01 Czechoslovak aircraft machine gun 30 model calibre 7,92 mm Mauser

Fotogalerie

Ceska zbrojovka, a. s., with its plant in Strakonice, became the exclusive supplier of aircraft weapons to the Czechoslovak Army in the interwar period. In addition to the adaptation of Vickers and Lewis machine guns to the 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge, the factory developed a number of design improvements that resulted in many ways in a universal machine gun, allowing for modular assembly for pilot or observation purposes. A simple change to the feeding mechanism allowed the weapon to be fed with belts or disc magazines with either 47 or 97 rounds. The first 629 Model 30 machine guns were ordered by the Ministry of National Defence in May 1932 but the machine gun was not officially introduced into the armaments by a Ministry decree until May 1935. After the construction of a branch plant in Uhersky Brod, the new plant also took over the production of aircraft armaments. Between 1931 and 1941, Ceska zbrojovka produced a total of 6,484 Model 30 aircraft machine guns in both plants, 784 of which were exported in various versions to Greece, Estonia and Persia (and from 1935 to Iran).