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Glock History |
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"The
Begining"
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GLOCK was founded by
Mr. Gaston Glock, an engineer, in 1963 in
Deutsch-Wagram, near Vienna, Austria to
specialize in the manufacture of plastic and steel components. GLOCK
quickly realized the desirability of combining plastic and steel,
particularly for military products, and began to supply the Austrian
Army with machine gun belts, practice hand grenades, plastic clips,
field knives and
entrenching tools.
In the early 1980s,
the Austrian military decided to acquire a new duty pistol asking
numerous famous local and foreign weapon manufacturers for their bids.
Due to GLOCK's excellent reputation with previous military contracts,
GLOCK was also invited to bid on this new contract. This was a new
challenge for the company, since pistols were not in its product line at
that time. However, the fact that GLOCK was a newcomer to this field
turned out to be an advantage. In this way, GLOCK was able to develop a
revolutionary new product according to the customer's needs, rather than
modify an already existing product.
The result was a
breakthrough in firearms technology. With its polymer frame, the GLOCK
pistol was considerably light in weight had the highest magazine
capacity of any other pistol in its class. The pistol did not have any
external safety lever, hammer, decocker, or any other operation controls
which must be deactivated prior to making the weapon ready to shoot. In
this way, the pistol was faster, simpler and safer to use than any other
pistol. The new pistol concept allowed the shooter to concentrate on
tactical considerations, rather than manipulation of levers or hammers
on the pistol. In short, the pistol combined two different systems – it
considered the
advantages
of the double-action revolver (simple to operate, reliable) and those of
the auto-loading pistol (maximum firepower, fast reloading). This was
the birth of the well-known
Safe-Action system. By merely pulling the trigger to the rear, the three
independent safeties (trigger safety,
firing pin safety
and
drop safety) are automatically deactivated and re-activated when the
trigger is released.
After an initial
development period, the first functioning prototype was ready for
operation. The design worked well and with only four additional
prototypes, production began for the
GLOCK 17.
Samples were submitted for the assessment trials of the Austrian Army
and, after passing all of the exhaustive endurance and abuse tests,
GLOCK emerged as the winner. Shortly thereafter, the GLOCK 17 pistol
became the standard duty weapon for the Austrian Army and law
enforcement authorities. The
advantages
of this advanced weapon generated worldwide interest, with Norway being
the first NATO member country to adopt the GLOCK 17 for their Army.
In 1985, an
important milestone was achieved with the establishment of GLOCK, Inc.,
in Smyrna, Georgia, to address the firearms market in the United States.
The so-called "wonder-nine"
GLOCK 17
met with immediate
approval and overwhelming acceptance in the law enforcement and civilian
markets.
The fast growing
market demanded new models – The
GLOCK 18
followed, a subcompact submachinegun based on the
GLOCK 17,
which is capable of semi-automatic or full-automatic firing through the
use of a selector switch. The weapon is capable of firing at a rate of
1.200 rounds per minute and was designed for use by special forces.
In
response to the demand for a more compact model, the
GLOCK 19 was developed in 1988. The pistol was designed with a 4-inch
barrel and shorter frame. With a magazine capacity of 15 rounds, the
GLOCK 19 had equivalent firepower with many of the full-size duty
pistols on the market at that time. The compact size and excellent
firepower again met the demand of the law enforcement and civilian
markets.
In addition to its excellent reputation for reliability,
safety simplicity of use as a law enforcement pistol, GLOCK
established itself in sport and combat shooting as a precise
"out-of-the-box" performer. The introduction of the
GLOCK 17L brought an affordable competition pistol with six inch
barrel and lighter trigger pull for increased accuracy.
The
success of the GLOCK pistol made it necessary to open a second
subsidiary in Hong Kong in 1988 to address the Asian and Australian
markets. Consequently, the production capacity was enlarged by a second
factory in Ferlach/Carinthia in Austria.
The
GLOCK 20 (
10mm auto)
and
GLOCK 21 (.45
auto)
were the next to be introduced. Together, these two pistols addressed
the needs of traditional big-bore .45 shooters, as well as those
desiring the high-velocity 10mm auto caliber. These pistol again proved
the durability and reliability of the GLOCK pistol design.
