Vz. 24 - Persian Brno

Persian Brno

The rifle found its way into Iran very quickly where it became known as the 'Berno', following the name of the city of Brno, Czechoslovakia, where the rifles were originally manufactured. The Mauser rifle was selected for the Iranian Army during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, however Iran never ordered any from Germany instead preferring the Czechoslovak variant. CZ produced two versions for Iran, a long rifle (comparable to the German Gewehr 98) designated vz. 98/29, and a carbine designated vz. 30. Both were known in Iran as the Model of 1930 (or 1309, by the Iranian calendar), and the carbine was nicknamed "Berno kootah" (short Brno).

The Iranian version had a Pahlavi crown and lion and sun crest atop the receiver ring, as well as an inscription in Persian (in Nasta'liq script) on the side of its receiver giving the model and the factory name.

In the late 1940s Iran's Taslihat-e Artesh (Arms Factories of the Army), popularly known as Mosalsal-sazi (the machine-gun factory), in Tehran started production of these Brno rifles. The required machinery and manufacturing knowledge was provided to Iran through the industrial firm Škoda, which had a long history of cooperation with Iran. Iran produced two models: the vz. 24 as "Berno" and a short version under a licence from CZ. Initially this was a copy of the Model of 1930 carbine, which was soon replaced by a slightly modified Model of 1949 (1328 by the Iranian calendar), also known as "Berno kootah".

The only difference between the local Iranian version and the Czech version was the markings on the side of the receiver: instead of naming Brno as the maker, it was written "sakht-e aslah-e sazi-e artesh" (made by the Army Arms factory).

The Brno remained as the standard Iranian infantry weapon until it was replaced by the more modern, semi-automatic, American M1 Garand rifle in 1960. Following the change, the Brno was confined to the gendarmerie and the game wardens for a while, before it was decommissioned from active use. In the 1970s it was used mainly in ceremonial occasions

The Iranian Brno rifles saw action in a number of places from tribal uprisings in Kurdistan to the coup removing Mohammad Mossadegh from power. During the 1979 revolution, the gun re-appeared in the hands of the revolutionaries and tribesmen, who had never abandoned their Brnos. Besides the rebels, the Islamic government too had a use for Brno. It was, and is, used in official Friday prayer ceremonies. The speaker is required to have 'the weapon of the day' by his side, according to the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, who carried a sword in this capacity.