SERVICE – Czechoslovakian military (1951 – 1952), supplied to Nigeria, Cuba, Syria as well as sold to South Africa
In the period following the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia dumped all of the German designs they had been forced to produced during the war and turned to developing native designs. The Vz-23 was the first in a series of submachineguns developed in Czechoslovakia, but heavily influenced by the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact.
Primarily designed by the prolific Czech firearms engineer, Jaroslav Holeček, the Vz-23 was the first production weapon to have the magazine inserted through the pistol grip and a wrap-around (telescoping) bolt. The magazine through the pistol grip had been attempted by several other submachinegun designs, including Great Britain and Japan, but those designs had never advanced much beyond the prototype stage. The idea has several major advantages. Placing the magazine in the pistol grip helps centralize the balance of the weapon. Properly designed, the balance of the weapon does not change significantly as the ammunition in consumed. It is a very natural action for one hand to find the other in almost any situation. This hand-finds-hand can allow for a very quick reloading of the weapon.
The telescoping bolt places some of the mass of the bolt around the barrel, forward of the chamber. This design puts the bolt face more to the center of the part, also helping with maintaining the balance of the weapon while it is being fired. The major advantage of the wrap-around bolt is that it reduces the overall length of the submachinegun while maintaining a longer barrel length for velocity. Though commonly seen today on a large number of modern submachine gun designs, the Uzi series being among the first, the Vz-23 was the first successful weapon to employ both the telescoping bolt and pistol grip magazine well.
As it was the caliber of ammunition employed by Czechoslovakia during the 1940s, the Vz-23 was chambered for the 9x19mm round. With the pistol grip acting as a balance point, a large 40-round box magazine could be easily used and not result in an ungainly weapon. Simplicity of manufacture was included in the design of the Vz-23 series. The receiver was a straight-walled piece of steel tubing with additional components welded or strapped to it. Early production weapons have parts, such as the rear sight base and stock mount, attached with a machined band surrounding the receiver tube. In later production pieces, these parts were reduced in size and welded in position.
One particularly unique aspect of the series is the inclusion of a magazine loading tool attached to the side of the fore end. The part is a guide for loading magazine from 8-round stripper clips, used by the Czechoslovakian military to package all of their submachinegun ammunition. To use the device, a clip would be placed in the slot provided for it and a magazine pushed through the guide slot. The ammunition would be pushed into the feed lips of the magazine and the empty clip would come out of the front of the loader assembly.
The weapon was originally known by the designation 9 mm Samopal vzor 48a (Submachine gun Model 1948a). In the Spring of 1950, the designation of the weapon (and the series) was changed and the Sa vz. 48a became the Sa 23 or, commonly, the Vz. 23. The model 48a/Sa 23 was the first variation in the series, chambered for 9x19mm and fitted with a fixed wooden stock.