As
the ballistically powerful
.40 caliber
gained popularity in the United States, GLOCK recognized the importance
of this caliber and presented the
GLOCK 22
and
GLOCK 23 in 1990. In that same year, GLOCK South America was
established to address the South American and Caribbean markets. The
office is now located in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Due to the fact that in some countries it was forbidden to carry
pistols in military calibers and also for those customers desiring a
low-recoil pistol, the
GLOCK 25 in
.380 auto
were introduced in 1995. This model is compared in size to the
GLOCK 19,
but with a simple blow-back design for improved functioning.
The subcompact
GLOCK 26 (9mm)
and
GLOCK 27 (.40)
were designed to address the increased popularity of concealed carry
handguns. Introduced in 1996, these pistols had the potent combination
of high magazine capacity, "serious" calibers, precise accuracy and
minimal size and weight, which made these models an instant success.
The following year,
the
GLOCK 28 in
.380 caliber
was added to the line of subcompact pistols. GLOCK then continued its
penetration of the law enforcement and military markets with the
introduction of the
GLOCK 17T training pistol. The pistol fires color-marking and rubber
projectiles for "force-on-force" training and is identical in operation
with GLOCK live-fire pistols.
Two additional
models were developed in 1997 – As a continuation of the subcompact
series, the
GLOCK 29 (10mm
auto)
and
GLOCK 30 (.45
auto
)
followed. These pistols are comparable in size to the
GLOCK 19,
combining concealed carry with potent big-bore performance.
With the growing
popularity of the new "hot"
.357 auto caliber,
GLOCK decided to develop a whole new pistol family in this caliber. The
popular full-sized GLOCK pistol in this caliber was launched as the
GLOCK 31,
followed by the compact
GLOCK 32, and the subcompact
GLOCK 33.
Further innovations
were made in the same year by developing the IPSC-sized
GLOCK 34 in
9 mm
and the
GLOCK 35 in
.40 caliber
. With the
longer barrel, adjustable rear sights, extended slide stop lever,
extended magazine release and competition trigger, "practical-tactical"
pistols were introduced which served the needs of firearms competitors
as well as the needs of law enforcement and military tactical teams
where more precise shooting was desired.
In response to
consumer demand for a larger line of concealed carry pistols, in 1999,
GLOCK introduced a new concept with the "slim-line"
GLOCK 36. Chambered in
.45 auto,
the GLOCK 36 quickly became the first choice for a concealed carry
weapon.
The two-millionth GLOCK pistol to be produced by the GLOCK
factory was displayed at the 1999 Shot Show. The pistol was engraved "My
two millionth pistol" and was signed by the President, Mr. Gaston Glock.
This huge sales success is a testament to the popularity and
desirability of the GLOCK Safe Action Pistol design. Since a large part
of this success was due to the overwhelming acceptance by the law
enforcement market, this rare collectable was auctioned at the annual
conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in
Charlotte, North
Carolina. GLOCK matched the selling price and the proceeds were donated
to Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). COPS is an organization which
provides support to the families of law enforcement officers killed in
the line of duty.
The
GLOCK philosophy embodies close cooperation with law enforcement and
military organizations, as well as strict compliance with all applicable
laws, rules and regulations. GLOCK continues its leadership with
firearms innovation and design and supports the rights of citizens of
all countries to practice the responsible and lawful use of firearms.
The GLOCK 37 is a new Glock placed in the same size as the GLOCK 17 and GLOCK 22; however, it
is to be a new .45. The .45GAP (GLOCK Automatic Pistol). This is certain to cause some confusion in the
US market with the nearly 100 year old .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol).
The GAP low pressure round is shorter than the ACP, uses a 'beefed up
brass,' and should hold 10+1. It is said to be a shorter 45 round
that acts more like a 40, but with the knock of the 45. This
weapon should really take off as different government agencies pull this
into their ranks.
History 2:
Same story, different way of saying it.
Its first pistol model was the classic GLOCK
17 (so named because it was the 17th patent
of the company), a 9 mm Luger handgun with a
17 round capacity (unusually large at the
time), introduced in the early 1980s as a
response to the Austrian army asking for a
new sidearm.
The GLOCK 17
was the first pistol
designed and manufactured by
the Austrian company GLOCK.
It is a locked breach, short
recoil
9 mm Luger
semi-automatic pistol
with a standard magazine
capacity of 17 rounds of
ammunition. It uses a
modified Peter/Browning
barrel locking system. The
G17 showed up in the early
1980s for the Austrian Army
weapons trials. It entered
service under the
designation P80.
