In August 1948, the Czechoslovak Army introduced a brand new submachine gun, which at the time was at the absolute top of the world with its technical solution and performance. This success of Czechoslovak designers was all the more remarkable because it was achieved after only 2 years of intensive development without much previous experience with this type of firearm. The fate of this winning model, however, was soon affected by the political situation of that time period. 

In the period between the World Wars, many high-quality automatic firearms were created in Czechoslovakia. In the case of submachine guns (at that time commonly called machine gun pistols), however, Czechoslovak designers kind of missed the proverbial boat. This was due to the lack of interest of the domestic Armed Forces, whose restrained approach towards an automatic firearm using pistol ammunition only began to change in the second half of the 1930s. Around that time, demand from abroad also started to grow. 

The result was the first generation of Czechoslovak submachine guns: 

• the model (“vzor” in Czech) 38 machine gun pistol using Czechoslovak 9mm model 22 ammunition designed by František Myška from Česká zbrojovka in Strakonice; although this type was officially introduced into the armament of the Czechoslovak Army in September 1938, Česká zbrojovka only managed to produce 15 samples before the occupation of Bohemia and Moravia; and the ZK-383 in the 9mm Parabellum calibre produced by Československá zbrojovka in Brno (main designer Josef Koucký) which, during World War II and shortly after, made it to series production in a limited number for export. 
• In both cases, they were of conventional design with only some partial original touches. In the 1930s, however, Czechoslovak designers showed that even in this field they could come up with something original. In 1937, Václav Holek (1886–1954), a renowned creator of ZB machine guns, patented a feeding mechanism for submachine guns, where a ratchet wheel transferred cartridges in front of the cartridge chamber from the magazine parallel to the barrel. It is not yet known to what extent this idea was worked with before the German occupation, but it was the first promise of new directions of the Czechoslovak submachine gun design soon after the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945.

Calibre Plot

During World War II, the submachine gun changed from Cinderella to the queen of the ball. This radical change of the core of infantry armament affected the restored Czechoslovak Army as well, but only a relatively small portion of its members had combat experience. Although many weapons of German and other origins remained in the territory of Czechoslovakia after the War, the military administration soon sought to introduce modern models of domestic origin; one of the first models was supposed to be a submachine gun. 

Its development was assigned to Czechoslovak firearm producers immediately in 1946. It was a competition of two traditional players: Česká zbrojovka in Strakonice and Zbrojovka Brno. Even though both companies were nationalized right after the liberation, the sharpness of the competition was in no way dulled. Both companies were very interested in the submachine gun contract for the domestic Armed Forces; they assigned their best people to the development, both closely followed each step of their competitor, and they did not hesitate to pull the strings behind the scenes. 

One interesting moment was the choice of calibre. Before the end of the War, representatives of Czechoslovakia, under the so-called Košice Programme approved on April 5, 1945, committed themselves to the following:

In order to allow the closest combat cooperation with the Red Army, necessary in the interest of victory and our future, the organization, armament and training of the new Czechoslovak military forces will be the same as the organization, armament and training of the Red Army. At the same time, this will allow effective assistance of the Red Army and achieve the perfect use of its invaluable combat experience.

In the first post-war years, however, Czechoslovak experts saw this commitment as a general definition of the overall orientation of the restored Czechoslovak Army. It was quite rightly assumed that the Red Army, renamed to the Soviet Army in 1946, would use war experience to develop and introduce modern firearms and ammunition. In particular, the Soviet 7.62x25mm (Tokarev) cartridge, despite its impressive performance, certainly did not represent the ideal submachine gun ammunition. 

Therefore, when ordering the development of submachine guns, the first calibre choice was 7.62mm or 9mm. In the second case, it was, of course, the 9mm Parabellum cartridge, which at that time was a proven western European standard and with which mass production Czechoslovak ammunition manufacturers had rich recent experience. Vědecký technický ústav (VTÚ, Science Technical Institute), renamed in 1947 to Vojenský technický ústav (Military Technical Institute), which ordered and managed development work for the Army, immediately recommended that the submachine gun design should use the 9mm calibre. Reasons: better “physiological” effect and simpler design of the cartridge case, which was expected to facilitate the development and production of prototypes. Even though selected prototypes were also modified to the 7.62x25mm calibre during the development, the results were not satisfactory.

Wild Card

The wild card of this big game was the young designer Jaroslav Holeček (1923–1977), who during his compulsory military service caught the attention of his superiors with an unconventional submachine gun design. It first got him transferred to VTÚ and finally to Česká zbrojovka in Strakonice, where he worked even after being discharged from the Army in 1947. 

Holeček was in many ways a controversial person who was not remembered in good light by his contemporaries, but many of his ideas had a healthy core and greatly affected the development of submachine guns. For the Czechoslovak military administration, it was a brilliant move to place this ambitious lance corporal in Strakonice. The Strakonice firearm design department excelled in effective teamwork regardless of personal relationships, and Holeček was forgiven for things that, in Zbrojovka Brno, would most likely get him dismissed very quickly. After all, the young designer shut this door himself with his very first prototype H/47, which was clearly inspired by the Brno development model ZB 1946 and subsequently evolved into the ZB-47 version, which furthered the aforementioned pre-War concept of V. Holek with a horizontal magazine.

The H/47 non-functioning prototype with a rotating segmented breech block was followed by the revolutionary H/para concept (abbreviated H/p), a special short submachine gun for airborne units. It is not yet known whether Holeček was acquainted with the experimental British World War II MCEM submachine guns, or if this solution was “floating in the air” as is the case with some ground-breaking ideas. The new Holeček gun stood out due to the use of a dynamic hollow slide that partially surrounded the barrel and a magazine placed in a pistol grip, so the gun’s centre of gravity was conveniently located above the shooter’s hand and did not change based on the number of cartridges in the magazine. In addition, the ejection port opened only at the moment suitable for ejection of the spent cartridge case and otherwise remained covered by the slide body.

