Glock 18, released in 1986, was created on the basis of the Model 17 for the EKO Cobra (Einsatzkommando Cobra) anti-terrorist special unit of the Austrian Federal Police, which required a light compact weapon with the ability to fire in bursts. The main difference from the Glock 17 is the presence of an automatic fire mode, which is activated by the firing mode switch lever located on the left surface of the rear part of the shutter-casing.
Glock 18 also differs in the dimensions of the frame guides and the shutter-casing, the trigger parts and the barrel, which is done to exclude interchangeability with other models in order to prevent the conversion of pistols permitted on the civilian market into fully automatic weapons.
Glock 18 is also easy to distinguish by the muzzle of the barrel protruding beyond the breech-casing with holes on top. These holes are an integrated jet-type compensator that reduces the toss of the weapon when firing. On the 18C, the holes in the barrel match the holes in the breechblock as on the 17C. The weapon can use both standard magazines with a capacity of 19 rounds, and magazines for the model 17. There are also magazines with a capacity of 31 rounds. Given the very high rate of fire, it is preferable to use the latter, since a magazine fully loaded with 31 rounds in automatic mode is completely empty in a little less than two seconds. The pistol has demonstrated excellent reliability in shooting tests with thousands of cartridges in automatic mode.
Glock 18C pistol
Various firms produce butts and magazines for it with a capacity of up to 100 rounds. Adaptations for the Glock 17 for automatic fire are also produced. Shooting in practice a full magazine with a capacity of 100 rounds using a stock showed the minimum effect of recoil in the absence of delays. Throughout the 20th century, different countries tried to adapt the pistol for firing in bursts. These attempts turned out to be usually unsuccessful and such weapons were later used as ordinary self-loading pistols from which only single pistols were fired due to the extremely low accuracy and rapid consumption of ammunition in automatic mode. As a result, special forces prefer to use submachine guns rather than automatic pistols.
In the United States, Glock 18 began to be delivered only in 1989, and then in very small quantities. Despite the immense popularity of the company's other pistols, the Glock 18 and Glock 18C did not gain acceptance. The reason is the narrow specialization of the model, legal restrictions and high cost. Nevertheless, shooting from Model 18 is very interesting. In practice, even at such a high rate of fire, the weapon remains controllable and at short distances it puts bullets in a fairly heap. With continuous shooting from it hundreds of cartridges, the shutter-casing and the barrel get very hot, but after cooling the weapon in cold water, the pistol continues to work flawlessly.
Main characteristics of Glock 18 / Glock 18C
Caliber: 9mm Parabellum
Weapon length: 186 mm
Barrel length: 114 mm
Weapon height: 155 mm
Weapon width: 30 mm
Weight without cartridges: 624 g / 589 g.
Rate of fire: 1200 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 17, 19, 31 rounds
