Prototype vz.38 "Nutcracker" in 9x19mm
Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic
•
9m 46s
The Czechoslovakian military adopted the vz.38 pistol as a simple blowback action chambered for .380 ACP (well, the Czech military version of .380 ACP). Other countries were interested in other calibers though, and the factory looked at making the gun in 9x19mm Parabellum as well. They first tried a simple blowback version, but that was not satisfactory. So next they developed a locked breech model using a rotating barrel locking system. It also had several other features beyond the Czech pattern; a DA/SA trigger and a manual safety. Two examples of rotating barrel guns were made (300001 and 300002) for testing. That was the end of the project, although I am not sure specifically what the problem with the design was (or if there just wasn't sufficient customer interest to justify further work). This is the only surviving example, as the other was destroyed during testing.
Many thanks to the VHU - the Czech Military History Institute - for giving me access to this unique prototype to film for you. The Army Museum Žižkov is a part of the Institute, and they have a 3-story museum full of cool exhibits open to the public in Prague. If you have a chance to visit, it's definitely worth the time! You can find all of their details (including their aviation and armor museums) here:
Up Next in Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic
-
ZK 381: Czech Pre-War Prototype Battl...
The ZK-381 was designed by Josef Koucký, his first design of 1938 (hence 381). This is one of the last of the Czech pre-war self-loading rifle projects, of which there were quite a lot. It uses a tilting bolt and a short-stroke gas piston, with ZB26 machine gun magazines and chambered for 7.92mm ...
-
CZ247: Experimental Swivel-Action SMG
The CZ247 was developed for Czechoslovakia's post-war submachine gun trials, where it was pitted against the ZB47. It was a simple blowback 9x19mm SMG with a number of interesting elements, most notably the ability to fire with the magazine either vertical or horizontal. In theory, this made the ...
-
URZ: Czech Prototype Universal Modula...
The URZ (Univerzální Ruční Zbraň, or Universal Hand Weapon) was a 1966 project designed by Jiří Čermák (designer of the vz.58 rifle). He envisioned a weapons system family with largely interchangeable elements that could be configured as a service rifle, carbine, light machine gun, vehicular mach...