This solution was patented by Česká zbrojovka (ČZ) and Jaroslav Holeček in 1947 and became the starting point for further development in Strakonice. The young designer also worked on the so-called rotary submachine gun ČZ 247 with an adjustable magazine well, which in 1948–1949 went into limited series production for the ultimately unrealized export to Egypt, but that was technically the last remnant of the interwar era. The future lay elsewhere.

Deserved Victory

The submachine gun competition was suspenseful until the last moment. Česká zbrojovka quickly developed the H/p concept into the successful prototypes ČZ 447 (with a folding stock) and ČZ 148 (with a fixed wooden stock). Since autumn 1947, Zbrojovka Brno countered with the similarly designed ZK 476 of Koucký brothers.

Holeček’s design was being evolved by many other designers, mainly František Myška, Jiří Čermák, J. Keliš, Václav Zíbar, Jan Kratochvíl and František Brejcha. It should be added that the development involved many more workers of the Strakonice and Uherský Brod plants of Česká zbrojovka and that the resulting submachine gun should therefore be considered a truly collective work. Jiří Čermák (1926–2006), the future author of the excellent Model 58 submachine gun, soon came up with a crucial idea to change the transition from the angular profile of the slide (and hence the slide itself) to a circular profile. This shape modification not only brought several design advantages but also greatly simplified production. This proved decisive. 

After fine-tuning countless details, in summer 1948, there were two similar finalists to choose from, with no comparable competition in the world. VTÚ ultimately opted for the manufacturing simplicity of the Strakonice prototype. Other advantages of this firearm, compared to the Brno model, were lower weight, simpler design, easier handling, simple integrated filler and closing of the ejection port outside ejection, protecting the mechanism from dirt. 

It was a well-deserved victory, because, despite the similar parameters of the final prototypes, the Strakonice type maintained the lead over the Brno model. In spring 1948, when VTÚ came up with the requirement for versatility (i.e., the possibility for easy replacement of a fixed stock with a folding stock), Česká zbrojovka engineers reacted quickly. Their solution was perfected by the director of the Uherský Brod plant, František Brejcha. J. Čermák, who managed to quickly resolve the additional requirement for barrel replacement for blank cartridge shooting; the barrel was attached in the receiver using a nut with front protrusions and could be released by the front end of the slide. Thanks to the barrel attachment method, the submachine gun also achieved higher accuracy than other weapons of that time and category. The integrated ammo clip magazine filler on the right side of the forend, which was designed by Václav Zíbar and first appeared on the ČZ 247 model, was greatly praised as well.

Other notable design elements of the Strakonice model include: 

• oblique square bowl-shaped rear sight adjustable from 100m to 400m, on which the notches were laterally offset to always eliminate projectile drift; i.e., its lateral deviation in the rotation direction, at the appropriate distance (design of V. Zíbar); 
• F. Myška’s anti-rebound safety of a design similar to that of the ČZ 247 submachine gun perfected by J. Kratochvíl, so that the groove for the cocking arm did not have to stretch to the end of the receiver; 
• Holeček’s trigger mechanism that allowed switching between single-fire and burst fire by naturally increasing the finger pressure on the trigger (again a variation of the solution used in the ČZ 247); and 
• J. Holeček’s successful one-arm stock, which could be folded in a horizontal plane and fixed in the folded position by means of a rotating butt, which in this case could be used as a grip or folded to a horizontal position for easier transport. 

Two Names

On August 10, 1948, the armament committee decided to introduce the ČZ 447 submachine gun into the armament of the Czechoslovak Army, where the new firearm was designated “9mm samopal vz. 48a (pěchotní),” meaning “9mm model 48a submachine gun (infantry version),” and “9mm samopal vz. 48b (výsadkový),” meaning “9mm model 48b submachine gun (paratrooper version).” At the same time, the corresponding ammunition was officially standardized as well, first under the designation “9mm ostrý náboj,” meaning “9mm live cartridge” (steel-core bullet, weight 6.42g) and “9mm ostrý náboj T” meaning “9mm live cartridge T” (lead-core bullet, 8g). The Army preferred the version with the lighter bullet, later named “9mm náboj do samopalu se střelou vz. 48” (“9mm submachine gun cartridge with model 48 bullet”). There was also training ammunition.

The only difference between the infantry and the paratrooper design of the submachine gun was that the former had a fixed beech stock and the latter had a folding stock, but both parts could easily be replaced after loosening a single screw. The version with a folding stock and short magazines was primarily designed for airborne and communications units and for operators of artillery weapons. The infantry model was used by motorized infantry and other units.

Czechoslovakia thus became the first country that equipped its Army with a submachine gun with a slide around the barrel and a magazine in a pistol grip. This remains the case even though the slightly younger Israeli UZI, allegedly inspired by the Czech model, gained more popularity. Here it should be noted that if the Israelis really borrowed some ideas from Czechoslovaks, they were based on the ZK 476 model from Brno, which they were able to study quite thoroughly.

The Final Form

The model 48 submachine gun took its final form in the first months of 1949. Until then, modifications were carried out according to the requirements of the armament committee of August 1948. One of the most noticeable changes was the transition to a trapezoidal magazine. In Czechoslovakia, this innovative, originally Swedish design element improving the guidance of cartridges into the chamber, was first applied to the ZK 476 submachine gun in connection with the demand of the Swedish Army and later requested by VTÚ for the competitor’s ČZ 447 in autumn 1948. The transition to the trapezoidal profile of the magazine was the last major change in the design of the new submachine gun. Although some changes in the firearm and its accessories were made during mass production, they were only minor modifications of a technological nature. 

The official name was unusually changed in the spring of 1950 as part of the transition to a new system of code names of Czechoslovak military material. The gun was renamed to “samopal 23” (with a fixed stock) and “samopal 25” (with a folding stock). The number in the name did not mean the traditional model number with reference to the model year, so writing submachine gun “vzor 25” (“model year 25”) is wrong. This error, however, was frequently made by the Army itself as well as the production plant. It was no coincidence that this unusual nomenclature was soon abandoned. In any case, the new submachine gun became popular among Czechoslovak soldiers under the nickname “pumpička” (pump), which is still used today.

