vz. 52
52 (7,62mm lehký kulomet vzor 52) is a Czechoslovak light machine gun developed after the Second World War for the Czechoslovak Armed Forces.
Also recorded as VZ52 · vz. 52 machine gun · vzor 52 · Model 52 light machine gun
vz. 52
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- Name
- vz. 52
- Field
- light machine gun
- Region
- Czechoslovakia
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
52 (7,62mm lehký kulomet vzor 52) is a Czechoslovak light machine gun developed after the Second World War for the Czechoslovak Armed Forces.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1504824 · wikipedia · Vz. 52 machine gun
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — vz. 52 • Origin — Czechoslovakia • Type — Light machine gun • Is Ranged — yes • Service — 1952–1964 • Used By — See Users • Wars — * Bay of Pigs Invasion • Escambray Rebellion • Nigerian Civil War • Portuguese Colonial War • Ethiopian Civil War • United States invasion of Grenada • Designer — Václav Holek • Design Date — 1950s • Manufacturer — Zbrojovka Brno • Number — 8.000 • Variants — vz. 52/57 • Weight — 8.0 kg • Length — 1045 mm • Part Length — 583 mm • Cartridge — 7.62×45mm (vz. 52), 7.62×39mm (vz. 52/57) • Action — Gas-operated, tilting breechblock • Rate — 900-1150 rounds/min • Velocity — 760 m/s • Range — 900/800 m • Max Range — 2800 m • Feed — 50-round belt or 25-round detachable box magazine • Sights — Iron sights
Users
Users
• Algeria • Angola • Biafra • Chad • Cuba • Czechoslovakia • Egypt • Ethiopia • Grenada • Guinea • Mozambique
Weapons of comparable role, configuration and era
Weapons of comparable role, configuration and era
• RP-46 • URZ AP • TADEN gun • Heckler & Koch HK21 • Type 73 light machine gun
Description
• Illustration — A photo of a bipod-mounted Vz. 52 machine gun on display at the Batey ha-Osef Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel The vz. 52 was originally called the ZB 501, and was designed by Václav Holek. It is gas-operated and uses a tilting bolt that locks into the roof of the receiver. Its overall action is based on the Czech ZB-26 light machine gun. It has an integral bipod and interchangeable barrels, and its feed system is designed to take metallic belts or box magazines interchangeably and without any modifications. Its compact and light lever-type feeding system was based on the ZB-53 and was later copied in UK vz. 59, PK and Negev. The vz. 52 initially used the Czech 7.62×45mm vz. 52 cartridge, but in the mid-1950s it was converted to the standard 7.62×39mm Warsaw Pact round by Jaroslav Myslík, and named the vz. 52/57. Both models were replaced in Czech service in 1963–64 by the Universal Machine Gun Model 1959, also known as the Uk vz. 59.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1504824: vz. 52
Unverified · Wikidata
reference work
- “Vz. 52 machine gun”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
External sources
External sources
• http: www.valka.cz/newdesign/v900/clanek_11420.html • http: www.militaria.wz.cz/cs/kulomet-52.htm • http: www.historieavojenstvi.cz/2007/clanky/holek.pdf
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- vz. 24Terminology
- vz. 33Terminology
- vz. 50Terminology
- vz. 52 rifleTerminology
- vz. 54 rifleTerminology
- vz. 58Terminology
- Vz.53 Anti-Aircraft GunTerminology
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