Vz. 58

vz. 58
The vz. 58 P (with ; and sling).
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	Czechoslovakia
Service history
In service	1959–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Vietnam War Cambodian-Vietnamese War Nigerian Civil War Cyprus Conflicts The Troubles South African Border War Eritrean War of Independence Gulf War War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Libyan Civil War
Production history
Designer	Jiří Čermák
Designed	1956–1958
Manufacturer	Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod
Produced	1959–1984
No. built	Approx. 920,000
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	2.91 kg (6.4 lb)
Length	vz. 58 P: 845 mm (33.3 in) vz. 58 V 845 mm (33.3 in) stock extended / 636 mm (25.0 in) stock folded 1,000 mm (39.4 in) with bayonet fixed
Barrel length	390 mm (15.4 in)
Width	57 mm (2.2 in) stock extended 72 mm (2.8 in) stock folded
Height	255 mm (10.0 in)
Cartridge	7.62×39mm
Action	Gas-operated, falling breechblock
Rate of fire	800 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	705 m/s (2,313 ft/s) Muzzle energy: 1988 J
Effective firing range	100–800 m sight adjustments
Maximum firing range	2,800 m
Feed system	Staggered 30-round detachable box magazine, weight 0.19 kg (0.42 lb) unloaded
Sights	Open-type iron sights with sliding rear tangent and shrouded front post 353 mm (13.9 in) sight radius

The VZ. 58 (model 58) is a 7.62×39mm assault rifle designed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia and accepted into service in the late 1950s as the 7,62 mm samopal vzor 58 ("7.62mm submachinegun model 1958"), replacing the vz. 52 self-loading rifle and the 7.62×25mm Tokarev Sa 24 and Sa 26 submachine guns.

While externally the vz. 58 resembles the Soviet AK-47, it is a different design based on a short-stroke gas piston. It shares no parts with Kalashnikov rifles, including the magazine.

Development of the weapon began in 1956; leading the project was chief engineer Jiří Čermák assigned to the Konstrukta Brno facility in the city of Brno. The Soviet Union had begun insisting that the Warsaw Pact forces standardize on a common ammunition. As a result, the prototype, known as the "Koště" ("broom"), was designed to chamber the intermediate Soviet 7.62×39mm M43 cartridge, rather than the Czech 7.62×45mm vz. 52 round, used in both the earlier vz. 52 rifle and the vz. 52 light machine gun. The assault rifle entered service in 1958 and over a period of 25 years (until 1984), over 920,000 weapons had been produced, fielded by the armed forces of Czechoslovakia, Cuba and several other Asian and African nations.

The vz. 58 was produced in three main variants: the standard vz. 58 P (Pěchotní or "infantry") model with a fixed buttstock made of a synthetic material (wood impregnated plastic, older versions used a wooden stock), the vz. 58 V (Výsadkový—"airborne"), featuring a side-folding metal shoulder stock, folded to the right side, and the vz. 58 Pi (Pěchotní s infračerveným zaměřovačem—"infantry with infrared sight"), which is similar to the vz. 58 P but includes a receiver-mounted dovetail bracket (installed on the left side of the receiver) used to attach an NSP2 night sight; it also has a detachable folding bipod and an enlarged conical flash suppressor.