It always happens that a well-done thing causes a lot of imitations, and quite often imitations are not only in no way inferior to the original, but even surpass it in some way. So at the very beginning of the 1920s, the Czechoslovak army decided to test a new self-loading pistol designed by the German gunsmith Nikl, who worked at the Mauser firm. And the pistol turned out to be so successful that the Czechoslovak military decided to adopt it, although it was developed for a new (for the Czechoslovak army) pistol cartridge 9 mm Vz.22, also called 9x17 Browning Short, that is, "short".
The pistol had an original design with a rotating barrel and a bolt coupled to it, therefore it was distinguished by its complexity, and the pistol itself turned out to be very expensive in production. And although an improved version of it was introduced in 1922, the company managed to produce only 35,000 Vz.22 and stopped production in 1926. Therefore, in 1924, the Vz.24 model was adopted, which had already been improved by Czech engineers. The appearance of the Vz.24 was similar to its predecessor, but differed slightly (for example, the magazine release button was different), but its main difference was the caliber of the new pistol: it was made for the more popular 7.65 mm cartridge. Production of the new model began in June 1926 at a new plant, and by 1937, about 190,000 of these pistols had been produced. But the complex mechanism of the Vz.24 pistol remained a tough nut to crack for production workers. To some extent, its shortcomings were eliminated only later on the Vz.27.
In Czechoslovakia, the Vz.24 was produced until the very end of the thirties as a regular pistol of the Czechoslovak army and until the very beginning of World War II, and was also exported. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, this pistol was produced in small batches, but in 1944 its production had already ceased completely.
CZ 27 / P.27 (t), produced for the needs of the Wehrmacht, as evidenced by the markings on the bolt casing.
Experts note that both the Vz.22 and Vz.24 were overly complex for such a relatively weak pistol cartridge. I wanted something just as effective, but simpler. And this model of the pistol was the CZ 27 / P.27 (t) model, which is considered one of the most successful Czechoslovak developments among all other pistols, up to the CZ-75. During the period from 1927 to 1951, more than half a million of such pistols were produced, both for domestic consumption (in particular, they were armed with police and security forces of the Republic of Czechoslovakia) and for export. During the Second World War, when the country was occupied by German troops, the production of these pistols continued, but in the interests of the German armed forces, where this pistol was assigned a special index P.27 (t). Experts note that this pistol differed from many other systems in a very thoughtful, durable and reliable design, and its main drawback was the use of a relatively low-power cartridge 7, 65-mm Browning in it.
9mm Vz.22 pistol.
This cartridge was created in 1897 by the American gunsmith John Browning, who needed a pistol cartridge for a small pistol. He took the.32 Smith-Wesson cartridge used in revolvers as a basis and modified it accordingly. At the end of the same year, the production of a new cartridge was started by the Belgian company Fabrika Nazionale.
Three years later, Browning also designed a pistol for this cartridge - his famous FN Browning M1900. In 1903, the Colt company bought the patent for this ammunition, changing its designation, so that it became known as the.32 ACP.
Since then, this ammunition is considered perhaps the most common pistol cartridge in the whole world. It is clear that in terms of its characteristics it no longer meets the requirements of the XXI century, but … its serial production continues, and there is constant work to improve it.
Let's take a closer look at the CZ 27 / P.27 (t) pistol. It uses the principle of operation of the "free breech" automatics, like the well-known Makarov pistol. But the barrel of the Czech pistol is not connected to the frame, although it remains motionless during firing. However, when the pistol is disassembled, it can separate from its frame, and the return spring is located in it under the barrel. The trigger mechanism has a single action trigger. The trigger is almost completely recessed into the bolt casing, but you can squeeze it with your finger. There is a round hole in the trigger spoke. The fuse is very unusual, it cannot be confused with anything: it is located on the left side of the frame, just behind the trigger. And he's … double! That is, in order to turn on the fuse, you need to squeeze down a small lever, but in order to then remove it from the fuse, you should press the button below this lever. Here you can’t confuse what to press: “from top to bottom, then press” - it seems to be difficult, but in fact this method turns out to be quite convenient. The magazine in the handle is single-row, with a latch at the base of the handle, just behind the magazine shaft. It is believed that this placement of the latch increases the reload time of the pistol, but it also minimizes spontaneous disconnection and loss of the magazine. The magazine capacity is 8 rounds, which was traditional for pistols of those years. The handle has a straight front edge and a curly back. Plastic cheeks with company logo in a circle.
