Machine guns cz. Assault rifle SA vz.58. Modern Czech weapons
The Czech Republic has always been famous for its weapons, but recently there has been no clear advantage of their designs over weapons from other countries, but everything returned to normal in 2009. It was this year that the IDET exhibition presented for the first time a new Czech assault rifle CZ 805, which later "made" even the Belgian SCAR in the competition for new weapons for the Czech army. Let's try to get to know this model more closely and figure out what exactly is its uniqueness, and most importantly, what exactly distinguishes this sample from many other, far from the worst examples of automata that deserve the highest ratings.
The appearance of the CZ 805 assault rifle corresponds to all modern trends in gun fashion and you can find many similar parts with other samples from other manufacturers, but some details should still be noted. First of all, it is striking that the shutter handle can be easily rearranged from the left to the right side, and this simplest thing is implemented, as, in fact, is customary in Czech weapons. On both sides of the weapon, a fuse switch is duplicated, it is also a translator of automatic fire modes.
The weapon has the ability to fire with a cut-off of two rounds, thus, the switch itself has 4 positions: "Fuse on", "Single fire", "Fire with cut-off", "Automatic fire". The switch itself is located quite conveniently above the handle of holding the weapon and is easily switched by the thumb of the holding hand, which literally rests on this control itself.
Unfortunately, or maybe not, the designers did not implement in this model of the machine the possibility of changing the ejection side of the spent cartridge case. So, the window for ejection of spent cartridges is located on the right side. However, under the condition of the classical layout, this should not greatly affect the use of a left-handed machine gun or when shooting from the left hand. Although irritation of the mucous membrane with powder gases is clearly not an advantage of this machine for people who prefer to use their left hand as their main one.
The standard butt of the weapon has a design similar to the butts of the ARX-160 assault rifles of the Italian company Beretta, as well as the Belgian SCARs, but other butts can be installed in addition to the main option. So, the standard buttstock has the ability to adjust its length, and can also be folded to the right, which absolutely does not interfere with the use of weapons.
On top of the machine there is a long picatinny-type mount, it also serves as a seat for open sights of the weapon, which consist of a rear sight and a front sight and, in addition to being removable, can also be folded for more convenient use of other sights. In addition to the long mounting bar on the sides of the weapon, there are also shorter ones for attaching flashlights, laser designators and other devices.
Under the barrel of the weapon there is also a mounting bar for an additional handle to hold the weapon or for an underbarrel grenade launcher. In addition, a simple plastic handguard can be installed on this mounting bar. Why is unclear. A rather interesting feature of the rifle is that its magazines are not standard accepted by NATO, however, after replacing the magazine shaft, which is made as a separate part and can be easily removed after removing just one pin, the weapon becomes adapted for firing from magazines from M16.
Much more interesting is that the weapon is made immediately for several ammunition, and, given the modularity of the design, any rifle can be adapted to fire with 5.56 NATO standard cartridges, Soviet 7.62x39, as well as promising 6.8x43 Rem SPC ammunition. At the same time, for each of the ammunition there are immediately 3 options for interchangeable barrels, that is, in total for this weapon there can be 9 barrels and 3 bolts and 4 magazine shafts (taking into account non-standard Czech magazines under 5.56).
In order not to get confused in all this disgrace, a fairly simple weapon designation system was proposed, which carries information about what kind of ammunition the machine gun is for, as well as what kind of barrel it is equipped with. So, after the name CZ 805 BREN, the following letters may appear: A, B and C, which correspond to 5.56x45, 7.62x39 cartridges and 6.8x43 Rem SPC ammunition. The barrels are marked with the numbers 1, 2 and 3, which come after the letter of the ammunition designation. So, a 360 mm long barrel is “hidden” under a unit, a shortened barrel 277 mm long under a deuce, and a heavy elongated weapon barrel is indicated by a three, which turns this machine gun into a light machine gun.
Thus, the designation CZ 805 BREN C2 will tell us that this is a shortened version of the weapon using 6.8x43 cartridges. In principle, absolutely nothing prevents to further expand the amount of ammunition used in this weapon, so if, nevertheless, any other ammunition turns out to be “overboard” and a new NATO cartridge, then by simple manipulations with the barrel and the shutter automatic CZ 805 BREN does not lose its relevance. By the way, nothing prevents you from adapting this weapon to 5,45 if there were barrels and bolts. So to speak, modularity.
The topic of 6.5x43 ammunition has already been raised several times, but since this cartridge is relatively new and is still the leading one that claims to be the place of NATO 5.56 ammunition, a few words about it still need to be said. This ammunition was developed in 2002, precisely with the aim of replacing 5.56, which began to be considered an insufficiently effective cartridge. Experts from the US Special Operations Forces took an active part in the development of this cartridge, which should have meant guaranteed success for this ammunition, however, the financial side of the issue outweighed and the 5.56x45 cartridge still remains the standard cartridge.
