Steyr Arms () is a
firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s manufacturer based in
Sankt Peter in der Au
Sankt Peter in der Au is a town in the district of Amstetten in Lower Austria in Austria.
Geography
Sankt Peter an der Au lies in the west part of the Mostviertel in Lower Austria.
Sport
The local association football team is UFC Sankt Peter i ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Originally part of
Steyr-Daimler-Puch
Steyr-Daimler-Puch () was a large manufacturing conglomerate based in Steyr, Austria, which was broken up in stages between 1987 and 2001. The component parts and operations continued to exist under separate ownership and new names.
History
T ...
, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken up in 1989. Prior to 1 January 2019, the company was named Steyr Mannlicher AG ().
History
Origins
![Oesterreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft 1920](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Oesterreichische_Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft_1920.jpg)
Steyr has been on the "
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
road" to the nearby
Erzberg mine
The Erzberg mine is a large open-pit mine located in Eisenerz, Styria, in the central-western part of Austria, 60 km north-west of Graz and 260 km south-west of the capital, Vienna. Erzberg represents the largest iron ore reserves in Aust ...
since the days of the
Styrian Otakar
Otakar is a masculine Czech given name of Germanic origin (cf. Audovacar). Notable people with the name include:
*Otakar Batlička (1895–1942), Czech adventurer, journalist, ham radio operator, member of Czech Nazi resistance group in World War ...
dukes and their
Babenberg
The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its e ...
successors in the 12th and 13th century, and has been known as an industrial site for forging weapons. The privilege of iron and steel production, particularly for
knives, was renewed by the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
duke
Albert of Austria in 1287. After the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, thousands of
musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...
s,
pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
s, and
carbines were produced annually for the
Habsburg Imperial Army.
In 1821,
Leopold Werndl
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name)
* Leopold (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
(1797–1855), a blacksmith in Steyr, began manufacturing iron parts for weapons. After his father's death, 24-year-old
Josef Werndl
Josef Werndl was a famous Austrian arms producer and inventor. His most famous rifle design was the M1867 Werndl-Holub. He also owned the Steyr-Mannlicher from 1855.
References
See also
*Ferdinand Mannlicher
Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher ...
(1831–1889) took over his factory. On April 16, 1864, he founded the "Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle in Oberletten" (Josef and Franz Werndl & Partners Weapons Factory and Sawmill in Oberletten), from which later emerged the "Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft" (ŒWG, Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company), a
stock company (''AG'') since 1869, of which the Steyr Mannlicher firearm production was a part.
World War I
Werndl's cooperation with engineer
Ferdinand Mannlicher
Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher (January 30, 1848 – January 20, 1904) was an Austrian engineer and small arms designer. Along with James Paris Lee, Mannlicher was particularly noted for inventing the en-bloc clip charger-loading magazine system ...
(1848–1904), who had patented an advanced
repeating rifle A repeating rifle is a single- barreled rifle capable of repeated discharges between each ammunition reloads. This is typically achieved by having multiple cartridges stored in a magazine (within or attached to the gun) and then fed individually i ...
in use by the
Austro-Hungarian Army, made ŒWG one of the largest weapon manufacturers in Europe. First applied in 1890, the
Mannlicher M1901
The M1901 Mannlicher Self-Loading, Semi-Automatic Pistol was an early semi-automatic pistol design.*Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', pp.134–137 Plantersville, SC: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1943.
General features ...
, and the
Steyr-Hahn M1912 became milestones in auto-loading pistol technology. At the beginning of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, with more than 15,000 employees, production output was 4,000 weapons per day.
![Steyr M1912](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Steyr_M1912.jpg)
The company introduced the world's first machine pistol, the
''Steyr Repetierpistole'' M1912/P16, during World War I; it was a machine pistol version of the
Steyr M1912 pistol
The Steyr M1912, also known as the Steyr-Hahn, is a semi-automatic pistol developed in 1911 by the Austrian firm Steyr Mannlicher, based on the mechanism of the Roth–Steyr M1907. It was developed for the Austro-Hungarian Army and adopted in ...
