Apart from the Maxim machine gun, no other automatic weapon of the early 20th century may have been as influential for future firearm development as the Czechoslovakian vz. 26. Also known as the ZB-26, it was just one of several successful designs to be produced in the then-newly independent nation that had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of the First World War.
To understand this requires a quick history lesson.
A Rich Gun Manufacturing History
For much of the later 19th century and up until the outbreak of World War I, the region that is today the Czech Republic had been known for being one of the premier producers of arms in Europe. The Skoda manufacturing works at Plzen produced the heavy artillery for the Austro-Hungarian Army and battleship turrets for the nation’s navy. It further manufactured small arms, most notably the Model 1909 machine gun.
After achieving its independence, Czechoslovakia — like Poland and other newly formed Central European nations — was suddenly flooded with French “military advisors” who sought to sell French arms and other military equipment. At the same time, brothers Vaclav and Emmanuel Holek went to work for the newly established Česka Zbrojovka (CZ) Praha (Czech Arms factory in Prague).
The Czech military saw the potential of the French infantry tactics of the 1920s, which called for a “Battle Cluster” of a 13-man squad armed with rifles, and centered around a light machine gun. Thus, the number one priority in small arms for the new nation was a weapon that could fill such a role.
At the time, the French military had adopted its Châtellerault Model 1924, and it was closely studied by the arms designers working at CZ Praha. And this is where the story gets confusing, and the history even muddled — because it was another Czechoslovakian factory in Brno that was associated with what became the ZB-26.
ZB-26 or ZB vz. 26?
There is also some confusion over the actual designation of the firearm, with some sources describing it as the ZB vs. 26. However, ZB-26 is a factory designation while vz. 26 was the Czech military’s designation. Both names, ultimately, refer to the same design.
Competing Designs
Both the Praha and Brno factories began to develop a light machine gun for the Czechoslovakian military. The latter was charged with producing a French Hotchkiss design under license — a weapon that could be employed to train with. At the same time, the Praha firm was offered to design a light machine gun that would be used in combat.
A designer named Rudolf Jelen took the lead on the project, and he developed a light machine gun that featured a “forward-moving barrel.” Exactly what that entailed or even meant isn’t known, but it is simply based on the surviving records. If it sounds confusing, that’s probably because it was a complicated design that the Czech military wanted nothing to do with — and by 1923, four competing designs were deemed suitable for testing. The offering from the Holek brothers at Praha eventually won out.
However, Praha wasn’t well suited to the task. It was a relatively small factory with limited industrial capabilities, and even if they could complete the designs, they were in no condition to mass-produce it. A decision was made to transfer the production of the new automatic weapon to the more advanced Zbrojovka Brno, or ZB in short.
ZB was better equipped to mass produce the accepted weapon, and as the late firearms historian Ian V. Hogg noted in his book “Machine Guns” (Krause Publications, 2002), “At this point the whole picture is clouded in politics, dissent and suggestions of partisanship if not outright bribery, but the eventual result was that in November 1923 the Brno factory took over the responsibility for the future development of the [Praha] I-23 machine gun, whereupon it became the ZB24.”
The agreement was actually even more complicated, as it involved Praha, the Holek brothers who actually developed the firearm, and ZB. In the end, the manufacture of the firearms was to be divided between the Brno factory and the Skoda works.
Under the guidance of Vaclav and Emmanuel Holek, ZB spend the better part of the next two years refining the light machine gun, and it subsequently became the ZB-26 aka vz. 26. Had Praha been more established, the firearm could have become the ZC-26 instead!
Improving Upon the Châtellerault Model 1924
There is no doubt that the French light machine gun greatly influenced the design of the ZB-26, notably its pistol grip and top-loading magazine.
The ZB-26 was designed as a gas-operated, air-cooled, selective-fire light machine gun, and like the French LMG, it employed a finned, quick-detachable barrel. The charging handle is located at the right side of the receiver and does not reciprocate when the weapon is fired. Spent cartridges would eject downwards through an ejection port that would normally be closed with a dust cover — which would open automatically when the trigger was pulled.
Live The Armory Life. The latest content straight to your inbox plus an automatic entry to each of our monthly gun giveaways!
The ZB LMG fired from an open bolt, and the firearm’s gas block was mounted at the muzzle end of the barrel — also serving as the front sight base.
It was chambered for the 7.92x57mm Mauser centerfire cartridge — commonly referred to as 8mm Mauser.
Used By the British and Nazi Germany
What is notable about the ZB-26 is that as the firearm was further refined, it caught the attention of the British Army after it had been adopted by the militaries of several countries beyond Czechoslovakia. The British had eyed the improved ZB-27, but was reportedly troubled by its firing the 7.92mm cartridge — as the British had adopted the .303 Lee-Enfield round.
While the British military may have been persuaded to change cartridges, the Treasury wouldn’t have it. In April 1931, the Small Arms Committee, which was charged with selecting a light machine gun for the British Army, requested that ZB produce a test weapon for the British .303 cartridge.
As it happened, Vaclav Holek had further refined the LMG, with the result being the ZGB30. It was tested alongside several other firearms, notably the similar-looking Vickers-Berthier. The guns were put through a variety of trials, including accuracy shooting over varying ranges up to 2,500 yards, and a 30,000-round endurance test.
The final report found that the ZGB30 was “of such outstanding design, workmanship, and material as to warrant serious consideration.” The firearm was then further refined as the ZGB30, but eventually adopted and produced under license as the Bren. The Bren was so named for being designed at BRno and built by Enfield at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, in northeast London.
The Bren Gun, as it came to be known, would see service throughout the Second World War and much of the Cold War. No other light machine gun saw as much first-line service.
However, the British weren’t the only major power in the Second World War to employ the ZB design. Following Nazi Germany’s annexation of Czechoslovakia, the Wehrmacht also adopted the weapon and designated it the MG 25(t), where it was employed as a light machine gun. It was employed by Waffen SS units in the early stages of the Second World War before they had access to standard German military supply channels. Even as the war progressed, the MG 25(t) was used by second-line units and Germany’s allies, notably on the Russian Front.
More than a dozen other nations also adopted the ZB-26 and its variants, notably the ZB-30 and ZB-33. It was even employed by the militaries of Lithuania and Yugoslavia.
However, it is believed that Nationalist China was the first nation to utilize the weapon in combat in its struggle with Communist Chinese forces, while it was later employed against the Japanese. It was also the Japanese that produced a copy of the ZB-26 under license as the Type 97, while Japan’s Type 96 and Type 99 LMGs could trace to their respective designs to the Czech-made small arm.
The ZB-26 and subsequent models went on to see service in more than a dozen conflicts, and was arguably among the best LMG designs of the 20th century. Yet, it has remained a firearm that has been overshadowed by such weapons as the Bren Gun and Type 99 — which ironically wouldn’t have existed were it not for the ZB-26.
Editor’s Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the “Go To Forum Thread” link below to jump in and discuss this article and much more!
Read the full article here
