CKM WZ.30 - WRZESIEŃ 1939

Machine gun wz. 30 was a Polish heavy machine gun of the interwar period and World War II, caliber 7.92 mm. Its first prototypes were made in 1930, and serial production continued in the years 1931-1939, ending with the production of at least 10,000 copies of this weapon. The initial velocity of the projectile oscillated around 800-830 m / s, and the theoretical rate of fire - 600 rounds per minute, with a maximum shot range of 4500 meters. It was fed with ammunition tapes of 330 rounds each. Machine gun wz. 30 was created to replace the not very successful wz.25 rifle in the Polish Army, and the competition in which he ultimately won was announced in 1927. The competition was won by the Colt company, which in fact offered a modified Browning M1917A1 rifle. However, the Polish military authorities were very reluctant to acquire small arms abroad. Thanks to finding legal loopholes in patent law, it was possible to legally and without causing an international scandal to undertake unlicensed production of the rifle offered by the Colt company in Poland. After the modification of the Colt rifle to the Polish needs of serial production of the wz.30 machine guns, the PWU-FK plant based in Warsaw undertook. The new machine gun quickly became the basic weapon of this type in the Polish Army and was used during the September campaign in 1939. It was also exported to Spain. After 1939, it was used by the Wehrmacht in rear units.