H&K P11

Overview

Heckler & Koch P11

Oblique view of H&K P11 underwater pistol.
Source: Unknown author - © Copyright lies with original owner

Origin

Germany

Type

Underwater firearm

Entered service

1976

Status

Limited service

Development

Early to mid 1970's

Developer

Germany - Heckler & Koch

Production

1976 - ?

Producer

Germany - Heckler & Koch

Number produced

At least dozens, probably several hundred

Designations

P11 / Pistole 11

Notable users

Germany
United Kingdom
France
United States

Description

Introduction

The P11 is a late Cold War era underwater pistol of German origin. It was developed in the early 1970's and remained secret until the 1990's. Although using a similar multi-barrel replaceable cylinder like the Mk 1 Underwater Defense Gun, the P11 was a separate development. Reportedly the P11 performed better and replaced it in US service.

Design

The P11 is a rather unique pistol optimized for underwater use by combat divers. It uses a 5-barrel replaceable barrel assembly that holds the ammunition. The grip assembly holds the trigger and two 24 Volt batteries for the electrical ignition are located in the pistol grip. The barrels are fixed in place and the electrical connector in the rear housing rotates with each trigger pull. For reloading or changing ammunition type the user releases the barrel assembly and slides in a new assembly. The underwater ammunition consists of thin long darts held in a sabot. The end of the barrel has a smaller diameter to capture the sabot. This setup reduces noise and bubbles emerging from the barrel. The barrel assembly has rudimentary iron sights.

Firepower

The P11 uses pre-loaded 5-shot barrel assemblies. These come with either dart DM101 finned dart ammunition for underwater use, or with DM91 ball ammunition for above water use. Effective range is reportedly 15 meters underwater and 30 meters above water. At 15 meters the dart still penetrates a dry suit and possibly even an air tank. The barrel assemblies cannot be reloaded by the user and must be returned to factory for loading and rework. The report is audible but less noisy than conventional ammunition being fired submerged.

Users

There is little solid information on users of the P11. Literature lists a number of users and photos of open days show a sporadic P11 in the arsenal of some units, which might also be an evaluation sample. The P11 is reportedly used by specialist frogman units of about half a dozen northern European nations plus the USA. Export sales outside of NATO reportedly include Israel and Malaysia.