"Scorpion EVO 3": a continuation of the legend
Submachine gun vz. 61 The Scorpion has become perhaps the most innovative product of the Czech defense industry. For the first time, an ultra-compact submachine gun was created and launched into a mass production, occupying an intermediate position between a pistol and a submachine gun. Due to its size and the possibility of concealed carrying "Scorpion" has gained popularity among the special services and forces of covert operations, rightfully becoming one of the armory legends of the past century. In the late 90s, the Scorpion trademark was officially registered by the CZ company from Usherski Brod, and the legendary name was given to a new model of compact automatic weapons. But the third generation Scorpion is not a modern remake of the early 60s model.
The “grandfather” of the modern “Scorpion”, the legendary Scorpion vz. Xnumx
The main problem of the "Scorpion" model 61, was relatively low-power ammunition, Browning cartridge caliber 7,65 x 17 mm. Therefore, it is not surprising that over time, a whole range of variants of the submachine gun appeared in other calibers (9 x 18 mm PM, 9 x 17 mm Short, 9 x 19 mm Luger). The most successful of them was a somewhat weighted and enlarged version of the CZ Scorpion 9 x 19, released in small numbers in the second half of the 90's. Another more radical upgrade option was the CZ 868 model, equipped with a plastic butt, front handle, optional silencer and brackets for mounting modern optics and tactical accessories. With this CZ model in the period from 2005 to 2006, I tried to become a member of the Advanced Infantry Weapons Systems AIWS (Advanced Infantry Weapons Systems) program. But the upgraded СZ 868, in fact, transformed into a carbine under the pistol cartridge and did not have any significant advantages over the existing samples. Therefore, it became the second generation Scorpion's swan song. At the same time, along with the failure of СZ 868, Czech designers came to the understanding that it is impossible to achieve positive results by reviving the model almost half a century old. Tactical and technical requirements for weapons, applied materials and coatings have changed significantly, new and more advanced technological processes have appeared. Especially a lot of complaints from manufacturers caused the manufacturing technology of the old "Scorpion", which lagged far behind the current level. There was only one way out - the development of a fundamentally new model was required.
Third birth
The idea of a new software to replace the Scorpion was relevant not only in the Czech Republic, but also in neighboring Slovakia. In 2001, a group of enthusiasts from the city of Trencin decided to start developing a new design of their own design, giving it the name LAUGO LTG-1. The name LAUGO comes from the abbreviated name of the city of Trencin in Latin - Laugaricio, and the abbreviation LTG-1 - from the first letters of the names of the developers: Jan Lucanschi, Peter Tverdym and Frantisek Gasparik. By the way, Jan Luchansky is a former military specialist who took part in the war in the Balkans and has unique knowledge in the field of small arms. During the war in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, he was given the opportunity to closely meet, compare and test in shooting not only all modern NATO infantry weapons, but many samples of weapons from the former Yugoslavia and the Warsaw Pact countries, as well as weapons produced in the Balkans in an artisanal or semi-handicraft way ( for example, PP Agram-2000, Šokac P1, Zagi M91 or ERO). To this list must be added the weapons of the Second World War, most of German origin, still in circulation in this hot spot of Europe.
