Info :
Type : Semi-automatic/Automatic pistol
Place of origin : Austria
In service : 1982–present
Designer : Gaston Glock
Designed : 1979–82
Produced : 1982–present
Number built : 5,000,000 as of 2007
Cartridge : 9×19mm Parabellum ,10mm Auto ,.45 ACP, .40 S&W , .380 ACP, .357 SIG, .45 GAP
Effective firing range : 50 m (55 yd)
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| Glock-21 (HD Pic) |
Despite initial resistance from the market to accept a "plastic gun" due to durability and reliability concerns, and fears that the pistol would be "invisible" to metal detectors in airports, Glock pistols have become the company's most profitable line of products, commanding 65% of the market share of handguns for United States law enforcement agencies as well as supplying numerous national armed forces and security agencies worldwide. Glocks are also popular firearms amongst civilians for recreational/competition shooting, home/self defense and concealed/open carry
History :
The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearm design or manufacture at the time their first pistol, the Glock 17, was being prototyped. Glock did, however, have extensive experience in advanced synthetic polymers, knowledge of which was instrumental in the company's design of the first commercially successful line of pistols with a polymer frame. Glock introduced ferritic nitrocarburizing into the firearms industry as an anti-corrosion surface treatment for metal gun parts.
Development :
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| Modified Glock |
In 1980, the Austrian military announced that it would seek tenders for a new, modern duty pistol to replace their World War II-era Walther P38 handguns. The Austrian Ministry of Defence formulated a list of 17 criteria for the new generation service pistol.
Glock became aware of the Austrian Army's planned procurement and in 1982 assembled a team of Europe's leading handgun experts from military, police and civilian sport shooting circles to define the most desirable characteristics in a combat pistol. Within three months, Glock developed a working prototype that combined proven mechanisms and traits from previous pistol designs. The new weapon made extensive use of synthetic materials and modern manufacturing technologies in its design, making it a very cost-effective candidate. Several samples of the 9×19mm Glock 17 (so named because it was the 17th set of technical drawings of the company) were submitted for assessment trials in early 1982, and after passing all of the exhaustive endurance and abuse tests, Glock emerged as the winner with the Model 17.
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| Different Glock variants |
The handgun was adopted into service with the Austrian military and police forces in 1982 as the P80 (Pistole 80), with an initial order for 25,000 guns. The Glock 17 outperformed 8 different pistols from five other established manufacturers (Heckler & Koch of Germany offered their P7M8, P7M13 and P9S, SIG Sauer of Germany bid with their P220 and P226 models, Beretta of Italy submitted their model 92SB-F, FN Herstal proposed an updated variant of the Browning Hi-Power and the home-grown Steyr entered the competition with the GB).
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| Glock 26 Sub Compact Pistol |
The results of the Austrian trials sparked a wave of interest in Western Europe and overseas, particularly in the United States, where a similar effort to select a service-wide replacement for the M1911 had been ongoing since the late 1970s (known as the Joint Service Small Arms Program). In late 1983, the United States Department of Defense inquired about the Glock pistol and received four samples of the Glock 17 for unofficial evaluation. Glock was then invited to participate in the XM9 Personal Defense Pistol Trials, but declined because the DOD specifications would require extensive retooling of production equipment and providing 35 test samples in an unrealistic time frame
Shortly thereafter, the Glock 17 was accepted into service with the Norwegian, and Swedish Armed Forces, surpassing all prior NATO durability standards. As a result, the Glock 17 became a standard NATO-classified sidearm and was granted a NATO Stock Number (1005-25-133-6775).
By 1992, some 350,000 pistols had been sold in more than 45 countries, including 250,000 in the United States alone.
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