James Bond's gun maker set to buy Heckler & Koch

The Independent ^ | December 1 2002 | David Brierley

[knighthawk]

BAE Systems is poised to sell Heckler & Koch, its German handgun and rifle maker. The sale is awaiting formal approval from the US and UK defence ministries, both of which are Heckler & Koch customers.

The purchaser is a German investor group headed by Umarex, which owns CarlWalther, maker of the legendary Walther PPK handgun favoured by James Bond.

Heckler & Koch makes the G36 rifle used by the German, Spanish and British armies. It also supplies special forces such as the SAS and its German equivalent, GSG-9, with handguns and machine guns.

The British army accounts for around one-fifth of Heckler & Koch's sales.

Based in south-west Germany and employing around 500 people, Heckler & Koch is believed to have sales of some £90m. While the company might fetch a similar amount, BAE Systems has had some difficulty finding a buyer. A sale to US gun- maker Colt fell through.

Phil Soucy, a spokesman for BAE, admitted: "It has been thought for some time that it does not form part of our strategy. It is a profitable business that's very much at the top end of the gun market."

BAE Systems has a strategy of concentrating on "hi-tech" weapons systems. Heckler & Koch manufactures machine guns, hand guns and grenade launchers, as well as rifles.

The MP5, frequently used by special forces, has become the world's most popular submachine gun, while the HK P7 is one of the world's most famous handguns.

The Mark 23 handgun is used by the US Navy Seals and US Army Special Operations Command. Heckler & Koch enjoys a strong reputation for product development. Its latest weapons are made almost entirely of high-strength polymers.

Heckler & Koch has been involved in the controversy surrounding the SA-80 assault rifle used by the British Army. It was asked to help upgrade the rifle, manufactured by British Ordnance, after it jammed repeatedly in the Gulf War. However, there have been recent reports of the upgraded SA-80 A2 failing in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

[demlosers]

My memory may be wrong here, but I believe I read that Ian Flemming, who was not exactly an expert on firearms, changed Bond's gun from a Beretta to a Walther...

Every Bond movie that I can remember is Bond has a Walther PPK.

[wku man]

Gotcha...guess I was out of the loop on that one. Thanks for catching me up, bro.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[xm177e2]

Yeah, he was using a USP9 (maybe a USP9 compact) and then he switched to the Walther P99 (or maybe the Smith & Wesson one, which is the same exact thing). It's good to see him going back to Carl Walther...

[xm177e2]

The explanation I heard for the increase in the price of HK weapons is the increase in value of the DM--P7s went from $500 to $1,000 in a short period of time, and HK was unable to compete in the law enforcement market.

[AlaskaErik]

(although the USPs I think have become a bit overpriced since I bought mine).

Yes, HK is a bit expensive today, but what is the value of a life? Especially yours or a loved ones. My HK fits my hand better than any other pistol I have ever tried, and it has never failed once. Being in LE, I have made my share of enemies and had my share of threats. When I carry my HK, one thing I don't worry about is the reliability of my weapon.

[Joe 6-pack]

Movies aside, Fleming's literary Bond preferred the 7.65 (.32 ACP) Walther PPK. IMHO, Fleming, while always a, "gadgets guy," (FYI, he also authored, 'Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang') was not a firearms expert, and after choosing a simple, effective firearm for Bond, preferred to emmphasize Bond's creativity and ruthlessness to see him through his adventures rather than dwell on his choice of firearm.

Subsequent authors, John Gardner and Raymond Benson, have chosen updated arms for Bond, I think, more to keep him current than anything else.

A good source of info can be foun here.

[Cobra64]

Thanks. An excellent "leg up" on the history of 007 and Fleming.

[RogueIsland]

Every Bond movie that I can remember is Bond has a Walther PPK.

In Dr. No, I believe he trades the Beretta in for the Walther. Big scene about the whole thing, with some nonsense about the PPK having a "delivery like a brick through a plate-glass window". I think they were talking about the .32 PPK at the time too.

