Vz.58
Summary
| Country | 🇨🇿 Czech Republic |
| Category | Assault rifle |
| Manufacturer | Ceská zbrojovka |
Technical specifications
| Vz.58 | |
|---|---|
| Fire Rate | 800 rounds/min. |
| Caliber | 7.62 x 39 mm |
| Magazine | 30 rounds |
| Length | 845 mm (33.3 in) |
| Weight | 3.1 kg (6.8 lb) |
| Range | 400 m (1312 ft) |
Description
The vz. 58 (Sa vz. 58) is a 7.62×39mm assault rifle designed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia. It was accepted into service in the late 1950s as the 7,62 mm samopal vzor 58, replacing the vz. 52 self-loading rifle and the 7.62×25mm Tokarev Sa 24 and Sa 26 submachine guns. Development began in 1956, led by chief engineer Jiří Čermák at Konstrukta Brno. The prototype, known as "Koště" ("broom"), was designed to chamber the Soviet 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge due to a Soviet insistence on Warsaw Pact standardization, moving away from the Czech 7.62×45mm vz. 52 round. The rifle entered service in 1958, with over 920,000 produced over 25 years until 1984.
While externally resembling the Soviet AK-47, the vz. 58 is internally different. It is a selective fire, gas-operated weapon utilizing a short-stroke gas piston. Combustion gases propel a piston rod 19 mm backwards. The locking system features a locking piece hinged from the bolt carrier with two lugs that engage locking shoulders in the receiver. Unlocking occurs when the bolt carrier is driven rearwards, lifting the locking piece out of engagement. Extraction and ejection of the spent casing follows. The weapon uses a linear hammer system instead of a conventional rotating hammer, driving a free-floating firing pin. The fire mode selector lever also functions as a manual safety, offering positions for single fire ("1"), automatic fire ("30"), and safe (center). An internal safety prevents out-of-battery discharge. The rifle feeds from a detachable 30-round lightweight aluminium alloy box magazine. The bolt locks open on the last round. Reloading from 10-round SKS stripper clips is possible via a guide rail on the bolt carrier. Vz. 58 magazines are not interchangeable with Kalashnikov-pattern weapons. The stock can be quickly interchanged between fixed and folding types due to a common mounting point.
Iron sights include a fully adjustable front post and a tangent rear sight graduated from 100 to 800 m, with a universal setting "U" for ranges up to 300 m. Sight radius is 15 inches. The front sight base serves as a mounting platform for the vz. 58 edged bayonet. Numerous aftermarket accessories exist for customization, including handguards, sight mounts, and muzzle devices. Additional equipment includes spare magazines, pouch, bayonet, cleaning kit, sling, and adjustment tools. A proprietary bipod, flash hider, and scope mount for the NSP-2 night vision scope were available.
Three main variants were produced:
- the standard vz. 58 P ("infantry") with a fixed synthetic (originally wood) buttstock
- the vz. 58 V ("airborne") with a side-folding metal shoulder stock
- the vz. 58 Pi ("infantry with infrared sight") featuring a receiver-mounted dovetail rail for an NSP2 night sight, a detachable folding bipod, and an enlarged conical flash suppressor
Experimental variants included the AP-Z 67 (7.62×51mm NATO), ÚP-Z 70 (5.56×45mm NATO), EZ-B (bullpup prototype), KLEČ (light machine gun variant), vz. 58/97 (light sniper rifle), and vz. 58/98 "Bulldog" (9×19mm Parabellum). Civilian semi-automatic variants such as the CZH 2003 Sport, CZ 858 Tactical, FSN Series, CSA vz. 58 Sporter (in .222 Remington, .223 Remington, 7.62×39mm, including Compact, Carbine, Rifle, and Tactical models), Rimfire VZ 58 "Ogar 58" (including .22 LR conversion kit), Vz 2008 (built from parts kits), Rung Paisarn RPS-001 (Thai adaptation), AP-67 (7.62×51mm NATO), and MARS vz. 58 (Manual Action Release System variant) have been manufactured.
Accepted into service in the late 1950s, the vz. 58 entered widespread service in 1958 and was fielded by the armed forces of Czechoslovakia, Cuba, and several Asian and African nations. In 2011, the Czech army began replacing the vz. 58 with the CZ-805 BREN. The vz. 58 remains the standard service rifle of the Slovak army, which has considered the CZ-805 as a potential replacement. Captured examples were reportedly used by LRRPs in Vietnam and by Turkish forces from the Cypriot National Guard.
The vz. 58 has been used by Angola, Biafra, Burundi rebels, Cuba, Cyprus, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kurdistan, Ivory Coast, Laos, Libya, Mozambique, Philippines Bureau of Corrections, Slovakia, Somalia, Syria, Tanzania, Ukraine (5,000 donated by the Czech Republic), and Vietnam. Former state users include Afghanistan (2009–20), Czech Republic (1959-2011), and Czechoslovakia (passed on to successor states). Turkey used captured examples, and the United States reportedly used captured rifles in Vietnam. Non-state users have included the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, Islamic State, Provisional Irish Republican Army, Northern Irish loyalist paramilitaries, New People's Army, Peshmerga, South Sudan Democratic Movement, and the Karen National Union.