ZB-30
Yugoslav-made ZB vz. 30
TypeLight machine gun
Place of originCzechoslovakia
Romania (license)
Yugoslavia (license)
Service history
In service1930–2009[1]
Used bySee Users
WarsChaco War[2]
Second Italo-Ethiopian War[3]
Spanish Civil War[4]
World War II
First Indochina War
Algerian War
Biafran war
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)[1]
Production history
Designed1930
ManufacturerZbrojovka Brno, Cugir Arms Factory, Military Technical Institute Kragujevac[5]
Specifications
Mass9.10 kg (20.06 lb)
Length1,180 mm (46.5 in)
Cartridge7.92×57mm Mauser
ActionGas-operated, tilting breechblock
Rate of fire550-650 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity750 m/s (2,461 ft/s)
Effective firing range1,000 m (1,100 yd)
Feed system20-round detachable box magazine
SightsFront blade, rear leaf sight

The ZB-30 and ZB-30J were Czechoslovakian light machine guns that saw extensive use during World War II.

History

The Zb 30 and Zb 30J were the later versions of the famous Czechoslovak machine gun, the ZB-26. However, the ZB-30 had some design differences, making it similar to the later ZGB-33, which was an early prototype of the Bren gun.[6] Like the ZB-26, the Wehrmacht adopted the ZB-30 after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, renaming it the MG30(t); it was used in the same role as the MG34, as a light machine gun. In the opening phases of World War II, the ZB-30 in 7.92 mm Mauser caliber was used in large numbers by elements of the German Waffen-SS, who did not initially have full access to standard Wehrmacht supply channels.[1]

Comparison of original ZB vz.26 and modifications:

Machine gun ZB vz.26 ZB vz.30 ZB vz.30J (note)
Caliber (mm) 7.92 7.92 7.92
Length (mm) 1165 1180 1204
Weight (kg) 8.84 9.10 9.58
Magazine (rounds) 20 20 20
Rate (round/min) 500 550-650 500-600
Velocity (m/s) 750 750 750

Note - The ZB 30J was a late design iteration of the ZB 30 for sale to Yugoslavia (originally spelled with a J) that featured an adjustable gas system so that commonly available light and heavy 7.92mm ball ammunition would cycle the mechanism.[7]

Users

A license-built Romanian ZB-30 used after the war by the Patriotic Guards.
Yugoslav Royalist fighter with M37, domestic built variant of ZB-30.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Grant 2013, p. 65.
  2. ^ a b Alejandro de Quesada (20 November 2011). The Chaco War 1932-35: South America's greatest modern conflict. Osprey Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-84908-901-2.
  3. ^ a b "ZB VZ 30". iwm.org.uk. Imperial War Museum.
  4. ^ de Quesada, Alejandro (20 Jan 2015). The Spanish Civil War 1936–39 (2): Republican Forces. Men-at-Arms 498. Osprey Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 9781782007852.
  5. ^ "1919-1941 | Zastava-arms". Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
  6. ^ "ZB 26". Modern Firearms. October 27, 2010.
  7. ^ "Brno Zb-30J – Marstar Canada". marstar.ca. Retrieved 22 Nov 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fencl, Jiří (1991). "Nejprodávanější československá zbraň" (in Czech). Militaria, Elka Press. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  9. ^ "StG-44 in Africa after WWII". wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com. 27 September 2015.
  10. ^ Jowett, Philip (2016). Modern African Wars (5): The Nigerian-Biafran War 1967-70. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-1472816092.
  11. ^ Grant 2013, p. 10.
  12. ^ Jowett, Philip S. (1997). Chinese Civil War Armies 1911-49. Men at Arms 306. Osprey Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 1855326655. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  13. ^ Perutka, Lukáš (September 2014). Checoslovaquia, Guatemala y México en el Período de la Revolución Guatemalteca: Ibero-Americana Pragensia - Supplementum 32/2013 (in Spanish). Karolinum Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-80-246-2429-7.
  14. ^ "Fusils-mitrailleurs Lehky Kulomet ZB vz.26 and vz.30". Encyclopédie des armes : Les forces armées du monde (in French). Vol. II. Atlas. 1984. p. 262.
  15. ^ Smith 1969, p. 463.
  16. ^ Riccio, Ralph (2013). Italian small arms of the first & second world wars. Schiffer Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 9780764345838.
  17. ^ Smith 1969, p. 498.
  18. ^ Jowett, Philip S. (2010). Rays of the rising sun : armed forces of Japan's Asian allies, 1931-45, Vol. 1: China & Manchukuo. Helion. p. 15. ISBN 9781906033781.
  19. ^ Ezell, Edward (1988). Small Arms Today. Vol. 2nd. Stackpole Books. p. 304. ISBN 0811722805.
  20. ^ Smith 1969, p. 535.
  21. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29
  22. ^ John Walter, Greenhill Books, 2004, Guns of the Third Reich, p. 86
  23. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  24. ^ "Fusil Ametrallador Oviedo (FAO): otro capítulo más de nuestra gloriosa historia armera". arma.es (in Spanish). 24 March 2017.
  25. ^ Windrow, Martin (20 Sep 2018). French Foreign Légionnaire vs Viet Minh Insurgent: North Vietnam 1948–52. Combat 36. Osprey Publishing. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9781472828910.
  26. ^ "1919-1941 | Zastava-arms". www.zastava-arms.rs. Archived from the original on 2013-06-12.
  27. ^ Smith 1969, p. 320.

External links

Weapons and military equipment designed in Czechoslovakia 1919–1945
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