The GLOCK 17, like all
Glocks, uses a "safe action"
semi-double action trigger
system along with a striker
and its
frame is made out of
polymer, an advanced
plastic. It also has no
manual safeties, but rather
built-in automatic safeties
that make it safe to carry.
(See GLOCK's description on:
trigger safety)
The Glock stirred up quite a
scare when it was revealed
to have a polymer frame.
Some people thought the
whole gun was plastic, and
therefore undetectable by
metal detectors. Because the
slide and the
barrel and many other
internal parts are made out
of metal, it does show up on
metal detectors. The slide
and barrel are
Tenifer treated, a
process that makes their
steel as hard as diamond and
more corrosion resistant
than stainless steel.
The GLOCK 17 has become very
popular because of its
simple controls, high
durability, and moderate
price along with better than
average accuracy. It is also
highly reliable in extreme
environments like desert,
jungle, and arctic regions.
The GLOCK 17 has undergone
three major revisions since
its introduction, so the
current model is called the
3rd generation GLOCK 17.
GLOCK has produced several
variants on the 17:
The GLOCK 17 is the most
widespread pistol used in
law enforcement, but is
also a very popular
military, sports, and
self-defense pistol.
More than 50 countries use
it.
The gun is often referred to
as a "Glock". According to
GLOCK however, this is
incorrect; GLOCK refers to
its guns with all uppercase
letters.
Caliber: 9x19mm Parabellum.
Barrel length: 114mm.
Weight, empty: 625g
Ammo capacity: standard is
17+1 rounds, but can be
anywhere from 10+1 to 33+1
rounds (the "+1" refers
to an additional round in
the pistol's
chamber).
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http://www.freepatriot.com/2003/12/gaston-glock-is-tough-old-man.php
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Gaston Glock is a tough old man.
Inside the secret and violent world of
Gaston Glock, maker of the most popular
firearm in U.S. law enforcement. He is the
man behind the gun. You don't mess with
Gaston Glock.
His most trusted associate allegedly tried.
Lured into a dimly lit garage in Luxembourg
by his colleague Charles Ewert, the Austrian
Glock stopped to look at a sports car at
Ewert's suggestion. Suddenly, a massive
masked man leaped from behind and smashed a
rubber mallet into Glock's skull. Ewert fled
to the stairwell. "I am a coward," he later
told Forbes. With Glock off balance, the
attacker landed another crushing blow. "I
was fighting for my life," recalls Glock,
73, during a rare interview with the press.
Springing up on legs toned by miles of daily
swimming, Glock thrust his enormous fist
into his assailant's eye socket. As the
would-be assassin staggered, Glock pounded
again, knocking out a few of the man's
teeth. The bloodied attacker staggered, then
collapsed on top of Glock "with his arms
outstretched like Jesus Christ," according
to John Paul Frising, Luxembourg's deputy
attorney general, who brought attempted
murder charges against the attacker, the
French-born Jacques (Spartacus) Pêcheur,
67. This was how the police found the two
men at 9:30 a.m. on July 27, 1999.
Glock says he lost a quart of blood from
cuts and abrasions and that he suffered
seven head wounds. Yet as soon as he reached
the hospital he summoned his personal
bankers at UBS and Banque Ferrier Lullin.
The banks held $70 million in cash, and
Ewert had access to it all. By 12:30 p.m.
Glock managed to move $40 million to a Swiss
account. But by then Ewert had blocked the
other $30 million with a court order. As he
nursed his injuries, Glock wondered how he
could have trusted the wrong man.
Last November Ewert was arrested and thrown
into a Luxembourg jail, awaiting a Mar. 12
verdict following a three-week nonjury trial
for attempted murder. If found guilty, Ewert
could face up to 30 years in jail. He
maintains his innocence, claiming he was
framed--either by one of Glock's lawyers or
family members or by the Austrian
government--in order to be cheated out of
his share of the company.
To appreciate the magnitude of this apparent
betrayal, consider that the relationship
between the two men had been a factor in the
success of Glock GmbH. Ewert, a business
consultant who once worked for the
Luxembourg stock exchange, worked with Glock
for 15 years as Glock's little-known gun
became the sidearm of choice for U.S. law
enforcement.
The U.S. police business was once dominated
by Smith & Wesson and Beretta. Then in 1985
along came Glock with a gun made from a
nylon resin that was tough enough to be made
into most parts of a pistol (except the
carbon steel barrel). The Glock was also
revolutionary for its simple design--34
parts, compared with 60 or so for the Smith
& Wesson .45 caliber semiautomatic--and its
24-ounce weight, to 25.4 ounces for the
Smith & Wesson. A Glock shooter experiences
a softer recoil because the gun's polymer
frame flexes slightly when it's fired. Glock
fans include the New York City police, U.S.