The cartridge itself was created by shortening and recompressing the cartridge case from the .30 Rem ammunition, so the length of the cartridge case became 42.84 mm, and the total length of the cartridge was 57.4 mm. The standard bullet for the 6.8x43 Rem SPC cartridge has become a bullet with a hollow nose weighing 7.45 grams, but in addition to it, bullets of other designs can also be used. The initial speed of a standard bullet is about 800 m/s, which is slightly lower than the speed of a 5.56x45 bullet, but in this case, due to the weight of the bullet, its kinetic energy reaches almost 2400 Joules.
As the developers of this ammunition themselves say, due to the fact that the bullet has a larger caliber and due to its design, the effectiveness of hitting the enemy’s body increases one and a half times. True, it is not entirely clear where exactly this “one and a half times” is taken from. In any case, the tests of this cartridge prove its greater effectiveness in comparison with the current NATO 5.56x45 cartridges.
When creating this cartridge, the designers set themselves the goal of making the ammunition not only superior in efficiency to hitting a living target with 5.56 cartridges, but also a longer-range cartridge. The fact is that in the course of recent military clashes, quite often, "enemies of democracy" are armed with Soviet weapons chambered for 7.62x39, and at maximum distances this ammunition behaves much more predictably than 5.56x45, not to mention the fact that it has a stopping power.
Thus, the weapons of the “bearers of democracy” turn out to be less effective than the old Soviet models, both at long distances and at short ones, which made us think about how effective the 5.56 is. However, they thought about it from the very beginning of the adoption of this ammunition, although there were enough other obvious flaws and problems. In addition, a separate goal was to create a cartridge that would be as effective as possible when used in short barrels of weapons, while having a tolerable recoil when fired (although this is more a question of weapons), and was also as interchangeable as possible with the 5.56 cartridge. It was not possible to fulfill the last requirement, although this ammunition partially fits into it, which gives it a huge advantage over other cartridges.
So, unlike all other ammunition, which are positioned as promising and have a clear advantage over 5.56x45 cartridges, this ammunition can be loaded into magazines that were previously used to feed weapons with 5.56x45 cartridges. Thus, in order to adapt the weapon itself to this ammunition, it is enough just to replace the barrel of the machine gun and the combat larvae of the shutter. At the moment, many manufacturers produce barrels and bolts for their weapons in separate sets, including for the civilian market, so, in my opinion, the abandonment of 5,56 will happen very soon, and will make foreign weapons more effective. However, it all comes down to money.
But back to the Czech machine CZ 805 BREN. The automation of this sample, as you might guess, is built according to the scheme with the removal of part of the powder gases from the bore of the weapon, the gas piston has a short stroke. The barrel bore is locked when the bolt is rotated by two protrusions. In general, in its design, the weapon is quite traditional, traditional and Czech quality. In general, the weapon turned out to be quite interesting and convenient. Questions only arise about the receiver made of light aluminum alloy and the plastic trigger block.
Of course, the world experience of using these materials in weapons is quite extensive, but such massive innovations from each manufacturer should be considered separately, although judging by the fact that these weapons have already been put into service and even managed to surpass the Belgian SCARs, it already indicates that the machine gun is not fall apart in your hands. Another noteworthy point in this machine is that a bayonet-knife was specially developed for it, and they say that it is no longer relevant to go into a bayonet attack, although this is more a tribute to tradition than a really necessary element of a modern machine gun.
The length of the machine itself with a standard 360 mm long barrel, unfolded and extended standard buttstock is 910 mm, with a weapon weight of 3.6 kg, without ammunition. Weapon stores for each of the ammunition have a capacity of 20 and 30 rounds, while food from drum-type magazines is also possible, with sequential supply of cartridges from each drum with a capacity of 100 rounds, which is important when using a machine gun with a heavy barrel as a light machine gun. As noted earlier, the Czechs decided to stand out and created magazines chambered for 5.56x45 of their own design, which is made entirely of transparent plastic and is not compatible with magazines from M16, although their use is possible with the installation of an appropriate magazine receiver.
Here is such a relatively new machine gun that the Czech army is currently receiving, of course, these are not super-sophisticated rifle complexes with electronic “brains”, but, nevertheless, the weapon is quite modern and, judging by the fact that it was recognized even better than the Belgian models, then Czech gunsmiths seriously thought about regaining their special place in the arms market.
However, many believe that the widespread use of plastic and light alloys can in no way be in favor of the weapon and significantly affects its reliability in a combat situation. Somewhere a fighter landed on a weapon, somewhere it fell or was simply used as a heavy object to shake the enemy’s inner world, and not every machine gun can withstand this.
On the other hand, heavy-duty polymers have been known for quite a long time, and light alloys are not far from steel in terms of strength, so everything depends on what materials were used in weapons, but no one will say this yet. So let's believe in the honesty of the tests that this machine has passed and we will consider it strong enough in absentia.
