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Steyr Arms () is a
firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...
s manufacturer based in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. Originally part of ''
Steyr-Daimler-Puch Steyr-Daimler-Puch () was a large manufacturing conglomerate based in Steyr, Austria, which was broken up in stages between 1987 and 2001. The component parts and operations continued to exist under separate ownership and new names. History Th ...
'', it became independent when the conglomerate was broken up in 1989. Prior to 1 January 2019, the company was named ''Steyr Mannlicher GmbH Co. KG'' (). In April 2024, the company was acquired by Czech ''RSBC Holding'' a.s., which owns also
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
n gun maker '' Arex Arms''.


History


Origins

Steyr has been on the "
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
road" to the nearby Erzberg mine since the days of the Styrian Otakar dukes and their Babenberg successors in the 12th and 13th century, and has been known as an industrial site for forging weapons. The privilege of iron and steel production, particularly for knives, was renewed by the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
duke Albert of Austria in 1287. After the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, thousands of
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
s,
pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...
s, and
carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...
s were produced annually for the Habsburg Imperial Army. In 1821, Leopold Werndl (1797–1855), a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
in Steyr, began
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...
iron parts for weapons. After his father's death, 24-year-old Josef Werndl (1831–1889) took over his factory. On April 16, 1864, he founded the ''Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle in Oberletten'' (Josef and Franz Werndl & Partners Weapons Factory and Sawmill in Oberletten), from which later emerged the ''Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft'' (ŒWG, Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company), a stock company ( AG) since 1869, of which in the future ''Steyr Arms'' firearm production was a part. In 1912 '' Bodencreditanstalt'' bank became a majority shareholder.


World War I

Werndl's cooperation with
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
Ferdinand Mannlicher (1848–1904), who had
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
ed an advanced repeating rifle in use by the
Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
, made ŒWG one of the largest weapon manufacturers in Europe. At the beginning of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, with more than 15,000 employees, production output was 4,000 weapons per day. The company introduced the world's first machine pistol, the ''Steyr Repetierpistole'' M1912/P16, during World War I; it was a machine pistol version of the Steyr M1912 pistol, and was manufactured as product model ''Repetierpistole M1912/P16''. It used a 16-round fixed magazine loaded via 8 round stripper clips, a detachable shoulder stock and a rather large exposed semi-auto/full-auto selector switch on the right side of the frame above the trigger (down = semi & up = full). It fired the
9×23mm Steyr The 9×23mm Steyr, also known as 9mm Steyr, is a centerfire pistol cartridge originally developed for the Steyr M1912 pistol. History Adopted in 1912, the 9mm Steyr was the service ammunition for most branches of the military in Austria-Hung ...
cartridge, with a full-auto rate-of-fire of about 800 to 1,000 rounds per minute (RPM). It weighed about 2.6 pounds. Introduced in 1916, it is considered one of the world's first full-auto capable pistols. Only 960 M1912/P16 were made.


Aftermath of World War I

After the war, weapons production in Steyr was all but entirely prohibited according to the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain, and the company faced
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
. To survive, the ŒWG converted their
machinery A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolec ...
to concentrate on producing Steyr automobiles under chief designers
Hans Ledwinka Hans Ledwinka (14 February 1878 – 2 March 1967) was an Austrian automobile designer. Youth Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria), near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He started his career as a mechanic, a ...
and
Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...
, as well as
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...
s (colloquially called ''Waffenräder'' (weapon bicycles)). In 1926 the company changed its name to ''Steyr-Werke'', in 1934 to ''Steyr Daimler Puch''. The production of ''Steyr Daimler Puch'' weapons continued in cooperation with ''Patronenfabrik Solothurn AG'' at Zuchwil in neutral
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.


World War II

After the Austrian ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
'' to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in 1938, the Steyr factories were incorporated into the ''
Reichswerke Hermann Göring Reichswerke Hermann Göring ("Hermann Göring Reich Works") was an industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate in Nazi Germany from 1937 until 1945. It was established to extract and process domestic iron ores from Salzgitter that were deemed ...
'' industrial conglomerate and the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
provided a brief revival in weapons production. Like many other companies, ''Steyr Daimler Puch'' relied also on forced labour, employing from the Steyr-Münichholz subcamp of KZ Mauthausen.


Since 1950s

During the 1950s the Mannlicher–Schönauer full stock rifle, designed in 1900, experienced a renaissance. Simultaneously, the re-emergence of the Austrian Armed Forces in the second republican state was the base for new military weapons production. In 1989, after the partial dissolution of the ''Steyr Daimler Puch'' conglomerate, the weapon division was named '' Steyr Mannlicher'' in honour of the great
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
engineer Ferdinand Mannlicher. The name remained in place until 2019, now ''Steyr Arms''. The trade mark ''Mannlicher'' is traditionally known for
hunting weapon Hunting weapons are weapons designed or used primarily for hunting game animals for food or sport, as distinct from defensive weapons or weapons used primarily in warfare. Characteristics Since human beings are lacking in the natural weapons po ...
s such as the Mannlicher-Schönauer repeating rifle. The company continues to produce hunting weapons.


The AUG

In the 1970s, Steyr developed an innovative assault rifle, the StG 77. A bullpup design, the StG 77 extensively utilized synthetic materials, and integrated fixed optics. The export version became the Steyr AUG—''Armee Universal Gewehr'' (Universal Army Rifle), eventually used by the armed forces of over 24 countries. It has been prominently featured in films such as ''
Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond filmography, J ...
'', ''
Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...
'', and ''
Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...
''.


Products

;Assault rifles * AUGbullpup
assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...
* ACR – experimental flechette rifle * STM556modular assault rifle * Steyr G62 - upgraded G36 ;Battle rifles * StG-58 ;Rifles * M1886
bolt-action rifle Bolt action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the turn-bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (as most users are right-handed). The majority of b ...
* M1888 – bolt-action rifle * M1890 – bolt-action rifle * M1895 – bolt-action rifle * Dutch Mannlicher M.95 – bolt-action rifle * Mannlicher–Schönauer – bolt-action rifle * Steyr Model 1912 Mauser – bolt-action rifle * Steyr SSG 69
sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...
* Steyr Scout
scout rifle The scout rifle is a conceptual class of general-purpose rifles defined and promoted by Jeff Cooper in the early 1980s that bears similarities in the design and functionality of guide guns, mountain rifles, and other rifle archetypes, but with m ...
* Steyr SSG 04 – sniper rifle * Steyr SSG 08 – sniper rifle * Steyr HS .50anti-materiel rifle * Steyr IWS 2000 – 15.2 mm anti-materiel rifle * DMR 762 - Semi-auto Designated Marksman Rifle ;for hunting e.g.: *Breeze *Carbon *CL II *Gams *Monobloc *SM12 *Scout II *Steyr Custom *Pro Varmint *THB *Zephyr II ;Submachine guns * MPi 69 (Variant: Steyr MPi 81) * TMP ;Pistols * M1894 (1894–?) * M1901 (1901–1903) * M.7 (1908–1913) * M1912 (1912–1945) * SP (1957-1964) * GB (1981–1988) * M Series (1999–present) ;Grenade launchers *GL 40 – side loading 40 mm grenade launcher


Date codes

Steyr pistols are marked with a three-digit date code on the slide just forward of the ejection port. The first letter represents the month of manufacture. The second and third letters represent the last two digits of the year of manufacture. In this example, the date code "BOY" indicates a pistol manufactured in April 2007.


See also

* Steyr Sportwaffen GmbH


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Firearm manufacturers of Austria * Economy of Lower Austria 1864 establishments in the Austrian Empire