Children in summer camps fire the air rifle occasionally. (source: TASR)
It was simple, yet accurate. During socialism, every teenager knew it from national defence education or pioneer camps. The wider public encountered it at shooting ranges at fairs.
Back then, the air rifles known as Slavia became a legend among fans of sporting weapons, not only in Czechoslovakia but throughout Eastern Europe. They even made their way beyond the Iron Curtain.
In this article you will learn:
why production began in Uherský Brod,
how the Stella air rifle became Slavia,
why they were exported to the West,
why production moved to Slovakia,
why it eventually stopped.
All roads lead to Uherský Brod
The Czechoslovak arms industry had a long tradition. Weapons production is mainly associated with Uherský Brod, in the south-east of Moravia. It was here, in 1936, that the company Česká Zbrojovka was established, at a time when strategically important industries were being moved as far away as possible from the western borders with Nazi Germany.
The modern factory primarily produced aircraft machine guns. After the World War II, it began manufacturing hunting and sporting weapons, including air rifles designated ČZ 800, 801, 802 and 803.
Air rifles were also produced by L. Kotek in the village of Krnsko, northern Czechia, under the brand name Stella. After the communist takeover in 1948, production was transferred to the state enterprise Amati in Kraslice, which, however, was best known for musical instruments.
In 1954, sporting rifle production was moved again – first to a plant in Bojkovice, and then to Uherský Brod, to the Precision Engineering Plant (the renamed Česká Zbrojovka).
A third of production for export
At Uherský Brod, air rifles underwent structural innovation, and in the mid-1950s the factory introduced the Slavia model line, intended for young people, schools, and sports clubs.
Production increased rapidly. While only 26,000 Slavia 603 rifles – the first model – were produced by the end of the 1950s, the Slavia 612 reached 170,000 units by 1970.
With more than 1.6 million produced between 1955 and 1977, the Slavia 618 became the most successful model, thanks largely to its low weight.
These rifles were not only sold in Czechoslovakia. In the early 1960s, roughly a third of production was exported, mainly to socialist countries.
