Rheinmetall

Rheinmetall AG

Type	Public (FWB: RHMG)
Founded	13 April 1889
Founder(s)	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.

History

It was founded on 13 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.

Military products

Examples include:

Modern

• Rheinmetall 120mm Gun - both the L44 and L55 versions which arm the Leopard 2, M1A1 and A2 and Type 90 MBT
• Rheinmetall M35 - 105 mm main gun of the M8 Armored Gun System
• 155 mm L52 Artillery Gun - main gun of PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer
• MG3 - 7.62 mm universal machine gun
• RMK30 a 30 mm 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 - 35 mm naval air-defence gun
• Skyguard - 35 mm air-defence gun system
• Skyshield - 35 mm air-defence gun system
• MANTIS (counter rocket, artillery and mortar) - very short range air-defence system
• MLG 27 - 27 mm 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
• 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
• Nanuk Remotely Controlled Weapon Station
• Amarok Remotely Controlled Weapon Station
• Qimek Remotely Controlled Weapon Station
• NBC protection systems
• Ammunition
• Cargo loading and aviation systems
• Simulators
• NBC reconnaissance systems
• Mobile Power Distribution Systems (MPDS)

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 20 mm Anti-Tank rifle
• Rheinmetall MK 108 well-known WWII 30 mm

Gallery

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

In fiction

The Rheinmetall company name appears in some science fiction role-playing games, including Cyberpunk 2020 and the Computer role-playing game Fallout.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rheinmetall

• Rheinmetall corporate homepage
• A Rodney Graham installation at the MoMA centering on a film of a Rheinmetall typewriter

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