HK VP70

Designed in 1968 and produced by the German company Heckler & Koch between 1970 and 1989, the HK VP70 is a semiautomatic machine pistol. It operates on the blowback principle, in which expanding propellant gases push the handgun's bolt backward. These gases are directed from the barrel into a cylinder with a piston. The opening of the bolt is thereby delayed. This system eliminates the need for a locking bolt. The HK VP70 is a double-action only (DOA) pistol, which means that the trigger performs the two actions of cocking and releasing the striker.

The designers - HK engineer Helmut Weldle and company co-founder Alex Seidel, crafted the HK VP70 with a sturdy polymer frame - making gun history because it was the first polymer frame pistol to be made. In fact Weldle and Seidel had hoped to open up a new niche for handguns with this model. It was meant to fill the wide gap between assault rifles and machine pistols. However, such an innovative concept was no longer necessary. Nevertheless, the fact that Heckler & Koch was the handgun manufacturer that introduced polymer-based guns to the world is firmly established. To be precise, the HK VP70 predated other competing brands by almost fifteen years in this regard.

The HK VP70 uses 9 mm Luger Parabellum ammunition, which it can discharge at an astounding rate of 2200 rounds per minute when set to bursts of three rounds each. Four hundred units that fired 9 x 21 mm IMI rounds were also made. It weighs 820 grams when not loaded and is 204 mm in length. It had a muzzle velocity of 360 meters per second.

The 'VP' is an acronym for the German words that mean 'pistol of the people', and the '70' signifies its year of introduction. Apart from the military 'M' model, it also came as a civilian-issue variant (called the 'Z', the first letter of the German for 'civil'). However, this version was not capable of firing in bursts because it lacked a vital feature - the military version of HK VP70 featured a detachable combination of shoulder stock and holster, and it could be fired while mounted on the stock. This was made possible by a selector switch provided on the stock. When used without this shoulder stock, the HK VP70 could fire only single rounds. A similar stock-holster combination had previously appeared in the Stechkin series from Russia.

Without the shoulder stock, the HK VP70 had an effective accurate range of 50 meters. This was increased to 150 meters with the shoulder stock attached. The magazine accommodated 18 cartridges in staggered format
The HK VP70 civilian 'Z' model was primarily manufactured for the sake of collectors and professional marksmen, who had expressed considerable interest in the unorthodox and progressive concept and technology that it featured. The fact that it did not include the three-round burst mode did not seem to matter to them.

The HK VP70 featured a highly innovative front sight, which was actually a shadow of two ramps of steel that created a unique optical illusion of a fixed sight. This imaginative feature has not appeared on any other handgun on record. Dispensing with the orthodox firing pin, the HK VP70 incorporated spring-loaded striker, which seemingly caused the trigger pull to be on the heavier side - described by later users as rather 'nasty'. The trigger, which was not equipped with any manually operable safeties, also had a longer pull. The combination of these factors reportedly compromised the HK VP70's accuracy to a certain extent.

The HK VP70 was apparently not a great hit with either the German armed forces or civilian buyers, but its unique design heralded the coming of advanced handguns modeled on it. It has been featured in the movie 'Aliens' (sequel to the '70s sci-fi horror blockbuster 'Alien'), in which it is wielded by the spitfire female Marine Vasquez. Apart from that, the HK VP70 has not received much coverage from the glamour media.