When Germany took over Czechoslovakia, one of the things they did was buy out a controlling interest in what became known as Waffenwerke Brunn. Headquartered in Prague, the company had two factories; one in Brno (Czechia) and one in Bystrica (Slovakia). The Bystrica factory was already making vz24 Mauser rifles, and under new German control they made a few slight adaptations to create the G24(t). These basically involved adding German sling fittings, as other vz24 elements like the full-length upper handguard and straight bolt handle remained. These rifles were made for two years, with about 115,000 in 1941 and 140,000 in 1942. By late 1942, the factory was retooled to manufacture standard pattern K98k rifles, and G24(t) production ceased before the end of the year.
Prototype
Mauser C98: The System That Cost Paul Mauser an Eye
One of Paul Mauser’s lifelong projects was the design of a semiautomatic rifle for the German military. He would go through a multitude of different designs searching for something that would be sufficiently reliable, durable, […]
Light MGs
Pre-Production FG-42 (Type C)
Thanks to the generosity of a collector in the Association of Maltese Arms Collectors and Shooters, we have a chance today to take a look at a pre-production FG-42, serial number 015. This is one […]
Bolt Action Rifles
A Unique Pre-WWI Custom Combination Gun
This unique custom sporting rifle (and shotgun) is a very cool example of the true gunsmith’s art. This firearm began as a Mauser model 98 action, which was embellished and fitted with a fancy barrel […]
“When Germany took over Czechoslovakia, one of the things they did was buy out a controlling interest in what became known as Waffenwerke Brunn”
[facepalm] Oh, sacred American innocence!
Yeah, sure, it was someobody’s property, now it became German, so that means the civilised Germans bought it, isn’t it? Nope, they did not. That “buyout” was in fact a literal rendition of the “hostile takeover”, like in one day the new boss barges in with 500 armed thugs and says “I’m your new boss. Take you complaints to the local Gestapo”. The Brno factory has been taken over, and directly by the SS mind you, who wanted their own source of firearms outside the HWA network. The Czech (now Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia’s) economy was simply taken over by the Reich – nobody paid damned Slavs a single broken pfennig for it.