As you can see, there are practically no protruding parts on the pistol, so it is very convenient for concealed carry.
The pistol was created by the engineer Joseph Nickl. The industrial production of this pistol was carried out from 1927 to 1955. When Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Germans, its production continued to equip police units and Wehrmacht officers. But even after the Second World War ended, its production continued. It is believed that from 620 to 650 thousand pistols were produced (and 452 500 units were released during the years of the German occupation), and according to other sources, all 700 thousand.
There is information that the CZ 27 pistol (another designation Vz. 27, from Vzor - the model) appeared as a result of the work of the Czech engineer Frantisek Mouse, who simplified the design of the CZ 24. Now it worked according to the free-slide recoil scheme, and instead of the used 9-mm cartridge The "short" was used in it 7, 65-mm Browning. Externally, its design is distinguished by the presence of flat side planes and characteristic vertical notches on the casing-shutter. The barrel is fastened using the "dry method". The force on the trigger is about 1.9 kg, while its stroke is smooth, and the return stroke is short.
The front sight is not adjustable, and the rear sight is fixed in a dovetail groove, so that there is a possibility of lateral corrections. The rear sight has a fairly large V-shaped slit that allows you to see the front sight well. Such sights provide effective operation at a distance of up to 15 meters, which is more than enough for a weapon of this caliber. Moreover, at this distance, it provides the ability to hit a circle with a diameter of no more than 50 - 55 mm. The new pistol was adopted by the Czechoslovak police and the state security service, and was also distributed on the civilian arms market.
Even against the background of the design of modern pistols, this weapon looks good.
The first Vz.27 pistols were at the disposal of the German army after the occupation, and there they also appreciated them and continued production under German control. In the German army, it was used from 1939 to 1945, and some of the Pistole 27 (t) samples were adapted for use in conjunction with a silencer. To do this, the barrel of the pistol was made elongated to 135 mm, so that its muzzle protruded from the shutter casing, which had a thread for attaching a silencer to it. As already noted, the pistol was small in size and weight, but its main drawback was called the not very impressive effect of the bullet due to the cartridge used in it. But all experts note the excellent shooting accuracy.
Personal impressions of the pistol are: "very flat, smooth and comfortable" in terms of grip. It is very comfortable. Even a hand with short fingers wraps around the grip with great comfort. The gun is not heavy and easy to control. Of course, to talk about a pistol as a weapon, you have to shoot from it (it's not enough to hold on to it!), And not from it alone, in order to compare certain samples. But nevertheless, it is possible to get a certain impression in this way. I would note that the Vz.27 is very convenient to carry in the inner pocket of a jacket and is easy to get out of there, it does not cling to anything and is not too long. In general, it is not surprising that Czechoslovakian security agents used it.
And this is how it is held in the left hand. As you can see, it is quite convenient to hold it, which means it is convenient to shoot.
In the USSR, this pistol fell as trophies, i.e. extracted from killed German officers. It was also used by the Czechoslovak partisans, accustomed to their own weapons. Modern filmmakers should also remember this, that is, it is quite possible to use this Czechoslovak pistol in some of the films about the war and post-war crime.
Main characteristics
Caliber: 7.65 mm Browning
Gun length: 155mm
Barrel length: 99 mm
Weight of pistol without cartridges: 670 g.
Magazine capacity: 8 rounds
