which is made of high-strength plastic and is installed in special transverse grooves, which we know as the "dovetail". To fire in low light, the designers put a luminous dot on the front sight, and a luminous frame on the rear sight. Starting in 1988, a special guide element was also installed on the glock, on which a tactical flashlight or a laser-type pointer is attached.

In addition, the weapon can be equipped with a silencer. However, only elite units receive this modification without applying the glowing frame. There are, of course, custom additions, which are made in an artisanal way, and always belong to the pneumatic variants of weapons. The most popular of these was glock under the index 21.

Technical characteristics of the Glock 17 model

TTX of the first glock serial:

• Type: self-loading;
• Caliber - 9 × 19 mm Parabellum;
• Barrel length - 114 mm;
• Overall length - 186 mm;
• Weight without clip - 0.625 kg;
• Weight with a full magazine - 0.905 kg;
• The standard number of rounds is 17, but can be increased to 33;
• The initial speed of the bullet is 375 meters per second;
• The maximum sighting range is 50 meters.

In general, for 1980, in terms of its characteristics, the Glock was one of the best.

Used ammunition

The Glock 17 uses the 9×19 mm Parabellum cartridge, which was developed back in 1902 by the Austrian gunsmith, the legendary Georg Luger, who used the projectile in his pistol of the same name. After the cartridge was adopted by the German Navy in 1904, it still remains relevant. At the moment, it is interesting not only to the NATO bloc, but also to the Russian Federation, whose gunsmiths are modifying Parabellum.

According to its design, the ammunition is a shortened cartridge case from 7.65 × 21 mm Parabellum. So it does not have a bottle-type shape, but a cylinder. The energy of the bullet is enough to inflict serious injury on a person, but not kill him. Therefore, Glock is used by the police and special services, who must stop the criminal and not bring the matter to a lethal outcome. Of course, the cartridge is not enough to break through a bulletproof vest, however, the resulting shock wave may well knock a person down.

Other ammo:

1. Cartridge 10 mm Auto. It was developed specifically for FBI agents, had a caliber of 10.16 mm, was used in modifications under the index 20, 29, 40. It has great lethal power, as a result of which it was necessary to abandon the use of these cartridges when training cadets;
2. Cartridge .40 S&W - quite popular in the USA, created in 1990. Caliber 10.16 mm, in fact, is an analogue of the 10 mm Auto cartridge, with reduced bullet energy;
3. The Glock 21 used the .45 ACP cartridge, developed at the beginning of the 20th century by Browning. In fact, this is a modernization of an even older .45 Colt cartridge. Caliber 11.51 mm;
4. Another cartridge designed by Browning, the .380 ACP 9mm, was used in the Glock 25;
5. In one of the current modifications under the index 31, the .357 SIG cartridge, developed in Switzerland, was used, caliber 9 mm.

Until now, Glock is being upgraded for various ammunition, which confirms its relevance in the world of weapons.

Glock pistol models

At the moment, the line has grown to a huge size, but we will list only the main models:

1. 17L is the very first modification of the main pistol, the only difference of which is the elongated barrel. Was established in 1988;
2. 18 - a specialized version for firing bursts;
3. 19 is a more compact model. Has a short barrel 102 mm (original version - 114 mm). Until 1990, this modification had a Compact postscript, which was eventually abandoned;
4. 20 - this sample differs in that it was created specifically for the 10 mm Auto cartridge, and also has an enlarged magazine and a built-in compensator;
5. 21 - it is often thought that this is a special Glock model for 45 caliber, however, the .45 ACP cartridge, contrary to its name, has a caliber of 11.51 mm. Clip increased to 15 charges;
6. 22 - a model that was specially created in order to be used by the FBI. This option was created under caliber 40 S&W. Created back in 1990, the model is still relevant, and at the moment there is no news that service weapons will be changed in this US government agency;
7. 34 - one of the best modifications, which has an elongated barrel, has an increased accuracy of fire. In fact, this model was created in Austria specifically in order to be exported. And now the US police are armed with it, in almost all of its structures, as well as in Chile and Malaysia;
8. 39 is the penultimate sample of Glock, which is a shortened and reduced modification of it. In general, now there is a tendency to create from the Glock, which is already a small pistol, some kind of "ladies' weapon" of a completely miniature look.

Almost all options are export goods, which are developed under the order of other states.

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And a little about the gun...

One of the features of the Glock is its ability to fire under water when retrofitting the pistol with a special reinforced return spring. This effect is achieved due to the strength of the barrel and simple and reliable automation that does not use complex gas exhaust systems, and replacing the standard return spring with a reinforced one allows you to return the bolt back to the firing position even with a significantly increased environmental resistance. The practical value of this ability is not great - this is due to the fact that in water the energy of the bullet is very quickly extinguished due to the high density of the medium, and the effective firing range does not exceed 1-2 meters. But despite the low effectiveness of the pistol in this situation, the very presence of this ability indicates the high reliability and wear resistance of components and mechanisms, the preservation of the combat capability of the Glock in conditions of any, arbitrarily high humidity, and even the ability to fire when there is water, which in many other models of pistols can lead to barrel deformation or serious damage to the components and assemblies of the weapon.

There is a widespread misconception that due to the widespread use of polymers in the design of the Glock-17 pistol, it is not detected by metal detectors. In reality, this is not at all the case. This misconception was personally refuted by Gaston Glock, when he passed through the frame of a metal detector several times with a pistol, 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 grams.

