Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod (CZUB) is an engineering company based in
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 ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
whose main activities include the production of service, hunting and sports firearms. It is owned by the Czech holding company
Colt CZ Group SE, which also owns other brands with related production programmes.
CZUB currently has around 1800 employees. It is one of the highest volume exporters in the Czech Republic, sending its products to more than 100 countries around the world. The company is among the top ten
small arms manufacturers in the world and five that manufactures
automatic firearms. In 2021, CZUB acquired the
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC (CMC, formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt and is now a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is the s ...
; the following year, the parent company changed its name to Colt CZ Group.
History
In 1919
Jihočeská zbrojovka was founded in
Strakonice. Today's Česká zbrojovka a.s. was built as part of a large-scale transfer of strategically important production capacities of the former Czechoslovakia as far as possible from the western borders threatened by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. In Uherský Brod in the south-east of Moravia, a brand new arms factory was established in 1936, which was one of the most modern and most efficient factory at the time. In the first years of its existence it was successfully engaged primarily in the highly demanding production of aircraft machine guns.
1945 – 1992
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the joint-stock company Česká zbrojovka was nationalized and its branch factory in Uherský Brod, which became independent in 1950, gradually became the main Czechoslovak manufacturer of small firearms. Its most famous products from the immediate post-war period were the
Sa vz. 23 submachine guns
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automati ...
, chambered in the common
9×19mm Parabellum cartridge (Later the
7.62×25mm Tokarev in vz. 24/26 after Czechoslovakia joined the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
). The Sa vz. 23 were the first production-model submachine guns with a
telescoping bolt
A telescoping bolt (also known as an overhung bolt) is a firearm bolt which telescopes over, that is, wraps around and past, the breech end of the barrel. This feature reduces the required length of a weapon such as a submachine gun significant ...
, which the bolt wraps around the barrel, which made the vz. 26 shorter and more compact than the other submachine guns at the time. By 1953, 545,000 were produced in Uherský Brod, 345,000 of which were of the
7.62 mm Tokarev variants.
The
vz. 58 assault rifle chambered in the
7.62×39 mm cartridge, was a Czechoslovak alternative to the
Soviet's AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...
with an original design. This firearm was produced in Uherský Brod for the national armed forces as well as for export until 1984 and the total production volume reached about 920,000 units.
In 1961
Sa vz. 61 Škorpion machine pistol
A machine pistol is an autoloading pistol capable of fully automatic fire. The term can also be used to describe a stockless handgun-style submachine gun. The term is a calque of ''Maschinenpistole'', the German word for submachine guns. Ma ...
was introduced to fill the gap between submachine guns and semi-automatic pistols. More than 200,000 of these machine pistols in the standard
.32 ACP
.32 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol, also known as .32 Automatic) is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pi ...
cartridge were produced in Uherský Brod until 2000, and small batches of these machine pistols in the
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...
version were produced in the 1990s.
The
CZ 75
The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech firearm manufacturer ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original " wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. I ...
semi-automatic pistol, revolutionary in a number of aspects, was the work of the well-known designer František Koucký, who worked on its development based on an assignment of today's Česká zbrojovka a.s since 1969. This firearm with perfect ergonomics and unique double-action trigger mechanism co-defined the category of
Wonder Nine
Wonder Nine refers to any semi-automatic pistol that is chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum and has a staggered column magazine, as well as a double-action trigger for at least the first shot.
The term was coined by firearms author Robert Shimek, ...
s, i.e. large capacity SA/DA pistols chambered in
9×19mm Parabellum, and has long been one of the most popular of them.
1992 – present
In 1992 Česká zbrojovka was privatized and transformed it into a joint-stock company, which concentrates its activities in its main plant in Uherský Brod on the development and production of high-quality firearms, while utilizing its remaining capacity for the production of high-precision components for the automotive and aerospace industry. The position of Česká zbrojovka, a.s. on the world's firearms market has significantly strengthened by the establishment of the subsidiary distribution and service company CZ-USA in 1997. This subsidiary started its activities in California, but in 1998 it relocated to Kansas City, Kansas, where it still operates. Within the creation of the international holding Česká zbrojovka Group (now Colt CZ Group), CZ-USA became an independent business entity.
