ZK-383
Encyclopedia
The ZK-338 is a submachine gun
and was developed by Koucký brothers who worked at the Zbrojovka Brno
arms factory in Czechoslovakia
. It was produced at a slow rate from 1938 and was exported as far as Latin American to Bolivia
and Venezuela
.
arms factory even during the German
occupation during World War II
. Most of the guns produced were handed to the Waffen-SS
. It continued to be produced in small numbers to European countries; Bulgaria
continued importing it right up until 1970, 4 years after production finished. The ZK-383 was slowly phased out by smaller and lighter submachine gun
s such as the Skorpion vz. 61 and Sa vz. 23.
and Russian DP28, despite it shooting a pistol round and not a rifle bullet. It became an individual submachine gun
which resembles the German
MP 18. For a submachine gun, the ZK-383 was a heavy and robustly made weapon which packed a serious punch despite its small round. A long range version was made which contained rifle type sights and an integral folding bipod.
s. The lock/release mechanism was located beneath the front sight. It fires from an open bolt
and by removing/adjusting the bolt weight, the shooter could vary the cyclic rate between 500 to 700 rpm. The magazine fed in from the left hand side like the Canadian and British
Sten
. The manual safety was in front of the trigger. The ZK-383 had 3 firing modes, single, full auto and safety. The stock was made from wood and had a folding bipod in some variants. The guns featured a front peep sight and a rear tangent iron sight and were adjustable by the shooter to a maximum range of 600 metres.
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
and was developed by Koucký brothers who worked at the Zbrojovka Brno
Zbrojovka Brno
Zbrojovka Brno was a firearm and vehicle manufacturer in Brno, Czech Republic. They also made other products and tools- History :The firm was established in 1918.The Czech-Slovak investment group J&T bought an areal of Zbrojovka Brno in 2007.-Firearms:...
arms factory in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. It was produced at a slow rate from 1938 and was exported as far as Latin American to Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
History
The ZK-383 was exported to many smaller European countries following its production start date in 1938. The production of the ZK-383 continued at BrnoBrno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
arms factory even during the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
occupation during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Most of the guns produced were handed to the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
. It continued to be produced in small numbers to European countries; Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
continued importing it right up until 1970, 4 years after production finished. The ZK-383 was slowly phased out by smaller and lighter submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s such as the Skorpion vz. 61 and Sa vz. 23.
Design
The ZK-383 was originally designed to be a squad automatic weapon much like the UK BrenBren
The Bren, usually called the Bren Gun, was a series of light machine guns adopted by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1991...
and Russian DP28, despite it shooting a pistol round and not a rifle bullet. It became an individual submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
which resembles the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
MP 18. For a submachine gun, the ZK-383 was a heavy and robustly made weapon which packed a serious punch despite its small round. A long range version was made which contained rifle type sights and an integral folding bipod.
Features
The ZK-383 was fitted with a quickly detachable barrel. This is very unlike many submachine gunSubmachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
s. The lock/release mechanism was located beneath the front sight. It fires from an open bolt
Open bolt
A semi or full automatic firearm is said to fire from an open bolt if, when ready to fire, the bolt and working parts are held to the rear. When the trigger is pulled the bolt goes forward, feeding a round from the magazine into the chamber and firing it...
and by removing/adjusting the bolt weight, the shooter could vary the cyclic rate between 500 to 700 rpm. The magazine fed in from the left hand side like the Canadian and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Sten
Sten
The STEN was a family of British 9 mm submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War...
. The manual safety was in front of the trigger. The ZK-383 had 3 firing modes, single, full auto and safety. The stock was made from wood and had a folding bipod in some variants. The guns featured a front peep sight and a rear tangent iron sight and were adjustable by the shooter to a maximum range of 600 metres.
Variants
- ZK-383; Standard production variant
- ZK-383P; This was the Police version which had no folding bipod
- ZK-383H; The post-war production model which also had no bipod and instead of a left side magazine, had a forward-facing underslung magazine. It still held 30 rounds