Heckler & Koch FABARM FP6

The Heckler & Koch Fabarm FP6 is a pump-action combat shotgun that was manufactured by the Italian firearms company Fabbrica Bresciana Armi S.p.A. (FABARM) and merchandised by Heckler & Koch. It was intended for civilian and law enforcement use.

History

Upon severing business association with Benelli in 1998, Heckler & Koch replaced their entire line of shotguns with those manufactured by FABARM. The line featured hunting and sport shotguns in over-and-under, side-by-side, semi-automatic autoloaders and pump shotguns including youth models. For military, law enforcement and home defense use, H&K released four variants of the FP6 model.

Design details

The machined receiver is manufactured from lightweight Ergal 55 alloy and is drilled and tapped for scope mounting. Three of the four variants were sold with an attached Picatinny rail for mounting optics or accessories and the bottom forward edge of the forend is also drilled to accept an accessory rail. With the exception of the short-barreled model, FABARM shotguns are sold with their Tribore barrel which is a deep-drilled, machined barrel with three separate internal bore profiles. Beginning at the chamber and forcing cone, the bore is enlarged to .7401" to soften recoil while the second profile is in the middle of the barrel gradually choking down to .7244" to emulate a cylinder bore profile to increase velocity. The final bore is the FABARM choke system which consists of standard choking followed by a cylinder profile at the muzzle which serves to improve shot patterns and distribution. The muzzle is threaded to accept one of five different chokes or a muzzle brake/compensator. Some models were sold with a ventilated barrel shroud.

Heckler & Koch

Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK) (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛklɐʔʊntˈkɔx]) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, military rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf in the state of Baden-Württemberg, and also has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

The Heckler & Koch Group comprises Heckler & Koch GmbH, Heckler & Koch Defense, NSAF Ltd., and Heckler & Koch France SAS. The company motto is "Keine Kompromisse!" (No Compromise!). HK provides firearms for many military and paramilitary units, like the Special Air Service, U.S. Navy SEALs, Delta Force, FBI HRT, the German KSK and GSG 9 and many other counter-terrorist and hostage rescue teams.

Their products include the MP5 SMG, the G3 battle rifle, the HK33, G36, HK416 assault rifles, the Heckler & Koch HK21 general-purpose machine gun, the MP7 PDW, the UMP SMG, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision PSG1 sniper rifle. All firearms made by HK are named by a prefix and the official designation, with suffixes used for variants.

Heckler & Koch HK33

The HK33 is a 5.56mm assault rifle developed in the 1960s by West German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K), primarily for export.

Capitalizing on the success of their G3 design, the company developed a family of small arms (all using the G3 operating principle and basic design concept) consisting of four types of firearms: the first type, chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, the second—using the Soviet 7.62×39mm M43 round, third—the intermediate 5.56×45mm caliber and the fourth type—chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge.

The HK33 series of rifles were adopted by the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira or FAB), the armed forces of Thailand and Malaysia where they were produced under a license agreement. The rifle was also license-built in France by MAS and in Turkey by MKEK.

Design details

Operating mechanism

The HK33 is a selective fire weapon with Heckler & Koch's roller-delayed blowback system of operation. It employs a two-piece bolt consisting of a bolt head with a pair of rollers and bolt carrier. Upon firing, the two cylindrical rollers in the bolt head are cammed inward by inclined surfaces of the barrel extension and impart a rearward motion on the locking piece, which also propels the bolt carrier rearward. This built-in mechanical disadvantage delays the movement of the bolt head relative to the bolt carrier which is withdrawing at four times the velocity of the bolt. The rollers soon compress entirely into the bolt head, clearing the locking recesses of the barrel extension, and both parts now continue rearward together, opening the breech and actuating the extraction and feeding cycles. The chamber is opened under very high pressure, thus the chamber received a series of flutes in order to increase extraction reliability and prevent sticking of the spent casing to the chamber walls.

Heckler & Koch HK43

The Heckler and Koch HK43 is a semi-automatic rifle based upon the Heckler & Koch HK33 assault rifle and is the predecessor of the Heckler & Koch HK93 semi-automatic rifle.

Overview

In the mid to late 1960s, Heckler & Koch developed the HK33, which was a scaled-down version of the Heckler & Koch G3, but chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO. The HK33 entered production in 1968. In 1974, a semi-automatic version of the HK33 was introduced by H&K and was designated the HK43. According to H&K’s numbering nomenclature, the “4” indicates that the weapon is a paramilitary rifle, and the “3” indicates that the caliber is .223.

A HK43 version KA1 with a shorter 322 mm barrel was used in 1977 by the German RAF terrorist group to assassinate general attorney Siegfried Buback and two policemen .

Today, an original HK43 can sell for around $5000 due to rarity. HK43s were sold with 25-round steel magazines. Of the approximately 377 HK43s produced, it is estimated that about 200 were imported by SACO into the U.S in 1974.