So, a lot of discussion here has focused on the G3 v. G11 v. G41 v. G36 v. MPiK-74 for the reunified German Army in the v1.0 timeline. Well, apparently there's another competitor, one that I'd never heard of before. I ran across an article on the HK32 in Recoil magazine today. It appears that the West German gov't. was interested in producing a rifle that could be fed 7.62x39mm ammunition from standard Kalashnikov magazines. According to the article, the reasoning behind this was the potential for sudden reunification with the DDR, coupled with NATO ammunition shortages. This scenario sounds uncannily similar to the T2K v1.0 premise!
http://www.recoilweb.com/recoil-issue-25-94571.html
There's an image of a modern version of the HK32 center right on the magazine cover liked to above. There's not much, online, about the HK32, but apparently a few got past the prototype stage and ended up in, of all places, Mexico.
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...cal-hk32-seen-
http://www.hkpro.com/index.php?optio...86:hk32-series
So, I wouldn't be surprised that, in the run-up to the v1.0 reunification, the W. German government ordered substantial numbers of the HK32 to equip former E. German units once they were absorbed into the Bundeswehr. Perhaps, instead of the more complex, more expensive G11, production was split between HK33s or 41s for W. German units and the HG32 for E. German units. That way, both segments of the newly reunified German army would be equipped with very similar weapons that could draw on existing stockpiles of ammunition.
I haven't had much time to mull this over, but I'm really liking this idea.