Count China’s modern history, how many people with lofty ideals, patriots throw their heads and blood for the safety of the country, and dedicate everything they have in the vigorous Anti-Japanese War. There were two machine guns on the battlefield at that time. You can see it in many film and television programs, that is the Taisho 11 light machine gun equipped by the Japanese army, also commonly known as the "crooked handle", and another is the Czech ZB-26 light machine gun, so today we will take a look at the Czech style. How powerful is the ZB-26 light machine gun in China?
ZB-26 light machine gun (also known as Czech-style ZB-26 light machine gun, ZB26 type, commonly known in China as: Czech-style light machine gun), is the Brno state arsenal in Czechoslovakia A light machine gun developed in the 1920s.
For China, the National Government at that time used it as a standard weapon. In 1934, the National Government chose ZB26 as a unified standard light machine gun and sent people to the Czech Republic to discuss the introduction of drawings, but in the end only got a set of ZB26 A template for gun calibration. The National Government ordered 5000 ZB26s from the Czech Republic, and the ZB26s replaced by the Czech army were refurbished and exported to China (1934, the annual work report of the Technical Department of the Ordnance Industry Department: the light machine gun was decided to adopt the Czech style. The British bought it from the Czech factory The gun’s imitation patent is made in England, and its value is known. This light machine gun has been imitated everywhere in the country, and the one made by Dagu is better. However, because there is no pattern template, the size of the parts is not very accurate and cannot be interchanged. In 1933, the Ministry of Finance ordered 5,000 light machine guns from the Czech factory. Our company once asked Minister Kong to ask the manufacturer for work drawings and prototypes, but the order quantity was only 5,000. The factory only allows one pair of acceptance templates (part of the inspection template) to be presented. After repeated negotiations, no results have been obtained. The company will send two technicians and one craftsman to the factory to supervise the production, that is, they are secretly ordered to pay attention to the production. I have sent a manufacturing supervisor and have returned to China. I started to draw a full set of work drawings by myself two months ago. Except for some of the dimensions, I refer to the approved samples. The tolerances are specified by myself. The drawings are about to be completed. It is planned to be delivered to Gonggong factory for preparation and production is expected to be available in one year.).
Since 1935, the Northwest Foundry of Northwest Industrial Company founded by Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan began to manufacture Czech light machine guns. After the fall of Taiyuan during the Anti-Japanese War, part of the Northwest Manufacturing Plant was moved to Guangyuan, Sichuan, and the Guangyuan branch was established. Since 1941, it has specialized in manufacturing Czech light machine guns.
In 1938, after Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, the Czech Brno arsenal continued to produce ZB light machine guns for Germany in addition to the production of MG-34 general machine guns, Kar98k Mauser rifles and other ordnance. Germany also included ZB-26/30 in its standard weapons, which they called MG26/30(t). During the Second World War, the German SS used a large number of ZB light machine guns. Only 31,204 were produced under the Nazi occupation, and production was discontinued at the end of the war. Later, Czechoslovakia changed the ZB-26 light machine gun to the Vz52, which fires 7.92 mm short rounds, and the Vz52/57, which fires 7.62 mm M43 rounds.
The shape of this gun is also unique, and its design structure is also very characteristic.
Shooting principle
ZB-26 light machine gun working principle is piston long-stroke air-guided type, adopting bolt deflection locking method, that is, the rear end of the bolt is lifted into the receiver. The locking slot on the top realizes locking. You can choose single shot or burst shooting. When the trigger is pulled, the trigger moves forward, and the dust-proof sheet under the gun box bounces forward at the same time to allow the empty cartridge case to be thrown downward (usually closed to prevent sand and dust from entering). After the bullet is pushed into the chamber, the piston rod and the bolt mount move forward due to inertia, thus hitting the firing pin in the bolt and firing the bullet. At this time, the rear end of the bolt has been pushed up by the bolt holder against the gun case, and it is indeed locked. . When the bullet passes through the air guide hole of the barrel, the gas is introduced into the piston barrel to push the piston rod and the bolt back. At this time, the rear end of the bolt falls and unlocks with the chute of the base. The bolt continues to retreat and pulls out the empty shell to the chamber. At the end, the ejector tenon hits the upper edge of the bottom of the bullet from the groove on the bolt, and the bullet shell is ejected downward. Finally, the gun machine will return to the open standby state, according to the single companySend the selection button, or open a mouth to be hit, or immediately repeat the above action.
