Glock

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Glock

Glock GmbH (trademarked as GLOCK) is a weapons manufacturer headquartered in Deutsch-Wagram

Deutsch-Wagram

Deutsch-Wagram is a city in Austria in the federal state of Lower Austria. It lies 15 km northeast of Vienna and has a population of 6,808 as of the 2001 census....
, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
. Glock was named after its founder, Gaston Glock

Gaston Glock

Gaston Glock is an Austrian engineer, and founder of firearms company Glock. The Glock "safe-action" pistol is well-regarded and has often been copied by other companies....
. The company is best known for its line of striker

Firing pin

A firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14_mine landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point....
-fired polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. While polymer in popular usage suggests plastic, the term actually refers to a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a variety of properties....
-framed

Receiver (firearms)

In firearms terminology, the receiver is the part of a firearm that houses the operating parts. It is sometimes called the body of the firearm, and especially in the context of handguns it is often called the frame....
pistols. Glock also currently produces equipment such as field knives

Knife

A knife is a handheld sharp-edged instrument consisting of a handle attached to a blade that is used for cutting. Knives were used at least Stone Age, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools....
and entrenching tool

Entrenching tool

An Entrenching tool or E-tool, is a collapsible spade used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, campers, hikers and other outdoors groups have found it to be indispensable in field use....
s as well as sponsor a competitive shooting team that travels around the world promoting the company.

The Glock handguns are in use by a majority of US and international law enforcement agencies and military personnel.

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Encyclopedia

Glock GmbH (trademarked as GLOCK) is a weapons manufacturer headquartered in Deutsch-Wagram

Deutsch-Wagram

Deutsch-Wagram is a city in Austria in the federal state of Lower Austria. It lies 15 km northeast of Vienna and has a population of 6,808 as of the 2001 census....
, Austria

Austria

Gaston Glock

Firing pin

Polymer

Receiver (firearms)

Knife

Entrenching tool

Glock pistol

Glock is the name of a family of pistols designed and produced by the Austrian company Glock of Deutsch-Wagram, founded in 1963 by engineer Gaston Glock to manufacture high-strength synthetic and steel components....
. The US-led Multi National Force-Iraq has equipped the Iraqi military and the Iraqi National Police

Iraqi Police

The Iraqi Police Service are the uniformed Territorial police force responsible for the Law enforcement of civil law within Iraq. The current organisation, structure and recruitment practice was guided by the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 invasion of Iraq....
with Glock sidearms

Side arm

A side arm is a firearm, usually a pistol, which is worn on the body in a holster to permit immediate access and use. A side arm is typically required equipment for Police personnel and military personnel....
.

History

Founded in 1963, Glock started out as a manufacturer of curtain rods before branching out into the arms industry in the 1970s, manufacturing machine gun belts

Belt (firearm)

A belt is a device that holds cartridge adjacent to each other in a single row for feeding into a firearm, typically a machine gun. The belt itself only serves to link the cartridges together so that they may be fired in a uniform manner; it does not perform the feeding of the firearm....
, practice hand grenade

Hand grenade

A hand grenade is an anti-personnel weapon that explodes a short time after release. The word "grenade" is derived from the French word for pomegranate, as shrapnel reminded soldiers of the seeds....
s, plastic magazines, field knives

Combat knife

A combat knife is a large knife designed for military or paramilitary use. A common misconception is that "combat knives" are specialized for close combat....
, and entrenching tool

Entrenching tool

Military of Austria

The current name of the Military of Austria is ?sterreichs Bundesheer . The main branches are the Land Forces , Austrian Air Force , Mission Support , International Missions , Command Support and Special Forces ....
. When, in the early 1980s, the Austrian Army requested a pistol model, Glock responded with the Glock 17, a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol

Semi-automatic self-loading pistol

A semi-automatic pistol is a type of handgun that can be fired in semi-automatic firearm mode, firing one cartridge for each pull of the trigger....
. (The 17 was so-named because it was Gaston Glock's seventeenth patent.) The Austrian Army adopted the Glock 17

Glock pistol

Norwegian Army

The Norwegian Army is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the Norwegian military....
adopting the model two years later. One year later, Glock Inc. was established in the US in Smyrna, Georgia

Smyrna, Georgia

Smyrna is a city in Cobb County, Georgia , United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 40,999. Census estimates of 2007 indicate a population of 49,534....
. In the next few years, Glock expanded its 9 mm product line, developing the select-fire Glock 18

Glock pistol

Glock is the name of a family of pistols designed and produced by the Austrian company Glock of Deutsch-Wagram, founded in 1963 by engineer Gaston Glock to manufacture high-strength synthetic and steel components....
in 1988. In 1990 Glock became the first manufacturer to offer models chambered for the .40 S&W

.40 S&W

The .40 S&W is a Rim pistol Cartridge developed jointly by U.S. Repeating Arms Company and Smith & Wesson, two famous American firearms manufacturers....
cartridge

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and Percussion cap into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm....
, the Glock 22

Glock pistol

Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States of America. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts....
to the marketplace with pistols for their own cartridge.