9 mm submachine gun CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 (left view)
Already at the development stage, the LAUGO submachine gun attracted the attention of experts with its originality and simplicity of the device. At the same time, the initiative group had neither the financial nor the technical capabilities to continue the project on its own. Therefore, the Slovak designers were actively looking for investors who could support or adopt the software development. So in 2004, the LAUGO submachine gun first came to the attention of CZ specialists, but the prototype that existed at that time did not fully meet the requirements that a sample developed for the armed forces should meet. Required design revision. Nevertheless, the interest from the "Czech Zbroevka" was a good incentive for the Slovak designers to speed up the work on the prototype and finalize it taking into account the requirements. In this segment, the work was temporarily taken under its wing by the Slovak holding ZVS from Dubnica nad Vagom, the heir of one of the arms factories of the famous Skoda company, today known as the manufacturer of small arms and artillery ammunition and Slavia air rifles. He made a prototype PP under the designation LAUGO M6 and presented it at the IDET-2005 arms exhibition in Brno. It was supposed to produce PP both for the army (standard version M6-A, short version M6-K and version with a silencer M6-SD), and for the civilian market (carbine M6-C1 and shortened carbine M6-C2). Finally, in January 2007, a contract was signed between the LAUGO development team and CZ. By this time, the project of the new PP was almost two-thirds ready, and Cheshskaya Zbroevka took over some of the work, such as the development of plastic stores, USM with a fixed queue length, and also a variant chambered for 40 S&W. In addition, LAUGO's design engineers have become full-time employees of CZ. In particular, Yan Luchansky became responsible for fine-tuning the PP, ergonomics and the development of a new stock. Czech designer CZ Jaroslav Chervik took responsibility for construction materials, development of design and technological documentation.
9-mm submachine gun CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 (right view)
Representatives of the army and the police also took part in the creation of the new Scorpion. A tradition has long been established in the enterprise from Ushersky Brod, at the development stage, to demonstrate prototypes and prototypes to representatives of potential customers. СZ was very attentive to the critical comments and suggestions received during such meetings. For the most part, they concerned ease of handling and weapon ergonomics.
The very first presentation of the new weapon took place in May 2009, at the IDET-2009 exhibition. Fully developed software was completed in the second half of the same year, after which tests began to test weapons for compliance with Western military standards. At this stage, the model was given the official designation CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1. The abbreviation EVO 3 in the designation of the weapon indicates that it belongs to the third generation of submachine guns with the name “Scorpion”, A1 - that this is the first modification with automatic (“A”) fire mode. Self-loading version with the ability to conduct only a single fire, designed for the civilian market, denoted by the letter "S".
Design
The Scorpion EVO 3 A1 is a light automatic individual weapon chambered for 9 x 19 mm Luger. Its automation is based on the principle of recoil of a heavy massive shutter. On the right side of the bolt there is a special recess, which is used for manual filling of the bolt in case of non-return of the bolt to the front position with heavy contamination of the weapon. Shooting is conducted from the closed shutter, which favorably affects the accuracy of shooting. After all cartridges in the magazine have been used up, the bolt remains in the rear position; it is removed from the slide delay by pressing the lever located on the left side of the weapon above the trigger guard. The cocking handle is made separately from the bolt and can therefore be moved to the other side of the weapon.
The receiver, which connects all the most important components of the weapon, consists of two halves and is made of high-strength polymer. In its front part is a sleeve into which the barrel is screwed. In addition to the receiver, the body of the firing mechanism, barrel cover, pistol grip and butt are made of polymeric materials. Such a wide use of plastics made the weapon very light: the weight of the Scorpion without ammunition is only 2770 g, about the same as that of the German PP MP5 in the version with a permanent butt (MP5 A2 or A4) considered to be the benchmark in its class. At the same time, the widespread use of plastics does not affect the combat properties of weapons: tests have shown that even after the 20 stores are used up, there is no overheating of the plastic parts of the weapons and firing from them can be done without gloves. Contrary to the widespread prejudice about the low durability of the “plastic” weapon, Czech PP showed a very good result during survivability tests, maintaining performance after 35 000 shots made in difficult for weapons conditions (during dusting, rain, at –50 ° C) etc.)
In total, the PCB is equipped with five Picatinny trims according to the STD-MIL-1913 standard: one of them is integrated with the upper part of the receiver, and the other four are located on each side of the plastic forearm. In the standard version, a mechanical sight consisting of an adjustable front sight and a diopter pillar is mounted on the Picatinny upper mounting bar.