After World War II, Czechoslovakia, like other countries, needed newer, more advanced weapons. The weapon had to combine various fire modes, a high-capacity magazine, have a high effective firing range and at the same time be self-loading. The concept of such a machine appeared in Czechoslovakia in 1946, but, in fact, the design began only in 1951.
In 1951, three independent design teams began designing and developing the required small arms. In one of these three teams, representing the state-owned weapons company in the city of Uherski Brod, a young gunsmith-inventor Jiří Čermák worked. Taking as a basis the Czechoslovak Model 52 rifle, he created a prototype, called the CZ 515 chambered for the German cartridge 7.62 * 45. The prototype had the following characteristics: a firing scheme using an open bolt, a single cocking and loading bolt handle, a fire mode switch that allows both single and fully automatic fire.
During testing, the CZ 515 did not live up to expectations, failing to pass the test of combat accuracy and accuracy according to the standards of the Czechoslovak army. The reason for the failure was the use of an open shutter scheme. Correcting this shortcoming, Jiří Čermák modified the prototype with a closed bolt scheme. The modification was named CZ 522. Compared to the previous modification, the CZ 522 also had a barrel shortened to 350 mm and the bolt handle was fixed to the bolt carrier.
In 1954, the CZ 522 and two other samples were tested by the army in Czechoslovakia and the USSR. During these tests, it was revealed that all three samples needed to be improved, but according to the results of tests in the USSR, it was the CZ 522 that received the best rating.
The USSR Ministry of Defense persistently "advised" Czech gunsmiths to change the type of ammunition used, so in 1955 all samples were upgraded to use the domestic transitional cartridge 7.62 * 39 of the 1943 model. One of the three gunsmiths who took part in the project, who also initiated the competition, Koucký brothers, left the project (switching to the civilian firearms market).
After army tests, the required performance characteristics for the machine were finally formed:
Machine weight without magazine: up to 2.7 kg
Machine weight with loaded magazine: up to 4 kg
Machine length: up to 85 cm
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
Percentage of misfires: 0.3%
Durability of main parts: 15,000 shots
Sighting range: 1000 m
Maximum dispersion of cartridges when firing from a prone position with a single stop at a distance of 100 m: 11 cm
Maximum dispersion of cartridges when firing from a prone position with an emphasis in short bursts of 3-5 cartridges at a distance of 100 m: 22 cm
Also, all parts of the weapon should be interchangeable between the same models, the magazine latch was shifted to the left side for easy magazine removal, the bolt after firing the last cartridge in the magazine stood in the open position (to increase the continuity of fire), thereby eliminating the need to juggle the bolt frame when joining a new store as in domestic AK. The gas piston was separated from the bolt carrier and the magazines had to be made of lighter metal alloys to save weight.
At the beginning of 1956, the USSR fully established the production of cartridges in Czechoslovakia 7.62 * 39 mod. 1943 with the transfer to the Czechoslovakians of the design and factory documentation for this ammunition. Work on creating a prototype that meets the requirements set under the Soviet patron was called "KOŠTĚ" (broom). The created prototype was named Sa-56 (Samopal 56, that is, the machine gun of the 1956 model).
Weight sa-56 was 3.2 kg, which exceeded the requirements of the Czechoslovak army. Despite being heavier, the Sa-56 outperformed its parent, the CZ-522, in factory testing. After making some changes and improvements, 12 Sa-56s were submitted for army trials in Czechoslovakia and the USSR. Presented specimens were lightened to approximately 3 kg. This result was achieved by making magazines from aluminum alloy.
During the army tests, unexpected problems were revealed, consisting in the insufficient strength of the return spring, in the detonation of cartridges in the chamber due to the enormous temperature (part of the powder gases fell into the chamber during intense firing) when shooting more than 200 rounds. Also, once again, attention was drawn to the problem of too much weight of the machine. Even despite the laboriousness of production, it was precisely because of the importance of weight that it was decided to produce the machine by milling rather than stamping the main parts (in particular, the receiver). This made it possible to bring the weight of the machine up to 2.9 kg (compared to the Soviet AK type 3, which weighed 3.15 kg).
In 1958, a modification of the assault rifle that corrected the listed shortcomings successfully passed factory tests, army acceptance and entered service with the army of Czechoslovakia under the index CZ Sa vz.58 (Samopal vzor 1958). In the same year, the author of the invention, the gunsmith Jiří Čermák, turned 33 years old. Serial production of the vz.58 began in 1959 and continued until 1984.
