ZB vz. 30

{{Infobox weapon |name=ZB-30 | image=Aleksandar Simić, fotografije Ravnogorskog pokreta (21).jpg | image_size = |caption=M37, a Yugoslav variant of the ZB vz. 30 |origin= Czechoslovakia<br />Romania {{small|(license)}}<br />Yugoslavia {{small|(license)}} |type=Light machine gun  |is_ranged=yes  |service=1930–2009{{sfn|Grant|2013|p=65}} |used_by=See ''Users'' |wars=  |designer= |design_date=1930 |manufacturer=Zbrojovka Brno, Cugir Arms Factory, Military Technical Institute Kragujevac<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.zastava-arms.rs/sr/imagetext/1919-1941 |title=1919-1941 | Zastava-arms |access-date=2018-07-04 |archive-date=2017-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052941/http://www.zastava-arms.rs/sr/imagetext/1919-1941 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |unit_cost= |production_date= |number= |variants=  |spec_label= |weight={{convert|9.10|kg|lb|2|abbr=on}} |length={{convert|1180|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} |part_length= |width= |height=  |cartridge=7.92×57mm Mauser |caliber= |action=Gas-operated, tilting breechblock |rate= 550-650 rounds/min |velocity={{convert|750|m/s|0|abbr=on}} |range={{convert|1000|m|yd|abbr=on}} |max_range= |feed=20-round detachable box magazine |sights=Front blade, rear leaf sight }}

The '''ZB-30''' and '''ZB-30J''' were Czechoslovak light machine guns that saw extensive use during World War II.

== History == The Zb 30 and Zb 30J were the later versions of the famous Czechoslovak machine gun, the ZB-26. However, the ZB-30 had some design differences, making it similar to the later ZGB-33, which was an early prototype of the Bren gun.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://modernfirearms.net/en/machineguns/czech-republic-machineguns/zb-26-eng/|title=ZB 26|date=October 27, 2010|website=Modern Firearms}}</ref> Like the ZB-26, the ''Wehrmacht'' adopted the ZB-30 after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, renaming it the '''MG 30(t)'''; it was used in the same role as the MG34, as a light machine gun. In the opening phases of World War II, the ZB-30 in 7.92 mm Mauser caliber was used in large numbers by elements of the German ''Waffen-SS'', who did not initially have full access to standard ''Wehrmacht'' supply channels.{{sfn|Grant|2013|p=65}}

Comparison of original ZB vz.26 and modifications: {| class="wikitable" |- ! Machine gun ! ZB vz.26 ! ZB vz.30 ! ZB vz.30J{{efn|The ZB 30J was a late design iteration of the ZB 30 for sale to Yugoslavia (originally spelled with a J) that featured an adjustable gas system so that commonly available light and heavy 7.92mm ball ammunition would cycle the mechanism.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://marstar.ca/product/brno-zb-30j/ |title=Brno Zb-30J – Marstar Canada |website=marstar.ca |access-date=22 Nov 2020}}</ref>}} |- | Caliber (mm) | 7.92 | 7.92 | 7.92 |- | Length (mm) | 1165 | 1180 | 1204 |- | Weight (kg) | 8.84 | 9.10 | 9.58 |- | Magazine (rounds) | 20 | 20 | 20 |- | Rate (round/min) | 500 | 550-650 | 500-600 |- | Velocity (m/s) | 750 | 750 | 750 |}

