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Title:	PISTOL, SEMI-AUTOMATIC -  CZECH PISTOL VZ21 7.65MM SN# 7300
Maker/Manufacturer:	BROWNING, JOHN M.
Date of Manufacture:	1921
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1955
Measurements:	OL: 16.5CM 6 1/2" BL: 9.5CM 3 3/4" 20.6 oz.

Object Description:

CZECH PISTOL VZ21 7.65MM SN# 7300
Manufactured by Ceska Zbrojovka, Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1921 - Standard Czech VZ21 semi-automatic pistol. Essentially a copy of FN Browning M1910 semi-automatic pistol. Blued finish; two piece wood grips with vertical grooves. 4-groove rifling; right hand twist. No grip safety. Fixed lanyard ring on left side of butt. Weapon weighs approximately 20.6 oz. Weapon is complete with 7-round detachable box magazine. Adopted by Czech forces as interim emergency weapon.

Markings:
Slide: - Left side: ZBROJOVKA PRAGA/PRAHA with Czech police badge and 12.4.21 which is possibly a date mark. Right side of slide and frame: 7300.
Buttstrap: 2074 (Regimental or police number?).

Notes: Praga Zbrojovka existed from 1918 to 1926, and produced only two types of pistols. The one, a close copy of the Browning M1910, was intended as a quasi-military and police weapon.

"The Praga Zbrojovka in Vrsovice, in which Vaclav Holek worked on the design of pistols, offered its first pistols to the Army already in the spring of 1919. This was a 7.65 caliber pistol that was more suitable for civilian or police use, but which nevertheless was more acceptable than the 6.35mm side pistol which this firm also manufactured and later sold in the market using the designation 'automatic Praga pistol, cal. 6.35mm, M1921.' The ministry of National Defense ordered 5,000 Praga 7.65mm pistols as early as June 1919, even though at that time it was only testing this type and had some serious objections to the workmanship.

"Zbrojovka Praga (Prague Small Arms Company) was founded in Vrsovice in 1918 by A. Novotny, a gunmaker. He is said to have employed talented designers such as the Holek brothers, Krnka and Myska, but Praga products showed little evidence of this. Two pistol were produced, one a copy of the Browning M1910 and the other an original design of odd appearance and poor quality. Not surprisingly, the company failed to prosper and in 1926 was foreclosed by the National Bank.
7.65mm Praga Model 1921 - The first pistol produced was the vz/21 (vz: vzor, 'model'), a 7.65mm blowback credited to Vaclav Holek but little more than an adaptation of the 1910-type Browning. Some small changes were made; the breech block was a separate unit, inserted in the slide, while the return spring was retained by the nose of the slide instead of a barrel bush. The pistol was initially touted for military or police use, 5,000 being ordered by the Czech forces when Skoke declined to co-operate. They had plain wooden grips and cursive Zbrojovka Praga on the slide; this later changed to block and specimens with the Prague police badge can be found. A commercial version appeared with block-lettered slides and moulded plastic 'Praga' grips. Some specimens have elongated barrels which protrude about 30mm ahead of the slide." - Hogg & Weeks

References:
Berger, R.J. KNOW YOUR CZECHOSLOVAKIAN PISTOLS. Blacksmith Corporation. Chino Valley, Az. 1989.
Ezell, Edward C. HANDGUNS OF THE WORLD. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, Pa. 1981.
Hogg, Ian & John Weeks. PISTOLS OF THE WORLD. DBI Books, Inc. Northbrook, Il. 1992.