P
vz.58P disassembled
bayonet vz.58 and scabbard
vz.58 was created in the following modifications:
- vz.58 P (Pěchotní or "infantry") - modification with a permanent wooden butt
- vz.58 V (Výsadkový or "landing") - modification with a folding metal butt
- vz.58 Pi (Pěchotní s infračerveným zaměřovačem or "infantry with an infrared sight") - modification P with a Czech-made NSP-2 sight mount
- vz.58 Vi (Výsadkový s infračerveným zaměřovačem or "airborne with an infrared sight") - modification of the V with a Czech-made NSP-2 sight mount
Fittings (butt, gas tube cover and forend cover) were originally made entirely of wood, in the first half of the 60s vz.58 was made of polyamide plastic interspersed with sawdust and shavings. The delivery set included a machine gun, a belt, a pouch, a bayonet-knife with a sheath.
Set vz.58P with plastic fittings
vz.58P with plastic fittings
About Quantity:
In total, about 920,000 assault rifles were produced that were adopted and delivered to the Czech Republic, Slovakia (after the collapse of Czechoslovakia), Libya, Cyprus, Angola, Ethiopia, Guinea, Libya, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, India, Iraq, Cuba and Guatemala .
This is how vz.58 dispersed around the world from the factory.
vz.58P in the hands of an Afghan native
Afghan natives from the anti-narcotics unit with vz.58V...
Afghan aboriginal police officers are also armed with vz.58V
During the life cycle of the vz.58 production, prototypes were developed on its basis:
- Automatická puška (automatic rifle) AP-Z 67: 7.62x51 rifle (from 1966 to 1967)
- Útočná puška (precise rifle) ÚP-Z 70: 75.56x45 caliber assault rifle (1970)
- Experimentální zbraň (experimental weapon) EZ-B: vz.58 bullpup (1976)
- Ruční kulomet (Light machine gun): development of a machine gun similar to the Soviet RPK (1976)
- Lehká odstřelovačská puška (light sniper rifle) vzor 58/97: sniper rifle manufactured by VTÚVM Slavičín.
- Samopal (submachine gun) vzor 58/98 "Bulldog": 9x19 caliber submachine gun manufactured by VTÚVM Slavičín.
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Automatic CZ SA Vz.58 |
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After the creation of the Warsaw Pact, within the framework of the countries participating in the Warsaw Pact, the standardization of weapons systems, including ammunition, began. Most of the countries - satellites of the USSR at that time, acted simply by adopting Soviet-designed weapons - AK-47 assault rifles (and later AKM) in a more or less modified form. However, Czechoslovakia, which historically had a very strong and advanced arms industry, chose to create its own types of weapons under a common cartridge.
First, after the standardization of the Soviet 7.62x39 cartridge, the Czechs modified their VZ-52 self-loading carbines of 7.62x45 mm caliber for the Soviet cartridge, and at the beginning of 1956 they began developing a full-fledged machine gun for the same standard cartridge as part of a project code-named "KOSTE ”, i.e. “broom”.
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The chief designer of the new machine was Jiri Cermak, who worked at the state arms factory in the town of Uherski Brod. Just two years later, in 1958, the new model was already adopted by the Czechoslovak army, and after the collapse of Czechoslovakia in 1993, it formed the basis of the small arms system of the armies of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where it serves to this day. Plans to replace this already obsolete model with newer NATO 5.56mm systems have not yet been fully implemented, mainly due to financial reasons. The official designation of this assault rifle is Samopal vzor 58, or briefly SA vz.58, that is, a submachine gun (the Czechs do not distinguish between a submachine gun and an assault rifle in the name) of the 1958 model. The new assault rifle, like almost all Czech weapons in general, was distinguished by high quality workmanship and exterior finish, as well as an original design - despite the outward resemblance to the Kalashnikov assault rifle, SA vz.58 had a fundamentally different, completely independent design.
Unlike the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the SA vz.58 has not seen much fighting, but in some places it still “lit up”. In particular, this machine gun was used during the Lebanese civil war in the 1980s. According to reviews, this assault rifle was a cheaper alternative to the popular AK-47 and AKM assault rifles, and did not enjoy a very good reputation due to the fact that its barrel overheated very quickly during even more intense shooting, which caused a catastrophic decrease in shooting accuracy (which can partly be explained by a higher rate of fire than that of AK and AKM). At the same time, the SA vz.58 proved to be a completely reliable weapon, but it was used mainly by second-line troops or poor armed groups that did not have the opportunity to purchase Kalashnikov assault rifles or other, more expensive weapons. In addition, according to some sources, the same machines were used by the Vietnamese army during the invasion of Cambodia (Kampuchea) in 1978, as well as in a number of conflicts on the African continent - in Zimbabwe, Zaire, Uganda.
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The SA vz.58 assault rifle is built on the basis of gas-operated automatics with a short stroke of the gas piston located above the barrel. The gas piston has its own return spring. The barrel is locked using a separate combat larva mounted on the bolt in its lower part and swinging up and down under the influence of figured cutouts on the bolt frame. Locking is carried out for cutouts in the receiver by lowering the locking larva down. After the shot, the bolt carrier receives a short impulse from the gas piston and begins to move back. After a free play of approximately 22 millimeters, curly cutouts in the bolt carrier lift the front of the locking larva, unhooking it from the receiver and releasing the bolt.