Production in Uherský Brod

During development, it was clear that the production of the new submachine gun would be assigned to the Česká zbrojovka branch plant in Uherský Brod (today’s Česká zbrojovka a.s.). The deciding factors were a strategic location far from the western border of Czechoslovakia, good machinery and solid experience—most recently with the production of ČZ 247 for export. The parent plant in Strakonice accepted the role of a subcontractor of some small parts, whose production could be transferred to another metalworking plant without any problems.

The Uherský Brod plant received permission to start mass production of model 48 submachine guns in February 1949. The first 200 firearms were made in June of the same year, and the production involving nearly 800 workers (including a large number of women) quickly gained momentum. By the end of 1949, the plant produced a total of 26,770 infantry and 10,000 paratrooper submachine guns. In 1950, when the production of the 9mm submachine guns culminated (and when the production plant become an independent, state-owned enterprise under the name “Závody přesného strojírenství Uherský Brod” or “Precision Engineering Plants Uherský Brod”), 60,458 infantry and 70,820 paratrooper submachine guns were produced. 

In 1951, the production ran down. It definitely ended in mid-March (only manual adjustment and assembly remained) after producing a total of 6,346 model 23 submachine guns and 25,611 model 25 submachine guns and was followed by the production of new 24/26 models in the 7.62x25mm calibre. 

Between 1949 and 1951, according to factory reports, a total of 200,005 model 48 (23/25) submachine guns were produced. The version with a folding stock was in a slight majority. These firearms had to be accompanied by many hundreds of thousands of magazines (the vast majority of which was 40-round; the amount of shortened 24-round magazines was significantly lower), nearly 80,000 training barrels, a large number of cleaning rods and, of course, spare parts. 

As for the training barrels, they were originally designed for cartridges with bullets made of roasted alder wood, which was a continuation of the traditional design used in the interwar and post-war Czechoslovak Army. Due to unsatisfactory function, however, a training barrel for blanks with a constricted case mouth was soon developed.

To the World

Model 48 (23/25) submachine guns were primarily designed for the Czechoslovak Army, but right from the start of the production, they were also supplied to the National Security Corps–the Czechoslovak uniformed police of that time. Two hundred thousand guns that were produced were far from enough for these purposes. 

The new submachine gun was introduced into the armament almost half a year after the Communists gained control over Czechoslovakia and pushed for orientation towards the Soviet Union in all spheres. However, changes were rarely immediate and, specifically in the area of armament, on-going projects were still calmly running down. The radical turn came with the advent of a new Army class in April 1950, which began to abide by a strict interpretation of the Košice Programme. 

In the case of submachine guns, this resulted in the immediate termination of the production of the 9mm model and its rapid adjustment to the Soviet 7.62x25mm cartridge. The officials did not address the increased costs and noticeable deterioration of some parameters of the weapon; instead they were driven by “unification” of the Czechoslovak armament with that of the Soviet Army’s. The biggest irony in all of this was that, due to the concealment tendencies, Czechoslovakia was not informed that the Soviets had already switched from the 7.62mm cartridge to the new 9mm Makarov cartridge.

The 9mm 23/25 submachine guns, the best weapons of their category in the world at that time, thus became unwelcome guests in the Czechoslovak Army. From 1951, they were being moved to security bodies (including the Border Guard), where they formed the backbone of personal armament until the 1960s. 

However, the discarded 23/25 submachine guns became a successful export article, by means of which Communist Czechoslovakia, in accordance with the current politics of the Soviet Union, supported friendly countries of the Third World. Refurbishment of the firearms for this purpose was carried out since the second half of the 1950s once again by the Uherský Brod plant. Export of 23/25 submachine guns would be a topic for a separate article, but we should at least mention that the largest customer was Castro’s Cuba, which received a total of 100,000 guns.

Because the 9mm 23/25 submachine guns scattered around the world, most often to truly “hot” locations, today’s shooters and collectors in western countries do not come across them very often. If you ever have the opportunity to try this ground-breaking firearm, do not hesitate. Ammunition should not be a problem; you can use today’s versions of 9x19mm. If you are spoiled by systems with front firing, you have to get used to the noticeable movement of the heavy dynamic slide before the actual shot. But once you learn the right grip and proper triggering—you choose the firing mode by the amount of finger pressure on the trigger—you will find that 23/25 submachine guns had and still have a lot of upside, especially when you also get familiar with the sophisticated folding stock or very simple disassembly. 

QUICK COMPARISON

Comparison of the spur, the cavity below the spur and hammer – the CZ P-07 on the left and the Duty on the right (Jiří Sedlačík)

By David Pazdera

The research and development program of the Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod (CZ) company has added several alternate handguns to the classic CZ 75 series since the mid 1990’s. But none of them was launched into production. That situation changed after the arrival of a substantially simplified Omega trigger mechanism.

The breakthrough in Omega’s fate came in the winter of 2006, not long after the appointment of the new general manager of CZ, Ing. Lubomír Kovařík, whose priorities focused on the earliest possible addition of a technologically more efficient and a “tender” SA/DA pistol (Tender means offering to larger bids and contracts). The Omega mechanism offers such potential. The development process was given a go and CZ’s designer Ing. Ivan Filko poignantly summarised the efforts as follows:

“We wrapped the trigger mechanism with a pistol.”

That was the birth of the CZ 75 P-07 Duty model. However, the only immediate thing this polymer compact has in common with the initial Seventy-Fives is the operating principle of the trigger mechanism, the inner slide guide and the disassembly procedure. The rest of the design is based on what can be called the contemporary standard for service pistols. The frame of the Duty is made of Zytel polymer, free of fibreglass (used by CZ since the time of the CZ 100 striker pistol), fitted with a standardised mounting rail with three traverse notches, a large trigger guard for reliable shooting with gloves and a funnel-shaped magazine grip entry.

