Zbrojovka brno

Initially, the arms company was called the “Austro-Hungarian Artillery Factory”, being a branch of the Vienna Arsenal.

In 1918, the factory was nationalized and on its basis a state-owned enterprise was created under the name "Czechoslovak Arms Factory in Brno". ^[1] Initially, the company was engaged in the repair of automobiles , rifles , telephone and railway equipment and tools. In addition, parts were produced for German and Austrian rifles Mauser 98 and Mannlicher M1895 , later the assembly of the rifles themselves was arranged. In 1924 - 1925, a new factory was built, where, in addition to rifles and machine guns , cars, engines and other machines were produced. In the 1930s, she also released licensed Remington typewriters and Škoda tractors .

During World War II, he produced weapons for the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS . In 1944, during the bombing of Brno , the plant was seriously damaged.

After his release, he earned again. In the second half of the 1940s, he produced engines, weapons and tractors. In November 1945, a Zetor prototype was made Z-25, which has survived to this day, and tractors under this brand continue to produce to this day. The name comes from the words "Zet" (the first letter of the factory name) and "Or" (the end of the word "tractor").

In the 1980s, the company reoriented mainly to communication and computing technologies, as well as the production and repair of weapons. In the 1990s, the number of employees began to decline. Since 2003, the company began to incur losses. In June 2006, the production of weapons was discontinued, and the last related employees were dismissed on August 31, 2006. ^[2] At the beginning of September 2006, BRNO RIFLES put up for auction mechanical and processing workshops and a part of Zbrojovka Brno machinery, however, the buyers were not interested in the equipment of the plant. Cars are now owned by CZUB . Further efforts were aimed at securing the acquisition of rights to the most promising weapons developed for the Zbrojovka Brno - hunting guns of the BO 800 and Brno Effect series. On January 15, 2007, the remainder of the company was acquired by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod .

Weapons

• vz. 98/22 - Czechoslovak copy of the Mauser 98 rifle.
• vz. 24 - another rifle based on the Mauser 98 .
• ZB vz. 26
• Zh-29
• Karabiner 98k - was produced during the years of German occupation.
• ZB-53
• Zb-47
• ZB-50
• ZB-530
• BRNO MOD2-E
• ZK 453 - 30 mm anti-aircraft gun.
• PLdvK vz. 53 - 30-mm anti-aircraft gun, replacing the ZK 453.

Zbrojovka produced passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with two-stroke engines . The first model was Disk, which was a two-door passenger car with a four-cylinder engine with a volume of 598 cm³ and a capacity of 10 horsepower, released in 1924 . ^[3] It was replaced in 1926 by the Z 18, which was a two-door sedan powered by a two-cylinder engine with a capacity of 1005 cm³ and a capacity of 18 horsepower. ^[4] In 1929, the production of Z 9 ^{[5] began} , which had an engine with a volume of 993 cm³ and a power of 22 horsepower. ^[6] Body options for the Z 9 included a four-door sedan or convertible , a two-door four-seat sedan, a two-seat convertible and a commercial light truck. ^[7]

In 1933, Zbrojovka introduced the Z 4, again with a two-cylinder engine. Earlier versions were replaced by a more powerful engine with a volume of 905 cm³ and a capacity of 19 horsepower. ^[8] In 1934, Zbrojovka introduced a version with an engine capacity of 980 cm³, which produced 25 horsepower in the standard version or 35 horsepower in the sports coupe version. ^[6]

In 1935, Zbrojovka expanded its range with two new models: the Z 6 Hurvínek and the Z 5 Express. Z 6 had a two-cylinder engine, with a volume of 735 cm³ and a capacity of 19 horsepower. ^[9] The Z 5 engine was modular with the Z 6 version: with four cylinders, a volume of 1,470cm³ and a capacity of 40 horsepower. ^[10] Zbrojovka developed a new body style for the Z 5 and Z 6 ^[11] and updated the Z 4 body to a similar style. ^[12]

Zbrojovka ceased production of the Z4 and Z5 in 1936 and the Z6 in 1937 . After World War II, the company concentrated its production on tractors .

• Aleš, Jr, Aleš Skřivan mladší; Skřivan. Export of Zbrojovka Brno (Czechoslovak Arms Factory of Brno) to China in the Interwar Period // English Papers on the History of International Relations : journal. - 2005 .-- P. 111-134 .