The G11 was a experimental weapons project started by Mauser GmbH. It was later taken over by Heckler und Koch GmbH.
The G11 project was unique in that it fired caseless rounds.
The original G11 was produced by Mauser.
Very little is known about the Mauser G11 whatsoever, other than it was designed in the 70's, it was chambered to fire a 4.75mm caseless round from ten-round magazines and had a muzzle velocity of 1000 metres per second. The rate of fire is thought to be around 1500 rounds per minute.
Later models were produced by Heckler and Koch.
These models were all essentially different takes on the same design. The K (Kurz) models were shorter, carbine variants of the P (Prototype) models.
Light machine gun, submachine gun and pistol variants were also made.
The LMG 11 was the light machine gun variant. It had a larger magazine capacity and a bigger stock.
The SMG 11 was the submachine gun variant. It never had an official name. It was desinged to fire a 9mm caseless round, which was never produced.
The NBW (or Nahbereichswaffe, literally "close-up weapon") was the pistol variant. It is often (incorrectly) called the 'G11 PDW', when in actual fact it was never intended to be a PDW. It was chambered to fire a smaller cartridge than the regular G11's, few of which were ever produced, and the NBW itself never existed in working form. The NBW, along with the SMG and LMG variants, were quickly abandoned.
The whole G11 project was abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Additional Notes[]
- The G11 K2 appeared in popular videogame Call of Duty: Black Ops, simply named 'G11' in-game.