H&K G11: The Rare Caseless Assault Rifle That Never Was, with firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson

Video Description

In this episode of #WhatisthisWeapon?, Jonathan takes a deep dive into one of the most ambitious, futuristic rifles ever conceived: the Heckler & Koch G11. Designed with caseless ammunition and a high rate of fire, the G11 looked like something out of a science fiction movie, but it never made it to the battlefield. This episode is also in collaboration with World of Guns, where you can get your digital hands on this intricate firearm and truly understand the details of space magic... Download it here: Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nobleempire.wog Apple: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/world-of-guns-gun-disassembly/id1033160159 Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/262410/World_of_Guns_Gun_Disassembly/ 0:00 Cold Open 0:35 Intro 7:39 How does it Work? 28:05 Practical Demonstration 31:52 A 'Brief' History of the G11 1:15:40 Outro Sources and References: The Armourer’s Bench (K1) https://armourersbench.com/2017/11/19/an-introduction-to-the-heckler-koch-g11/ https://armourersbench.com/2018/11/23/stripping-the-hk-g11/ https://armourersbench.com/2018/02/18/advanced-combat-rifle-prototypes/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ooe6OaKzM Forgotten Weapons (K2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGKcvM2Hh4g Wooden Mockup (Prototype 5 pattern) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdpRZqA8I6I Wolfgang Seel, ‘Die G11 Story: Die Entwicklungsgeschichte einer High-Tech-Waffe’ (Journal Verlag Schwend, 1993). Manfred Kersten and Walter Schmidt, ‘HK: Heckler and Koch: Die Offizielle Geschichte der Oberndorfer Firma Heckler und Koch’ (Verlag Weispfennig, 2001), pp.186-207. Patents The longitudinally split design; https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/005882049/publication/US4024792A?q=4024792 The final (first prototype, vertically revolving breech cylinder) design; https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/005958593/publication/US4078327A The butt pressure valve; https://patents.justia.com/patent/4078327 Subscribe to our channel for more videos about arms and armour Help us bring history to life by supporting us here: https://royalarmouries.org/support-us/donations/ Sign up to our museum membership scheme here: https://royalarmouries.org/support-us/membership/ ⚔Website: https://royalarmouries.org/home ⚔Blog: https://royalarmouries.org/stories/ ⚔Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArmouriesMuseum/ ⚔Twitter: https://twitter.com/Royal_Armouries ⚔ Instagram: http://instagram.com/royalarmouriesmuseum We are the Royal Armouries, the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Discover what goes on behind the scenes and watch our collection come to life. See combat demonstrations, experience jousting and meet our experts. Have a question about arms and armour? Feel free to leave us a comment and we'll do our best to answer it.