In order to preserve the famous tradition of firearms production in Brno, Česká zbrojovka a.s began preparing to take over the firearms division of
Zbrojovka Brno
Pre-war Československá zbrojovka, akc.spol. (or a.s.) (Czechoslovak Armory)and post-war Zbrojovka Brno, n.p.(Brno Armory) was a maker of small arms, light artillery, and motor vehicles in Brno, Czechoslovakia. It also made other products and ...
, a.s. The newly created company, originally named BRNO RIFLES, started its activities at the turn of 2006 and its domain was the production and development of break action firearms. In 2008 it became a subsidiary company of Česká zbrojovka a.s. In 2010 the company was renamed to Zbrojovka BRNO, s.r.o. In 2005 CZ became the owner of
Dan Wesson Firearms through its subsidiary
CZ-USA. This company, originally a revolver maker founded in 1968 by
Daniel B. Wesson II, a grandson of
Daniel B. Wesson, soon became one of the most distinguished manufacturers of modern
M1911 pistol.
In 2011 the company began production of the new generation of
CZ 805 BREN A1/A2 assault rifles,
CZ SCORPION EVO 3 A1 submachine guns and CZ 805 BREN G1 grenade launchers for the
Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. Česká zbrojovka a.s significantly penetrated foreign markets by opening a separate space for the assembly and repairs of CZ pistols at the FAME army plant in Lima, Peru. The Czech company participated in the project by supplying modern equipment and tools and training of technical personnel. This enabled the Peruvian company to assemble CZ guns, provide service and sell them on the Peruvian market and then throughout Latin America. It was the first case of technological transfer of Česká zbrojovka a.s to this promising region.
Since 2018, Česká zbrojovka a.s has been part of the international holding
Česká zbrojovka Group SE that, in addition to the parent plant in Uherský Brod, gradually incorporates other companies with related production and development programmes. In cooperation with CZ-USA, the production of the first CZ firearms was launched in
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
. These include selected models of the successful CZ P-10 series of pistols. In 2021 CZ bought
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC (CMC, formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt and is now a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is the s ...
and their
Colt Canada
Colt Canada (formerly called Diemaco) is the Canadian division of American firearms manufacturer Colt located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
The facility produces small arms for the Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian law enforcement agencies In ...
subsidiary.
Notable developments
Over the years Česká zbrojovka has developed several revolutionary or highly influential designs in various fields of
small arms, most notably:
*
vz. 23/25 submachine gun with
overhanging bolt
*
vz. 52 roller locked automatic pistol
*
vz. 61 Škorpion ultra compact submachine gun with
rate reducer
Rate or rates may refer to:
Finance
* Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government
* Exchange rate, rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another
Mathematics and science
* Rate (math ...
*
vz. 75 high-capacity automatic pistol with cam unlocking
Current production
Pistols
*
CZ 75
The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech firearm manufacturer ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original " wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. I ...
- 9mm high-capacity automatic pistol with cam unlocking
* CZ P-07
* CZ P-09
* CZ P-10
* CZ SHADOW - A version of CZ 75 made for sport shooting
* CZ SHADOW 2 - A second generation of the CZ SHADOW
Submachine guns
*
CZ Scorpion EVO 3
Rifles
* CZ 457
* CZ 512
* CZ 600
* CZ 807 - Chambered in
5.56×45mm NATO
The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, an ...
and 7.62x39mm
* CZ TSR - A sniper rifle chambered in 7.62×51 mm NATO caliber
*
CZ BREN 2 - Chambered in
5.56×45mm NATO
The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, an ...
and 7.62x39mm
* CZ 805 G1 - A grenade launcher
Discontinued products
Handguns
* ČZ pistol, Modell 27 Kal,7.65 mm
* ČZ pistol, caliber 7.65 mm
* ČZ pistol, caliber 6.35 mm
* Model LK 38 pistol, 9 mm caliber
* DUO pistol, caliber 6.35 mm
* Target pistol, Model ZKP 493
*
CZ 40P (Limited run, no longer in production)
*
CZ 45
*
CZ 50
*
CZ 52
*
CZ 70
*
CZ 82 and CZ 83
*
CZ 97B/BD.45acp B = DA/SA; BD = DA/SA with de-cocker
*
CZ 100
*
CZ 110
*
CZ 122
* ZKR 590 Grand revolver, in calibers .38 and .22 and 7.62 Nagant short
* CZ 40B Joint venture with Colt
Smallbore rifles
* Model 242
* Model 243
* Model 244
* Model 245
* Model 246
* Model 247
* ZKM 452 2E
*
CZ 452
The CZ 452 also known as BRNO Model Two ''.22'' Rifle is a series of magazine-fed bolt-action rimfire repeating rifles manufactured by the Czech firearms manufacturer Česká Zbrojovka Uherský Brod (abbreviated "CZ-UB", English: ''Czech Weapons ...
