ZK-383

The ZK-383 was exported to many smaller European countries following its production start date in 1938. The production of the ZK-383 continued at Brno arms factory even during the German occupation during World War II. Most of the guns produced were supplied to the Waffen-SS. It continued to be produced in small numbers in the postwar period and production ended in 1948. The ZK-383 was slowly phased out by smaller and lighter submachine guns such as the Sa vz. 23. Bulgaria continued using it until the 1970s.

The ZK-383 was originally designed to be a squad automatic weapon much like the British Bren and Soviet DP27, despite it shooting a pistol round and not a full sized rifle cartridge. It became an individual submachine gun which resembles the German MP 18. For a submachine gun, the ZK-383 was a heavy and robustly made weapon. Military versions possessed detachable barrels, an integrated bipod, and rifle type sights, components considered unusual in submachineguns of the era. The police variant, designated the ZK-383-P, lacked these features, as did the postwar ZK-383-H.

The ZK-383 was fitted with a quickly detachable barrel. The lock/release mechanism was located beneath the front sight. It fires from an open bolt and by removing the bolt weight, the shooter could change the cyclic rate from 450 to 750 rpm. The magazine fed in from the left hand side like the British Sten. The manual safety was located in front of the trigger on the left side of the weapon. The ZK-383 had two firing modes, semi- and full-auto. Selection was made via the use of a short or long trigger pull. The stock was made from wood and had a folding bipod. The guns featured a hooded front sight and a rear adjustable tangent iron sight.

• ZK-383; Standard production model
• ZK-383-P; Police version, lacking a folding bipod and detachable barrel
• ZK-383-H; Post-war production version which also lacked a bipod and detachable barrel; instead of a left side magazine, this model had a forward-facing underslung magazine

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• {{flagcountry|Bolivia}}{{cite web|title=ZK 383 submachine gun|url=http://firearms.96.lt/pages/ZK383.html}}
• {{flagcountry|Brazil}}
• {{flagcountry|Bulgaria}}{{cite encyclopedia|title=ZK 383|language=fr | encyclopedia =Encyclopédie des armes : Les forces armées du monde|publisher=Atlas|year=1986|pages=22–23|volume=I|number=2. Les pistolets-mitrailleurs 1939-1945}}
• {{flagcountry|Czechoslovakia}}
• {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
• {{flagcountry|Romania}}
• {{flagcountry|Slovak Republic (1939–1945)}}{{cite book |last1=Kliment |first1=Charles K. |last2=Nakládal |first2=Břetislav |title=Slovenská armáda 1939-1945 |date=2006 |publisher=Levné kníhy KMa |isbn=80-7309-395-2 |page=145 |language=cs}}
• {{flagcountry|Venezuela}}
• {{flagicon image|Yugoslav Partisans flag (1942-1945).svg}} Yugoslav Partisans{{cite magazine|title=Yugoslav Part II: World War II small arms: an assortment of small arms from friends and foe alike|first=Paul|last=Scarlata|magazine=Firearms News|date=1 October 2017|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/YUGOSLAV+PART+II%3A+WORLD+WAR+II+SMALL+ARMS%3A+AN+ASSORTMENT+OF+SMALL...-a0510936519}}{{cite book |series=Warrior 73 |title=Tito's partisans 1941–45 |last=Vukšić |first=Velimir |date=July 2003 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84176-675-1 |page=25}}

}}

• Weapons of Czechoslovakia interwar period

• Beretta Model 38
• Light Machine Gun
• PPD-40
• Suomi KP/-31

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|ZK-383}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110711135608/http://gunstribune.com/smgs/bulgaria/zk-383 ZK 383 on GunsTribune]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlFdhAK5c7Q Czech ZK-383 Transferable Submachine Gun]

{{Weapons of Czechoslovakia}}

Category:Submachine guns of Czechoslovakia

Category:World War II submachine guns

Category:9mm Parabellum submachine guns

Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1930s

Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1938