I noticed in the new Centerfire flyer that they are selling Czech VZ 58 kits. I was reading about them and it says they were designed to meet the specs of the WARSAW pact. Now what exactly was/is that pact and how did it affect the design of weapons and such?

Thanks,
Kris

Generally speaking, The Warsaw Pact sought to standardize certain weapons and weapon platforms across Soviet client (puppet) states imuch in the same manner that NATO did (i.e. 7.62 NATO).

ETA: The advertising statement means nothing. They're trying to capitalize on this being an ex-Commie firearm, that's all.

Basically, the opposite of NATO.
Soviet Union, Yougoslavia, Czechozlovakia, Poland and any other country the USSR enslaved.
They really didn't have a choice.  As such, they all used the standardized Soviet weapon systems (MiGs, T55s and such, AKs and such).

Many of the small arms were locally produced with varying quality among them, but they were more standardized than NATO weapons systems and small arms.

Yugoslavia was never part of the Warsaw Pact.  They played the "non-aligned" card during the Cold-War.  

The original members were:  Soviet Union, Albainia, Bulgaria, Romainia, Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.  East Germany joined in 1956.  The treaty was signed in 1952 by the originals and was for mutual defense along the lines of NATO.  It also was supposed to prevent one member nation from meddling int he affairs of another.

When the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia, Albainia withdrew from the pact though they had already stopped supporting the treaty after the Sino-Soviet split in 1961.  Albainia was actually a Chinese "client" state, and not a Soviet one.  Romainia also denounced the invasion as a breech of the pact.

It was dissolved in Prauge in 1991.

As for the ad, it's just sales hype.  Standardization across the Warsaw Pact was much better than NATO, but in reality there's no "NATO inspector" or "Warsaw Pact inspector" who runs around chcking on the quality of stuff.  Alot of people think that NATO standard was really important, or that it really meant something, and in reality it didn't.  In the very early days there was some effort to standardization, but most of that was in reality the USA forcing things on it's allies.  Each country went it's own way quite often and most standardization was in doctirne/administrative functions.  

For example, while 7.62 was NATO standard, we used 5.56mm there and were the only nation to do so for quite some time.  At one time the Brits had a 120, the Germans had a 120 and we had the 105, none of which could fire the other's ammo.  When people say "oh, we did it because it's NATO standard" they generally don't know what they're talking about.  NATO standardization was more for cost and convinience.  

Warsaw Pact on the other hand standardized much better, due to the heavier hand of the Soviet Union.  Things like trucks, rifles, aircraft, etc. were all fairly standard and just built by the vairous members.  Some odd-ball things exist, usually Czech stuff because they had a developed arms industry, but really the Warsaw Pact did much better in standardizing.  

When you think about it, it's much more important for an alliance to all be using the same truck or cargo plane than it is for them to use the same tank.  

Quoted: I noticed in the new Centerfire flyer that they are selling Czech VZ 58 kits. I was reading about them and it says they were designed to meet the specs of the WARSAW pact. Now what exactly was/is that pact and how did it affect the design of weapons and such? Thanks, Kris

How old are you? What kind of history classes did you attend, what was taught in them - or more likely, what was NOT taught in them??


The Warsaw Pact was the Soviets puppet-org to counter NATO, comprised of the Eastern European nations that were formally under the Communist thumb. The Warsaw Pact essentially collapsed when Communism did, circa 1989.

The Warsaw Pact would have been the bulk of forces involved in WW3 in Europe, something that many expected to happen and to lead directly to the nuclear annihilation of the planet.


Now how on this f'n EARTH did you not know what the Warsaw Pact was?  I am honestly / seriously curious just how a person (presumably) reaches adulthood in NorthAmerica without having learned this tidbit of information. Is it the school system in MI?

I rather doubt that the Warsaw Pact included anything about small arms design. Centerfire just slapped that on there for shits and grins.

Quoted: I noticed in the new Centerfire flyer that they are selling Czech VZ 58 kits. I was reading about them and it says they were designed to meet the specs of the WARSAW pact. Now what exactly was/is that pact and how did it affect the design of weapons and such? Thanks, Kris

Hoe-lee-mun-kee!!!

They didn't teach you kids what the Warsaw Pact was in school????

Goodness. History education in this land is deplorable.

Czechoslavakia was kinda the odd man out in the Warsaw Pact.  
They used the Vz58 instead of the AK like the others.  
Their pistol was the Cz52 instead of the TT-33 Tokarev.  
Vz52 carbine instead of the SKS.
Cz24 & Cz26 subgun instead of the PPSh41 or PPS43.