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Merkel Jagd- und Sportwaffen GmbH is a manufacturer of hunting weapons in
Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...
,
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
. It manufactures bolt-action rifles, double rifles, Drillings, and shotguns. Merkel has been a subsidiary of the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
company
Caracal International Caracal International LLC is a small arms company headquartered in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, responsible for producing a variety of small arms for use by civilians, professional law enforcement and military operators. It is a sub ...
, based in Abu Dhabi, since 2007.


History

Albert Oskar Merkel, Karl Paul Merkel, and Gebhard Merkel founded the company Gebrüder Merkel Suhl in 1898, then in 1905 the company began manufacturing weapons. Albert Oskar Merkel retired in 1907 from the company. During World War I hunting weapons production suffered, and many overseas markets were lost. After the war, Merkel rifles were again being exported to 28 countries, although the company did not fully recover from the consequences of the war until 1924. The co-founder Gebhard Merkel died in 1933, and in 1938, Adolf Schade and Ernst Merkel took over the management. After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the company began producing carbines and engine and equipment parts. In 1937
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
received a Merkel shotgun engraved with game scenes. It is thought that
General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
of Spain commissioned this gun and gifted it to Göring. After the end of the war the gun was captured and presented to then General, Dwight Eisenhower, and it is now on display in the NRA Museum in Fairfax. In 1942 Karl Paul Merkel died, and by 1943 the production of hunting weapons came to a virtual halt. After the war the production of hunting weapons commenced, and in 1952 the company became owned by the government of the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...
(East Germany). After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the company went through modernisation, and in 2007 it was sold to the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
company
Caracal International Caracal International LLC is a small arms company headquartered in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, responsible for producing a variety of small arms for use by civilians, professional law enforcement and military operators. It is a sub ...
which is a part of the state's owned
EDGE Group EDGE Group ( ar, مجموعة إيدج) is a United Arab Emirates (UAE) state-owned conglomeration of 25 companies to provide military weaponry and related technologies. It is headquartered in the UAE. History On 5 November 2019, the EDGE group ...
.


References

{{Reflist


Sources

* инженер Н. Терехов. Ружья "Меркель" // журнал «Охота и охотничье хозяйство», No. 6, 1978. стр.28-29


External links


Official website
Firearm manufacturers of Germany Companies based in Thuringia