After that, the entire bolt group, under the action of inertia forces and residual gas pressure in the barrel, moves back, removing and ejecting the spent cartridge case and feeding a new cartridge into the barrel on the way back, and at the end of the movement, locking the barrel by lowering the front of the combat larva down. Thus, the shutter itself moves strictly rectilinearly. The return spring is located in the receiver behind the bolt carrier. The cocking handle is rigidly fixed to the bolt carrier on the right. The design also introduced a shutter delay, leaving the shutter in the open position after all the cartridges in the magazine are used up.
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The trigger mechanism is also of the original design, shock. A massive drummer of a tubular design protrudes from the rear of the bolt body, and behind it is a twisted mainspring, with its rear end resting against the rear wall of the receiver. A tooth is made on the drummer from below, which interlocks with the sear when the drummer is cocked. The USM itself is of a simple design, has a minimum of moving parts. Fuse - fire mode translator is located on the receiver on the right, above the pistol grip, and has three positions - "safe", "single shots", "automatic fire".
The machine is powered from detachable aluminum magazines with a capacity of 30 rounds. While externally similar to magazines for 7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifles, magazines from SA vz.58 are incompatible with them. The magazine latch is located in the cutout in front of the trigger guard.
Assault rifle (automatic) SA vz.58P
Assault rifle SA vz.58P in the basic version with a fixed wooden butt
Assault rifle SA vz.58V with a folding metal stock, folding to the right
SA vz.58V equipped with UA-VZP folding adjustable stock, AG-58 pistol grip, VFR-VZ Picatinny rail set, tactical light, forward grip with folding bipod and SPRS red dot sight
The automatic carbine (machine gun) CZ Sa vz.58 (Czech. Samopal vzor 58 - machine gun of the 1958 model of the year) was developed in Czechoslovakia in 1958 at the state-owned arms factory Česká Zbrojovka in the city of Ugerski Brod. In 2010, production of the CZ 805 began, intended to replace it.
Outwardly, the weapon is similar to the Soviet AK, but has a fundamentally different design. Automation Sa vz.58 is based on the removal of powder gases from the bore. The gas piston with a short (unlike AK) stroke has its own return spring. The barrel is locked by a swinging combat larva mounted on the bottom of the bolt (similar to the Walther P38 pistol). USM - striker type, allows you to fire single shots and continuous bursts. The three-position fuse-translator is located on the right above the pistol grip.
The weapon is of high quality. The valve cover is pressed from sheet steel. There is a chrome plating of the bolt, gas rods and the bore, as well as phosphating the outer surfaces of all parts, which are also coated with a special varnish to protect against corrosion. The buttstock, pistol grip and handguard are made of wood (early examples) or wood-filled plastic (late examples).
A bayonet-knife can be attached to the machine gun, as well as (for some samples) a bipod and an underbarrel grenade launcher.
Options:
Sa vz.58P (Pěchotní - "infantry") - combined arms version with a permanent stock;
Sa vz.58V (Výsadkový - "landing") - a variant with a metal butt folding to the right;
Sa vz.58Pi - variant with a massive conical flash hider and a mount for the NSP-2 night sight.
Sa vz.58 with Picatinny rail - for special forces
CZ 858 Tactical - semi-automatic carbine
Specifications
Caliber: 7.62×39
Weapon length: 845 mm (635 mm - with stock folded for vz.58V)
Barrel length: 390 mm
Weight without cartridges: 3.1 kg.
Rate of fire: 800 rds / min
Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
assault rifles
The armies of Eastern Europe for several decades had Kalashnikov assault rifles of various modifications and versions. The influence of the Soviet Union and the desire of the leadership of various countries to save money on creating their own weapons led to this. However, not all countries in the region began to purchase Soviet weapons or produce them under license. Thus, for several decades, the Czechoslovak army was armed with the Sa vz. 58 of our own design, created as an alternative to Soviet weapons.
The appearance of the Sa vz. 58 (Samopal vzor 1958 - “Assault rifle model 1958”) was associated with the signing of the Warsaw Pact and subsequent events. Shortly after the formation of the Warsaw Pact, the participating countries began to standardize weapons and military equipment. In order to increase the overall combat capability and simplify a number of important tasks, it was proposed to use the same or at least similar samples. In particular, one of the first steps in this direction was the adoption by all ATS armies of the intermediate cartridge 7.62x39 mm. Most of the ATS countries decided to adopt the Soviet machine gun designed by M.T. Kalashnikov. Some states began to buy ready-made samples of Soviet production, others acquired a license and launched their own production.
