Samopal VZ61 Skorpion

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 July 2009 07:39 Written by Administrator Friday, 03 July 2009 00:11

The Samopal VZ61 Skorpion is a submachine gun designed in Czechoslovakia in 1959. It was primarily developed for use by security forces. However, it was also adopted by the Czechoslovak Army and continues to be in service. In addition, it is also used by armed forces of Angola, Egypt, Iraq, Libya and a few other countries.

The VZ61 is chambered for the 7.65x17mm Browning ammunition. Versions capable of firing 9x19mm Parabellum, 9x18mm Makarov and .380 ACP ammunition have also been developed. The submachine gun feeds from a 10 or 20-round curved magazine and is capable of firing 850 rounds per minute.

The Samopal Skorpion could be carried just like a traditional pistol in a holster. The spare magazines are carried in a separate pouch. As a standard issue, a cleaning kit, a front sight adjustment tool and an oil bottle come with the gun. The gun can also be fitted with a sound suppressor.

The VZ61 was the basis of several variants. These include the VZ64 (variant chambered for the 9x18mm Makarov round), VZ65 (designed for the .380 ACP round), and VZ68 (chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum round). However, none of these variants were manufactured on a large scale. A semi-automatic variant of the VZ61—designated as the ‘CZ-91S’—was also developed for civilian use.

In the later years, production rights for the Samopal Skorpion were acquired by the Yugoslavian Zastava Arms Company. The version manufactured by Zastava Arms was designated as M84 and featured design changes such as a synthetic pistol grip.