Zaklady Mechaniczne Tarnow are one of the biggest and oldest armament manufacturers in Poland. 2017 marks a 100 years of their activity. To celebrate this momentous time, ZMT opened their doors for general public and created exhibition of their products, accompanied by various events. Shooting competition, photo exhibition, soccer tournament and a concert are among activities that will happen in the beginning of July in Tarnow. The whole event is under honorable patronage of Andrzej Duda, President of Republic of Poland.
60 mm LM-60K mortar as offered to Territoria Defence Forces. It’s a light support weapon, used for attacting targets visible to the operator. Together with RGP-40 revolver grenade launcher it can substantially increase small-squad firepower
Among showed weapons, presented in specially prepared hall, are the newest models of rifles produced by ZMT. 12.7 mm Tor sniper rifle, 7.62 mm Bor sniper rifle and 8.6 mm Alex-338 sniper rifle. Plans are, that the Alex-338 will find it`s way to Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej (Territorial Defence Force). Civilian version of Bor, the 308 ZMT HS shooting 308 Winchester round, can also be seen at the exhibition.
Bor and Tor are battle-tested bullpup weapons, used currently by Wojsko Polskie. These models were utilized in Iraq and Afghanistan and, according to ZMT representatives, the furthest confirmed hit with Tor rifle was at the distance exceeding 2230 meters. This happened in Afghanistan.
Next to precision rifles, visitors can look at various machine guns, such as WKM-B and WLKM, both fed by 12.7×99 mm ammunition. WLKM is a 4-barrel, rotary machine gun and the presented version sits on marine base. Another interesting specimen was the newest UKM-2000P zmod., modified to use 7.62×51 mm rounds.
UKM-2000P zmod. as introduced to Wojsko Polskie. It uses 7.62×51 mm ammunition. In the next few years 2,900 of such guns will reach Polish Armed Forces
RGP-40 revolver grenade launcher, used by Polish Police can be examined. Light support weapons, such as 60 mm LM-60K and LM-60D mortars are also present. What`s interesting, the LM-60K is developed for special and recon forces and can be fired horizontally.
Container shooting range is another exiting part of ZMT exhibition. It`s a fully contained shooting range, placed in a standard 40-feet freight container. This completely stand-alone, sound-proofed unit enables training with calibers ranging from 9 to .45 ACP (including 5.56×45 mm), and with laser-based training systems. The laser practice weapons were available to general public.
All visitors could try their skills with laser practice guns at the container shooting range. /Photos: Krzysztof Kluza
ZM Tarnow started as a railway rolling stock repairs workshop. After Second World War it evolved into military equipment manufacturer. There are many interesting weapons that were produced in Tarnow. 37 mm anti-aircraft guns, 37 mm Nudelman N-37 aircraft guns (as fitted to LiM fighters), 14.5 mm KPWT machine guns used on SKOT APCs or 23 mm ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns are among the most known. The last one is still being manufactured for export. Other Polish inventions, such as 23 mm barrel-insert for 100 mm tank cannons, single shot Pallad grenade launchers, ZUR-23 anti-aircraft gun and missile system, or presently developed Pilica air defence system are also manufactured by ZMT. Tarnow plant is a part of Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa.
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