CETME

The name CETME is an acronym for Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales, a Spanish government design and development establishment. The CETME rifle, which was intially trialed with other calibers, but eventually chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO caliber, was designed primarily by the German engineer, Ludwig Vorgrimmler, who based his model on a late WWII German prototype assault rifle, the experimental StG-45(m). The StG-45 used a roller-delayed blowback mechanism somewhat similar to the roller-locking system patented by the Edward Stecke in the 1930s in Poland and used in the MG42. The MG42 locking system actual locks completely and requires a moving barrel that travels backwards to unlock, compared to the STG45 system that never completely locks and does not require a moving barrel.

Manufactured in Spain from 1957, the CETME served as a blueprint for the German Heckler & Koch G3 series of assault rifles. The CETME features roller-delayed blowback operation, which it shares with many German weapons. The CETME rifle was manufatured in five models, the A, B, C, L and LC models. The primary difference in the three first models is the absence of bipod and less weight C model, with more wood. The L was the "light", with composite materials, and the LC was the short version of it.

External links

• WWW.CETMERIFLES.COM
• CETME information page
• Buddy Hinton Collection / CETME
• CETME For Dummies webpage
• CETME Firing Demonstration Video