Products

Handguns

Glock handguns are common sidearms among law enforcement agencies and military organizations around the world. The popularity of Glock pistols can be attributed to a number of factors. They are said to be very reliable, being able to function under extreme conditions and to fire a wide range of ammunition types. The simplicity of the Glock design contributes to this reliability, as it contains a relatively small number of components (nearly half as many as the typical handgun) making maintenance and repair easier.

The polymer frame makes them lighter than typical steel or aluminum-framed handguns, which is attractive to police officers and civilians who carry firearms for extended periods of time. Glock pistols do not have any external controls such as levers, decockers, or manual safeties (stock). This adds to the simplicity of use and removes a potential source of error when operating the handgun under stress. Most of the steel components in a Glock pistol are treated with a nitriding

Nitridization

Nitridization, also known as nitriding, is a process which introduces nitrogen into the surface of a material. It is used in metallurgy, for example, for case hardening treatment of the steel surface....
process called "Tenifer

Tenifer

Tenifer is a trademarked name for the end result of a chemical bath nitriding process that embeds nitrogen into an iron-containing alloy to create a corrosion-resistant finish that is a dull grey in color and extremely hard....
", which increases the surface hardness and makes the weapon resistant to corrosion and wear.

The popularity of Glock pistols inspired other manufacturers to begin production of similar polymer-framed firearms, including the Springfield Armory XD

Springfield Armory XD

The Springfield Armory XD is a semi-automatic pistol manufactured in the city of Karlovac by HS Produkt , and licensed and sold in the United States by Springfield Armory, Inc....
, Steyr MA1, Smith & Wesson M&P

Smith & Wesson M&P

The Smith & Wesson Model 10, previously known as the Smith & Wesson Military & Police, and for those produced during World War II, the Smith & Wesson Victory Model, is a .38-caliber, six-shot handgun initially developed in 1899 as the Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector model....
, and Walther P99

Walther P99

The P99 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the Germany company Walther arms of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a replacement for the Walther P5 and the Walther P88....
pistols. Glocks tend to be in the middle of the price range for quality pistols: generally less expensive than similar SIG Sauer and Heckler & Koch USP

Heckler & Koch USP

The USP is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch of Oberndorf am Neckar as a replacement for the expensive and somewhat complex Heckler & Koch P7 series of handguns....
pistol models, but more expensive than Ruger

Sturm, Ruger

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated is a Fairfield, Connecticut-based firearm manufacturing company, better known as just Ruger. Sturm, Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-automatic, full-automatic, and single-shot rifles; shotguns; semi-automatic pistols; and single-action and double-action revolvers....
or Taurus

Taurus (manufacturer)

Forjas Taurus S/A is a manufacturing conglomerate based in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Beginning as a tool and die manufacturer, the company now consists of divisions focusing on firearms, metals manufacturing, plastics, body armor, helmets, and civil construction....
models.

Knives

Glock currently manufactures two models of knives. The Field Knife 78 is a classic knife, with a 6.5 inch (165 mm) blade and 11.4 inch (290 mm) overall length. The Survival Knife 81 has the same overall dimensions with an additional saw on the back of the blade. Both knives are phosphate-treated and have a Glock-polymer sheath and are available in olive, tan, and black.

Subsidiaries

Glock current international subsidiaries are:

Glock America N.V. (Uruguay)
Glock France S.A.
Glock, Inc. (U.S.A.)
Glock (H.K.) Ltd. (Hong Kong)

Literature

Boatman, Robert H. Living With Glocks : The Complete Guide to the New Standard in Combat Handguns . Paladin Press, Boulder. 2002. ISBN 1-58160-340-1.
Kasler, Peter Alan. Glock : The New Wave In Combat Handguns. Paladin Press, Boulder. 1992. ISBN 0-87364-649-5.
Sweeney, Patrick. The Gun Digest Book of the Glock: A Comprehensive Review : Design, History, Use. Krause Publications, Iola. 2003. ISBN 0-87349-558-6.
Sweeney, Patrick. The Gun Digest Book of the Glock, 2nd edition Gun Digest Books, Iola. 2008. ISBN 0-89689-642-0.
Taylor, Robin. The Glock In Competition, 2nd edition. Taylor Press, Bellingham. 2005. ISBN 0-9662517-4-1.

Glock

History

Products

Handguns

Knives

Subsidiaries

Literature

External links