Czechoslovakia, based on the desire to support its design school and industry, made a different decision. In 1956, it was decided to carry out the transfer to new ammunition in two stages. The first involved reworking the existing self-loading carbines vz. 52 chambered for the new Soviet-style intermediate cartridge. As part of the second stage of the translation, it was planned to create a promising machine gun, originally designed for the use of a 7.62x39 mm cartridge. This approach made it possible to transfer the army to a new ammunition, as well as to dispense with the use of foreign samples, thereby supporting its arms industry.
General view of the Sa vz. 58. Photo by Wikimedia Commons
The creation of a new weapon was entrusted to the company Česká Zbrojovka (Uherski Brod). Engineer Jiri Cermak became the head of development. Initially, in secret documents, the new project appeared under the name Koště (“Broom”). The objective of the project was to create a new automatic weapon chambered for an intermediate cartridge of 7.62x39 mm with characteristics at the level of Soviet-designed Kalashnikov assault rifles. It was planned to produce new weapons at Czechoslovak enterprises, which affected some of the requirements for the project.
The easiest way to achieve the required characteristics was to copy or borrow ideas from Soviet weapons. However, the designers under the leadership of I. Chermak decided to develop their own project based on original ideas. The result of this approach was the emergence of weapons that have a certain external resemblance to the Soviet AK / AKM. However, the internal units of the two types of weapons had a lot of differences that make the Broom product a full-fledged original development.
A promising automatic weapon was to use automation based on a gas engine. At the same time, Czechoslovak designers did not copy any decisions of M.T. Kalashnikov and used completely new ideas in their project. As a result, the Koště assault rifle received a very interesting design and an unusual composition of internal units.
The machine received a milled receiver of the original design. The outer contours of this unit had a rectangular shape, and inside a set of guides was provided along which the parts were supposed to move. In addition, inside there were mounts for springs, parts of the trigger mechanism, etc. The box received a shortened lid, which was supposed to cover only the back of it. The front of the receiver, in turn, should have been covered by the upper part of the bolt group. For attaching the cover to the receiver, a front latch and a rear pin were provided. An interesting feature of the project was the use of pins without the possibility of complete extraction: when removing parts, the pins remained in their mounts.
Incomplete disassembly of the machine. Photo by Wikimedia Commons
In front of the receiver, on a massive monolithic block, the base of the sight was located on top, which also served as a support for the gas piston. It had a transverse through hole for attaching the top cover of the forearm. Under the base of the sight, the barrel was fixed in the box. Directly in front of the forearm was a gas outlet unit with a chamber responsible for the movement of the piston. In the muzzle of the barrel was a node equipped with front sights and bayonet mounts.
The machine gun designed by I. Chermak was completed with a rifled barrel of 7.62 mm caliber 390 mm long (51 caliber). In the middle part of the trunk there was a gas outlet connected to the corresponding outdoor units. Initially, the barrel of the machine gun was not equipped with any additional devices, but later several options for flame arresters appeared, which were necessary for solving special problems.
The main element of the gas engine of the new machine was a piston with a short stroke. It was made in the form of a metal rod with several thickenings. The enlarged front part of the piston entered the chamber of the gas outlet assembly, and the narrow shank with a stop was to be placed in the hole in the base of the sight. The piston's own return spring was also located there. During firing, the piston, under the influence of powder gases and springs, had to reciprocate, pushing the bolt group and returning to its original position. To provide the required push to the bolt group, the piston could move only a few centimeters.
The bolt group of the Koště assault rifle had an interesting design, and also differed markedly from the units of other weapons of this class. Its main element was a bolt carrier of complex cross section: its upper part was triangular, the lower one was rectangular. Along the entire length of the bolt carrier there were cavities of various configurations, for example, at the rear there were four holes located in a rhombus. The upper one included the return spring of the bolt group, the two middle ones made the part lighter, and the lower one was intended for the movable drummer. In the lower rectangular part of the bolt group there were devices for installing the bolt and controlling the movement of its parts. On the right side of the frame there was a handle for cocking weapons.
Receiver cover fastening pin. Further extraction is not possible. Photo Novarata.net
Actually the shutter of the machine gun consisted of two main parts: the body and the larva. The latter was responsible for locking the barrel before firing. During the movement of the bolt group, the bolt parts had to engage with the frame guides and move as necessary. At the extreme forward position of the shutter, the swinging larva fell down and captured the lugs of the receiver. When disengaged after a shot, the larva had to rise up and release the shutter.
Inside the bolt frame, a through channel was provided for installing a movable drummer. The latter was made in the form of a massive tubular part with a thickened back and edges on the narrow part. During firing, such a drummer had to catch on the sear tooth or move forward under the action of its own mainspring, firing a shot. The rollback and cocking of the drummer were carried out when the bolt group moved back.
