Greetings, Roberto here commenting about the first weapon to make its appearance in this blog: the WA 2000.
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| WA 2000, first generation. |
The WA 2000 is a sniper rifle designed between the late 1970s and early 1980s by famed German manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen, or simply Walther, perhaps most known for its handguns (some of them, like the P38, P99 and PPK utilized by Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan in their respective roles as agent 007 in movies). It was created in response to the massacre of the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, where 11 members of the Israeli olympic team were kidnapped and eventually executed by a terrorist palestinian group known as Black September, supposedly with support from a neo-nazi German group, and with the German police forces being unable to do much for the lives of the sportsmen due to the poor armament available and a scarce training, which did not prepare them for such a situation. This series of events led also to the formation of the GSG9, the special operations group of the German police specialized in counter-terrorist actions, only 2 months after the incident.
It's of an unusual bullpup configuration, where the action, including the magazine, firing mechanism and shell ejector, is found behind the trigger group closer to the shooter's face, allowing for a more compact design with a barrel lenght similar to that of a traditional configuration rifle, for minimal loss in bullet velocity and general effective range. This, however, comes with some downsides, among which is a less ergonomical design which difficults the magazine changing procedure, and the impossibility for a left-handed shooter to use the weapon, because the proximity of the face to the case ejector could suppose that the hot brass would hit the shooter's face for disastrous results. Its overall low profile makes it ideal for urban warfare and quick deployment in confined spaces.
It's of an unusual bullpup configuration, where the action, including the magazine, firing mechanism and shell ejector, is found behind the trigger group closer to the shooter's face, allowing for a more compact design with a barrel lenght similar to that of a traditional configuration rifle, for minimal loss in bullet velocity and general effective range. This, however, comes with some downsides, among which is a less ergonomical design which difficults the magazine changing procedure, and the impossibility for a left-handed shooter to use the weapon, because the proximity of the face to the case ejector could suppose that the hot brass would hit the shooter's face for disastrous results. Its overall low profile makes it ideal for urban warfare and quick deployment in confined spaces.
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| WA 2000, second generation. |
Instead of being designed around an existing hunting rifle, like most others of its era, the WA 2000 is designed from the ground up, and has some innovating traits. It's a semi-automatic rifle of bullpup configuration, as mentioned above, which is very unusual for a sniper rifle -other such weapons include the chinese QBU-88, the russian SVU and SVU-A, the german DSR-1 and the czech Falcon-. It is gas-operated, employs a rotating bolt mechanism usual for such weapons, and fires from a closed bolt, using a bolt that has seven locking lugs. It employs an adjustable two-stage trigger that requires a strenght of 1.2 to 1.4 kilograms to be actuated. The safety is located right above the trigger on the right side of the weapon.
The entire rifle is designed around the barrel; it uses a free-floated match-grade heavy barrel of low tolerance encased between two aluminium bars that protrude from the main body of the rifle. Most of the body is covered by two metal plates that protect the barrel and adjacent pieces. The mechanism, covered by its own aluminium box, is located at the rearmost of the weapon. Over the aluminium bars and the action are mounted the grip -of a thumb hole design, similar to the british L96-, the handguard, an adjustable cheek rest -the three made in wood-, and a rubber adjustable buttstock. The rifle does not include back-up iron sights; instead, there is a mount on the upper part for mounting of optics, right above the trigger group. The rifle uses as standard a Schmidt & Bender 2.5-10x telescopic sight which weighs about 0.96 kilograms, which added to the already hefty 6.95 of the rifle, plus 0.40 of a fully loaded magazine, make a total of 8.31 kilograms, which severely limits its maneuverability. An integral bipod completes the package.
The WA 2000 was designed around the .300 Winchester Magnum caliber, a cartridge praised for its great precision and consistent performance at all ranges; however, there exist conversion kits for the 7.5x55 mm Swiss cartridge, and the NATO standard 7.62x51mm, used by other sniper rifles like the german PSG-1, the british L96 and the north-american M39 EMR. The rifle is fed by 6-round detachable box magazines of single stack, which grants it with a maximum capacity of 7 shots: 6 in the mag, plus 1 in the chamber. The WA 2000 has an effective range of about 700 meters, usual for a rifle of its characteristics.
The entire rifle is designed around the barrel; it uses a free-floated match-grade heavy barrel of low tolerance encased between two aluminium bars that protrude from the main body of the rifle. Most of the body is covered by two metal plates that protect the barrel and adjacent pieces. The mechanism, covered by its own aluminium box, is located at the rearmost of the weapon. Over the aluminium bars and the action are mounted the grip -of a thumb hole design, similar to the british L96-, the handguard, an adjustable cheek rest -the three made in wood-, and a rubber adjustable buttstock. The rifle does not include back-up iron sights; instead, there is a mount on the upper part for mounting of optics, right above the trigger group. The rifle uses as standard a Schmidt & Bender 2.5-10x telescopic sight which weighs about 0.96 kilograms, which added to the already hefty 6.95 of the rifle, plus 0.40 of a fully loaded magazine, make a total of 8.31 kilograms, which severely limits its maneuverability. An integral bipod completes the package.
The WA 2000 was designed around the .300 Winchester Magnum caliber, a cartridge praised for its great precision and consistent performance at all ranges; however, there exist conversion kits for the 7.5x55 mm Swiss cartridge, and the NATO standard 7.62x51mm, used by other sniper rifles like the german PSG-1, the british L96 and the north-american M39 EMR. The rifle is fed by 6-round detachable box magazines of single stack, which grants it with a maximum capacity of 7 shots: 6 in the mag, plus 1 in the chamber. The WA 2000 has an effective range of about 700 meters, usual for a rifle of its characteristics.
