Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! As the standard sidearm for Czech forces in the interwar period, the CZ-24 semi-automatic pistol earned a stellar reputation. Expertly manufactured with meticulous craftsmanship by Česká Zbrojovka, this CZ-24 was an extremely rugged and reliable design. Chambered in .380 ACP, the pistol’s 8-round magazine and short-recoil Mauser-derived operation made it a potent sidearm. Distinct features included a manual safety switch, smooth one-piece wood grips, and the maker’s name boldly displayed along the ribbed slide. Production of the CZ-24 kicked off in 1925 to fulfill an initial 20,000 pistol order for the Czech military. By the late 1930s, around 200,000 total had been produced to also arm the air force and National Gendarmerie police forces. Then came the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939. The occupying Nazi forces seized the remaining CZ-24 inventory, issuing the high-quality Czech pistols to troops like the Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, and even the elite Waffen-SS – though leaving them free of any Third Reich markings.
“Dated “37” on the frame, this pistol bears an engraved “eagle/swastika/M” on the right side of the frame and “O.639” on the front strap and the matching magazine floorplate. The CZ 24 was acquired in limited quantity for use by the Kriegsmarine, with a few hundred total estimated and three recorded by serial number in Still’s “Axis Pistols” (page 183). Both the eagle and the “O” (0.639) number (indicating processing and issue at a Baltic Sea depot) are traditional Kriegsmarine markings, with the markings and features of the pistol otherwise standard for a pre-occupation CZ.”
Lot 1668: CZ Model 24 Semi-Automatic Pistol with Kriegsmarine Markings – CZ Model 24 Semi-Automatic Pistol with Very Scarce Kriegsmarine Markings. (n.d.-u). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved May 27, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/79/1668/cz-model-24-semiautomatic-pistol-with-kriegsmarine-markings.
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