A curious feature of the Broom project was the use of the original receiver cover, designed to hold two springs at once: return and combat. At the back of the triangular lid was a mount for two springs. From above, directly under the "vault" of the cover, there was a return spring of the bolt carrier. Under it, below the level of the side faces of the cover, there was a striker mainspring. To maintain the correct position, both springs had their own guides. The upper one was put on a wire device, and the lower one was equipped with a relatively thick metal rod. When installing the cover on the receiver, both springs should have entered the corresponding holes in the bolt group and the drummer.
The trigger mechanism of the machine gun was built according to the striker scheme. He had a minimum of parts, but he could provide firing with single shots and bursts. When you press the trigger, the sear should have released the drummer. The principles of interaction between the sear and the striker depended on the mode of fire. Above the pistol grip, on the right side of the receiver, there was a small flag of the fire fuse-translator. Being turned down, the flag blocked the USM. Its rotation forward or backward allowed firing in the desired mode.
The bolt group in the analysis. From left to right, from top to bottom: bolt carrier, bolt head, striker and bolt. Photo Novarata.net
For the supply of ammunition, new detachable box magazines for 30 rounds of 7.62x39 mm were proposed. To a certain extent, they resembled Kalashnikov assault rifle magazines, but they had several differences. So, a new feeder design and some other innovations were used. In addition, over time, the production of magazine cases from aluminum was started, which led to a noticeable reduction in the weight of the structure.
The store should be placed in the lower receiving window of the receiver. A spring-loaded latch was located at the rear of the window. Due to the use of a relatively long lever, it was necessary to modify the design of the trigger guard. Its relatively wide front part was divided into two halves, with the left one having a concave shape and not preventing the use of the latch.
The fittings of the first version of the machine were to be made of wood. A wooden butt of a characteristic curved shape with a recoil pad was attached to the rear wall of the receiver. Inside the butt, a channel was provided for storing a pencil case with accessories. Under the receiver was a wooden pistol grip. To protect hands from a heated barrel and a gas engine, the machine gun received a forearm of a combined wood-metal design. Its lower part was made in the form of a wooden device, fixed under the trunks. The top was made from an inner metal casing and an outer wooden "shell". The inner casing was supposed to protect the wooden part from direct exposure to powder gases from the chamber.
Automatic machines of the latest series received accessories of a different type. While maintaining the shape and size, the parts were cast from plastic filled with wood shavings. Similar butts and handles were cheaper, but they were not inferior to wooden ones in terms of basic characteristics.
Trigger bracket and magazine latch lever. Photo Novarata.net
Sights consisted of a front sight on a rack above the muzzle of the barrel and an open mechanical sight mounted above the chamber. The sight had markings for firing at ranges up to 800 m. It was proposed to adjust the sight by changing the angle of inclination of the main bar and, as a result, the height of the rear sight.
The machine was completed with a bayonet-knife with a single-sided blade and a wooden handle. For installation on a weapon, the bayonet handle had an L-shaped metal part with a longitudinal groove and a latch. The corresponding protrusions of the muzzle device of the barrel should have entered the groove. With the help of a latch with a button, the bayonet-knife was fixed in the desired position. To carry the bayonet, a leather sheath with a loop for hanging on a belt was intended.
The original design of automation was supposed to work according to new principles. By placing the store in the receiving shaft and cocking the shutter, the shooter could set the fuse-translator to the desired position and fire. When the bolt group was moved back, the return and mainsprings were compressed, as well as the striker was fixed in the rearmost position. Moving forward under the action of a return spring, the bolt carrier had to capture the upper cartridge from the magazine and send it into the chamber. Then the swinging larva of the shutter carried out the locking.
When the trigger was pressed, the sear released the drummer, which, under the action of the mainspring, had to go forward and hit the cartridge primer. When fired, powder gases were supposed to be bled through the upper gas outlet into the engine chamber and put pressure on the piston. The latter at the same time moved back and hit the front of the bolt frame. Having received an impulse, she rolled back and unlocked the shutter. When moving backwards, the sleeve was ejected, and the drummer stood on the stop. The gas piston returned to its original position under the action of its own spring.
The bayonet and its scabbard. Photo Ak-info.ru
The total length of the new weapon reached 845 mm with a barrel length of 390 mm. Machine gun with wooden fittings without ammunition weighed 3.1 kg. The mass of the weapon with the magazine increased by about 500 g. The automatic equipment used provided the technical rate of fire at the level of 800 rounds per minute. The effective range of fire, despite the markings of the sight, remained within 400-500 m.
The order to start developing a new machine gun was received in 1956. It took about two years to complete all the necessary work, from design to testing. In 1958, according to test results, the new weapons of the Koště project were approved by the military and were put into service. The machine gun received the official designation Samopal vzor 58 or abbreviated as Sa vz. 58.
