CETME Modelo A
CETME (Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales) · Battle Rifle · Out Of Production · 1955
Also known as: CETME A, CETME Mod. A, CETME Modelo A 1955
Overview
The CETME Modelo A (also called CETME Mod. A or simply CETME A) was the initial pre-production prototype variant of the Spanish CETME roller-delayed blowback battle rifle, designed by German émigré engineer Ludwig Vorgrimler - a former Mauser engineer who had worked on the wartime StG.45(M) - at CETME (Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales) in Madrid between 1952 and 1955. Chambered for the bespoke 7.62x51mm CETME reduced-power cartridge (dimensionally identical to 7.62x51mm NATO but with a lighter plastic-cored full-metal-jacketed bullet and reduced powder charge to make the rifle controllable in full-auto), the Modelo A introduced the integral folding bipod that doubled as a forend, a wooden buttstock, and the distinctive sight assembly mounted on the bipod itself. The Modelo A was produced only in prototype quantities before the design evolved into the steel-handguarded Modelo B (later type-classified as the Modelo 58) which entered Spanish Army service in 1957.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4400 g (155.2 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 5000 g (176.4 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1015 mm (39.96") |
| Barrel Length | 450 mm (17.72") |
| Action Type | Roller Delayed Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 20 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 770 m/s (2526 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 2076 J (1531 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 400 m (437 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 2000 m (2187 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 575 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 305 mm (12.01") |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Stamped Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Phosphate |
Calibers
- 7.62x51mm CETME · primary — also known as 7.62 CETME, Spanish 7.62 reduced power
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Select Fire Lever
- Features: Roller Delayed Blowback, Two Part Bolt With Rollers, Fluted Chamber, Closed Bolt Firing, Integral Folding Bipod, Wooden Buttstock, Folding Carrying Handle, Select Fire, Prototype Pre Production, Rear Sight On Bipod Assembly
Variants
- CETME Modelo 58 (Modelo B) — Production Evolution
- CETME Modelo C — Later Production
Service history
Operators
- Spanish Army (Ejército de Tierra) - Trials · adopted 1955
Production
Estimated total produced: 100 · Production years: 1955-1956
Produced only in prototype/trials quantities before the design evolved into the Modelo B and Modelo 58 production variants.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Designer: Ludwig Vorgrimler
Discontinued: 1958
Notes
Direct ancestor of the Heckler & Koch G3 family - the roller-delayed blowback action and two-part bolt design of the CETME were licensed by H&K in 1956 and formed the basis of the G3, which in turn spawned the MP5, HK33, PSG1, and most of H&K's military catalogue through the 1990s. Only a handful of Modelo A rifles survive in museum and collector hands today.
Background
When Heckler & Koch's three founders - Edmund Heckler, Theodor Koch, and Alex Seidel, all formerly of Mauser - restarted their company in 1949 in Oberndorf, they had the technical expertise but no rifle design; Spain's CETME, with Ludwig Vorgrimler aboard, had the design but no industrial capacity. The 1956 licensing deal between CETME and H&K turned a prototype Spanish rifle into the G3 - and through the G3 into one of the most influential firearm bloodlines of the 20th century.