Zbrojovka Brno ZB26 & ZB30
Official wording
Czechoslovakian, Model ZB26 and ZB30 light machinegun.
What this entry requires
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1926–1945.
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia)Basis: the ATF wording - Manufacturer
- Československá zbrojovka, BrnoBasis: outside reference ¹
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- VariousBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- c. 1926–1945production; ATF states no dateBasis: estimate ²
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 83 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “ZB vz. 26” ↗, maker: production was transferred to Zbrojovka Brno (ZB); infobox manufacturer Zbrojovka Brno; spawned the related vz. 30.
- 2. Wikipedia, “ZB vz. 26” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it)
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “ZB vz. 26 at Great Patriotic War museum in Smolensk.jpg” by Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “ZB vz. 26”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The ZB-26 was a Czechoslovak light machine gun developed in the 1920s, which went on to enter service with several countries. It saw its major use during World War II, and spawned the related ZB vz. 27, vz. 30, and vz. 33. The ZB vz. 26 influenced many other light machine gun designs. The British Bren light machine gun was a modified ZB vz. 26 licensed to Britain by Czechoslovakia, and the Japanese Type 97 heavy tank machine gun was designed from captured ZB vz. 26s in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The ZB-26 is famous for its reliability, simple components, quick-change barrel and ease of manufacturing.