ČZ vz. 27
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| vz. 27 (CZ-27) | |
|---|---|
 vz. 27 pistol, made during German occupation | |
| Type | semi-automatic pistol |
| Place of origin | Czechoslovakia |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Czechoslovakia |
| Wars | World War II North Yemen Civil War Rhodesian Bush War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Josef Nickl |
| Manufacturer | Česká zbrojovka, Böhmische Waffenfabrik (under German occupation) |
| Unit cost | $1800 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 0.67 kilograms (24 oz)[1] |
| Length | 155 millimetres (6.1 in)[1] |
| Barrel length | 99 millimetres (3.9 in)[1] |
| Height | 125 millimetres (4.9 in)[1] |
| Cartridge | .32 ACP |
| Action | Short recoil, rotating barrel |
| Muzzle velocity | 280 m/s (920 ft/s)[2] |
| Feed system | 8-round box magazine |
| Sights | Fixed front blade, drift-adjustable notch rear |
The vz. 27 is a Czechoslovak semi-automatic pistol, based on the pistole vz. 24, and chambered for 7.65 mm Browning/.32 ACP. It is often designated the CZ 27 after the naming scheme used by the Česká zbrojovka factory for post-World War II commercial products. However, it is correctly known as vz. 27, an abbreviation of the Czech "vzor 27", or "Model 27".
After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in mid-March 1939 the pistol was folded into the German armed and police forces as the P27.
One notable example was confiscated from a German guard in Colditz by the 'Medium Sized Man' (Flt. Lt. Dominic Bruce OBE MC AFM KSG) the day it was liberated.
Construction of the pistol continued in Czechoslovakia until the 1950s. Allegedly, the Czechoslovak military authorities sold five and a half thousand surplus vz. 27s to the Swiss in 1973 for half a million marks. Between 620,000 and 650,000 were manufactured in total, 452,500 of those under German occupation. In December 1948, a gift of five "ČZ 247" automatic variants of the pistol (based on both the vz. 24 and vz. 27) was sent to Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. In 1949, the pistol was exported to 28 countries, including Turkey (3,286 pistols), Great Britain, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Pakistan.
In 1969, during the last stages of the North Yemen Civil War, Czechoslovakia offered to supply the Yemen Arab Republic with uniforms and obsolete small arms including vz. 27 pistols, but no deal materialized.[3]
Users
[edit]Bolivia
Brazil
Czechoslovakia[3]
Ecuador
Germany: Captured pistols designated as the Pistole 27(t)[4]
India
Pakistan
Poland
South Yemen − 2,100 pistols, from the stocks of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Interior[5]
Venezuela
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d J. B. Wood, The Gun Digest Book of Automatic Pistols, 2007, page 250. ISBN 0-89689-473-8.
- ^ Chamberlain, Peter (1976). Axis pistols, rifles, and grenades. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco. p. 11. ISBN 0668040769. OCLC 2388349.
- ^ a b Smisek 2023, p. 130.
- ^ https://d-nb.info/98918255x/04 [bare URL]
- ^ Smisek 2023, pp. 140, 142.
Bibliography
[edit]- Smisek, Martin (2023). Czechoslovak Arms Exports to the Middle East: Volume 4 - Iran, Iraq, Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen 1948-1989. Helion and Company. ISBN 978-1-80451-524-2.
External links
[edit]- CZ 27 Serial Numbers & Year of Manufacture. Details of Markings
- Historic Firearms Images
- CZ 27 / P.27(t) pistol (Czhechoslovakia) at Modern Firearms & Ammunition
- CZ-27 pistol explained (Ebook)
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