The new "Scorpion" as a standard sight uses sights of the Italian company LPA: fiberglass front sight and diopter rear sight of the type "Ghost-Ring"
The trigger mechanism trigger, has three modes of fire: single, bursts of 3 rounds and continuous. The change of fire modes is carried out by a double-sided flag translator-fuse located in the upper part of the handle and conveniently controlled by the thumb of the shooting hand. Near the translator-fuse there is a horizontal pictogram applied to help determine the set fire mode. In addition to the manual fuse, there is an automatic fuse for blocking the impactor. The trigger mechanism PP is mounted in a detachable housing, which greatly facilitates its repair and maintenance. In addition, the upper part of the USM case serves as a guide for the shutter. This original solution allowed us to simplify the design of the receiver and make the incomplete disassembly of the weapon very simple and record fast.
For incomplete disassembly of the new "Scorpion" is required to defuse weapons, separate the store and pull back the cocking handle. After that, the front axle of the body of the trigger is knocked out and the shutter with the return mechanism is removed into the opening formed at the bottom. By the way, this constructive decision of the Czechoslovak development team is protected by a patent.
Food PP is made from two-row stores with a capacity of 30 or 20 cartridges. They are made of plastic and have a transparent body that allows you to easily control the degree of filling and consumption of ammunition.
Plastic adjustable length butt equipped with a ribbed butt pad
Butt PP plastic, folding on the right side of the receiver. In this case, the weapon does not lose its ability to fire. If such a need arises, the butt can be completely separated from the weapon. In its device, the butt is very similar to the butt of the Belgian FN SCAR assault rifle, which served as a prototype for the CZ805 BREN rifle. A feature of the butt is its telescopic design, which allows it to be adjusted in length. The new "Scorpion" can be changed in the horizontal direction and the position of the pistol grip. The ability to adjust according to the individual characteristics of the shooter was not put forward in the TTZ by any of the potential customers, however, thanks to this initiative of the designers, the weapon has excellent ergonomics and with a quick application turns out to be immediately aimed at the target. The pistol grip of the military version of the A1 differs from that of the civilian model S1: the latter has a smaller volume and does not allow to mount a gun with automatic firing modes in it from a combat version. Therefore, the alteration of the civil option in an automatic weapon is excluded.
The position of the pistol grip horizontally can be changed in accordance with the individual characteristics of the shooter
PP can be used both with a standard “two-point” belt with fastening on two swivels, and with a “three-point” belt, which allows you to carry weapons behind your back “in an Alpine style”, like biathletes. The other accessories of the third “Scorpion” include the silencer, LCC, tactical lights with fastening devices, additional handles, and the “red dot” collimator sights.
Of particular note is the simplicity of the design of the Czech submachine gun, consisting of more than 90 parts. A very high rate of shooting, equal to 1150 shots / min and allowing you to defuse the 30-charging magazine within 1,6 seconds, is striking. Nevertheless, the weapon is well controlled even with continuous firing in long bursts. The merit here belongs to the excellent shock absorption damping in the rearmost position, although the plastic buffer device used in the PC looks very modest. Most likely, a plastic receiver box absorbs the lion's share of the impact energy - this effect is well known in pistols with a frame made of polymer, which have noticeably softer recoil compared to their all-metal counterparts.
Application
Initially it was thought that the third generation Scorpion was a proactive development of the company, intended primarily for export. The reputation of the CZ and the legendary name could well become the key to the success of the Scorpion EVO 3 A1 in the international arms market. However, when an order from the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic followed the new submachine gun, it came as a surprise even to military experts. In the spring of 2010, the Czech MO concluded a contract for the supply of the Scorpion EVO 572 A3 1 PP as a personal self-defense weapon for equipping Prague Castle guards. The contract provides, in addition to the purchase of the weapon itself, the supply of accessories and ammunition for it. The Prague Castle Guard Brigade is an elite unit of the Czech Army that, in addition to its representative functions, performs the tasks of guarding the residence of the Czech President and his guests.
