Zagi: Croatia HK’s a Sten Gun
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The Zagi is one of the more prolific of the Croatian homeland War submachine guns. It was developed with the intention of making substantial numbers, and a lot of capital was put into the PHTO (First Croatian Arms Factory, or Prva Hrvatska Tvornica Oružja) for its manufacture. This included polymer molding tools to produce the lower frame, buttplate, and pistol grip for the gun (all of which were based on HK style parts).
Mechanically, the Zagi design is a Sten gun internally, with Sten bolt and fire control group. The stock is HK is style, but attaches to the receiver like a Sten stock. It is chambered for 9x19mm, and uses standard MP40 magazines. A suppressed version was also made with an MP5SD-style vented barrel, but I don’t have access to one of those to show today.
Total production ended up being about 2000 guns in 1991. They were used in Croatia, but rendered obsolete fairly quickly as more modern arms were acquired. A few years later, many were sent to Bosnia as military aid in the Bosnian fight for independence (and the Bosnians actually produced their own copy as well).
A big thanks to the Croatian Police Museum (Muzej Policije) in Zagreb for giving me access to film this cool piece for you! Check them out at: https://muzej-policije.gov.hr
Further thanks to the Sisak Municipal Museum for access to their preproduction example!
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