Special Forces, the FBI and many
international antiterrorist units.
These days Glock GmbH has an estimated $100
million in sales, two-thirds of it from the
trigger-happy United States.
A gun that retails for $500 can be
manufactured for $75, and the company has a
pretax margin nearing 60%, estimates John
Farnam of Defense Training International, a
LaPorte, Colo. small arms instructor.
Success has not made Glock, a highly
secretive and taciturn man, any more
trusting of the people around him. He has a
few very high-profile friends. Among them:
Pope John Paul II and Jörg Haider, former
leader of Austria's ultraright Freedom Party
and a Hitler admirer. At his lakefront
mansion in Velden, Austria, Glock's favorite
room is in the basement, where he can
control the smallest detail of his home's
inner workings, including the temperature of
the tiles in his upstairs bathroom. He flies
his own Cessna Citation jet wherever he
travels. "There are fewer crazy people in
the air," he says.
From his headquarters in Deutsch-Wagram,
near Vienna, Glock has run through seven
U.S. sales managers in 11 years. Last month
his top lieutenant in the U.S., Paul
Jannuzzo, a tightly wound former New Jersey
prosecutor and 12-year veteran of the
company, resigned as general counsel and
chief operating officer.
"Jannuzzo went crazy," says Glock, without
further explanation. (A source close to the
company says Jannuzzo was frustrated and had
tried to quit before.) Jannuzzo, 46, and
Glock clashed and agreed to part ways after
the annual Shot Show gun convention in
Orlando, Fla. last month. Glock had hoped to
retain Jannuzzo as his general counsel while
assigning the operational duties to another
employee. Jannuzzo will remain Glock's
outside counsel and declines to comment on
the situation, though he earlier told
FORBES, "Mr. Glock does not shy away from a
fight."
He should know. Jannuzzo spearheaded Glock's
efforts to kill the Clinton Administration's
voluntary gun-control effort in 2000--it was
that or face a multitude of tobacco-like
government-sponsored lawsuits.
"Extortionist," is how Glock refers to the
measures that would have introduced an
oversight committee, as well as restrict how
guns are sold. (The company's obstinacy
resulted in 28 liability suits filed by
municipalities claiming that Glock is
responsible for murders committed with its
weapons; 11 suits remain.) Jannuzzo also led
a successful patent infringement suit
against Smith & Wesson, which created a gun
that looked a lot like a Glock--"I felt like
my wallet was stolen," Glock hisses--and
resulted in an undisclosed
multimillion-dollar settlement. And Jannuzzo
acted as pit bull in notifying 12 record
labels that the company objects to artists
using the word "Glock" in rap songs such as
Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't (I am still an
idiot)," mainly out of fear that Glock's
name will become a generic term for handgun.
Glock is now more than ever a one-man show.
His two sons, Robert and Gaston Jr., and his
daughter, Brigitte, have company jobs but
limited authority. When asked what her role
is, Brigitte cracks in German, "Being my
father's personal slave." Who has input into
product development? Showing rare humor,
Glock smiles: "You might call it 'a very
small committee.'"
And so it has been since the beginning. Back
in 1981 Glock was producing plastic grenade
shells for the Austrian army, in addition to
plastic curtain-rod rings. One day he
overheard two colonels complain that no gun
existed that could meet their
specifications. When Glock offered to make
one, they laughed at him.
"You do not laugh at Mr. Glock," says
Christopher Edwards, the burly former deputy
sheriff of Jefferson County, Ky., who now
runs Glock's training program in Smyrna, Ga.
"He takes that personally."
Glock never doubted he could make a superior
gun. "That I knew nothing was my advantage,"
he says. He worked on his weapon nightly in
his basement. He test-fired it with his left
hand so if it blew up, he could still draw a
blueprint with his right. "I learned to stay
out of his way," smiles his wife, Helga. The
firearm surpassed all competition, and he
received the army's order for 25,000 guns in
1983.
But Glock was eager to grow. Two years later
he traveled to Luxembourg, a country where
holding companies are not subject to income
or capital gains taxation. During a chance
encounter on a street in the city of
Luxembourg, Glock asked a businessman if he
knew someone who could help him expand his
fledgling enterprise. "I am your man," said
Charles Ewert, who claimed he had
international connections.