Gun-type structure
ZB-26 light machine gun 7.92mm caliber, firing 7.92×57mm bullets. The gun uses a magazine for ammunition, with a capacity of 20 rounds. The magazine is located above the receiver, and the shell is thrown from below. Since the magazine is on the center line above the gun body, the sight is installed on the left side of the gun body. The gun sighting device uses a mechanical sight consisting of a common sight and a worm-wheel notch rear sight. The pull handle is located on the right side of the gun body. After pulling it back, it enters the standby state and pushes forward to its original position. When shooting, the pull handle does not move with the gun. The barrel of the gun is equipped with heat sinks, the mouth of the barrel is equipped with a flared flame arrester, and small holes are drilled around the muzzle device. The back of the butt has a shoulder plate and a bottom cover, and there is a buffer spring inside to reduce recoil. The bipod can be extended and retracted as required. There is a handle on the barrel near the middle of the gun for easy travel and quick barrel replacement. For light machine guns, the speed of barrel replacement is very important.
ZB-26 is a light automatic weapon in the squad. The design of the handle and barrel fixing bolt can quickly change the barrel, which makes it more flexible in use. The steps are extremely simple, just turn the fixing ring on the barrel upwards to get out of the locked groove, and then you can come out forward. Then reverse the operation to replace the new barrel and fix it. In order to effectively maintain the continuity of firepower, generally equipped with a shooter and a secondary shooter, a large number of ammunition and spare barrels are carried by the shooting deputy. With the help of the assistant shooter, a skilled shooter can replace the barrel in less than ten seconds. Generally, the barrel needs to be replaced every 200 rounds. If the shooting frequency is slow, it can reach 250 rounds.
Magazine design
At that time, most of the light machine guns used magazines for ammunition, with limited ammunition, unlike the German MG34/MG42 and the US M1919 series, which used ammunition chains. . Therefore, its ability to provide continuous firepower is still limited, and changing the magazine's neutral gear will cause the firepower to be interrupted. Objectively speaking, the design of light machine guns at that time did not require long-term continuous shooting. As for continuous shooting, or suppressing firepower against group enemy forces, it was the task of heavy machine guns. The small amount of ammunition in the magazine was acceptable at the time.
ZB-26 light machine gun 20 rounds of bullet magazine capacity is still too small for the light machine gun. The loading capacity of 20 rounds means that firepower will be interrupted more often. In battle, even if the firepower of the machine gun as the firepower pillar must be interrupted, the interval should be as small as possible. However, due to the frequent replacement of the magazines, the firepower was interrupted too many times. Experienced veterans will often take the opportunity to charge off the machine gun. In response to this, experienced machine gun shooters often suddenly change the magazine when there are still three or four rounds of ammunition, so that the enemy cannot estimate the time to change the magazine. The British Army’s modified Bren light machine gun based on the ZB-26 light machine gun used 30 rounds of magazines for ammunition, and the firepower continued to increase. Of course, the price is the heavy weight of the gun. It is inconvenient to use and move.
From the data, we can also see that this gun is also remarkable. It is much better than the girl's crooked handle at the time. I am afraid of this or that. , A whole daughter.
Full gun length : 1161 mm.
Full gun weight : 9.60 kg.
Barrel length : 672 mm.
Automatic mode : Air guided.
Rifling : 4, right-handed, winding distance 240 mm.
Muzzle velocity : 744 meters/second.
Gauge Range : 1500 meters.
Effective range : 1000 meters.
Rate of fire : 500 rounds per minute.
Barrel cooling method : Air cooling.
Supply method : 20 rounds/30 rounds magazine
Use bullets : 7.92×57mm Mauser rifle.
Next, let’s talk about its performance in China. In 1935, Guangdong No. 1 Weapon Manufacturing Factory began to produce Czech light machine guns. It was renamed 41 factory during the War of Resistance. The Gongxian Arsenal began producing Czech light machine guns in 1937, and the output is unknown.
In 1938, Huang Shaohong, chairman of Zhejiang Province, established the Zhejiang Iron Factory in Zhejiang Province to produce Czech light machine guns, called Type 77 light machine guns.
The 21 arsenal in Chongqing began producing Czech light machine guns in 1939. After improvements to the Czech light machine gun, it was standardized in 1942, and various parts can also be interchanged. By the victory of the War of Resistance in 1945, the factory had manufactured 9,813 Czech light machine guns. The Czech gun case produced by Factory 21 is not formed by milling a single piece of steel like other factories. Instead, it is first made into a rough blank by forging and then processed, which is said to save steel.
In 1941, the 51 factory was established in Kunyang, Yunnan, preparing to produce light machine guns. The original plan was to produce the Danish Madison light machine guns, which were blown up by the Japanese army on the Burma Highway in June 1940 due to the knife and drawings. Switched to producing Czech light machine guns. In 1942, the 22 factories were merged into 53 factories, which was the main factory for manufacturing Czech light machine guns at that time. From its establishment in January 1942 to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, the factory manufactured 14,920 Czech light machine guns. By 1945, the 53 plant had a large output, but its quality was the worst due to poor materials and lack of experience.
