Evolution Of G3 (1959-2022)

After the adoption of the American T-65 (7.62x51mm) round as the NATO standard rifle and machine-gun ammunition in the mid-1950s, West Germany, like other NATO countries, faced the problem of rearmament. An attempt to adopt Belgian FN FAL rifle for unification purposes failed, because Belgians refused to sell a license to Germany for production of their rifle (probably in revenge for recent invasion of Belgium). Since the Germans, for obvious reasons, wanted to make their own weapons, they had to turn to other designs available. They were interested, in particular, in the latest Spanish CETME automatic rifle, developed under the direction of German engineer Ludwig Vorgrimler.

Heckler & Koch company of Oberndorf, Germany competed for the CETME rifle by awarding it to the newly established Heckler & Koch factory. In addition to the Heckler & Koch company, for some time the G3 rifles were manufactured by Rheinmetall AG, which had been reestablished after the war.