== Users == [[Image:Romanian Patriotic Guards Training 1.jpg|thumb|300px|A license-built Romanian ZB-30 used after the war by the Patriotic Guards.]] [[Image:DavidYovanitch.png|thumb|300px|A Chetnik fighter carrying a M37.]] *{{flag|Kingdom of Afghanistan}}: 2,000 in 7.92mm Mauser caliber shipped in 1938<ref name="militaria.cz"/> * {{flag|Algeria}}: used by the National Liberation Army.<ref>{{cite web|title=StG-44 in Africa after WWII|url=https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2015/09/27/stg-44-in-africa-after-wwii/|date=27 September 2015|website=wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com}}</ref> *{{flag|Biafra}}<ref name="auto">{{cite book|last=Jowett|first=Philip|title=Modern African Wars (5): The Nigerian-Biafran War 1967-70|year=2016|publisher=Osprey Publishing Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1472816092|page=22}}</ref> *{{flag|Bolivia}}: 3,350 in 7.65mm Mauser between 1932 and 1937,<ref name="militaria.cz"/> used in the Chaco War,<ref name ='Chaco'>{{cite book|author=Alejandro de Quesada|title=The Chaco War 1932-35: South America's greatest modern conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dTm3CwAAQBAJ|date=20 November 2011|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84908-901-2|pages=24}}</ref> still in use in the 1960s<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guevara |first=Che |title=El diario del Che en Bolivia: noviembre 7, 1966 a octubre 7, 1967 |date=1994 |publisher=Ciencas Sociales |isbn=978-959-06-0177-4 |location=Havana?}}</ref> *{{flag|Bulgaria}}: used as aircraft gun on Kaproni Bulgarski KB-11 Fazan{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} *{{flag|Czechoslovakia}}{{sfn|Grant|2013|p=10}} *{{flagicon|Republic of China}} Republic of China: Imported and produced under license.<ref>{{cite book|title=Chinese Civil War Armies 1911-49|first=Philip S.|last=Jowett|series=Men at Arms 306|year=1997|publisher=Osprey Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ck6IumJLdPkC&pg=PA14|page=36|isbn=1855326655|access-date=April 24, 2014}}</ref> * {{flag|Ecuador}} 750 7.92mm Mauser in 1935-1936<ref name="militaria.cz"/> * {{flag|Ethiopia|1914}}: 400-450 in 7.92mm Mauser ZB vz.30 bought in 1934, used by the Kebur Zabagna<ref name="Ethiopia">{{cite web|title= ZB VZ 30|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30033263|website=iwm.org.uk|publisher=Imperial War Museum}}</ref><ref name="militaria.cz"/> *{{flag|Nazi Germany}} * {{flag|Guatemala}}: 50 in 7mm Mauser, delivered in 1937<ref>{{cite book|title=Checoslovaquia, Guatemala y México en el Período de la Revolución Guatemalteca: Ibero-Americana Pragensia - Supplementum 32/2013|last=Perutka|first= Lukáš|date= September 2014|publisher=Karolinum Press|isbn=978-80-246-2429-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IoM3BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA36|page=36|language=es}}</ref><ref name="militaria.cz"/> *{{flag|Iran|1925}}:<ref name="Encyclopedie">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Fusils-mitrailleurs Lehky Kulomet ZB vz.26 and vz.30|language=fr | encyclopedia =Encyclopédie des armes : Les forces armées du monde|publisher=Atlas|year=1984|page=262|volume=II|number=14. Les mitrailleuses de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale}}</ref> produced under license. Modified to fire the .30 cartridge.{{sfn|Smith|1969|p=463}} *{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}: An unspecified number were captured in Ethiopia and in Yugoslavia. By July 1942, 936 were listed in the Regio Esercito's inventory. Experiments were conducted in converting them to the 8×59mm Rb Breda cartridge. In March 1943, they were issued to territorial units in Lazio, Liguria, and Tuscany.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Riccio |first1=Ralph |title=Italian small arms of the first & second world wars |date=2013 |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |isbn=9780764345838 |page=161}}</ref> * {{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}: used captured Chinese guns.{{sfn|Smith|1969|p=498}} * {{flag|Latvia}}: 11 in 7.92mm Mauser received in 1936<ref name="militaria.cz">{{cite web|title=Nejprodávanější československá zbraň|first=Jiří|last=Fencl|url=http://www.militaria.cz/archiv/391/clanky/391-08.html|publisher=Militaria, Elka Press|access-date=12 March 2019|date=1991|language=cs}}</ref> *{{flag|Manchukuo}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Rays of the rising sun : armed forces of Japan's Asian allies, 1931-45, Vol. 1: China & Manchukuo| publisher=Helion|year=2010|first=Philip S.|last= Jowett|isbn=9781906033781|page=15}}</ref> * {{flag|Nicaragua}}: 5 in 7mm Mauser supplied in 1937<ref name="militaria.cz"/> * {{flag|Peru}}: 1,257 in 7.65mm, delivered from 1932 to 1938<ref name="militaria.cz"/> Some converted to 7.62 NATO.<ref name="SmallArmsToday88per">{{cite book| last = Ezell| first = Edward| author-link = Edward C. Ezell| title = Small Arms Today| publisher = Stackpole Books| volume = 2nd| edition = | date = 1988 | pages = 304| language = English | isbn = 0811722805| jfm =}}</ref> *{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Romania}}: Produced under license.{{sfn|Grant|2013|p=65}}{{sfn|Smith|1969|p=535}} 17,131 were imported from Czechoslovakia from 1933<ref name="militaria.cz"/><ref>Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, ''Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945'', p. 29</ref> and 10,000 were license-produced at Cugir,<ref>John Walter, Greenhill Books, 2004, ''Guns of the Third Reich'', p. 86</ref> with a production rate of 250 pieces per month as of October 1942.<ref>Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, ''Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945'', p. 75</ref> *{{flag|Spain|1938}}: 20,000 7.92mm Mauser caliber guns ordered{{sfn|Grant|2013|p=65}} but only a few hundred actually delivered. Copied as the Fusil ametrallador Oviedo.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fusil Ametrallador Oviedo (FAO): otro capítulo más de nuestra gloriosa historia armera|language=es|date=24 March 2017|website=arma.es|url=https://www.armas.es/militar/33483-fusil-ametrallador-oviedo-fao}}</ref> *{{flag|Turkey}}: 9,805 7.92mm Mauser caliber supplied in 1935–1939.<ref name="militaria.cz"/> Produced under license{{sfn|Grant|2013|p=65}} * {{flag|Uruguay}}: 80 in 7mm received in 1937<ref name="militaria.cz"/> * {{flag|Venezuela}}: 110 in 7mm Mauser caliber ZB-30J received in 1937<ref name="militaria.cz"/> *{{flag|Vietnam}}: Used by the Việt Minh, supplied by both Nationalist and Communist Chinese<ref>{{cite book|title=French Foreign Légionnaire vs Viet Minh Insurgent: North Vietnam 1948–52|series=Combat 36|first=Martin |last=Windrow|date=20 Sep 2018|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=9781472828910|pages=24–25}}</ref> *25px|border Yugoslavia: The ZB Model 30J was produced under license as, Пушкомитраљез 7.9mm модел 1937".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/imagetext/1919-1941 |title=1919-1941 {{!}} Zastava-arms |website=www.zastava-arms.rs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612085810/http://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/imagetext/1919-1941 |archive-date=2013-06-12}}</ref>{{sfn|Smith|1969|p=320}} 15,500 were bought in 1936.<ref name="militaria.cz"/>

