The HK P2A1 is a

single-shot Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded manually after every shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, then multi-barreled designs appeared, and eventually many ce ...

break action Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel or barrels are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be require ...

flare pistol A flare gun, also known as a Very pistol or signal pistol, is a large-bore handgun that discharges flares, blanks and smoke. The flare gun is typically used to produce a distress signal. Types The most common type of flare gun is a Very (som ...

designed for signaling and illumination purposes. It can fire either 25 mm or 26.5 mm flares, or smoke cartridges. Adapters are available to use commercial 12-gauge flares available at sporting goods stores. The body of the pistol is mostly

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

composite, with the barrel and breech being made of steel. The P2A1 has a life expectancy of about 1500 shots of full power flares. The P2A1 is called the "SigPi" in the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

, standing for "Signalpistole" or signal handgun.

External links

Official P2A1 page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heckler and Koch P2A1 Flare guns Heckler & Koch pistols