There is a myth about the high fragility of pistols in this series: supposedly if you drop a pistol on a hard surface, it can split or crack. The falsity of this myth is easily refuted: just look at the conditions for passing the competition, formulated by the Austrian army, for a new pistol. Among others, there is an item - without consequences for combat capability and spontaneous shots, withstand a fall, onto a metal plate, from a height of 2 meters. If the pistol did not meet this requirement, it would not have won the competition.
In fact, cracks and deformations of plastic components can occur under mechanical stress, but usually at temperatures below -40 ° C or under severe mechanical stress, which would lead to deformation and destruction of pistols made of conventional materials.

In modern films, the Glock-17 and its modifications often flash. It was not without myths.
For example, "Die Hard 2", where John McLain, played by Bruce Willis, after finishing off one of the villains, says after the fight at the airport:
“You see, this jerk had a Glock. A German china pistol that won't catch metal detectors and is worth more than your monthly salary."

There are 4 errors in this phrase alone:
1) the pistol is not German, but Austrian;
2) the design of the Glock pistol does not include porcelain (?!)
3) "Glock-17" is perfectly visible on the metal detector;
4) Glock pistols are relatively cheap.

Many heroes of Hollywood films were armed with Glock-17 pistols: Michael Douglas (“Basic Instinct”), Tommy Lee Jones (“The Fugitive”), Denzel Washington (“Virtuosity”), Arnold Schwarzenegger (“Eraser”), etc.

Advantages:
* High resistance to corrosion, thanks to the use of a special patented by Glock technology for processing trunks and a large number of polymer parts.
* Smooth recoil and high accuracy of fire, thanks to the use a large number polymer parts.
* Less than pistols of a similar class, weight due to the manufacture of the body and frame of the pistol from plastic.
* High wear resistance of units and mechanisms. The barrel before burning out allows you to make 300-350 thousand shots (for other pistols, on average, this value is 40-50 thousand shots).
* Bringing into combat position does not require switching any fuse.
* Declared by the manufacturer, the possibility of firing in the aquatic environment without damaging the gun when changing the return spring.
* The gun can be easily disassembled for cleaning and maintenance without the use of special equipment.

Flaws
* The small area of ​​the guides becomes the reason for their relatively rapid wear, which leads to the appearance of lateral play in the shutter casing, and as a result, to a decrease in the accuracy of fire.
* There is a possibility that when carried in a pocket for a long time without regular maintenance, small debris can jam the firing pin release lever, making it impossible to fire. But they believe that this event is too unlikely to affect the actual combat capability of the pistol.
*Due to use polymer materials The Glock becomes more brittle at temperatures below -40 °C, which can lead to cracks in the receiver and frame under mechanical stress. At high temperatures - over 200 ° C - deformation of the plastic components of the gun may occur. In the technical recommendations of the Glock company, the operating temperature range is specified from -40 to 200 ° C, the use of a pistol outside this temperature range can lead to failure of its main components and structural components

Therefore, the Glock-17 can be effectively used in almost all climatic zones, with the exception of the far north and areas with a sharply continental climate, where air temperatures can drop below -40 °C. Due to the wide use of polymers, this model is not afraid of the traditionally dangerous for pistols high humidity, dust, jungle and rainforests. But at low temperatures, the plastic frame of the pistol turns from an advantage into a disadvantage.

What models were produced and produced by the company:

* Glock 17L - the target version of the model with an extended barrel, appeared in 1988.
* Glock 17C - a modification equipped with a compensator cut in the barrel and casing.
* Glock 17R is a version of the pistol with a red plastic body.
* Glock 17T - blue body variant.
* Glock 18 - a modification adapted for firing bursts.
* Glock 19 is a compact model with a short barrel (102 mm). Initially called Glock 17 Compact, since 1990 it has acquired the current designation.
* Glock 20 - modification of the "Glock-17" chambered for 10 mm Auto, has a magazine for 15 rounds and a built-in compensator.
* Glock 21 - modification chambered for .45 ACP (colt 45 caliber), in this regard, it has a number of design differences. The profile of the barrel has changed, which has become octagonal with right-hand cutting, the magazine capacity has decreased to 13 rounds.
* Glock 22 - modification chambered for .40 SW. This model was released in 1990. In May 1997, this model was adopted by the FBI as a service weapon. It is a standard weapon for duty officers.
* Glock 23 - represents a shortened version of the "Glock-22", is a regular weapon of operational staff.
* Glock 24 - is a target modification of the Glock-22 with an elongated barrel and increased accuracy of fire.
* Glock 25 - is a modification of the model "Glock-17" chambered for 9 mm "Browning short", a compact low-power weapon of civilian self-defense. First introduced general public in 1995.
* Glock 26 - a compact version of the Glock-17 with a magazine capacity of 10 rounds and a weapon length of 160 mm.
* Glock 27 - compact modification chambered for .40 SW. In many ways, it resembles the Glock-26, but has a 9-round magazine due to the somewhat thicker ammunition used.
* Glock 28 - a compact modification of the Glock-25.
* Glock 29 - a compact version of the Glock-20 with a magazine capacity of 10 rounds.
* Glock 30 - a compact version of the Glock-21 model.
* Glock 31/31C - modification of the original model chambered for .357 SIG.
* Glock 32 / 32C - a slightly shorter version of the Glock 31 pistol with a smaller magazine.
* Glock 33 - a significantly shortened and reduced modification of the Glock-31, positioned as an ultra-compact pistol.
* Glock 34 - is a target modification of the Glock-17 pistol with an elongated barrel and increased accuracy of fire. Introduced to the public in 1998.
* Glock 35 - is a target modification of the Glock-22 pistol, has an increased accuracy of fire, is specially designed for clay target shooting and personnel training. Introduced to the public in 1998.
* Glock 36 - is a compact modification of the Glock-21 model, the magazine capacity is only 6 rounds, due to their single-row arrangement it has a small thickness, which facilitates covert carrying.

It remains to be glad for the special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
And sympathize with the Russian gunsmiths.