He also had a reputation that Glock had not
been aware of. Ewert had a habit of forming
offshore companies to hold business
interests for people who requested that sort
of thing, earning him the sobriquet "Panama
Charly." The two agreed that Glock would
employ Unipatent, a shell company Ewert
owned, to hold the shares of subsidiaries
Glock set up to sell his guns. Unipatent, it
turns out, had a dubious history. Ewert had
bought the shell, which was once owned by
Hakki Yaman Namli, a Turkish financier.
Namli controlled the First Merchants Bank in
Cyprus, and was convicted, along with the
bank, of laundering $450 million in 2000.
(The conviction was overturned a year
later.) During the trial Namli insisted the
bank was owned by Ewert.
Whatever his connections, Ewert became a
public face of Glock outside Austria. Glock
himself concentrated on manufacturing. In
1985 the company opened a U.S. subsidiary in
Smyrna to promote sales to policemen. Good
move. With the rise of drug-related crime,
cops did not want to be outgunned by
criminals and were trading in their six-shot
revolvers for semiautomatic pistols. The
Glock 17 held 18 rounds and, because it was
cheap to make, few competitors could beat it
on price. Its relatively few parts also made
it simple to service.
Ewert opened offices in Hong Kong, France,
Switzerland and Uruguay. Glock was pleased
and told his family and executives that if
anything ever happened to him, they should
go to Ewert. "I was considered the eldest
son," says Ewert, now 49.
All that changed in the spring of 1999.
Glock received a call from a Geneva employee
Ewert had fired. He claimed that Ewert had
siphoned off corporate funds to buy a house
in Switzerland, and hinted at other
misdeeds. Glock brushed off the allegations
as sour grapes. But to put his mind at rest,
he asked Ewert for a meeting. That's when he
got the rubber hammer in the head.
After his recovery from the attack, Glock
says he discovered that Ewert had created
dozens of offshore companies that appeared
affiliated with the gunmaker, all with
slightly different names and addresses. As
much as $100 million, Glock's lawyers
allege, had been stolen and shifted into
companies Ewert controlled. Beginning in
1989, says Deputy AG Frising, Ewert was
progressively taking control of Unipatent
and its chief asset, U.S.-based Glock Inc.
Glock's lawyers allege that Ewert awarded
himself new shares in Unipatent in return
for $600,000. Ewert maintains through his
attorney that he did nothing without Glock's
consent.
Both Ewert and Glock claim ownership of
Unipatent. Each accuses the other of owning
a phony set of unregistered bearer shares.
"Glock says I have less than 5% of
Unipatent? Glock is a nut!" says Ewert. A
Luxembourg court will settle the dispute.
Ewert is unlikely to be much of a further
irritant. Even if he is not convicted of
attempted murder, he may face additional
charges in Luxembourg for forgery,
embezzlement and fraud, according to
Frising, whose investigation is still
pending. Failing that, he could be
extradited to the U.S. Last November he was
indicted on three federal counts of wire
fraud in Georgia.
Glock looks forward to getting back to
business--making guns and fighting what
Jannuzzo calls "dumb-ass lawsuits." He's
also aiming at new markets. "Saudi Arabia,
Taiwan, South Africa and Hungary all have
forces carrying 40-year-old guns," says
Glock's marketing director, Herbert
Weikinger. But before he can elaborate,
Glock sends him out of the room for talking
out of turn.
"The attack was the best thing that happened
to me," says Glock in his heavily accented
English. "Otherwise, I would have gone on
trusting Ewert."
-// posted by Devon Ull @ 3:07
PM
content of this post © the respective
author.//-
Back to Top
The Verdict
March 31, 2003
Our profile of secretive Austrian
firearms maker
Gaston Glock left our readers
hanging as to the fate of former Glock
associate Charles Ewert. In July 1999,
according to Luxembourg authorities,
Ewert hired an assassin to kill Glock.
On Mar. 12 Ewert and hit man Jacques
Pêcheur were both found guilty of
attempted murder following a three-week
nonjury trial in Luxembourg. Ewert
received the maximum sentence, 20 years,
while Pêcheur got 17. Glock, who
survived the attack in a Luxembourg
parking garage, praised the verdict,
adding that Ewert has more to fear from
his lawyers and from Luxembourg
authorities. "It is one step in a war,"
says Glock, referring to a pending
investigation of embezzlement and fraud
charges against Ewert.
--Dyan Machan
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