Rheinmetall

Rheinmetall AG

Type	Public (FWB: RHMG)
Founded	13 April 1889
Founder	Heinrich Ehrhardt
Headquarters	Düsseldorf, Germany
Industry	Automotive Defence
Products	Automotive parts Military Vehicles and Systems
Revenue	▲ €4 Billion (2007)
Operating income	▲ €270 Million (2007)
Net income	▲ €150 Million (2007)
Employees	19,185 (2007)
Website	www.Rheinmetall.com

Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defense company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß.

It was founded on 13th April 1889 by Heinrich Ehrhardt, with help from a consortium of banks, as Rheinische Metallwaren- und Maschinenfabrik Aktiengesellschaft.

It has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces. The company is also involved in a variety of advanced metal-working and milling technologies. This has allowed it to provide special high-quality components for small arms in addition to its heavy weapon production.

In 1993 Rheinmetall acquired the Mauser AG and in 1996 and 1999 the majority share-holdings of STN Atlas and Oerlikon Contraves, all of which are major European defense companies. STN Atlas was later split into Atlas Elektronik and Rheinmetall Defence Electronics, the latter is now a full subsidiary of Rheinmetall.

In March 2008, Rheinmetall acquired Dutch defence company Stork PKV.

Rheinmetall made bomb fuses during World War II, notably a double-capacitor design which was particularly dangerous to defuse should the bomb not explode on impact. Many bomb disposal personnel were killed.^{[citation needed]} The patent for the fuse was filed in the UK two years before Hitler came to power and the UK Armed Forces spotted this and the patent then helped enormously with disarming these particular bombs.^{[citation needed]} The US Patent Office put a 32-year secrecy order on a similar patent by the University of Illinois in 1948.

The MG 42, the general-purpose medium machine gun of the Wehrmacht, was also built by Rheinmetall. Its successor, the MG3, is still used by the Bundeswehr.

1 Products
- 1.1 Modern
- 1.2 WWII and pre-WWII products
2 Gallery
3 In fiction
4 External links

Products

Examples include:

Modern

Rheinmetall 120mm Gun - both the L44 an L55 versions which arm the Leopard 2, M1A1 and A2 and Type 90 MBT
Rheinmetall M35 - 105mm main gun of the M8-AGS Buford Armoured Gun System
155 mm L52 Artillery Gun - main gun of PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer
MG3 - 7.62mm universal machine gun
RMK30 a 30mm recoilless, caseless autocannon
Rheinmetall LTA2 - main gun of TAM tank
MK 20 Rh202 - 20 mm autocannon, primary armament of Marder, Luchs and Wiesel armoured fighting vehicles
Rheinmetall 20mm Twin Anti-Aircraft Cannon - anti-aircraft gun
GDM-008 Millennium - 35mm naval air-defence gun
Skyguard - 35mm air-defence gun system
Skyshield - 35mm air-defence gun system
MLG 27 - 27mm remote controlled autocannon, used on many ships of the German Navy
AGF (Light infantry vehicle)
Rheinmetall YAK - armoured wheeled vehicle
Wiesel AWC - armoured weapons carrier in different versions
GTK Boxer - multirole armoured vehicle
Puma (IFV) - next generation infantry fighting vehicle of the German Army
Mungo ESK - armoured transport vehicle
TPz Fuchs - multirole armoured vehicle
LeFlaSys - light air-defence missile system, based on Wiesel 2
Jacket cradle of Oto Melara
KZO - tactical UAV
IdZ-ES - The German Bundeswehr's Future Soldier program
NBC protection systems
Ammunition
Cargo loading and aviation systems
Simulators
NBC reconnaissance systems
Power supply systems

WWII and pre-WWII products

QF 15 pounder field gun sold to Britain in 1900
7.5cm Kwk 42 (L/70) tank gun that was used in the famed German Panther tank of World War II
7.5 cm Leichtgeschütz 40 - recoilless gun predominantly used by paratroops during World War II
88 mm gun - Flak and anti-tank gun of World War II
Solothurn S-18/1000 20mm Anti-Tank rifle
Rheinmetall MK 108 well-known WWII 30mm

Gallery

Leopard 2A6	GTK Boxer	Puma IFV	PzH 2000 of the German Army
AGF	Mungo ESK	MLG 27 onboard an Elbe class tender of the German Navy	Wiesel 2 in the Ozelot anti-air version of LeFlaSys