*
CZ 453
*
CZ 455
The CZ 455 is a series of magazine-fed bolt-action rimfire repeating rifle manufactured by the Czech firearms manufacturer Česká Zbrojovka Uherský Brod (abbreviated "CZ-UB", English: Czech Weapons Factory — Uherský Brod) and imported into th ...
* CZ 511
*
CZ 513
* CZ 527, caliber .17 Hornet; .204 Ruger; .223 Rem; 7.62x39, etc.
Bigbore rifles
*
CZ 550
* CZ 557
* CZ 584 combination gun,12 ga.x calibers 7x65R; 7×57R; 5.6×52R; 6.5×57R; .243, .308, .30-06, etc.
Aircraft machine guns
* LK 30
* MG 17
Military rifles
*
vz. 24
*
vz. 33
*
vz. 52
*
vz. 52/57
*
vz. 58
*
ČZ 2000
* CZ S 810 HROM
Submachine guns
*
Škorpion vz. 61 (
.32 ACP a.k.a. 7.65×17mm Browning SR)
*
vz. 48 (
9×19mm Parabellum and
7.62×25mm Tokarev).
Shotguns
* The CZ 581 Over and under shotgun, 12/12 bore;
* The CZ 585 Over and under shotgun; the over and under rifle/shotgun; the CZ 582 prepared for SKEET shooting
Miscellaneous
* Signal/flare pistol
* Components for the infantry fire-support machine gun models MG 34, MG 81, and the K 35 anti-aircraft cannon
* Alarm/starting pistols: UB 070 and 071
* Signal pistols: 44/67, produced between 1981–1983
* Target pistol: Model ZKP 493
* Air rifles: Z 47, 235, 236, 237, 612, 614, 618, 620, 624, 630, 631, 632, 634, 800, 801 and 802
* Air pistol: Model ZVP, 4.5 mm
* Gas-fired pistol: The APP Automatic
* Air pistol: Tex, Model 3
* CO
2 pistol: Model CZ 75D Compact, 4.5 mm
* Three shot automatic shotgun: CZ 241, 12, 16 and 20 gauge)
* Over and under shotguns: 12, 16 and 20 gauge
* Over and under ČZ models: 581 and 584 - 586
* Hunting rifles: ZKK 600, 601 and 602, calibers ranging from .243Win-.248Win
* Rifles: The ZKW 465 Hornet and the ZKW 465 Fox
* Small bore rifles: ZKM 452, 561, 573 and 581
* Rifles: ZKW 465, 680
* Rifle: CZ 537
See also
*
Česká zbrojovka Strakonice
Česká is a municipality and village in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,000 inhabitants.
Česká lies approximately north-west of Brno and south-east of Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Prah ...
*
:Semi-automatic pistols of Czechoslovakia
*
Gun politics in the Czech Republic
Gun laws in the Czech Republic in many respects differ from those in other European Union member states ''(see Gun laws in the European Union)''. The "''right to acquire, keep and bear firearms''" is explicitly recognized in the first Article ...
*
Zbrojovka Brno
Pre-war Československá zbrojovka, akc.spol. (or a.s.) (Czechoslovak Armory)and post-war Zbrojovka Brno, n.p.(Brno Armory) was a maker of small arms, light artillery, and motor vehicles in Brno, Czechoslovakia. It also made other products and ...
References
Literature
* David Pazdera, Jan Skramoušský: ''Česká zbrojovka. Historie výroby zbraní v Uherském Brodě''
''Česká zbrojovka. History of weapon manufacturing in Uherský Brod''">/nowiki>''Česká zbrojovka. History of weapon manufacturing in Uherský Brod''/nowiki>, 2006, . Two chapters onlin
an
External links
*
Česká zbrojovka official website
CZ-USA official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceska Zbrojovka Uhersky Brod
Firearm manufacturers of the Czech Republic
Manufacturing companies of Czechoslovakia
Manufacturing companies established in 1919
Rifles
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with bo ...
1919 establishments in Czechoslovakia