Soon, the Czechoslovak industry mastered the mass production of new machine guns, and the troops began to receive these weapons and learn how to use them. Over the next few decades, the Sa vz. 58 was the main small arms of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia.
Based on the basic design of the Sa vz. 58, several modifications were created, differing from each other only in some details. The processing of automation and internal units was considered inappropriate. The basic version of the machine was considered Sa vz. 58, also designated Sa vz. 58P (Pěchotni - "Infantry"). He had a wooden stock without the possibility of folding. A variant of the Sa vz. 58V (Výsadkový - "Landing"), which received a metal folding stock. Such a butt consisted of a U-shaped mount on the receiver, a metal strap and a shoulder rest. To reduce the size of the weapon, the butt turned to the right and fit along the receiver.
Landing machine Sa vz. 58V with a folding stock and a modern body kit. Photo by Wikimedia Commons
On the basis of the "infantry" machine, a modification was based, designed for operation with the NSP-2 night sight. Such a machine was equipped with appropriate mounts. In addition, in order to avoid "blinding" the sight with a flash of a shot, a new design flame arrester was installed on the barrel. This version of the weapon was called Sa vz. 58Pi.
Having brought their development to mass production, Czechoslovak designers began to develop its design. Already in the mid-sixties, I. Chermak and his colleagues began work on the use of new cartridges. The result of this was the emergence of two interesting prototypes. In 1966, the AP-Z 67 automatic rifle (Automatická puška) chambered for 7.62x51 mm NATO was introduced. Four years later, the project ÚP-Z 70 (Útočná puška - “Assault Rifle”) appeared, which implied the use of an intermediate cartridge 5.56x45 mm NATO. These projects were not brought to serial production.
After experimenting with ammunition, the Česká Zbrojovka team began to rework the weapon in a different way. The result of this in 1976 was the appearance of an experimental machine gun (Experimentální zbraň) EZ-B, built according to the bullpup layout. At the same time, the Ruční kulomet (light machine gun) KLEČ was created with a barrel extended to 590 mm. In the future, unsuccessful attempts were made to create on the basis of the Sa vz. 58 sniper rifle and submachine gun chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum.
The list of modifications of the base machine can be completed by mentioning the development of a fairly large number of civilian weapon options that differed from the prototype in various design features. In particular, the possibility of automatic fire was removed, the dimensions of all weapons and the length of the barrel were changed, and other changes were made.
Machine gun with attached bayonet and magazine pouch. Photo Armory-online.ru
The launch customer of the Sa vz. 58 became the army of Czechoslovakia. The mass production of these weapons made it possible to abandon the use of outdated systems in a few years. In service with Czechoslovakia, such machines were until the very collapse of the country. In the future, the independent Czech Republic and Slovakia continued to operate the existing machine guns, although they made attempts to put new weapons into service. Despite all efforts, Sa vz. 58 have been in use for several decades. In accordance with modern trends, relatively old machines were equipped with Picatinny rails, new sights and other additional equipment that, to a certain extent, increased their performance. Only at the beginning of the current decade, the Czech Republic managed to complete a full-fledged rearmament and master the CZ-805 assault rifles. Slovakia still continues to use old weapons.
Having completed the rearmament of its army, the Czechoslovak industry began exporting weapons. Automatic Sa vz. 58 were supplied to a significant number of foreign countries, the so-called. third world. According to reports, deliveries were made to about two dozen countries. In addition, in one way or another, weapons ended up in other armed formations. For example, along with the armies of Czechoslovakia, Angola, India, Vietnam, etc. automatic Sa vz. 58 were used by the Ulster Loyalists (Northern Ireland).
Production of Sa vz. 58 continued until 1984. For a quarter of a century, Czechoslovak enterprises managed to produce about 920 thousand automatic machines of several modifications. A characteristic feature of this weapon, according to the shooters, was the high quality of workmanship and the corresponding reliability. Probably, such an opinion is true, which indirectly confirms the duration of the operation of the weapon: the automatic machines of the latest series are already over thirty years old and they, along with the older "brothers", are still in use.
In the mid-fifties, Czechoslovakia decided not to purchase foreign small arms and not to assemble them under license. On the contrary, it was decided to develop their own machine gun, which made it possible to maintain their design school, as well as provide industry with work. Both of these tasks were successfully solved. In addition, the machine gun fully met the requirements and was able to reach mass production, providing the country with army weapons for half a century. This allows us to read the automaton Sa vz. 58 is a successful model of small arms and a good competitor to the Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifles, as an alternative to which it was created. Nevertheless, the competition turned out to be very conditional, as clearly indicated by the number of weapons produced.
According to the websites:
http://world.guns.ru/
http://armory-online.ru/
http://ak-info.ru/
http://novarata.net/
http://vhu.cz/
http://forum.valka.cz/
Detailed photo review of the machine with disassembly:
http://novarata.net/vz58-pictorial.php