The initial version of the Duty had the walls of the polymer frame with slight bulges at the front of the insert. It had no impact on the operation and safety but it looked awful, and the knurled surfaces on the sides of the frame above the trigger fortunately provided a stylish camouflage. This feature was proven very useful in practice – not only for reliable “resting” of the index finger of the shooting hand off the trigger but also for reinforcing the grasp of the gun when held by both hands, when this knurled spot serves as a rest for the thumb of the other hand. That is why this feature has been preserved on the modernised CZ P-07 and its larger sister – the CZ P-09.

The polymer frame of the Duty houses two inserts manufactured by the MIM method. The top parts of these inserts are provided with notches to ensure the inner guidance of the slide. The rear insert is a container that carries the firing mechanism and its rear surface is provided with cogs to cover the back of the slide, the front insert is a container that serves for the fitting of the trigger and the slide catch axis runs through it, serving also as a connecting pin between the frame and slide assembly with the main and return springs. That is made of flat wire and it is fit freely onto a long plastic guide.

The Duty bets its success on the current and most common Browning system with an open quadrant comprising two hooks, locked by the square-shaped rear side of the barrel to fit the properly sized ejection port. The Duty further joined the systems locked in
horizontal position.

The Duty has been fitted with ambidextrous plastic controls and de-cocking levers. The hammer is provided with a classic round knurled thumb rest with a large relief hole.

Characteristic features of the CZ 75 P-07 Duty model include the slide with the large grooves below the rear sight and the markedly bevelled sides of the rear part to simplify drawing and re-holstering.

But one can never satisfy all demands of every user. Many shooters like to charge their pistols by grasping the front part of slide, which is quite problematic due to the bevelled section of the Duty. Testing under various conditions further revealed that the sheer lines of the slide and receiver are fairly sharp and may catch on clothes in case of swift drawing. Customers were also quite sceptical about the economical polymer sight. On the other hand, the new magazine was praised by everyone. It was developed by adaptation of the magazine from the CZ 75 Tactical TS and the manufacturer managed to achieve the same capacity as in the standard CZ 75, with a lower height.

The CZ 75 P-07 Duty model specification was initially for nitriding of the barrel and slide. However, this subcontracted surface treatment did not fully meet the expectations; the nitriding surface treatment turned out to be prone to scratching. The CZ finally opted for the surface protection of the barrel and slide on the Duty model with manganese phosphate coating, which improves the anti-corrosion and friction characteristics. The company processes this surface treatment on its own, using the automatic processing line purchased several years ago.

Reason for Modernisation

The development of the CZ 75 P-07 Duty was finished during 2007 and launched to retail shops in the spring of 2009. Nowadays, CZ admits that it needlessly hurried. Even though the pistol passed all the demanding tests performed in accordance with service standards, the launch of production and its practical use have demonstrated the need for fine tuning of certain details. But the initial stage of problems did not last very long and the new CZ “plastic” gun promptly began to make its way to both the service and civilian markets.

The launching of the Duty on the market was obviously associated with concerns about the material of pistol frame. Some customers perceived Zytel without fibreglass as being too soft and sensitive to temperature changes. The reality is that the fine tuning of the design has eradicated all operation problems and even proved the pistol as a potential rival to products of truly prestigious brands – the information available from the tender in Egypt show this pistol won the final stage, out-performing pistols from Glock and Beretta. Nevertheless, CZ resorted to substantial re-consideration of the polymer to be used for further expansions of its portfolio.

Looking at the fact that the CZ 75 P-07 Duty was originally designed as a “tender” pistol, it still lacked one important thing: the option to customise grip sizes by means of replaceable backstraps. Most shooters are impressed with the ergonomics of the Duty, so its development team had to tackle the actual need for the utilisation of this feature. The only problem here is that partial changes in the grip size have become one of the most observed conditions in tender proceedings over the recent years.

Having summarised all these facts, CZ reached a conclusion: the most convenient and fastest way forward is to modernise the CZ 75 P-07 Duty model. The same process was also destined for the high-capacity pistol unofficially called the “large Duty”.

Time for Changes

Following the appointment of the new general manager Kova?ík, CZ launched its ambitious scheme for the development and production of new service firearms and hired several ex-military personnel for product management positions in this respect. New product managers know the true needs and preference of their customers – as well as the things to be avoided, undesired or unusable.

The new pistols CZ P-07 and CZ P-09, both launched in 2013, have benefitted from a series of accurately aimed alterations to remove weak spots from the CZ 75 P-07 Duty: the features concerned are the sharp edges of the frame and slide, the smooth bevelling of sides on the slide front, the missing option to change the grip size, the dimensionally stable polymer used for frame manufacturing, the reach on the trigger in the DA mode, the plastic sights and the return spring fitted freely on the guide rod.

When it came to modernisation, the company needed to go lock, stock and barrel! That finally led to changes affecting the hammer with the aim to enable its easy and safe operation by harmonising the shape with a new, altered design.

Polymers reinforced with fiberglass are not absolutely flawless. Their high strength and dimensional stability regardless of temperature fluctuation are amazing. But polymers with fiberglass are fairly brittle. The problem arising on the Duty was with the spur and the trigger guard. Whereas this issue was solved by partially thicker walls, the alteration to the frame rear took the design engineer a lot longer – his aim was actually to preserve the existing rear container. He could not make it one hundred percent perfect anyway, strengthening the spur required both the reduction of its length and thicker walls, as well as a slight curving of the top part of the grip, and this solution employed a reduced original container insert instead of making a new one.

As for the replaceable backstraps, the design engineer was inspired by the proven solution on the CZ 75 SP-01 Phantom model: the backstraps are slid onto the grooves in checkering and secured by means of a cross pin holding the firing spring ramp as well. They are easy to replace, yet the manufacturer does not assume that these replacements would be very frequent, so the pistol is supplied without any special tool for removal of the pin – one can simply use anything of the right diameter. The CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 models are supplied with three replaceable backstraps as standard: S, M and L, where S is the smallest default one.

What Remains Hidden

The return spring preloaded on the guide mounted in the new CZ pistols can be spotted and definitely enjoyed by every user. On the other hand, the new design of the sights on the CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 will remain unnoticed by many. Those are made of steel, which improves the service life and durability. The new sights are provided with luminescent dots as standard, the product range also includes versions with optical fibre and tritium capsules.

