The MP5 or 'machine pistol model 5' is developed and designed by a German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It is a 9mm sub-machine gun and is currently one of the most widely used submachine guns in the world. Designed in 1964 to 1966 by Tilo Möller, Manfred Guhring, Georg Seidl and Helmut Baureuter, the MP5 is used by military and law enforcement agencies alike.
Heckler & Koch is small arms manufacturer that developed a family of small arms based from the success of the G3 Automatic Rifle. The development of the rifle started in 1964 and after two years was adapted by the German Federal Police.
Initial version of the MP5 family was the lightweight and air-cooled MP5A2. The succeeding versions had a straight double column magazine until 1977 where the slightly curving metal magazine was used. The MP5 used a hammering mechanism when firing and has adjustable round sights. The round sights take advantage of the human eye and the brain's ability to align a smaller circle into a bigger circle. Predecessors of the first MP5 included retractable stocks, 3 round burst firing and higher calibers.
Due to the rifles lightweight and user friendly design, the MP5 can be seen being used in movies, video games and in Airsoft. The MP5 is the movie producers / directors' primary weapon of choice when shooting scenes where a SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) Team is ready to swarm into a room to apprehend a suspect or rescue a hostage. Its distinctively short design makes it a handy weapon in close combat encounters. In video games, like the world famous Counter Strike, the MP5 is one of the choices when buying for a weapon.
In Airsoft, exact replicas of the MP5 are widely used. There are wide varieties of the real MP5 manufactured around the world and most of them have been manufactured by Airsoft gun manufacturers. Well Bell Galaxy is an Airsoft manufacturing company and had replicated an MP5 Airsoft gun - the Well R5 MP5A5 Electric Airsoft AEG. Its firing rate is 290 feet per second and has a range of 125-175 feet. And just like the real deadly MP5, it also has a retractable stock.