53 There is a record in the history of the arsenal: After the first Songhu battle, the central government concentrated on intensifying and enriching national defense. In the summer of 1936, the military authorities negotiated with the Czech arsenal in view of the machine gun being a weapon of modern warfare and set up a factory to produce Czech light machine guns. At that time, the Czech factory had planned to send representatives to China and would formulate specific plans. In the following year, the Qiqi Lugou Bridge Incident occurred, and the Jie Factory changed its plan and the incident ceased. Compared with the report of the Department of Arms and Industry in 1934, it can be seen that although there were drawings and prototypes at that time, there were still insurmountable difficulties, such as materials, quenching, tolerances, etc., so it was necessary to find the original factory for assistance. Because these problems could not be solved, the output during the war was greatly affected.
It is said that China used to produce Czech-style light machine guns in arsenals and repair shops, and there were at least 30 of them.
Generally speaking, a division of the Kuomintang Army is equipped with 274 ZB-26 light machine guns, with an average of more than 60 per regiment. The elite troops, such as the 88 division guided by German military advisers, are organized into nine squads in three rows, each with a light machine gun. A division is equipped with nearly 700 ZB-26 light machine guns, but such units are one of the few in the national army. Only a platoon or even a company of the local miscellaneous army has a ZB-26 light machine gun. The general configuration of the Communist Party’s Eighth Route Army is even worse.
In addition to its extremely poor military strength (it can barely make some old-fashioned rifles and grenades), China was also subject to long-term military sanctions and embargoes from the Western world due to warlords’ melee. Therefore, it is proposed to impose an embargo on Chinese arms and arms, which lasted for ten years from 1919 to 1929). Due to the arms embargo, rifles and pistols can be smuggled. Small foreign arsenals such as heavy machine guns and artillery cannot be produced. Large arsenals will not participate in smuggling in consideration of international conventions. If it were made by itself, China at that time could barely produce some rifles and pistols, but China's military enterprises were powerless to produce heavy machine guns and other weapons. Modern combat is different from before the First World War. The firepower formed by rifles alone cannot meet the needs of actual combat. As for the complicated structure of heavy machine guns, China's backward industries were unable to imitate them in large numbers. The
ZB-26 light machine gun was discovered by the Chinese as soon as it was born. The ZB-26 light machine gun is extremely reliable and can be used in various complex environments. And its price is lower (much cheaper than gravity machine gun), imitation is relatively easy, 7.92mm ammunition can be used universally, Czech machine gun using 7.92mm ammunition has very good lethality. In addition, as long as the barrel is replaced in time, the continuity of shooting can be maintained. Effectively make up for the extreme demand of the Chinese army for firepower.
In actual combat, when defending, the ZB-26 light machine gun is the absolute firepower pillar of the Chinese infantry squad platoon. At that time, there was an old saying in the Chinese army that veterans were afraid of the Czech Republic. This sentence is actually for the ZB-26 light machine gun. For the ZB-26 light machine gun's precise two-to-three short bursts, as long as it is aimed and fired, it cannot dodge. During the offensive, the ZB-26 light machine gun can follow the infantry's rapid advance and continuously provide timely fire support. In actual combat, the machine gun can also be shot by the shooter while charging. In addition, the ZB-26 light machine gun can use ordinary rifle bullets, and ammunition is not a problem. For the Chinese army, the ZB-26 light machine gun is a rare weapon for offense and defense, and it is a perfect weapon.
In the War of Resistance Against Japan, although the national army was also equipped with a lot of heavy machine guns (about 10,000 heavy machine guns were produced during the War of Resistance in the 21st Factory), the Japanese army was equipped with many light artillery such as infantry cannons and grenadiers. The small number of heavy machine guns of the national army would soon be destroyed by the Japanese in battle. The Czech style, which the national army can move easily and quickly, has become a magic weapon in the hands of Chinese soldiers. In actual combat, the Czech type had the upper hand in the counter-fire with the crooked sub-machine gun (Taisho XI light machine gun) equipped by the Japanese army. If it is not certain that the light machine gun of the national army will be destroyed, the Japanese army will generally suffer heavy casualties when charging. Even the poorly equipped Czech-style light machine guns of the Eighth Route Army or the guerrillas behind the enemy lines made the Japanese very wary. However, due to the quality problems of the national production, the Czech type often cannot fit the chamber when using the domestic 79 bullets, so the machine gunner usually has one shot and the chamber. This is a manifestation of the limitations of the backward industrial foundation on weapons.
Therefore, this gun performed well in China at that time. Due to the high price of heavy machine guns and the large consumption of ammunition, this machine gun became the main weapon to suppress the enemy’s firepower, but due to the backwardness of China’s industry There is no way to avoid frequent quality problems, and today our country can rely on its own military strength to produce more advanced machine guns, but the contribution of this gun to our country's liberation cause is indelible. This machine gun was used by Wei Monk, the guard of Li Yunlong in the once-popular anti-Japanese war drama "The Bright Sword".
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