The Vz. 50 (also known as the CZ 50) is a Czechoslovakian made double-action, semi-automatic pistol. Vz is an abbreviation of the Czech (as well as Slovak) term "vzor" meaning model.

History

Design

After the

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, Czechoslovakia's Ministry of the Interior requested a new pistol design from

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 ...

. The resulting gun was chambered in

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and designed by two brothers Jan and Jaroslav Kratochvíl. It combined elements from both the

Walther PP The Walther PP (german: Polizeipistole, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. It features an exposed hammer, a traditional double-ac ...

and PPK. The pistol is fed from an 8-round single-stack magazine, located within the

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paneled grip. Small fixed sights are located on top of the slide. The pistol functions via the blowback principle - gas pressure from burning powder simultaneously forces the cartridge case and slide backward and forces the bullet forward in the barrel. After it reaches the end of its rearward travel, the recoil spring returns the slide to its forward position, stripping and chambering a new round from the magazine as it does so, rendering the gun ready to fire again. Hammer and trigger operation is single and double action .

Manufacture

Vz. 50s were sold commercially but most were distributed to police agencies under control of the Ministry of the Interior. They were produced initially at

Strakonice Strakonice (; german: Strakonitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Strakonice is made up of town parts of Strakonice I and Strakonice II, and villages of Dražejov, ...

and later at

Uherský Brod Uherský Brod (; german: Ungarisch Brod) is a town in Uherské Hradiště District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument ...

. Manufacture ended in 1970 with the refinement of the pistol in a new model known as the Vz. 70.

Markings

Serial numbers

Serial numbers start at 650001, continuing from the discontinued vz. 27 serial number range. Pistols manufactured at the Strakonice factory fall in the 740000 range. Pistols manufactured at Uhersky Brod have 5 digit serial numbers preceded by a letter (which may change in the middle of a number series).

Date stamp

The last two digits of the year of manufacture are stamped on the left rear of the slide next to the proof stamp (a lion superimposed on an "N").

Government property stamp

Vz 50s bearing a stamp of crossed swords indicates they were government property.

Variants

In 1970, an update of the Vz. 50 was released with minor cosmetic changes and internal improvements called the Vz. 70 (also known as CZ 70). These changes included: * New grip shape with a larger recess (Called the "tang") for the web between thumb and finger. * Milling on the trigger guard was changed to a more blended merge with the frame, removing sharp angles. * New grip pattern using a grid of dimples instead of grooves. * Top of the slide is engraved with a fine wave pattern to reduce glare. * Serial number is stamped on the slide under the ejection port instead of below and behind it. * Slide serrations are wider and there are more of them. * Take down lever has a cross hatched instead of grooved surface. * Larger hammer with a hole in it. * Smaller magazine release. * Magazines have new base with a more angular and less curved shape * Grip extension via a modified floor-plate on the magazine (for the

pinky finger The little finger, or pinkie, also known as the baby finger, fifth digit, or pinky finger, is the most ulnar and smallest digit of the human hand, and next to the ring finger. Etymology The word "pinkie" is derived from the Dutch word ''pink ...

References

External links

World Guns, Modern Firearms, Handguns" ''Cz-50 / vz.50 and Cz-70 / vz.70 pistols (Czechoslovakia)''

The Original CZ Forum

CZ Forum

CZ - Handgun Forum

CZ Firearm Forum

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Semi-automatic pistols of Czechoslovakia .32 ACP semi-automatic pistols Firearms articles needing attention