During the modernisation of the Duty, the CZ has decided to use carbon nitriding in a salt bath (tenifer coating), specifically the process called Arcor. The procedure improves the resistance to corrosion and wear significantly. In for a penny: the Arcor surface treatment on pistols CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 is used not only on the slide and barrel yet also on certain inner metal parts.

The last detail that not every user necessarily notices at first, is the alteration of magazine capacity for the CZ P-07 model. Its basic version contains 15 rounds in calibre 9×19, which is one less compared to the Duty. The basic accessories include a plastic bottom, which expands the magazine capacity by two more rounds without any significant increase in dimensions. The forty version even offers the impressive combination of 12+3.

Summary

The new polymer pistols CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 bring more than just a cosmetic improvement. The adoption of reinforced polymer and the implementation of the modern surface treatment on metal parts have brought rapid improvement to such crucial characteristics as reliability and durability under any weather conditions.

Both models are available in calibres 9×19 (9 mm Luger), .40 S&W and 9×21. The portfolio will be soon complemented by the compact version in “calibre 9 mm Browning short”. Armed forces can be supplied with adaptors to enable shooting both models with marking ammunition – Simunition/CQT. The product range includes the extended barrel with arrangements for suppressor mounting. For both models there are available the quality plastic holsters for concealed carry, made by the Hogue Company, alternatively also with the paddle and belt sling, as well as the service ones. Especially for the armed forces a variant of the holster with a thigh belt clip or MOLLE clip and safety (level 2) is available. Both pistols can be also provided with “a bodywork” in the RONI carbine conversion to enable more accurate, faster and more comfortable shooting.

The instruction poster for the vz. 54 military rifle.

By David Pazdera

Czechoslovakia saw the first attempts to equip a military rifle with a scope as early as between the World Wars, when such modification was applied on the vz. 24 army repeating rifles and the use of optics were envisioned also for the development of the new self-loading models. After World War II, which proved the extraordinary importance of “snipers” in modern combat, Czechoslovak experts tried to bring their own original solution.

Firearms designer Otakar Galaš (1904–1968), born in Syrovice in Moravia, was in charge of the development of a rifle for snipers in the post-war Czechoslovakia. Although originally educated in electrical engineering, he started work in Zbrojovka Brno in 1933 as a mechanic in the prototype production area and simultaneously was in charge of shooting presentations of weapons both in Czechoslovakia and abroad. He was a keen hunter and regarded himself as an elite shooter. Among other things, he excelled with special language skills: besides being able to speak German and English he could also speak Turkish. World War II became a milestone in Galaš’s life. Living in England, he worked hard in the local military industry as well as gaining valuable knowledge of high-precision rifles.

Galaš’s Special Rifle

Otakar Galaš is believed to have started designing sniper rifles as early as during the war, however, only his postwar projects are documented in some detail. He partially carried out these projects in parallel with his hunting rifles, at first as an employee of Zbrojovka Brno and later on as a worker of the newly established enterprise Prototypa, renamed to Konstrukta Brno in 1954.

In 1949, Otakar Galaš elaborated a detailed analysis of use and development of sniper weapons during the course of World War II. Based on this analysis, he developed a design of his own, the ZG 49 Sn “special sniper rifle” using the Mauser-type action for the cartridge in 7.92x64mm, which originated by loading the vz. 23 bullet into the standardly manufactured 8×64 case.

Although the concept of a special cartridge was interesting, it did not last for too long: since the spring of 1950, after Alexej ?epi?ka, a son-in-law of the communist president Klement Gottwald, assumed the office of the Minister of National Defence, uncompromising unification with the Soviet equipment started to be enforced in the Czechoslovak army. At first, the new army command attempted to gain the required new weapons simply by means of licenses from the Soviet Union. To their great disappointment, they were not too successful in the case of infantry weapons. Among others, they did not manage to procure more vz. 91/30 sniper rifles using the Mosin system, which were originally intended as the new standard weapons of Czechoslovak snipers. The situation was thus resolved in the summer of 1951 by assigning development of a new sniper rifle using the Soviet cartridge 7.62x54R with a heavy vz. 30 bullet having a lead core. This was actually a serial cartridge designed for the heavy vz. 43 machine gun Gorjunov and the Soviet consultants did not object to its licensed production in Czechoslovakia.

The Army Chooses the Mosin

The task was again taken up by Otakar Galaš, who prepared two prototypes designated ZG 51 Sn in a few months’ time. One of the prototypes used the action of the Soviet repeating rifle Mosin vz. 91/30, while the other used the M98 Mauser-type action. Galaš himself apparently (and rightly) regarded the Mauser design as the better quality and more promising solution; however politics intervened once again and, after tests in 1952, the Czechoslovak military administration gave preference to the Soviet system. Therefore, the development continued only for the rifle based on the vz. 91/30 rifle. However, it was not a development of a brand new weapon, for the army demanded that its production should utilize the maximum quantity of components of the Soviet vz. 91/30 rifles that were available in the Czechoslovak military stores.

The Galaš’s weapon differed from the vz. 91/30 sniper rifle by its smaller length and lower weight and particularly by its more ergonomic stock and a relatively good scope 2.5×6° from the “national enterprise” Meopta Koší?e and its installation. The installation allowed for easy removal and mounting of the scope without the necessity of repeated zeroing and it was lower while still retaining the option of sighting with the mechanical sights. It was necessary to redesign the barrel as the Czechoslovak sniper rifle was expected to hit a square of 50×50 cm with ten rounds at the range of 800 meters.

The barrel designed by Galaš was shorter by 30 mm but somewhat thicker than the Soviet weapon. This solution not only improved ballistic performance but also made serial production easier. It was also necessary to fine tune the original action and trigger mechanism. During the summer of 1953, the ZG 51 Sn prototypes achieved good results in tests and further adjustments were only made based on partial comments. The rifle was introduced into the army’s equipment base in July 1954 as the vz. 54 sniper rifle (odst?elova?ská puška vz. 54) and it was positively evaluated in December 1954 in the conclusion of the test report from the USSR.