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| WA 2000 disassembled into its main components. Wooden parts have been removed from the image. |
The WA 2000 was designed in 2 variants during its production run. The most notable feature of the first variant, shown on the heading image of this article, was a can-type flash supressor of a notable width. The second variant, shown on the second image, introduced some improvements in the design, like a shoe in the lower part of the grip to avoid damage to the furniture when resting the rifle on the ground, a longer stock on the lower part, shorter aluminium rods for reduction of the quantity of metal around the barrel, and a more conventional flash hider which acts as a recoil compensator, supporting the already excellent precision of the rifle, and making it more suited to its intended role.
Only 176 copies were ever produced between 1982 and 1988; this was due to the fact that, despite the positive aspects of the rifle, its cost per unit was disproportionately high; a new rifle straight from the factory could cost $9000 at the time of its production, which doomed its sales from the very beggining, since the market it was intended for -police forces and special operations groups- did not possess such an elevated budget, and opted for more affordable weapons of similar characteristics.
Finally, in 1988, Walther ceased production of the rifle and the design was dropped entirely due to a lack of market, with the rifle never achieving widespread sales or significant use. This, however, turned the WA 2000 into an extremely rare and valuable rifle for collectors, with a copy reaching today prices around $40.000 and $75.000 depending on the version. It is unknown how many copies still subsist to this day of the 176 originals; there are known to exist, however, exactly 15 copies in the United States: 11 of them belonging to the American President of Walther, Earl J. Sheehan, and the remaining 4 in the hands of a private collector.
It is a very popular rifle in movies and videogames; ironically, the number of rifles that appear on such entertainment media far outnumber the rifles that were ever produced. Due to its obscene rarity, what normally stands for a WA 2000 in a movie is actually an SG 2000, a bullpup conversion of the Ruger 10/22 rifle manufactured by Ironwood Designs, with a cost per unit of $1000, much cheaper than an original WA 2000.
Only 176 copies were ever produced between 1982 and 1988; this was due to the fact that, despite the positive aspects of the rifle, its cost per unit was disproportionately high; a new rifle straight from the factory could cost $9000 at the time of its production, which doomed its sales from the very beggining, since the market it was intended for -police forces and special operations groups- did not possess such an elevated budget, and opted for more affordable weapons of similar characteristics.
Finally, in 1988, Walther ceased production of the rifle and the design was dropped entirely due to a lack of market, with the rifle never achieving widespread sales or significant use. This, however, turned the WA 2000 into an extremely rare and valuable rifle for collectors, with a copy reaching today prices around $40.000 and $75.000 depending on the version. It is unknown how many copies still subsist to this day of the 176 originals; there are known to exist, however, exactly 15 copies in the United States: 11 of them belonging to the American President of Walther, Earl J. Sheehan, and the remaining 4 in the hands of a private collector.
It is a very popular rifle in movies and videogames; ironically, the number of rifles that appear on such entertainment media far outnumber the rifles that were ever produced. Due to its obscene rarity, what normally stands for a WA 2000 in a movie is actually an SG 2000, a bullpup conversion of the Ruger 10/22 rifle manufactured by Ironwood Designs, with a cost per unit of $1000, much cheaper than an original WA 2000.
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| SG 2000, manufactured by Ironwood Designs. Of note is the different shape of the grip, handguard, and stock. |
To sum things up, even though the rifle never got any significant use in real life due to its very high cost, there is no denying its impact in entertainment media. Its attractive aesthetics and conjunction of the new -the bullpup design- with the traditional -the wood furniture-, make this rifle a popular icon that has still much service ahead, if not on its intended purpose.
Characteristics of the WA 2000
Type: Sniper rifle
Country of origin: West Germany
Service History
Used by:
-Bundespolizei (German Federal Police)
-Bundespolizei (German Federal Police)
Production History
Designed: 1970s-1980s
Manufacturer: Walther
Produced: 1982-1988
Number built: 176
Specs
Weight: 6.95 kg unloaded without telescopic sight
Weight: 6.95 kg unloaded without telescopic sight
7.35 kg loaded without telescopic sight
Lenght: 905 mm
Barrel lenght: 650 mm
Caliber: .300 Winchester Magnum
7.62x51mm NATO
7.5x55mm Swiss
Action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire: Semi-automatic
Effective range: 700 m
Feeding system: 6-round detachable box magazines
Optics: Schmidt & Bender 2.5-10x telescopic sight
More interesting information:
-Original user manual of the WA 2000 (German)
http://web.archive.org/web/20040617000022/http://www.waltherusa.net/datatabs/wa2000_uebersicht.pdf
Sources:
-Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WA2000
-Modern Firearms: http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sniper-rifles/de/walther-wa-2000-e.html
-Sniper Central: http://www.snipercentral.com/wa2000.htm
I do not own any of the images shown on this article. They're property of their respective owners.
More interesting information:
-Original user manual of the WA 2000 (German)
http://web.archive.org/web/20040617000022/http://www.waltherusa.net/datatabs/wa2000_uebersicht.pdf
Sources:
-Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WA2000
-Modern Firearms: http://world.guns.ru/sniper/sniper-rifles/de/walther-wa-2000-e.html
-Sniper Central: http://www.snipercentral.com/wa2000.htm
I do not own any of the images shown on this article. They're property of their respective owners.
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