, and was manufactured as product model
''Repetierpistole M1912/P16''. It used a 16-round fixed magazine loaded via 8 round stripper clips, a detachable shoulder stock and a rather large exposed semi-auto/full-auto selector switch on the right side of the frame above the trigger (down = semi & up = full). It fired the
9×23mm Steyr cartridge, with a full-auto rate-of-fire of about 800 to 1,000 rounds per minute (RPM). It weighed about 2.6 pounds. Introduced in 1916, it is considered one of the world's first full-auto capable pistols. Only 960 M1912/P16 were made.
Aftermath of World War I
After the war, weapons production in Steyr was all but entirely prohibited according to the 1919
Treaty of Saint-Germain
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
, and the company faced bankruptcy. To survive, the ŒWG converted their machinery to concentrate on producing
Steyr automobiles under chief designers
Hans Ledwinka
Hans Ledwinka (14 February 1878 – 2 March 1967) was an Austrian automobile designer.
Youth
Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria), near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He started his career as a mechanic, an ...
and
Ferdinand Porsche, as well as bicycles (colloquially called ''Waffenräder'' ("weapon bicycles")). In 1926 the company changed its name to "Steyr-Werke", in 1934 to
Steyr Daimler Puch
Steyr-Daimler-Puch () was a large manufacturing conglomerate based in Steyr, Austria, which was broken up in stages between 1987 and 2001. The component parts and operations continued to exist under separate ownership and new names.
History
Th ...
. The production of Steyr Daimler Puch weapons continued in cooperation with ''Patronenfabrik Solothurn AG'' at
Zuchwil in neutral
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
World War II
After the Austrian ''
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'' to
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in 1938, the Steyr factories were incorporated into the ''
Reichswerke Hermann Göring
Reichswerke Hermann Göring was an industrial conglomerate in Nazi Germany from 1937 until 1945. It was established to extract and process domestic iron ores from Salzgitter that were deemed uneconomical by the privately held steel mills. The st ...
'' industrial conglomerate and the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
provided a brief revival in weapons production. Like many other companies, Steyr Daimler Puch relied on
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
, employing from the
Steyr-Münichholz subcamp The Steyr-Münichholz concentration camp was one in a number of subcamps of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Upper Austria. Inmates were drawn from the main camp, in order to exploit their labor for producing arms in Steyr-Daimler-Puch c ...
of
KZ Mauthausen
Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern Germany ...
.
1950s
During the 1950s the
Mannlicher–Schönauer full stock rifle, designed in 1900, experienced a renaissance. Simultaneously, the re-emergence of the Austrian Armed Forces in the Second Republic was the base for new military weapons production.
The AUG
In the 1970s, Steyr developed an innovative assault rifle, the StG 77. A bullpup design, the StG 77 extensively utilized synthetic materials, and integrated fixed optics. The export version became the
Steyr AUG
The Steyr AUG () is an Austrian bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge, designed in the 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and now manufactured by Steyr Arms GmbH & Co KG.
It was adopted by the Austrian Arm ...
—''Armee Universal Gewehr'' ("Universal Army Rifle"), eventually used by the armed forces of over 24 countries. It has been prominently featured in films such as ''
Octopussy
''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by G ...
'', ''
Commando'', and ''
Die Hard
''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Ale ...
''.
In 1989, after the partial dissolution of the
Steyr Daimler Puch
Steyr-Daimler-Puch () was a large manufacturing conglomerate based in Steyr, Austria, which was broken up in stages between 1987 and 2001. The component parts and operations continued to exist under separate ownership and new names.
History
Th ...
conglomerate, the weapon division was named
Steyr Mannlicher
Steyr Arms () is a firearms manufacturer based in Sankt Peter in der Au, Austria. Originally part of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken up in 1989. Prior to 1 January 2019, the company was named Steyr M ...
in honour of the great Austro-Hungarian engineer
Ferdinand Mannlicher
Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher (January 30, 1848 – January 20, 1904) was an Austrian engineer and small arms designer. Along with James Paris Lee, Mannlicher was particularly noted for inventing the en-bloc clip charger-loading magazine system ...
, in 2019 Steyr Arms.
Products
;Assault rifle
*
AUG —
bullpup
A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...
assault rifle
*
ACR — experimental
flechette rifle
A needlegun, also known as a needler, flechette gun or fletcher, is a firearm that fires small, sometimes fin-stabilized, metal darts or flechettes. Theoretically, the advantages of a needlegun over conventional projectile firearms are in its co ...