Problems with the Originals

The armaments factory in Uherský Brod, at that time called Závody p?esného strojírenství (Precision Engineering Plants) Uherský Brod, shortly ZPS Uherský Brod, was designated for the production, or more accurately, for the assembly of vz. 54 sniper rifles. A number of subcontractors were to assist in the project. The preparation of this production program commenced as early as 1954, with the assumption that the test series of 100 pieces would be manufactured in 1955. But, not for the first time within the Czechoslovak military industry of that time, the plant did not succeed in meeting the plan and the test series of 75 rifles did not get into production until the December of 1955; a continuing supply of the components necessary for adaptation remained an open issue. Indeed, in the early part of 1956, during the course of building up the test series, serious problems arouse with using the components of the vz. 91/30 rifles from the military stores. The biggest complications were caused by different tolerances of the diameter of the receiver threads for screwing on the barrel. In the end, the plant had to increase the thread diameter by 0.5 mm; otherwise most receivers would not be applicable for the given purpose.

After resolving this issue, the test series was successfully accomplished and the competent Ministry of Precision Engineering could grant the respective “production capacity” to the plant. On 24 September 1956 the Ministry of National Defence granted its permission to acceptance of the finished weapons, however, subject to elimination of some minor shortcomings and application of the tested improvements.

ZPS Uherský Brod plant had just had an embarrassing experience with production of the vz. 52 self-loading rifles, which were immature in terms of design and technology; therefore the factory workers were determined to restore their unjustly injured reputation. Despite all their efforts, the production of the vz. 54 sniper rifles was not smooth in the second half of 1956 either. The main complication was the desperate shortage of usable components from the vz. 91/30 rifles. Although 16,000 rifles were examined, only 4,500 pieces arrived in Uherský Brod by mid December 1956, out of which merely 2,500 pieces got into production after another thorough inspection.

Zeroing finished rifles with a scope for the range of 300 meters was not easy either. To this end, ZPS Uherský Brod used a garrison shooting range in Popovice (Moravia), which however was available only on certain days – and they did not shoot if the weather was bad. Moreover, the company had to obtain capable shooters from various plants. As accuracy was unsatisfactory at first, when using the original assessment method, it was necessary to develop a new sighting-in verification procedure.

On top of that, subcontractors also faced considerable difficulties: Považské strojírny in Považská Bystrica had to interrupt production of stocks for some time due to poor drawings from Konstrukta Brno. The national enterprise Kozak Klatovy had to modify the scope cover at the last minute and the company Meopta had to develop a changed scope model to respond to additional requirements of the military administration resulting from underwater tests.

No wonder that in this situation the armaments factory in Uherský Brod was able to finish and hand over only 108 vz. 54 sniper rifles from September 1956 to the end of the year, although the production schedule called for supplies of 4,000 pieces.

All’s Well That Ends Well

The company did much better in the following year when it apparently found a source of other usable components and provided zeroing service in Považská Bystrica, Vlašim and Brno (however, ZPS Uherský Brod had to do the necessary modifications in each of the shooting ranges, which made this production program even more expensive). Despite the defects of the scopes, which were returned to the manufacturer for repair, the plant in Uherský Brod finished and handed over the total of 5,410 vz. 54 sniper rifles during the course of 1957. After adding the last three pieces in January 1958, this production program was ended, most probably due to the lack of other usable components of the original Mosin rifles.

To avoid any confusion, the vz. 54 sniper rifles were by no means bad weapons although this cannot be stated with certainty about all the pieces, owing to the production complications. Generally, the people of the armaments factory in Uherský Brod invested a huge amount of work in this program and they managed to produce, using components of different quality (and different size), ergonomically friendly, accurate and reliable rifles, which in the hands of experienced shooters and with the appropriate ammunition actually achieved the required dispersion of ten hits in the square of 50×50 cm at the distance of 800 meters. This was a very good result, in view of the fact the weapon was by no means a special sniper rifle as originally designed by Otakar Galaš, despite partial tuning of its mechanism, and considering its low-performance scope.

In the end, the vz. 54 sniper rifles were used in the equipment of the Czechoslovak National Army until the 1970s, when they were replaced by imported Soviet self-loading sniper rifles Dragunov (SVD). Afterwards, they served for some time in the domestic police forces. A part of them was even upgraded later on to the pattern 54/90, sometimes called also 54/91 (in addition to a new stock with an adjustable cheekpiece and a rail for mounting a bipod, the model featured a typical side rail allowing for mounting a higher-performance scope PSO-1 from the SVD rifle). Considering the small number of manufactured pieces and their interesting history, the original unaltered vz. 54 rifles are rightly considered today as increasingly desirable collectors’ pieces.

Vz. 54 sniper rifle (Odst?elova?ská puška vz. 54)
Calibre: 7.62×54 R (NT 14 cartridge)
Overall length: 1.190 mm
Barrel length: 700 mm
Weapon weight w/o scope: 4.15 kg
Weapon weight with scope: 4.55 kg
Magazine capacity: 4 cartridges (+ 1 in the chamber)

Shadow in the Limelight

In recent years it seemed that Ceská zbrojovka, when expanding its pistol line, intended to concentrate its attention only on new polymer models and “seventy-fives” with a radically simplified Omega trigger mechanism. With the demand for the CZ pistols, it is a little more complicated. The Duty polymer compact has certainly been very well accepted on the world market. Even with such a warm reception, the company was slightly taken aback and it resulted in postponement of the start of the CZ P-09 serial production. The Omega mechanism also made a score with users. In addition to all this, interest in CZ handguns made in classic versions is not lessening. These annually sell quite a few tens of thousands in all categories and variants. Moreover, the statistics show another interesting fact: the position of Uherský Brod’s flagship pistols, despite the great success of compacts and the solid position of subcompacts, is still occupied by the full-size models. This is another confirmation of the genius of František Koucký, father of the CZ 75, and his strong presence at the Pantheon as one of the most significant firearms designers of our time.

