"International Czech" - light machine gun vz. 26
Soldier of the Red Army with a Czech machine gun vz. 26
Polovtsev deftly untangled the white rawhide belts,
tightly swaddled with a cloak, unfolded it
and took out parts of a disassembled light machine gun,
wrapped in oiled burlap
four mattly gleaming disks.
Mikhail Sholokhov, "Virgin Soil Upturned"
stories about weapons. The First World War ended and showed that it was impossible to fight in the next such war without a reliable light machine gun. Moreover, she also determined his performance characteristics. The new machine gun, which was supposed to replace the military and pre-war models, was not supposed to resemble the Shosh machine gun, but was intended to be lighter than the Lewis machine gun, have a quick-release magazine and barrel, be technologically advanced in production, as well as quite rapid-fire and accurate. Cooling - only air.
Fighters of the Chinese army of the Kuomintang with a machine gun vz. 26
Already in the early 20s, the development of just such a weapon was taken up in several countries of the world at once, including the USSR and Czechoslovakia, where work on a light machine gun for the infantry squad began at the Prague company Prague. The designer Vaclav Holek developed a new machine gun, and already on March 24, 1925, the license for its production was sold to an arms company in the city of Brno called "Czechska Zbrojovka".
As a result, the light machine gun vz. 26.
Chinese soldiers are learning how to shoot vz. 26 in gas masks
He worked on the principle of removing powder gases from the barrel and used 7,92 mm Mauser rifle cartridges. For power, a straight box magazine for 20 rounds was used, attached from above. There was also a longer magazine for 30 rounds, but it did not receive distribution. The theoretical rate of fire was 500, practical - 200 rounds per minute. The range of the bullet was 3 meters. The length was 200 mm, and the weight without a magazine was 1 kg. The durability of the barrel was high and reached 165 shots, but when shooting 8,84 rounds (14 magazines), the barrel had to be changed according to the instructions so that it cooled down.
Actions of the Czechoslovak army against Sudeten-German terrorists, 1938
The machine gun underwent significant changes during operation, and its last modification before the war was the LK vz. 30J (Yugoslavian). The license for the ZGB33 machine gun, which was a modified sample of the vz. 26, was sold to the UK, where the production of the Bran machine gun was launched on its basis. In addition, the machine gun "26" and its subsequent versions were supplied to Romania and Yugoslavia, as well as Lithuania, China, Ecuador, Persia (Iran), Siam (Thailand) and Brazil. Those countries were followed by deliveries to Afghanistan, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Chile, Iraq, Guatemala, Peru, Spain, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela.
German soldiers with vz. 26 on the Soviet-German front
Of course, at the same time, machine guns were produced in different calibers and types (vz. 26, 27, 30, 30J) and were further modified at the request of the customer. The number of machine guns exported between 1926 and 1941 reached 100 pieces - an excellent indicator for such, in general, not a very large country like Czechoslovakia.
Croatian Chetniks in Lopar 1942
Domestically, the production of vz. 26 began in 1926 and continued (including gradually adding new versions) until 1941, when its production was discontinued by order of the German authorities. After the war, the production of smaller series of machine guns vz. 26. was established in Australia, Great Britain, Canada and India (modification "Bran"), as well as in Spain (under the designation FAO) and in China. At the same time, he participated in all the conflicts that took place on the globe in the 1930s-1950s.
Machine gun vz. 26 bought by Sweden in 1939. The 7,9 mm caliber has been replaced by a 6,5 mm caliber. Army Museum in Stockholm
In September 1938, the Czechoslovak army had over 34 of these weapons. Old machine guns vz. 000 The Ministry of National Defense used to offer the Brno factory for export, in return for which the company supplied it with the latest machine guns.
As a result, it was this machine gun that turned out to be the most common light machine gun in the world before the war, and it also served in the infantry, was used on tanks and armored cars, as well as in fortifications as the main and auxiliary weapons.
Device diagram vz. 26
TTX machine gun vz. 26
Caliber: 7,92×57 Mauser
Overall length: 1 mm
Barrel length: 602 mm
Weight without magazine: 8,84 kg
Empty magazine weight: 0,32 kg, loaded: 2,46 kg
Maximum rate of fire: 500 rds / min
Practical rate of fire: 200 rds / min
Maximum firing range: 3 m
Effective firing range: 2 m
Machine gun vz. 26. View from the left. Photo Arundel Militaria deactivated-guns.co.uk
Light machine gun ZB 30J, also known as vz. 30/37, was a continuation of the successful design of the vz. 26 and the last produced version of this machine gun.
