The Universal Machine Gun Model 1959 (Czech: Univerzální kulomet vzor 59) is a general-purpose machine gun developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. It remains in use by the Czech Army and the Slovak Armed Forces.
Description
The Uk vz. 59 fires 7.62×54mmR ammunition (although a Vz. 59N variant for 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition also exists), delivered via an ammunition belt. The weapon can serve as a light (light barrel and bipod, vz. 59L model) and medium machine gun (heavy barrel and tripod), and can also be used as a co-axial mounted weapon (Vz. 59T version).
The machine gun is equipped with a lever-type feed mechanism introduced in Louis Stange's MG 39 Rh,[1] which is operated by the feed lever mounted outside the right wall of the receiver.
The pistol grip acts as the charging handle for the Uk vz. 59.
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UK-L vz. 59 with bipod. -
Detail of the UK-L vz. 59.
Users
Afghanistan
Biafra[2]
Czech Republic[3]
Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo[4]
Georgia[5]
Libya[6]
Mali[citation needed]
Slovakia[3]
Tajikistan
Tanzania[7]
Ukraine: 3,200 UK vz.59s were gifted from the Czech Republic, sent as part of a military package in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[8]
Vietnam: used by the PAVN and Viet Cong during the Vietnam War/[9]
Gallery
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Ukrainian volunteer with UK vz. 59
See also
References
- ^ "MG 39 Rh". 19 December 2012.
- ^ Jowett, Philip (2016). Modern African Wars (5): The Nigerian-Biafran War 1967-70. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-1472816092.
- ^ a b Popenker, Maxim (27 October 2010). "Vz.59 (UK Vz.59)". Modern Firearms.
- ^ a b Small Arms Survey (2015). "Waning Cohesion: The Rise and Fall of the FDLR–FOCA" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2015: weapons and the world (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 202. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2015.
- ^ "Geo-army.ge". Archived from the original on 9 March 2012.
- ^ "World Infantry Weapons: Libya". Archived from the original on 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Google Sites".
- ^ "První česká vojenská pomoc Ukrajině". armadnizpravodaj.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ Scarlata, Paul (15 December 2016). "Eastern Bloc Firestorm: The Czech UK vz. 59 Machine Gun". Military Surplus Magazine.
External links
Media related to UK vz. 59 at Wikimedia Commons- Modern Firearms
- Univerzální kulomet vzor 59
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