Sa 23 submachine gun series

thumb|right|400px|Sa 24 - 7.62x25mm Tokarev. Note the forward slant of the magazine.
The Sa 23 (Czech: Samopal 23) series of submachine guns was first conceived just after World War II, when Czech arms designer Vaclav Holek developed a submachine gun patterned after the various conventional blowback designs of the time (the MP 40, Sten, etc.), but with some innovative updates. The resultant weapon was the first submachine gun in full production to have the magazine well in the pistol grip, and a wrap around bolt.
The development of this SMG was started in 1947 at the Česká Zbrojovka Strakonice arms factory, as the CZ-447. The final version of the SMG was adopted by the Czechoslovak army in August 1948 under the designation "9 mm samopal vz. 48a" (with fixed wooden buttstock) and "9 mm samopal vz. 48b" (with folding buttstock). Serial production was started in 1949 at the Česká Zbrojovka enterprise - Uhersky Brod. In the spring of 1950, the Czechoslovak army changed the designation of these SMGs: Sa vz. 48a became Sa 23, and Sa vz. 48b became Sa 25. Unlike other Czechoslovakian submachine guns, these numeral designations are typically written without the "vzor" (model of), as their numeral designations are not their years of introductions.
The original guns were chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, making it popular for export to western or non-aligned nations, but the Soviet Union pressured Czechoslovakia to adopt a standardized Warsaw Pact caliber, so the gun was modified to fire the 7.62x25mm Tokarev round. The 7.62x25mm versions are identifiable due to the obvious forward slant of the pistol grip and magazine to accommodate the different shape of the ammunition. The 9mm versions - as well as some of the surplus 7.62x25mm ones - were sold worldwide. Most of the 9mm guns ended up in the hands of countries like Chile, Lebanon and South Africa, while the 7.62x25mm versions went to Soviet client states like Cuba, Cambodia, and Libya. The original Czech production ran from 1949 to 1968.
The four variants of the Czech production are:
* Sa 23: 9x19mm Parabellum, fixed wooden stock.
* Sa 25: 9x19mm Parabellum, side-folding wire stock.
* Sa 24: 7.62x25mm Tokarev, fixed wooden stock.
* Sa 26: 7.62x25mm Tokarev, side-folding wire stock.
A semi-automatic version of the Sa 25 - the Sanna 77 - was produced in sanctions-embargoed Rhodesia in the 1970s, in line with other forays into local arms, such as the Rhogun, Cobra Carbine, and the Northwood R-76 SMG/R-77 machine carbine. They were mainly marketed as high-capacity "land defence pistols" for use by isolated white farmers against indigenous guerrillas. Some sources claim that the Sanna 77 was nicknamed the "Rhuzi," due to its cosmetic similarity to the Uzi, others claim the same for the Rhogun and the Cobra. Another semi-automatic version - the Kommando LDP - later appeared in South Africa.
