.22 [Brno] CZ 452-2E Silhouette

First introduced in 2010, the CZ 455 was designed to replace the CZ 452 series which is being phased out of current production. The CZ 452 first appeared in 1954 as the Model 2 (ZKM 452), and was a refinement of the CZ Model 1 (ZKM-451) .22-calibre rimfire bolt-action training rifle that first appeared in 1947. ZKM is an acronym for Zbrojovka-Koucký-Malorážka, the rifle's manufacturer ([Česká] Zbrojovka), designer (Josef Koucký) and Malorážka - for rimfire rifle). The Model 1 or ZKM-451 was developed on the request of the occupying German authority in 1943-44, when very few rifles were built as fully stocked Mauser 98k-type trainers. The receivers of these early .22 training rifles were marked tgf (Tschechische Gewehr Fabrik - German for Czech Rifle Factory) by the German Heereswaffenamt. Because of wartime requirements for combat weapons, assembly and production was halted on all .22 training rifles, leaving a large stockpile of parts and receivers at war's end. After the war, these parts (some of which still have the tgf code) were used along with new barrels and stocks to make the Model 1.