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ZB vz. 26
Unknown photographer of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces (Československá armáda) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

ZB vz. 26

Machine guns

Country of origin First Czechoslovak Republic
ManufacturerZbrojovka Brno
The ZB-26 was a Czechoslovak light machine gun developed in the 1920s, which went on to enter service with several countries. It saw its major use during World War II, and spawned the related ZB vz. 27, vz. 30, and vz. 33. The ZB vz. 26 influenced many other light machine gun designs. The British Bren light machine gun was a modified ZB vz. 26 licensed to Britain by Czechoslovakia, and the Japanese Type 97 heavy tank machine gun was designed from captured ZB vz. 26s in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The ZB-26 is famous for its reliability, simple components, quick-change barrel and ease of manufacturing.
This light machine gun in the Czechoslovak army was marked as the LK vz. 26 ("LK" means lehký kulomet, light machine gun; "vz." stands for vzor, Model in Czech). ZB vz. 26 is incorrect nomenclature because "ZB-26" is a factory designation (Zbrojovka Brno), while "vzor 26" or "vz. 26" is an army designation.

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Specifications

Introduced
1924
Entered service
1924
Retired
1960

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Model data: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Figures can differ between versions of the same weapon. · Q495087