ZK 466 submachine gun
The
ZK 466 submachine gun was one of a number of post-war designs produced
by the Zbrojovka Brno plant in Czechoslovakia, and was first introduced
in 1948. The design was by the Koucký brothers. This SMG was of a basic
stamped-steel construction with a retracting wire stock and perforated
barrel housing. It used a rectangular receiver and employed a hinged
magazine housing that folded parallel with the barrel for compact carry.
A basic two-slot muzzle compensator was fitted to the barrel. The gun
operated on a basic straight-blowback action firing from an open bolt,
but interestingly the cocking handle ran across the top of the receiver
in a similar fashion to the Uzi. The ZK 466 was marketed for commercial
export, but most NATO member states were unwilling to buy from the
Soviet bloc, and most Soviet-affiliated countries were plentifully
supplied with Russian weapons, leaving little market for this gun. Other
than brief trials in Argentina, there was no interest in the ZK 466 and
it was quickly discontinued after only 23 prototype models were
produced. Some of these prototypes were used as props in Czech-produced
films in the 1970s.