It is true that if there weren’t any of Koucký’s followers today the sales balance of seventy-fives would be undoubtedly noticeably worse. We have to say that in the Standard category, Ceská zbrojovka currently, and for several years now, strongly represents itself particularly with the family of service and sporting pistols designated as the CZ 75 SP-01, which we now see culminating in the CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow.

This pistol, which was launched in 2006 as a sportier variant of SPs initially conceived for service, is one of the most advanced versions of the classic CZ 75. It is also not surprising that as the underlying SP-01 model was a very successful handgun, and in the development of “Shadow,” had heavily involved such famous names in the shooting sports as Angus Hobdell, Adam Tyc, or Milan Trkulja.

Helping this product break through on the world market were the successes achieved in various competitions; including the world’s most prestigious championships organized by IPSC, where the Shadow pistols, with their performance, regularly overcame competitors from well-known and respected competing brands. What is not so well known is that this model also made a name for itself as the sidearm of several foreign armed forces. When Ceská zbrojovka, in connection with the CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow, speaks about being a bestseller, it is not an exaggeration.

The basic black models are also made available in the visually attractive Dualtone model, featuring a black polycoat slide combined with a silver polycoat frame, and a partly modified Orange model with grips made in orange colour. These feature a number of specific details and rich accessories. The CZ-USA company, whose Custom Shop, with Angus Hobdell at the helm, prepares a diverse line of original modifications covering the Shadow model.

Hobdell’s finely tuned “CeeZets” headed by modified “Shadows” enjoy a great reputation. This led the management of CZ-USA to the idea that it would not be bad if the serially produced pistols were supplemented with a custom line of finely tuned and specially made pistols. Since this idea corresponded with intentions of Ceská zbrojovka to use the unusual popularity of the Shadow for preparing other handguns with similar features, in 2011 a decision was made in Uherský Brod to start the Shadow Line Project.

Sophisticated Details

A remarkable selection of modifications in the style of the Shadow were chosen that included: the safety version of the CZ 75 Compact featuring a frame made of aluminium alloy with an accessory rail with one transverse groove, the standard CZ 75 and the safety version of the CZ 75 SP-01 with the body of the Shadow type, which is characterised with undercut trigger guard and swept hi-rise beavertail and accessory rail with three transverse grooves.

The designer of these changes was design engineer Libor Zálešák. Preparation of all three pistols of the Shadow Line took several months, including input from the company’s shooting team members. These designers always ask for opinions from real shooters when they work on any new firearm. This is very beneficial, particularly the opinions expressed by the current captain of the IPSC shooting team, Mr. Milan Trkulja.

The resulting Shadow Line series is an example of how much the shape and characteristics of a well-known handgun are changed by refined details. Common features of all three pistols are:

• Black aluminium grip panels with checkering on the side and vertical “steps” at the rear. These grip panels differ from those used in other “seventy-fives” especially by the attractively made name of this model line located at the lower section. Allen head screws are used for all three model’s grip panel attachment;
• modernised hammers, which are characterised by relatively small cocking/grip section provided with working texture, large recesses on both sides and only a small round lightening hole;
• the CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow style uses sights with a fibre optic front sight and rear sight elongated to the rear with a longitudinally grooved visual surface;
• absence of the automatic firing pin block;
• the manual safety with ambidextrous controls, which display certain differences against the “seventy-fives” safeties, more specifically with regard to workmanship and fit;
• recoil spring guide rod made of polished steel;
• nickel-plated trigger blade;
• nickel-plated magazines, in the case of standard and “espee” model with extended capacity.

It must be noted that the magazine has 19 cartridges capacity, which you can see not only with the “espee” but also with the CZ 75 Shadow Line (we liked this combination a lot), was tested in this version only. During the tests it was decided to use the same magazine as is used for the CZ 75 and to extend its capacity (17 cartridges) with a butt (+ 2 cartridges). The handguns made in the series will only be supplied with this magazine. I should add that all three pistols of the Shadow Line feature an extended magazine catch taken from the Shadow model.

Things are a little bit different regarding the trigger mechanism components. The nickel-plated trigger blade is the same for the “Three Sisters” and at first glance one might guess that it comes from a Shadow. The trigger blade of the Shadow Line pistols is a little bit straighter, but the rest of the trigger mechanism is virtually identical with the Shadow.

The recoil spring of rectangular profile can only be found in the Compact model. Standard versions of the CZ 75 and also “espee” models use the usual “seventy-five” spring with a round cross section. Of note is a new long recoil spring guide rod made of steel used in the SP-01 Shadow Line, which has three parts in different diameters. The company staff explained this rather complex shape was chosen in order to facilitate the installation of the recoil mechanism assembly into the slide.

Jan Gibek, who is in Uherský Brod company responsible as the Product Manager for the handguns offers this answer to the question of “Why should I buy this model?”: “The difference between these handguns is really very small, so it depends more on the taste of each user. When I summarize the main differences, the CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow Line features nickel-plated magazines and trigger, nickel grips, a different shape of hammer, flat manual safeties and a polished recoil spring guide rod. Apart from slightly different user characteristics there is also the fact that it has a rather different look that may be more appealing to a user.”

Gone with the Firing Pin Block

The elimination of the automatic firing pin block in all three pistols of the Shadow Line is an interesting and, to a large extent, courageous step, which of course will be most probably welcomed by a large segment of the shooting public. The firing pin block is a controversial element of design in modern pistols and has roughly in the past two decades become the standard. Many experienced users never even came close to liking it. Their reasoning makes some sense – it instantly adds more components, which leads to a greater possibility of failure. Further, as with most mechanical safety features, the safety is guaranteed only when the rules of use are duly observed, and when these rules are observed there is really no need of the firing pin block. Finally, in the proposed design (when lifting the body of the block safety, the double-arm lever actuated by the trigger bar has to overcome spring resistance) this partially affects trigger pull and operation.

