Vz. 23
Samopal 48
Overview
Vz 25
Vz 25 sub machine gun with 40 round magazine and stock folded.
Source: www.world.guns.ru -
© copyright lies with original owner
Jaroslav Holeček
Samopal 48 / Sa-48b / Vz 48b (early military designation)
Description
Introduction
The Vz 23 is a sub machine gun of Czechoslovak origin. It was developed just after World War 2 and was produced in large quantities and exported in large numbers. The wrap around bolt design was the basis for other designs such as the Uzi, MPi-69 and M12.
Design
The Vz 23 is a simple sub machine gun with a tubular receiver. The magazine is inserted in the pistol grip and a bolt that wraps around the barrel is used to reduce the overall length. A short pull on the trigger fires a single round and a long pull results in automatic fire. The Vz 23 was produced with either a fixed wooden stock or a foldable metal stock. Under Soviet pressure the production changed to a model that fired the 7.62mm Tokarev round instead of the 9mm NATO round used by the original models.
Firepower
The original models fired the 9x19mm round from 24 or 40 round magazines. Later the 7.62x25mm Tokarev models were introduced that used 32 round magazines. The Vz 23 is a select fire weapon with a cyclic rate of fire of 650 rpm. The maximum effective range is about 200 meters.
Users
The Vz 23 was widely used in Eastern Europe and exported to many nations with ties to Soviet Europe. At first many 9mm models were exported when the 7.62x25mm round was standardized and later many 7.62mm models were exported when assault rifles replaced most sub machine guns. Nowadays the Vz 23 is considered obsolete and is only found in the reserve role or with irregular forces.
Variants
Vz 23
The 9x19mm models were the first Vz 23 models to be introduced. The original Vz 23 has a fixed wooden stock and the Vz 25 has a metal folding stock and is more common than the Vz 23. The 9mm models use 24 or 40 round magazines and their magazine faces straight down.
Vz 24
The Vz 24 is the 7.62x25mm version of the Vz 23 and can be identified by its wooden stock and the 32 round magazine that is curved forwards. The Vz 26 is similar to the Vz 24 but has the same metal folding stock as used on the Vz 25.
Details
Related articles
IMI Uzi
The Israeli Uzi uses a wrap around bolt design similar to the Vz 23.
