The Czech vz.52 service pistol actually began as a commercial export program at CZ. It was developed by two brothers, Jan and Jaroslav Kratochvíl. They actually designed two pistols with similar shape and controls, one blowback in .32ACP (which became the CZ 50 and then CZ 70) and one with a roller locked action chambered for 9mm Parabellum – the CZ 482. In its initial form here, it was finely machined and finished, and used a double-action trigger mechanism. It was seriously considered by the Swiss military in the late 1940s, although the Czech political shift eastward shortly thereafter would have almost certainly doomed any potential adoption by the Swiss. Instead, the Czech military took an interest in the design, and eventually it was revised into a single-action 7.62x25mm Tokarev pistol that was adopted as the vz.52.
Thanks to the Czech Military History Institute (VHU) for graciously giving me access to this one-of-a-kind prototype to film for you! If you have the opportunity, don’t miss seeing their museums in Prague:
https://www.vhu.cz/en/english-summary/
“(…)developed by two brothers, Jan and Jaroslav Krarochvíl(…)”
Unless intentional show of disdain: Kratochvíl.
‘Sometimes a typo is just a typo’—Sigmund Froyd
Heel release has practical application in areas where heavy gloves are worn during cold weather. Reduced chance of accidentally pushing the magazine release button and losing your ammo supply from the gun. taken from an article by Massad Ayoob in the nineties.
Its not an unreasonable notion
An ingenious design… Hats off Kratochvil Brothers…
I wish CZ pistols today came with both a safety and a decoker, its just optimal. One model all the features. Also the loaded chamber indicator is dope. Unnecessary, but very cool. Its a really sweet piece of engineering. Silly Swiss, not wanting a DA/SA, they get so many things right. *sigh It is quite amazing to see the number of good designs that are ruined by someone insisting on a different caliber.
The CZ75 didn’t have a firing pin block until the “b” model, in 1992. This had one in 1948.
Ceterum censeo
(…tamen verisimile non est iterum audiri)
ZBROJOVKA means an ARMOURY.
Sounds exactly, as it is spelled. Not that difficult for an anglophone.
ŻUBRÓWKA* =
= means a Polish vodka brand.
Quite good.
————–
*zhoo-BROOV-kah
Sounds, like Ian is trying to pronounce “zbrojovka”
Sounds to whom? Polish vowels (and some consonants) are pronounced differently in English than Polish. Take the first syllable: is the o like in ‘oh’, like in ‘loft’? Is that ‘zbr’ said zzzbr or zuh-br? A word does not ‘look’ like anything till I know how a native speaker sees it.