While the “espee” without the firing pin block was already here, the CZ 75 in this version is after all a novelty, which may revive interest in the classic all-steel seventy-five. It is a return to tradition, as “seventy-fives” from Uherský Brod did not have this safety feature until the early 1990s. Thus the CZ 75 Compact Shadow Line represents a unique version in the market. How many other 9mm pistols today lack the automatic firing pin safety? The question is whether this is a plus or a minus. Ceská zbrojovka’s Jan Gibek has said about the market potential of the CZ 75 Compact Shadow Line: “This compact is likely to have the greatest success with the traditional customers of our “Compact” versions in Asia, and I am convinced this handgun will be preferred for a day-to-day concealed carry also by shooters who are satisfied with the CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow.” He further observes: “After all the Shadow, although not having a firing pin block, is also successfully used abroad in some armed forces.”

Impressions and Facts

This author considers all three pistols of the Shadow Line as aesthetically well-made handguns with outstanding ergonomics, superior trigger mechanism operation and excellent fit and finish. Using one type of grip panels for all three models provides more or less the same grip. This justifies the expectations of Ceská zbrojovka that a certain segment of customers will purchase the whole series of the Shadow Line pistols for all of their shooting needs and activities (to this the company intends to adjust its pricing strategy).

There was really nothing to criticize regarding the fit and finish. There is a small gap between the magazine bottom and the grip butt, which is rather striking due to the nickel plated magazine body. This “shiny line” grabs the eyes as a flaw. That is really the proverbial tiny smear on an overall beauty.

Regarding the trigger pull weight, the CZ 75 Shadow Line and CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow Line are at a similar level as in the initial models, which is around 17 N (Newton unit of force) according to the factory specifications. A significant improvement was recorded for Compact model – the regular version has a trigger pull weight in the SA mode of fire usually exceeding 20 N, in the case of the CZ 75 Compact Shadow Line the measurements were slightly under 16 N. In the DA mode of fire all “Three Sisters” of the Shadow Line showed more or less the same trigger pull weight slightly over 43 N, which when compared with the standard model and “espee” means a reduction of up to 10 N, while with the Compact there is virtually no change.

Evaluation by Expert

Our short test of the Shadow Line pistol was also attended by Ing. Premysl Liška, a long time editor-in-chief of a Czech magazine called Strelecká revue (Shooter´s Review). Ing. Liška is a great sport shooter having extensive experience with the CZ 75 pistol series.

I have chosen few key passages of Mr. Liška’s assessment concerning properties and performance of the Shadow Line:

From the user’s point of view the most crucial elements of the firearm, apart from the grip, are sights and trigger. All three pistol’s sights are fixed with partial correction carried out by shifting the rear sight in the transverse dovetail. The rear sight rectangular notch is canted, elongated to the rear and sports a horizontally serrated visual surface. The front sight has a red fibre optic. I am not a big fan of fibre optics and prefer the front sight as a plain black squared post, but to someone else, a red dot (or other colours) on the front sight is more convenient and allows them to achieve better results. Anyway, the sights of the Shadow Line underline the attractive look of these handguns.

There is nothing we can say against Shadow Line triggers. We didn’t have a measuring device with us, but we can trust the meter reading for the maximum trigger pull weight in the SA mode listed by the manufacturer to be 16–17 N. For staunch followers of finely-tuned triggers this may seem a lot, but with a smoothly operating trigger this is hard to notice. The Shadow Line pistols can offer this type of operation. Although… From all the tested handguns the real superior trigger is found in the CZ 75 and CZ 75 Compact (the latter was subjectively the best from all the three), while the CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow Line had a smooth trigger pull as well, but for some reason seemed to me to be overly long… this was for carefully aimed shots. With quick, vigorous shots, one is hardly aware of this.

In my experience, the seventy-five can be shot with satisfactory accuracy even in its double-action mode, which is important for those who carry the handgun in the most ready condition, that is with the round in the chamber and the hammer released to the hammer safety notch. Declared reduction in the DA trigger pull weight by 10 N (approximately to 43 N) may be only for the benefit of the whole concept.

Impressions of shooting these are very positive. The shooting was conducted at a 15 meter/16.4 distance using standard 9mm Luger cartridges made by Sellier&Bellot, but not under optimum light conditions in the tunnel shooting range. The CZ 75 Shadow Line and also CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow Line operated with less recoil and minimal climb, so they smoothly recovered their sighting line. Only with the lighter Compact was a little more effort needed. I was shooting at a quick pace, after basic alignment of sights and without a long “target” aiming. As for a group, the best results were achieved with the CZ 75, only slightly worse was the CZ 75 Compact and surprisingly at the last place was the CZ 75 SP-01 (in such a short test it may be a coincidence, but maybe it can be attributed to said negative feelings with the trigger pull and break).

Ing. Premysl Liška concluded his evaluation with the following words:

If I wish to replace something in my firearms collection, I would certainly reach for a pistol of the Shadow Line series. I particularly liked the Compact made from “aluminium.”

Five-shot groups by the Shadow Line pistols at a 15m/16.4 yd distance:

CZ 75 Shadow Line: distance between centres 49mm/1.9in (4-shots 20 mm/0.8)
CZ 75 Compact Shadow Line: distance between centres 61 mm/2.4in (4-shots 25 mm/1.0)
CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow Line: distance between centres 95 mm/3.7in (4-shots 38 mm/1.5)

Final Thoughts

Overall we can summarize that this trio of handguns, allied in structure and design with precisely targeted adjustments, constitutes a nice new addition to the basic pistol line offered by Ceská zbrojovka a.s. The quality, along with the Shadow’s great sounding name assures that there is a good chance it will sell well even in today’s crowded market. The Compact and standard CZ 75 in this series offer characteristics and features not found in the regular seventy-fives. The absence of the firing pin block safety may attract the attention of users who do not use their handgun only for self-defence, but are for example also involved in some of the modern sport disciplines. A tougher starting position may be there for the CZ SP-01 Shadow Line, which differs from the Shadow only in details. Nevertheless there are differences, and so it is up to customers which variant they would prefer. An asset of the Shadow Line pistols is also the price, which is economical and attractive to the consumer.