Barrel, vent tube, bipod and flash suppressor. There is a seven-position regulator on the gas tube, which allows you to fine-tune the automation of the machine gun. Photo Arundel Militaria deactivated-guns.co.uk
And it happened that in the second half of the 1930s, Czech Zbrojovka tried to succeed in the competition for the Yugoslav machine gun market. However, her luck with the vz. 26 was hampered by strong foreign competition. The reason was the lower price offered by competitors for the machine gun, which in turn required the modernization of the production of vz. 26 in Czechoslovakia in order to reduce its cost.
Barrel ribs, handle for changing the barrel and carrying the machine gun, sliding magazine cap. Photo Arundel Militaria deactivated-guns.co.uk
Testing machine guns vz. 30 and vz. 34 revealed a number of defects primarily related to the use of ammunition, but in the end it was these two reconstructions that gave rise to another type of the ZB series - the ZB 30J machine gun for Yugoslavia, which was extremely unpretentious in terms of the quality of ammunition.
Barrel grip (left), disc sight, fuse/fire selector (just above the trigger). Photo Arundel Militaria deactivated-guns.co.uk
The machine gun also received a tripod, on which he could partially perform the tasks of a heavy machine gun. In addition, it could also be mounted on this tripod for anti-aircraft fire.
Shutter handle. Photo Arundel Militaria deactivated-guns.co.uk
The contract for 15 machine guns, concluded in July 000, was subsequently rightly noted as a deal only in quotation marks, since its price was unprofitable for the manufacturer, and all trade was carried out solely to maintain prestige and preserve the market for the future. After the first part of the contract was completed by production in Brno, all other machine guns were produced under license already in Yugoslavia at an arms factory in Kragujevac. Well, the Yugoslav army received it in 1936 as a standard light machine gun under the designation Puska-Mitralez M.1937.
Machine gun vz. 30 with reduced barrel fins. Photo by Martin Vlach fronta.cz.
Other countries where the ZB 30J was sold were, for example, Bolivia, Afghanistan and Venezuela. It was also widely used by the German armed forces (designation 7,92mm LeMG 148(j)), especially by Waffen SS units operating in Yugoslavia. On the other hand, they were used in large numbers in the ranks of the Yugoslav partisans, and ... Chetnik collaborators.
Shop to vz. 30. Photo by Martin Vlach fronta.cz.
The development of the family of machine guns vz. 26 shows the gradual removal of barrel ribs (we see a fully ribbed barrel on the vz. 26 and a completely smooth barrel on the Bran machine gun). At first it was believed that due to the fins, the cooling surface of the barrel increases, which means that it cools itself better. In practice, especially when installed in pillboxes, it was possible to establish that the weapon is effectively cooled only when it is in motion. If the machine gun stands still during firing, then its barrel heats up faster, since in this case a thermal cushion forms around the ribs.
Filling stores by hand was difficult. Therefore, such a device was developed for the machine gun, equipped with four rifle clips at once. Photo by Martin Vlach fronta.cz.
Charger at work. Photo by Martin Vlach fronta.cz.
TTX light machine gun ZB 30J
Caliber: 7,92 × 57 Mauser
Overall length: 1 mm
Barrel length: 602 mm
Weight: 9,58 kg
Theoretical rate of fire: 500–550 rds/min
Initial speed of the bullet: 762 m / s
Effective firing range: 2 m
Incomplete disassembly of the machine gun vz. 26. Photo by forgottenweapons.com
The machine gun had a very interesting device: firstly, a very long gas piston, so its stroke was correspondingly long. Secondly, its return spring was recessed into the stock. The barrel bore is locked by tilting the bolt in the vertical plane. Spent cartridges are ejected down under the receiver. The ejection hole in the stowed position is closed with a sliding cover.
The photo shows a bolt attached to a core bolt at the end of a very long gas piston. The figured protrusion on the bolt itself and the triangular protrusion in the back of the frame, against which the bolt abuts when moving back, are clearly visible. Rectangular recesses on the shutter are made to facilitate it. Photo forgottenweapons.com
In this photo, Ian McCollum from Forgotten weapons shows exactly how the vz. 26. As you can see, nothing complicated has been invented, on the contrary, everything is very, very simple. In this position, when moving back, the bolt disengages from the frame and the spent cartridge case is extracted. Then the shutter and the frame move forward together and interlock at the very moment when the shutter mirror rests on the bottom of the cartridge case. Photo forgottenweapons.com
The last use in combat vz. 26 found during the war in Afghanistan ...
PS
Machine gun vz. 26 often acted in films. But the Soviet and Russian moviegoers hardly had and have the opportunity to see all the films with his participation.
We note the most famous and accessible: “Death is called Engelchen” (1963), “Urgent ... secret ... Gubchek” (1982), “Single voyage” (1985), “Fatal eggs” (1995), “We were soldiers” (2002) , "Fight of local importance" (2008).
Information