Ludwig Vorgrimler
| Ludwig Vorgrimler | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ludwig Vorgrimler September 7, 1912 Freiburg, German Empire |
| Died | January 10, 1983 (aged 70) |
| Occupation | Inventor, engineer |
Dr. Ludwig Vorgrimler (September 7, 1912 – February 23, 1983) is the man most commonly associated with the design of the Spanish roller-delayed CETME rifle, and its prolific offspring from the German gunmaker Heckler & Koch such as the G3 and MP5.
Born in Freiburg, Germany, Vorgrimler worked as an engineer for several arms manufacturers over his long career. He briefly worked for the Krupp factory from January to November, 1936. From there, he was recruited by Ott von Lossnitzer, the director of Mauser Werke's Weapons Research Institute and Weapons Development Group. Vorgrimler remained with Mauser until August 1945. He was ultimately assigned to Department 37, which was responsible for military small arms up to 15 mm in caliber. Vorgrimler eventually led the sub-department in charge of aircraft weapon construction. By January 1944, Vorgrimler was ordered to design a heavy machinegun using the roller-delayed blowback operating system then under development for military rifles. In response, Vorgrimler attempted to convert the gas-operated roller-locked MG215 to the roller-delayed system. Work was not completed by the end of the Second World War. Vorgrimler would later claim that he participated in the development of the MG45, a conversion of the roller-locked MG42 to roller-delayed operation.
After the war ended, Mauser's Department 37 development group was placed under control of the French War Department's armament group, Direction des Etudes et Fabrication d'Armament (DEFA). The Mauser factory was renamed the DEFA Development Center, Oberndorf. The French continued work there through 1946, when workers and equipment began to be transferred to the Mulhouse area of Alsace. This became the Centre d'Etudes et d'Armament de Mulhouse (CEAM). The transfer of operations to Mulhouse was complete by March 1948. In February 1948, Vorgrimler and fellow Mauser engineer Theodor Löffler were assigned the development of roller-delayed carbines for the French. They worked separately on carbines for the experimental 7.65x35mm cartridge, developed by Cartoucherie de Valence. Their carbines were patterned upon the prototype StG45, which had been under development at Mauser prior to the end of the war. The French ultimately abandoned their 7.65×35mm cartridge in favor of the US .30 Carbine cartridge. Vorgrimler and Löffler then went to work on roller delayed carbines for the latter cartridge. Ultimately, Löffler's designs won out. Vorgrimler then devoted his efforts to improving Löffler's designs. Eventually, Vorgrimler tired of this and left CEAM at the end of June, 1950.
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