He's had a lot of different guns in the movies. He's even had a revolver or two.

[Atlas Sneezed]

It's a Walther (S&W) P99 Bond uses these days.

[glc1173@aol.com]

"The explanation I heard for the increase in the price of HK weapons is the increase in value of the DM--P7s went from $500 to $1,000 in a short period of time, and HK was unable to compete in the law enforcement market."

If so, Walthers would be similarly unaffordable - and it's not just coproduction with S&W that's saved their butt. Look at the design of the P7 - and compare it to the design of a 1911 or other recoil-operated semiauto pistol. Still wonder why one's not competitive on the shelf?

I think H&K basically abandoned the private sector - and even most of the nonfederal police market. Why did they quit simpler guns - like the P4 and P9 - that would have kept them competitive?

[Tailback]

Good, HK and it's stupid system of "approved factory distributors" dies a well deserved death. Maybe now they'll have something called "customer service."

[China Clipper]

Actually, in Dr No, Bond was told to "turn over" his Beretta for a Walther PPK. He tried to "keep it", but his boss made him turn it in. The Walter PPK is a 9 mm (corso)-also known as .380 Cal.

BTW, if it makes any difference, the Sig Sauer 232 is a much better pistol, not only by my opinion but apparently many others as well.

[harpseal]

My experience is admittedly ancient history but occaisionally I get to speak to some of the current operators who pass through a port nearby. The choice of sidearm is the P220 or the M1911-A1 but the H&K is used for some specific tasks and is SOCOM's choice. For something nondescript and absolutely untraceable that does the jopb well The CZ-75 in .45acp (if appropriate - 9mm if social situation says no to .45) provides something that does not scream NATO.

Just what I have heard.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Travis McGee]

Different SEAL teams use at least 5 handguns as far as I know.

[Travis McGee]

We independently reached the same conclusion.

[Cobra64]

Thanks for the clarification. I had a Browning .380 when I was in college in the early 1970s. Stupid me, I sold it. Browning only makes .22s now. I have about 2,00 rounds of .380 ammo. You think the Sig is the best bet? , or maybe Mauser also made a .380. Do they still mfr. that caliber?

[GunRunner]

Bond carried a Beretta .25 at the beginning of Dr. No. In his first briefing with M, he was forced to give up the Beretta (which he'd used for 10 years and hadn't missed with) because it jammed on him on his last mission and he spent weeks recovering from a gunshot wound. Boothroyd (Q) supplied him with a Walther PPK 7.65 mm that supposedly had "a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window", whatever that means. He used the PPK all the way up until halfway through Tomorrow Never Dies, at which point he got the new Walther P99 from Wai Lin's apartment in Saigon.

The Bond movies are notoriously inaccurate when it comes to firearms, and later in Dr. No he can be seen using an FN 1910 md. 32 in the scene where he waits for Professor Dent. In the newest flick, Die Another Day, the inaccuracies continue when Bond is supposedly fooled when the double agent he was sleeping with unloaded his P99 without him knowing it, setting him up for capture later in the scene. I don't know about you, but I can definitely tell whether a 9mm is fully loaded or not if I pick it up, and for someone who is supposedly a firearms expert, Bond should have known as well.

[harpseal]

When I talk to some of the young men on the teams, I get the impression that they almost think that when we were active the equipment consisted of matchlocks and cutlasses and the sidearms we carried resembled those on the Naval Special warfare badge.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Travis McGee]

We know better. It ain't the gun, it's the man behind it.

[glc1173@aol.com]

"I had a Browning .380 when I was in college in the early 1970s. Stupid me, I sold it. Browning only makes .22s now. I have about 2,00 rounds of .380 ammo. You think the Sig is the best bet? , or maybe Mauser also made a .380. Do they still mfr. that caliber?"

The ammo is better than ever - some damn great JHPs like Speer Gold Dot. Sig makes a damn great Sig P232 in .380 that - while superficially externally resembling a PPK - has a drastically better DA trigger. As for the old Browning you sold, they still are common at shows - at reasonable price.