==Specifications==
(1948 - 1968)
* Type: Submachine Gun
* Caliber: 9x19mm Parabellum (23, 25), 7.62x25mm Tokarev (24, 26)
* Weight: 
* Length: stock folded, stock extended/fixed stock
* Barrel length: 
* Capacity: 24 or 40 (9x19mm), 32 (7.62x25mm)
* Fire Modes: Semi-Auto/Full-Auto
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===Film===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Date
They Come Out of the Darkness (Pricházejí z tmy) 	Josef Mixa 	Chief Sergeant Jaroslav Martinec	Sa 25 	1954
They Come Out of the Darkness (Pricházejí z tmy) 	Petr Skála 	Staff Sergeant Jindrich Votava 	Sa 25 	1954
They Come Out of the Darkness (Pricházejí z tmy) 	Vilém Besser 	Sergeant Hudecek 	Sa 25 	1954
Smugglers of Death 	Leopold Novák 	Kilián known as "King of Šumava"	mocked as Sten Mk I* 	1959
Smugglers of Death 	Miroslav Holub 	Gamekeeper Paleček 	mocked as Sten Mk I* 	1959
And Your Love Too 	Alfonso Arau 	Alfredo 	Sa 25 	1962
And Your Love Too 	Armin Mueller-Stahl 	Ullrich Sittich 	Sa 25 	1962
The End of Agent W4C 	 	Secret agents 	Sa 26 	1967
The Last Grenade 	Alex Cord 	Kip Thompson 	Sa 23 	1970
Mafia Junction 	 	Cliff's henchmen 	Sa 25 	1973
The Wilby Conspiracy 	 	South African BOSS agents 	Sa 25 	1975
Paper Tiger 	 	Kulagong commandos 	Sa 25 	1975
Operation Thunderbolt 	Klaus Kinski 	Wilfried Boese 	Sa 25 	1977
The Wild Geese 	 	Various Mercenaries 	Sa 23 and Sa 25 	1978
Game for Vultures 	 	Sixpence 	 	1979
Never Say Never Again 	Sean Connery 	James Bond 	Sa 25 	1983
The Detached Mission (Odinochnoye plavanye) 	Aleksandr Inshakov 	Horts 	Sa 26 	1985
Wild Geese II 	 	Palestinian gunman 	Sa 25 	1985
Secrets of Madame Wong (Tayny madam Vong) 	 	Gangsters 	Sa 26 	1986
Cargo 300 (Gruz 300) 	 	A mujaheddin 	Sa 26 	1989
Afghan Breakdown 	 	A mujaheddin 	Sa 23 	1991
The Wild East 	 	Skull's thug 	Sa 25 	1993
Chained Heat 2 	Markéta Hrubešová 	Carla 	Sa 24 	1993
Chained Heat 2 	 	Guards & Prisoners 	Sa 25 	1993
The Gray Wolves (Serye volki) 	Nartay Begalin 	KGB operative 	Sa 26 	1993
The Little Bee (Pchyolka) 	Anatoliy Ravikovich 	Vasiliy 	Sa 26 	1993
The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin	Zoya Buryak 	Nyura 	Mocked as Degtyaryov DA-2 mounted on the aircraft	1994
Shirli-Myrli 	 	Man in black 	Sa 26 	1995
Hidden Assassin 	Dolph Lundgren 	Michael Dane 	Sa 25 	1995
Hidden Assassin 	Gavan O'Herlihy 	Dick Powell 	Sa 25 	1995
Crusader (Krestonosets) 	 	Criminals 	Sa 26 	1995
All the Things We Dreamt of for So Long 	Nikolay Dobrynin 	Nikolay 	Sa 25 	1997
All the Things We Dreamt of for So Long 	 	Criminals 	Sa 25 	1997
Spiders II: Breeding Ground 	 	Ship's crew 	Sa 26 	2001
Lion's Share (Lvinaya dolya) 	 	Simonov's henchman 	Sa 25 	2001
Bad Company 	 	Terrorist 	Sa 25 	2002
Outside the Law 	 	Black ops operative 	Sa 25 	2002
Antikiller 	 	Criminals 	Sa 25 	2002
Underworld 	 	Gun Rack 	Sa 26 	2003
The Preacher 	 	 	Sa 25, seen in trunk of Jutka's car. 	2004
Che Part One: Argentine 	Luis Gonzaga Hernandez	Captain Lalo Sardiñas 	Sa 25 	2009
In the Shadow 	 	Czechoslovak Border Guard 	 	2012
=== Television ===
Show Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note / Episode 	Air Date
Bors 	 	 	Sa 23 and Sa 25 	1968
The Professionals 	 	German terrorists 	Sa 25 	1977-1981
Doctor Who 	Various 	Neo-Nazis 	Sa 25 	1988
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles 	Sean Patrick Flanery 	Indiana Jones 	Sa 25/26 - "Attack of the Hawkmen" 	1995
Dead Man's Tale (Chto skazal pokoynik)	 	French police 	Sa 25 	2000
Grazhdanin nachalnik 	Vladimir Vdovichenkov	Kolya the Afghan 	Sa 26 	2001
Grazhdanin nachalnik 	Sergey Pinchuk 	"Valet" 	Sa 26 	2001
