World War II Database

Country of Origin	Czechoslovakia
Type	Rifle
Caliber	8.000 mm
Capacity	5 rounds
Length	1.100 m
Barrel Length	590.000 mm
Weight	4.200 kg
Rate of Fire	15 rounds/min
Muzzle Velocity	760 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Czechoslovakian firm Zbrojovka Brno began production of the vz. 24 carbines in 1924. They were developed from the German Mauser Gewehr 98 design. A typical wielder of these bolt-action carbines fired them at about 10 to 15 rounds per minute from 5-round magazines, aiming down iron sights. During the 1932 to 1935 Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, the Bolivian Army had about 100,000 ZB vz. 24 carbines in its arsenal. They also saw actions in the hands of the Catalan Republican troops and Soviet volunteers during the Spanish Civil War; after the Spanish Nationalist victory, captured ZB vz. 24 carbines were kept in reserve until 1959 when they were sold into the commercial market. Production of these carbines continued after the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia under the designation of Gewehr 24(t); when production ceased in 1942, about 330,050 Gewehr 24(t) carbines were built for the German military. Lithuania purchased 15,000 of these rifles between 1935 and 1936, some of which saw action against Soviet and German occupiers during WW2. About 625,000 weapons were built specifically for export to Romania, an Axis nation, during WW2; they saw action with Romanian Army units across Eastern Europe. During the inter-war and WW2 periods, at least 1,600,000 examples were built.

After the war, production of this design, in a number of variant forms and later designations, continued. ZB vz. 24 and successor carbines of this lineage equipped the Israelis during the 1948 Israeli Independence War, among other conflicts. Iran produced a number of them starting in the late 1940s for use with the Iranian Army; after the fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty, Iranian-made "Berno" carbines went to various groups in the region both for and against the successor Iranian state. Weapons of the ZB vz. 24 lineage would be used all across the world in the subsequent many decades.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Sep 2015

Photographs

ZB vz. 24 Timeline

1 Mar 1938

40,000 ZB vz. 24 rifles, T-26 tanks, and 76mm French-made artillery pieces departed aboard French freighter Gravelines from Murmansk, Russia for deployment in the Spanish Civil War.

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