All Articles Tagged 'cz' (14)

The annals of small arms designs are filled with near perfect, odd and/or unsuccessful weapons. The Czech tradition of innovative small arms designs began in the early 20th century and continues to this day. In the 1920s, however, there was a semi-automatic rifle that should have received more attention,…

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Overshadowed by more famous and spectacular German aircraft, the Siebel Si 204 boasted a distinctive Dieselpunk appearance and played at least four different roles.

Used in substantial numbers by the Luftwaffe as a light communications aircraft and crew trainer, the Siebel Si 204 was essentially a scaled-up …

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A beautiful example of pre-war streamline:

Meet the Jawa 700 Coupe - a little red wonder from Prague. It was built by Jawa Motors using a standard Model 700 platform and a custom body designed along Jaray principles. Well, Paul Jaray and his legacy are featured in…

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Jože Plečnik (1872-1957) created a unique architectural style, mixing Baroque and Secession, Classicism and Modernism.

His legacy belongs to Vienna, Prague and Ljubliana. In an alternate universe where the Austro-Hungarian Empire hasn't collapsed in 1918, he could be the Chief Architect of His Imperial and Royal Majesty. Instead, he helped to shape the…

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Instead of being an opponent of the German Bf-109 this sleek fighter became its ally.

The Avia B.35 was a fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia shortly before World War II. It was designed to meet a 1935 requirement by the Czechoslovakian Air Force for a replacement for their B-534 fighter biplanes. The B.35 was an elegant, low-wing monoplane with…

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An elegant semi-streamliner and its coachbuilder's story:

The Sodomka company was established by Josef Sodomka in 1895 in Vysoke Myto in what's now called the Czech Republic*. Within a surface area of 92 square meters and with only five workers he began production of all kinds of coaches, both sleighs and horse drawn carriages. They became the largest and best known coachbuilding company in the Czechoslovak Republic.…

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A car too beautiful to be true, too advanced to be a mid-1930s model. And real. The Tatra is the first production aero-dynamic automobile. This luxury car features a unique design including a sloped 45-degree three-piece windshield - fenders, headlamps, door hinges and handles integrated into the body - the absence of running boards and a smooth underbody. The large tailfin decreases side wind effect and…

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During the year of these weekly weapons features, the small arms designers of Czechoslovakia have time and again risen to the top as innovators in the field. And this week, the Bren Gun will be profiled, but this British weapon has its roots in Eastern Europe.

 

Like the FN MAG, the Bren gun is an…

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By the 1980s the word Uzi became synonymous with bullet spewing death. The gangster connotation attached the Uzi submachine gun, was also the chosen weapon of the Israeli Defense Force, as well as dozens of countries, elite miliary and police agencies. The compact weapon went through three generations, each…

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Of all FAQs regarding tube mail the most frequent is: "How does it work?" Let us see.

The best example is the tube system in the capital of Czech Republic. The Prague pneumatic post (Pražská potrubní pošta) is the world's last preserved municipal pneumatic post system. It is an underground system of metal tubes under the wider… Continue

The Czech gun making industry is legendary for quality and reliability.In the late 1930s, Czech weapons designers were working on a weapon that would become just another submachine gun, but before World War II exploded they planned on fielding a 9mm light support weapon in the ZK.383.



Traditionally, armies of the 20th century pursued support weapons that fed by belt or large capacity magazines chambered in a rifle caliber. However, the designers at the famous Brno… Continue

Slovenská strela (Slovak Arrow) diesel motor coach M290 Class, built by Tatra in 1936, was a unit of the Czechoslovak railways (ČSD).

Only two units were manufactured, obviously inspired by the Flying…

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Today, the first car at the exhibition is gorgeous, streamlined and... anonymous. Try to guess where it was built. Not when - beyond any doubt, it's 1930s, - but where?

And there are some other cars, too. Can you name their country of origin?



United States? Negative.

Probably, Germany? Nein.





Could it be Italy? No, signori e signore,… Continue

Who said my garage is for cars only? And why should I waste my precious parking space on some SUV when I can use it for AFV, armored fighting vehicle - a tanquette or some battlecar with a fuel-saving 70 or even 30 H.P. engine? Machine-gun or flamethrower available as an option. Something like this:

Thanks to shushpanzer_ru@LJ community we can see a bunch… Continue