ZK-412 (Czechoslovakia)
The ZK-412. Image source: raigap.livejournal.com
The most recent of all the weapons featured in this article, the ZK-412 rifle, also called the MK SS-42, was an independent Czechoslovakian project begun in 1939. The first prototypes were finished in either 1941 or 1942, depending on the source, just before the first German machine carbine prototypes were constructed. The weapon used a top-mounted fixed gas piston with nested recoil spring and under-hanging bolt carrier with a rotary bolt, very reminiscent of the later Kalashnikov rifle. It fired a round nosed 8 gram bullet at 670-720 m/s, and had the ability to penetrate a steel helmet at 600 meters. When in 1942, the German SS Führungshauptamt ordered Czechoslovakian designers to design a number of advanced weapons for the war effort, Skoda presented the already complete ZK-412 design. According to some sources, the weapon was trialled on the Eastern Front, and even captured, however this information cannot be confirmed by the author.