Royal Armouries | Britain's Czech-made WW2 tank machine gun in.. .303? With Curatorial Assistant, Christian Wellard @RoyalArmouries | Uploaded March 2023 | Updated October 2024, 4 hours ago.
It was clear to British weapon procurement in the mid-thirties that war in Europe was fast approaching. Britain, in its haste to adopt an aircooled machine gun for its tanks and AFVs turned to the Czech ZB-53.

However, with the time constraints of a rapidly approaching conflict, this .303 variant was destined to be a minor footnote in what would become the Besa.

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