CZ-75

CZ 75
"Pre-B" version of the CZ 75.
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Czechoslovakia Czech Republic
Service history
In service	1976–present
Used by	See Users
Production history
Designer	Josef and František Koucký
Designed	1975
Manufacturer	Česká zbrojovka
Produced	1976–present
No. built	1,000,000+ (October 12, 2007)
Variants	see Variants and Derivatives
Specifications
Weight	1.12 kg (2.47 lb)
Length	206.3 mm (8.1 in)
Barrel length	120 mm (4.7 in)
Width	32.6mm (1.3 in)
Height	138mm (5.4 in)
Cartridge	9×19mm Parabellum 9×21mm .40 S&W
Action	short recoil, tilting barrel
Rate of fire	semi-automatic
Effective firing range	25 m (for 9mm CZ-75 family and CZ-75 Automatic)
Feed system	detachable box magazine, 12–26 rd depending on version and caliber
Sights	Front blade, rear square notch

CZ P-01
The CZ P-01
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Czech Republic
Service history
Used by	Czech police
Production history
Designed	1999
Manufacturer	Česká zbrojovka
Produced	2001–
No. built	?
Specifications
Weight	0.77 kg (1.7 lb) with empty magazine
Length	184 mm (7.2 in)
Barrel length	98.5 mm (3.9 in)
Width	35 mm (1.4 in)
Height	128 mm (5.3 in)
Caliber	9×19mm Parabellum
Action	short recoil, tilting barrel
Rate of fire	semi-automatic
Feed system	detachable box magazine
Sights	Front blade, rear square notch

The CZ 75 is a pistol made by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod (CZUB) in the Czech Republic that has both semi-automatic and selective fire variants. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original "wonder nines" featuring a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. It is widely distributed throughout the world. It is the most common handgun in the Czech Republic.

The armament industry was an important part of the interwar Czechoslovak economy and made up a large part of the country's exports (see, for example, Bren light machine gun, which was a modified version of the Czechoslovak ZB vz. 26). However following the 1948 communist coup d'état, all heavy industry was nationalized and was (at least officially) cut off from its Western export market behind the Iron Curtain. While most other Warsaw Pact countries became dependent on armaments imports from the Soviet Union, most of the Czechoslovak weaponry remained domestic (for example, the Czechoslovak army used the Vz. 58 assault rifle, while other communist bloc countries used variants of the AK-47).

Following the Second World War, brothers Josef and František Koucký became the most important engineers of the CZUB. They participated to some extent on designing all the company's post-war weapons. Kouckýs signed their designs together, using only the surname, making it impossible to determine which one of them developed particular ideas.