*
STM556 —
modular
Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a sy ...
assault rifle
;Battle rifle
*
StG-58
;Rifles
*
M1886 —
bolt-action rifle
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt (firearms), bolt via a cocking handle, bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are r ...
*
M1888 — bolt-action rifle
*
M1890 — bolt-action rifle
*
M1895 — bolt-action rifle
*
Dutch Mannlicher
The Geweer M. 95, also known to collectors as the Dutch Mannlicher, was the service rifle of the armed forces of the Netherlands between 1895 and 1940 which replaced the obsolete Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88. At first it was produced by Steyr for ...
M.95 — bolt-action rifle
*
Mannlicher–Schönauer — bolt-action rifle
*
Steyr Model 1912 Mauser
The Steyr Model 1912 were Gewehr 98 pattern bolt-action battle rifles produced by Steyr before World War I. They were designed for export market. During the war, they were also used by the Austro-Hungarian Army.
Design
The rifle was a close cop ...
— bolt-action rifle
*
Steyr SSG 69
The SSG 69 (''Scharfschützengewehr 69'', literally Sharpshooter Rifle 69) is a bolt-action sniper rifle produced by Steyr Mannlicher that serves as the standard sniper rifle for the Austrian Army.
Adopted in 1969 (hence the designation), it w ...
—
sniper rifle
A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...
*
Steyr Scout
The Steyr Scout () is an Austrian bolt-action rifle manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher, and chambered primarily for 7.62 NATO (.308 Winchester), although other caliber options in 5.56 NATO (.223 Remington), .243 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, .37 ...
—
scout rifle
*
Steyr SSG 04
Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd l ...
— sniper rifle
*
Steyr SSG 08 — sniper rifle
*
Steyr HS .50
The Steyr HS .50 and the Steyr HS .460 are single-shot anti materiel sniper rifles manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher and chambered in .50 BMG and .460 Steyr, respectively. Unlicensed variants of the HS. 50 include the AM-50 Sayyad produced by Ir ...
—
anti-materiel rifle
An anti-materiel rifle (AMR) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware (materiel). Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed to elimin ...
*
Steyr IWS 2000
The Steyr IWS 2000 is an Austrian single-shot bolt-action anti-materiel rifle produced by Steyr Mannlicher. IWS stands for Infantry Weapon System. Like many anti-tank rifles, it is actually a smoothbore weapon and not a true rifle. This can help ...
— 15.2 mm anti-materiel rifle
;Submachine guns
*
MPi 69
The Steyr MPi 69 is a 9×19mm submachine gun of the late 20th century made by the Austrian firm Steyr.
Characteristics
The MPi 69 is shaped much like other telescoping bolt submachineguns, such as the MAC 10 or Uzi. It has a vertical pistol ...
(Variant:
Steyr MPi 81
The Steyr MPi 69 is a 9×19mm submachine gun of the late 20th century made by the Austrian firm Steyr.
Characteristics
The MPi 69 is shaped much like other telescoping bolt submachineguns, such as the MAC 10 or Uzi. It has a vertical pistol ha ...
)
*
TMP TMP can refer to any of the following:
Chemistry
* 2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidine, an organic chemistry reagent
* Thymidine monophosphate, a nucleotide
* Trimethoprim, an antibiotic
* Trimethyl phosphate, a solvent
* Trimethylolpropane, a precurso ...
;Pistols
*
M1894 (1894–?)
*
M1901 (1901–1903)
*
M.7 (1908–1913)
*
M1912 (1912–1945)
*
SP (1957-1964)
*
GB (1981–1988)
*
M Series (1999–present)
;Grenade launchers
*GL 40 — side loading 40 mm grenade launcher
Date codes
Steyr pistols are marked with a three-digit date code on the slide just forward of the ejection port.
The first letter represents the month of manufacture.
The second and third letters represent the last two digits of the year of manufacture.
In this example, the date code "BOY" indicates a pistol manufactured in April 2007.
See also
*
Steyr Sportwaffen GmbH
Steyr Sportwaffen GmbH is an Austrian manufacturer of air guns (rifles and pistols) aimed mostly at competitive ISSF shooting events such as 10 m Air Pistol and 10 m Air Rifle contested at the Olympic Games as governed by the International Shoot ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Companies of Austria-Hungary
Firearm manufacturers of Austria
*
Economy of Lower Austria
1864 establishments in the Austrian Empire