The Glock fanciers among us (I guess there are some) might believe that the polymer frame was first introduced for pistols with the 9mm Glock 17.
It was not.
A bit of history. In the late 1950s, Remington introduced the Nylon 66 .22 semiautomatic rifle. This was the first firearm produced with a polymer frame.
In 1968, Heckler & Koch, in Germany, created a 9mm pistol that was ahead of its time and set a trend that continues to this day. Invented by Helmut Weldle and Alex Seidel, a co-founder of the company, it was subsequently known as the VP70. The "VP" stood for
Volkspistole (People's pistol) and the 70 represented the year of first manufacture. This was the first polymer-frame pistol.
There were two models. The first was the VP70M, the military version. The "M" stood for
Militar, or "Military" in German. It came with a detachable holster/buttstock. When attached, it converted the pistol into a selective fire machine pistol. A switch on the stock allowed for both semiautomatic and 3-shot bursts.
The second was the VP70Z. The "Z" stood for
Zivilversion, or civilian version. This one was semiautomatic only. One of these is illustrated below.
The VP70 series pioneered some concepts. These were striker fired, but when at rest and at the ready, no springs were partially compressed, unlike the later Glocks. The pistol was double action only. A pull on the stiff 18-pound-pull trigger both fully cocked and released the striker. Repeat strikes on the primer are possible with this system, unlike that used on the Glock.
The frame was polymer, with internal steel components. The slide and barrel were of course, steel. The barrel was fixed to the frame, much like the Walther PP pistol. Takedown was also similar to the PP. A latch located above the trigger was lowered, the slide pulled fully to the rear, and then lifted up at the rear. The slide could then be slid off to the front. A recoil spring surrounded the barrel, again like the PP.
Amazingly, the pistol was a blowback design, with no locking mechanism. The weight savings in the frame made up for the rather heavy slide. The double stack, slant-feed magazines held 18 rounds, making it a 19-shot pistol with one in the chamber.
The front sight was a wide polished ramp, with a darkened groove in its center. To my knowledge, this was unique. The safety was a push-button behind the trigger which locked the trigger. The mag release was at the heel, European-style.
The VP70s were totally reliable and built like tanks. One has been reported as firing over half a million rounds over the years, with no malfunctions attributable to the pistol.
Its bulk and that long, heavy double-action pull probably doomed the pistol. The only nations that adopted it were Morocco, Paraguay, and Portugal. It was discontinued by H&K in 1989.
Today, it's still a very serviceable, formidable and reliable self-defense pistol, but it's becoming more of a collector's item now. I thought you'd like to see one!
John
