gatnerd said:

So thats a full 30 years of G3ing past when the US swapped out the M14 for an assault rifle. And while the US was slow to see the merits of the Assault Rifle, the Germans actually invented it, yet the W. Germans didnt issue one until 1997.The 1980 declaration of the Federal Republic of Germany, made after the NSMATCC evaluation, summarize this position: “FRG Position a) Will not field the second NATO round in either the individual weapon or light support weapon role but will adopt the G-11 circa 1987. The steel core SS109 type round as specified in NATO STANAG 4172 is too complicated and expensive for manufacture. b) FRG internal position of the test impact and FRG future rifle/machine gun plans are as follows: The NSMATCC evaluation weighted the 5.56 mm cartridge so heavily (because of its low weight and volume) that the 7.62mm cartridge was at disadvantage before the tests even started. However, the results of the shooting test have proven without doubt the superiority of the cal. 7.62mm and thus reinforce the FRG position that two calibres will be required

Hi Emeric,

your message text is somehow irritating the forum software and therefore only shown in small fragments outside the actual message area (on Firefox at least). 

I would hate to miss it. Could you please try again? It looks as if you copied/pasted a pre-formatted text that confuses the software.  Thanks a lot.

Yes something about that text has done something to the forum, text is now floating over and sideways to the post. 

I think I managed to copy most of Emerics info, I hope this works:

The 1980 declaration of the Federal Republic of Germany, made after the NSMATCC evaluation, summarize this position:

The NSMATCC evaluation weighted the 5.56 mm cartridge so heavily (because of its low weight and volume) that the 7.62mm cartridge was at disadvantage before the tests even started.

However, the results of the shooting test have proven without doubt the superiority of the cal. 7.62mm and thus reinforce the FRG position that two calibres will be required: for the infantry rifleman as small as possible within effective terminal ballistics limits and light machine gun in 7.62mm calibre.

In consequence, the only logical result is to take advantage of the G11 4.7mm caseless technology which reduces volume of the cartridge in comparison to 5.56mm by over one third and reduces weight by about one half. At the same time, the 4.7mm caseless ammunition, during side by side test with the SS109, shows equal test results as that

recommended for the SS109.

Thus, the final decision would be to complete development and produce the G11 to have it ready for mass production in 1985, for

eventual introduction into the FRG Armed Forces starting in 1987, continue with a light machinegun in calibre 7.62mm developing a caseless machinegun in that same calibre for MG / light machinegun utilization.”

gatnerd said:

I hope this works:

Yes it does. Thank you!

As you can bet, with this kind of official annoucement, Germany was not going to adopt the SS-109 until all the nails were put in the G11 coffin.

I think that's a good example of the difference between the US's view and the German's view on this topic.

The US wanted a "universal cartridge" for the squad, and the SS-109 was considered sufficient to deal with ligtly armored targets up to around 550 m.

For Germany, the 5.56 mm was not able to cover all the roles of the LMG, so 2 rounds were needed, and the 5.56 mm was "overpowered" for only "protecting the LMG".

EmericD said:

For Germany, the 5.56 mm was not able to cover all the roles of the LMG, so 2 rounds were needed, and the 5.56 mm was "overpowered" for only "protecting the LMG"

Thanks for sharing that info. Definitely a different perspective. 

Its a shame they didnt take a closer look at the Austrians, who also used the MG3, and then protected it with 5.56 AUGs.  Cold War 1984 goes hot, Austria really had the best mix of anyone - MG3's, AUGs, and Glock 17's. 

In terms of a less "overpowered" caliber, it would have been interesting had they pursued the 4.6x36 /HK36 more. Work on reducing bolt impact to improve FA contolability, bump capacity to 36-42 (something divisible by 3 for 3rd burst) and equip it with an optic. Could have been a low recoil, lightweight, 1200rpm 3rd burst launcher. 

Micro-calibers are very prone to the water in the bore problem, and the smaller the bore, the more serious is that problem

They also are very ineffective against improvised cover, such as walls, earth/sand berms etc

gatnerd said:

In terms of a less "overpowered" caliber, it would have been interesting had they pursued the 4.6x36 /HK36 more.

They did, but in a caseless form... the G11 was the "product improved" version of the HK36, with an even lighter round, a "less strange" magazine (still impractical because it was too long), and better full-auto stability.

If you want to revive the "micro caliber fever" of the 70s, you could reload a .17 WSM with a scaled-down "balle D", you will end with a 29 gr bullet with a C7 around 0.16 at a MV around 750 m/s.

"They did, but in a caseless form... the G11 was the "product improved" version of the HK36, with an even lighter round, a "less strange" magazine (still impractical because it was too long), and better full-auto stability."

Yes, its just it didn't work ;-) Of all the downsides to the G11, that ACR report is pretty damning - not only did it not improve hit probability at any distance, but it was markedly worse then a M16 with iron sights. 

Is there any indication of why both Germany and the US were so gung-ho on hyperburst? Had it worked well with test fixtures, and just not translated once put into the ACR trial with real guns? 

mpopenker said:

Micro-calibers are very prone to the water in the bore problem, and the smaller the bore, the more serious is that problem They also are very ineffective against improvised cover, such as walls, earth/sand berms et

Thats good to know. But the Germans did seem satisfied with the risk with the 4.73 for the G11, and I havent heard reports of the 4.6 MP7 having water logged bores? But perhaps thats because they've been deployed to the desert.