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 	 	A Serbian militant	Sa 25 or 26; "In the Blink of an Eye" (S05E04)	2007
Strike Back - Season 4 	Various 	Terrorists 	Sa 26 / S04E05 - S04E10 	2013
Tyrant 	Abdallah El Akal 	Fahmy 	Sa 25 / Episode 2 	2014
Tokyo Vampire Hotel 	Yukimasa Tanimoto 	Ichiro Yamoto 	Ep.6 	2017
===Video Game===
Game Title 	Appears as	Note 	Release Date
Ghost Recon 	 	 	2001
Call of Duty: Vanguard 	"RA 225" 	Added in Season 5 (2022)	2021
Military Conflict: Vietnam	 	 	2022
=== Anime ===
Title 	Character	Note	Date
Suisei no Gargantia	Pirate 	 	2013
==Sanna 77==
A 9mm semi-automatic side-folding wire-stocked version, dating from 1977 to 1980. Some sources suggest that some or all Sanna-77s were actually refurbished surplus Sa 25s, with "production" starting in Rhodesia, then moving to South Africa. Some were also sanitized Sa 25s in military configuration. 
===Film===
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note 	Date
Whiteout	 	Russian guard	Fixed synthetic stock	2009
==Kommando LDP==
Another 9mm semi-automatic version, produced in South Africa. This differed from most previous variants in having a large grey plastic pistol-grip that extended almost to the muzzle, and a wire stock that folded underneath the weapon, rather than to the side, the butt being inverted so it could still be used as a fore-grip. Some sources claim that "LDP" refers to refers to the names of the manufacturer, designer, and financier - Lacoste Engineering, Alex DuPlessis, and Hubert Pointer, respectively - rather than "land defence pistol," as per previously, and that it was also known as the "Lacoste LDP." Although sold as semi-automatic, the Kommando-LDP has a reputation for inadvertent full-auto fire, and is reputedly easily convertible to that mode permanently.
===Film===
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note	Date
The Gods Must Be Crazy 	 	Sam Boga's terrorist gang 	 	1980
American Ninja 2: The Confrontation	 	US Marines and The Lion's guards	 	1987
American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt 	 	Guards 	 	1989
Mad Max: Fury Road 	 	Rock Rider Chief 	 	2015
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 	Rola 	Cobalt 	 	2017
=== Television ===
Show Title 	Actor	Character	Note / Episode 	Air Date
Knights of God	 	Knights 	Some converted to full-auto	1987
===Video Games===
| Military Conflict: Vietnam || || || converted to full-auto || 2022
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==Stellyte Cobra Mk 1 LDP==
The Cobra Mk 1 is a Rhodesian semi-auto derivative of Sa 23 SMG using Uzi magazines, produced by the Stellyte Arms Company (and later Bulawayo Armory) starting in 1977; the original company's name comes from its two designers, Tommy Steele and Bruce Whyte. As with the above Kommando, it was marketed as a "land defense pistol", though it was not particularly pistol-like in configuration or handling; a select-fire prototype was purportedly produced, though it failed to garner military interest. It features several mechanical features distinct from the Sa 23, being closed-bolt and hammer-fired instead of a simple open-bolt fixed-firing-pin design.
===Film===
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note 	Date
American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt	 	Andreas' henchman	With barrel extension	1989
===Video Games===
| Military Conflict: Vietnam || || || converted to full-auto. Planned for upcoming Rhodesian Bush War expansion || 2022
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Category:Gun
Category:Submachine Gun
Category:Carbine