In 2012, the civilian version of the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 was introduced, which received the name CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 pistol. It is designed for professional and semi-professional training of representatives of power structures, private security guards, self-defense, IPSC sportsmen or just amateur shooters. The capacity of the 5, 10, 15 or 20 magazine cartridges. It is interesting that one of the Danish companies has already released an Airsoft version of the software.
In addition, representatives of the company said that the new "Scorpions" are already used by the Czech army units for special purposes. This relatively small, but fundamentally important success caused a surge of interest in the new PP from the very different power structures. For example, according to unofficial, but reliable information, the new "Scorpion" has already been seen in the hands of the soldiers of one of the special units of the Czech police. These facts, of course, give the Czech gunsmiths reason for optimism, but we will not be ahead of the events. As they say in the Czech Republic, do not praise the day until the evening. And yet, two important conclusions can be made absolutely accurately.
Firstly, the development and adoption of such models as the CZ 805 BREN assault rifle (see "Brother" No. 10, 2012) and the Scorpion EVO 3 A1 submachine gun showed that the Czech arms industry has overcome a protracted crisis and able to compete with the world's leading manufacturers. The third "Scorpion" is quite capable of claiming the role of PP to replace the well-deserved Hecker & Koch MP5, which has become almost a standard model of a submachine gun for police and special forces.
If necessary, the flame arrester can be screwed from the muzzle of the barrel and replaced with a barrel-mounted device for silent and flameless firing.
Secondly, on the example of the Scorpion EVO 3 A1, a tendency towards preference for submachine guns of the so-called "heavy class" was clearly manifested. Although the "light class" PP, to which the former Scorpions belong, the Polish PM-63 RAK, the Israeli Mini-Uzi and Micro-Uzi, or the American Ingram, compare favorably with the heavy PPs in terms of size and weight, they significant disadvantages, such as high ammunition consumption, insufficient stability when firing bursts, and inconvenience of holding with both hands. Heavy PPs, to which the Scorpion EVO 3 A1 belongs, are distinguished by their higher fire efficiency and much better ergonomics. The convenience of handling weapons has acquired particular importance today, since a modern fighter, as a rule, has to shoot in protective equipment (body armor, gloves). And if this is the case in winter, when winter clothes are also worn? In this case, ergonomics becomes paramount. And one more indisputable plus of the heavy PP: it is much easier to ensure the installation of modern sighting optoelectronics, such as night and day optical sights, collimators, LCC and tactical flashlights. Of course, there are situations when a light PP is more preferable - for example, if concealed carrying of weapons is necessary. Therefore, the class of light PPs has a right to exist, however, the niche they occupy is much smaller than that of PPs of the heavy class. In addition, in recent years, light PPs had to make room for a little in connection with the emergence of a new type of small arms - PDW, as well as self-loading pistols with high-capacity magazines. In this regard, CZ hit the very spot, making a stake in the course of its proactive development on the heavy-class PP. However, there are no obstacles to the creation of a light PP based on the Scorpion EVO 3 A1, as, for example, did Heckler & Koch, releasing a shortened and lightweight version of the MP5 K based on its heavy MP5. Regardless of this, the release of the third "Scorpion" on the market has become a notable event in the arms world.
Performance characteristics
CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 Weapon Sign
Manufacturer Ceská zbrojovka as Ushersky Brod, Czech Republic
Caliber 9 x 19 mm Luge
The principle of operation of automatic return free shutter
Inert barrel locking
Overall length with folded / folded butt 670 / 410 mm
Width 60 / 85 mm
Height with magazine (without sight) 196 mm
Barrel length 196 mm
Number of cuts 6
Pitch grooves 250 ± 10 mm
Sighting line length 240 mm
Weight weapons co equipped shop and belt 2,895 kg
Weight without magazine and belt 2,45 kg
0,1 kg empty magazine weight
Weight of the equipped shop 0,445 kg
20 or 30 magazine capacity
Effective range with an emphasis in a shoulder / from hands of 250 / 50 m
Permissible number of shots without interruption 600
Initial bullet speed 370 m / s
1150 firing rate / min
Information