Чехословацкий пулемет ZB-26: конструкция и история

Before long, the Holek brothers abandoned the belt feed in favor of a top feeding box magazine and the resulting weapon, known as the Praha I 23, was selected. Despite the past legal troubles, manufacture of the new weapon had commenced at the ZB factory by late 1926, and it became the standard light machine gun of the Czechoslovak Army by 1928.

The ZB 26 is a gas operated, air cooled, selective fire machine gun. It has a finned, quick detachable barrel and fires from an open bolt. Its action is powered by a long stroke gas piston, located below the barrel. The gas block is mounted at the muzzle end of the barrel and also serves as the front sight base. The action is locked by tipping the rear of the bolt (breechblock) upwards, and into a locking recess in the receiver. The return spring is located in the butt of the weapon, and is connected to the bolt carrier/gas piston via a long rod; additionally, there is a short spring buffer located around the return spring at the juncture of the receiver and butt, which softens the impact of the bolt group at the end of its rearward stroke. Its charging handle is located at the right side of receiver and does not reciprocate when the gun is fired. The ammunition feed is from a top mounted box magazine made from sheet steel, holding just 20 rounds in a two row configuration. The magazine housing has a forward sliding dust cover. Spent cartridges are ejected downwards. The ejection port is normally closed with its own dust cover which opens automatically once the trigger is pressed. The trigger unit permits both single shots and automatic fire, selectable through a safety/fire mode selector lever situated at the left side of the pistol grip. The gun fires from an open bolt and the spring loaded firing pin is operated by a projection on the bolt carrier, once the bolt is fully in battery and locked. Because of the overhead magazine, the sight line is offset to the left, and the front sight is mounted on a base which protrudes upward and to the left from the gas block. The rear sight is attached to the left side of receiver, and has a range adjustment mechanism controlled by a knurled rotating knob. Standard furniture consists of an integral folding bipod, which is attached to the gas cylinder tube, and a wooden butt with a spring buffered buttplate and a folding shoulder rest plate. Although the ZB 26 was intended for the light machine gun role, it was also offered with a sustained fire tripod, and provided with a sufficient supply of full magazines and spare barrels it could serve (to some extent) as a medium machine gun. The same tripod was also adaptable for the anti aircraft role.

The ZB 26 saw service with the Czechoslovak infantry from 1928, as well as being the primary or secondary armament on many later model Škoda armored vehicles. 45,132 were bought by Czechoslovakia during the interwar. 7,136 ZB 26 were produced in Czechoslovakia after the war, from 1945 to 1953. it was used in the same role as the MG 34, as a light machine gun. In the opening phases of World War II, the ZB 26 in 7.92 mm Mauser caliber was used in large numbers by elements of the German Waffen SS, who at first did not have full access to standard Wehrmacht supply channels. In its most famous incarnation, the ZB 26 was modified by ZB and British technicians, entering service as the famous Bren gun. Many more countries imported or produced the design under license, including China and Yugoslavia. Chinese Nationalist forces used the ZB 26 chambered for the 7.92×57mm Mauser round in their struggle with Communist Chinese and later Imperial Japanese forces. Likewise, the Chinese Red Army (as with any other captured weapon) turned the Nationalists' ZB 26 machine guns against them and the Japanese. According to Brno, from 1927 to 1939, a total of 30,249 ZB 26 were exported to China.

ZB vz. 24: the weapon's predecessor. ZB vz. 27: later variant, proposed to Portugal and United Kingdom. ZB vz. 30 and ZB 30J: later variants. ZGB 30: final modifications to the vz. 30 for British trials. ZGB 33: in its final form was virtually identical to the British Bren light machine gun. ZB 39: commercial variant similar to the Bren, chambered in various different rounds and having different sights, among other minor changes. ZB vz. 52 : post war derivative of the ZB vz. 26. The Japanese Type 97 heavy tank machine gun was a license built copy of the ZB 26 and intended for use in Japanese tanks. It was not normally issued as an infantry light machine gun. Other than the cocking handle being moved from the right side of the receiver to the left it is essentially a duplicate of the Czech gun in operation. The Spanish Fusil ametrallador Oviedo was a post war clone of the ZB vz.26/30. More designations appear depending on the adopting army, though generally the gun retains its 'ZB 26' initials in one form or another.