CZ 75

The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech firearm manufacturer ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original "wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. It is widely distributed throughout the world and is the most common handgun in the Czech Republic.
History.
Development of CZ 75.
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.
By 1969, František Koucký was freshly retired, however the company offered him a job on designing a new 9×19mm Parabellum pistol. Unlike during his previous work, this time he had a complete freedom in designing the whole gun from scratch. The design he developed was in many ways new and innovative (see Design details).
Although the model was developed for export purposes (the standard pistol cartridge of the Czechoslovak armed forces was the Soviet 7.62×25mm Tokarev, which was later replaced with the Warsaw Pact standard 9mm Makarov pistol cartridge), Koucký's domestic patents regarding the design were classified as "secret patents". Effectively, nobody could learn about their existence, but also nobody could register the same design in Czechoslovakia. At the same time Koucký as well as the company were prohibited from filing for patent protection abroad. Consequently, a large number of other manufacturers began offering pistols based on CZ 75 design (see Clones, copies, and variants by other manufacturers).
The pistol was not sold in Czechoslovakia until 1985, when it became popular among sport shooters (sport shooting is the third most widespread sport in the Czech Republic, after football and ice hockey). It was adopted by the Czech armed forces only after the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
Development of sport variants of CZ 75.
The increasing popularity of the IPSC competitions in the Czech Republic led to inception of CZUB's factory team in 1992. Initially, the sport shooters were using CZ 75s and CZ 85s. Stanislav Křižík designed a new version called "CZ 75 Champion" already in 1992. This version had a SA trigger, a muzzle brake and adjustable weights. 150 firearms were initially made in 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W and 9×21mm. The design was further modified (i.e. the adjustable weights were eliminated, a new compensator was developed), however its main shortcoming of the same capacity as the standard CZ 75 magazines (15/16 in 9mm, 12 in .40 S&W) remained.
The "CZ 75 ST (Standard)" and "CZ 75 M (Modified)" were introduced in 1998. These had a different frame from standard versions allowing for more modifications. While the ST had become very successful, M was not initially designed for use with red-dot sights, the use of which led to limited lifespan of its frame.
The popular ST version was further developed mostly with aim of prolonging its lifespan, which led to introduction of "CZ 75 TS (Tactical Sports)" in 2005. It uses a longer barrel (132 mm) and has also a higher weight (1,285 g) compared to the standard model. High-capacity magazines may use either 20 of the 9mm rounds or 17 of the .40 rounds. As of 2013, the model is used by the CZUB's factory shooters in the IPSC Standard division, with a custom-made version "CZ 75 Tactical Sports Open" being also available.
In 2009, the sale of "CZ 75 TS Czechmate" began. The model is a development of the CZ 75 TS Open, available in 9×19mm Parabellum and 9×21mm with magazine capacity of 20 or 26 rounds. As standard, the gun is sold with US made C-More Systems' red-dot sight. CZUB claims that its factory shooter Martin Kameníček had shot 150,000 rounds through the gun in five years, in which time he only needed to change the barrel once in order to maintain precision.
Design details.
The CZ 75 is a short recoil operated, locked breech pistol. It uses the Browning linkless cam locking system similar to that used in the Browning Hi-Power pistol, where the barrel and slide are locked together on firing, using locking lugs milled into the barrel mating with recesses in the roof of the slide. An enclosed cam track integral with the barrel is actuated by the slide release lever's transverse pin. After the first few millimetres of the recoil stroke, the barrel is cammed downwards at the rear, enabling the slide to continue the recoil stroke and eject the spent cartridge.
Most models have the capability of being fired in both single and double-action modes, and feature a frame-mounted manual safety. Some recent models have a decocking lever that doubles as a manual safety. Starting in the early 1990s, all CZ 75s have been made with firing pin blocks, designated by the letter B (as in CZ 75B).
The CZ 75 was one of the first high-capacity 9mm pistols with a manual safety similar to that of the Browning Hi-Power. This allows the CZ 75 to be carried with the hammer cocked with safety applied and a round chambered, ready for use simply by switching the safety off, a configuration known as "condition 1". It is somewhat unusual for double-action pistols to have this "cocked and locked" type of safety; most such as the Walther P38 and the Beretta 92F have a combination safety/decocking lever (as do some later versions of the CZ 75). The trade-off of this configuration is that to uncock the hammer for a double-action first shot, the hammer must be dropped manually by pulling the trigger while lowering the hammer with the firer's thumb under control. Once lowered in this manner, a double-action first shot can be achieved in a similar manner to other double-action pistols without actuating any controls. Subsequent shots will be single-action unless the hammer is again manually lowered...or the safety can be engaged and subsequent shots will be single action when the safety is disengaged.
All non-double-action only CZ-75 variants feature a "half-cock" notch. This is not a safety position, but rather an operator aid to provide a safe place to manually decock the pistol. All of the "decocker" models decock to this position, and the manual advises not to attempt to place the hammer further on any model.
Unlike most other semi-auto pistols, the slide rides inside the frame rails, similar to the SIG P210, rather than outside. This provides a tight slide-to-frame fit and a very efficient barrel lock-up, both of which contribute to its accuracy.
On current models, frames are cast and slides are machined from forgings, though forged frames have been used in very early production models. The six-groove barrel has traditional land-and-groove rifling with a higher-than-standard rate of twist (1 in 9.7).
Variants and derivatives.
CZ variants of the CZ 75 include:
Clones, copies, and variants by other manufacturers.
Today the CZ factory is located in the Czech Republic (EU) and the handgun is offered worldwide. However, during the Cold War, Czechoslovakia was part of the Warsaw Pact and thoroughly communist in its political outlook. The CZ 75 was the first 9mm semi-auto pistol developed expressly for sale to the West and it offered new ideas in auto-pistol manual safety design, being a dual mode design. It could be carried in the conventional double-action/single-action mode of operation, or it could be carried "cocked and locked" like the 1911 pistol.
Due to a 60 percent duty on Czech-made products at the time and because CZ failed to secure world patent protection for their design, CZ could not market their pistol in the United States when it debuted. Instead, the Italian firm Fratelli Tanfoglio made and marketed the pistol to the West.
Two shooters, American Doug Koenig and Frenchman Eric Grauffel, won the IPSC World Championship using pistols based on the CZ 75 design (all other World Champions up to the time had used pistols based on the John Browning 1911 format). Other notable copies/clones are those of Sphinx Systems.
The clones, copies and variants by other manufacturers include: