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The 'ZB vz. 26' was a Czechoslovak light machine gun developed in the 1920s, which went on to enter service with several countries. It would see its major use during World War II, and spawned the related ZB vz.27, vz.30, and vz.33.

Contents

Development

Service

Variants

See also

External links

Development

Development on the ZB-26 began in 1923 after the Czechoslovak Brno arms factory came into existence. A designer by the name of Vaclav Holek was charged by the Czechoslovak army to produce a new light machine gun. He was assisted by his brother Emmanuel, as well as 2 expatriate Poles; Marek and Podrabsky. Holek was a genius as a firearms designer; he quickly began work on a prototype and within a year the quartet created an automatic light machine gun that would later be known as the ZB. The Czechoslovak army quickly adopted the ZB as the vz.26, and many other countries later adopted the ZB or similar designs.

Service

The ZB-26 saw service with the Czechoslovak infantry, as well as being the primary or secondary armament on many later model Škoda armored vehicles. The gun possessed a bipod and could also be mounted on a tripod for better support fire if needed.
The Wehrmacht soon adopted the ZB-26 after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, renaming it the MG 26(t); it was used in the same role as the MG34, as a light machine gun. In the opening phases of WWII, the ZB-26 in 7.92mm 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 the USSR, China, Yugoslavia, and Lithuania. Chinese Nationalist forces used the ZB-26 in 7.92mm Mauser in their struggle with Communist Chinese and later Japanese forces. During the Korean War, Chinese Communist forces employed the ZB-26 against UN forces, and PVA ZB gunners developed a well-deserved reputation for long-range marksmanship. During the Vietnam conflict with French and later South Vietnamese forces, the ZB-26 was found in the hands of both North Vietnamese army and Viet Minh guerrillas.
The gun has been reportedly used by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. [1]

Variants

Although the ZB-26 had few variants, some weapons were closely based on it:

★ 'ZGB 30/33': these 2 variants are commonly referred to as the Bren.

★ Japanese 'Type 97': This gun was closely modeled on the ZB-26.

★ Finnish KvKK 62 Light Machine Gun

★ In addition, the 'mkb 42(h)' assault rifle uses a virtually identical, although inverted, bolt / bolt carrier system.
Several more designations appear depending on the adoptive army, though generally the gun retains its 'ZB-26' initials in one or another form.

See also

★ Kucher Model K1

★ Madsen machine gun

★ M1909 Benet-Mercie

★ Lahti-Saloranta M/26

★ FM-24/29

★ ZB-30

External links

★ The ZB-26 photogallery