CZ stands for Česká zbrojovka which means Czech Armory. Most CZ-marked firearms are connected with
Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod
Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod (CZUB) is an engineering company based in Uherský Brod, Czech Republic whose main activities include the production of service, hunting and sports firearms. It is owned by the Czech holding company Colt CZ ...
(ČZUB) – a Czech firearms manufacturer founded 1936. CZ is a
registered trade mark.
History
Historically there were several other factories associated with the name Česká zbrojovka ("Czech Arms Factory" in
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
), often rendered simply as "ČZ" in general. Below you can find a list of different producers of weapons in the Czech republic, during different periods.
The factories include:
*
Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod
Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod (CZUB) is an engineering company based in Uherský Brod, Czech Republic whose main activities include the production of service, hunting and sports firearms. It is owned by the Czech holding company Colt CZ ...
(ČZUB) – since 1936
*
Zbrojovka Praga – founded before 1917, and active
* Československá státní zbrojovka (
Zbrojovka Brno
Pre-war Československá zbrojovka, akc.spol. (or a.s.) (Czechoslovak Armory)and post-war Zbrojovka Brno, n.p.(Brno Armory) was a maker of small arms, light artillery, and motor vehicles in Brno, Czechoslovakia. It also made other products and ...
) – 1917–2007
*
Česká zbrojovka Strakonice
Česká is a municipality and village in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,000 inhabitants.
Česká lies approximately north-west of Brno and south-east of Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ...
– since 1919
*
Zbrojovka Vsetín (ZVI
– since 1937 ()
*
Alfa-Projbr>
– since 1993 ()
* Arms Moravia (
Technoex– founded 1993
Firearms made in many different factories in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
and later the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
have been sold under the name ''ČZ'', ''
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
'' or ''Vz''.
''ČZ'' (or ''CZ'') is an abbreviation of ''Česká zbrojovka'', while ''vz.'' (or ''Vz.'', ''vz'', ''Vz'') is an abbreviation of ''vzor'' ("model"). In most cases, only weapons adopted by the Czechoslovak or Czech military have the sign "vz." in the name, although there are some exceptions to this rule. ''Sa'' (or ''Sa.'') is an abbreviation of ''samopal'' ("
submachine gun
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...
"). The Czech army used the term "samopal" for the
Sa vz. 58 although it is an
assault rifle, so this may be as an analogy to Russian term ''automat''.
Note that military weapons after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
were designed by several independent development centers (e.g., ZVS-VVÚ Brno, VTÚVM
Slavičín
Slavičín () is a town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,200 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Villages of Divnice, Hrádek na Vlárské dráze and Nevšová are administrative parts of Slavičín.
Geogr ...
etc.) and then assigned to a production factory.
ČZW
Czech Weapons (ČZW) was a subsidiary group of Česká zbrojovka who develops and evaluates firearms.
Developments and Products
*''ČZW-556'' (Czech Republic - Assault Rifle - 5.56×45mm NATO)
*''ČZW-762'' (Czech Republic - Light Machine Gun - 7.62×39mm M43)
*''ČZW-438'' (Czech Republic - Personal Defence Weapon - 4.38×30mm Libra)
**''ČZW-438 M9'' (Czech Republic - Submachine Gun - 9×19mm Parabellum)
*''ČZW-9'' (Czech Republic - Submachine Gun - 9×19mm Parabellum)
**''ČZW-9M'' (Czech Republic - Submachine Gun - 9×19mm Parabellum)
*''ČZW-9PS'' (Czech Republic - Submachine Gun - 9×19mm Parabellum)
**''ČZW-9FC'' (Czech Republic - Submachine Gun - 9×19mm Parabellum)
*''ČZW-127'' (Czech Republic - Anti Materiel Rifle - 12.7×99mm NATO)
*''ČZW-40'' (Czech Republic - Grenade Launcher - 40×53mm)
*''RAG-30'' (Czech Republic - Grenade Launcher - VOG 17)
**''SAG-30'' (Czech Republic - Grenade Launcher - VOG 17)
See also
To see the full article about firearms produced by this company please see *
Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod
Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod (CZUB) is an engineering company based in Uherský Brod, Czech Republic whose main activities include the production of service, hunting and sports firearms. It is owned by the Czech holding company Colt CZ ...
(ČZUB)
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceska Zbrojovka firearms
Ceska Zbrojovka
Companies of Czechoslovakia