==Conflicts== * Chaco War<ref name ='Chaco'/> * Second Italo-Ethiopian War<ref name="Ethiopia"/> * Spanish Civil War<ref>{{cite book|title=The Spanish Civil War 1936–39 (2): Republican Forces|series=Men-at-Arms 498|first= Alejandro |last=de Quesada|date=20 Jan 2015|isbn=9781782007852|publisher=Osprey Publishing|page=38}}</ref> * World War II * First Indochina War * Algerian War * Biafran war * Yugoslav Wars<ref>{{cite AV media |date=April 1999 |title=The Defense Of Bosnia |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a1bQTDR9y8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/3a1bQTDR9y8 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=22 May 2015 |time=45:53 |publisher=Studio "FLASH" Sarajevo}}{{cbignore}}</ref> * War in Afghanistan (2001–2021){{sfn|Grant|2013|p=65}}

==Note== {{notelist}}

==References== ;Citations {{reflist|35em}} ;Main sources {{refbegin}} * McNab, Chris: ''Twentieth-century Small Arms'', Grange Books, 2004; {{ISBN|1-84013-381-3}} * {{cite book|last=Grant|first=Neil|year=2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85zvCwAAQBAJ|title=The Bren Gun|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1782000822|series=Weapon |volume=22}} * {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Joseph E.|year=1969 |title=Small Arms of the World |edition=11th |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|publisher= The Stackpole Company |isbn=9780811715669|url=https://archive.org/details/smallarmsofworld00smit|url-access=registration}} {{refend}}

==External links== * [http://www.project-x.org.uk/images/picgfszb30.jpg Photograph at project-x.org.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928001303/http://www.project-x.org.uk/images/picgfszb30.jpg |date=2007-09-28 }} * [http://www.fronta.cz/fotogalerie/lehky-kulomet-zb-30j ZB vz. 30J photogallery]

Category:Light machine guns Category:World War II machine guns Category:World War II infantry weapons of Germany Category:World War II infantry weapons of China Category:Machine guns of Czechoslovakia Category:7.92×57mm Mauser machine guns Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1930s