At the end of the Polish-Soviet war, the Polish army had in its possession numerous models of machine-guns in all makes and calibers. To avoid any logistical nightmares in any future conflicts, the Polish army decide to standardize the machine-gun it used and begun searching for potential contenders.

Among the contenders to be trialed was the Browning M1917 and after a vigorous regime of testing it proved to be the most suitable candidate, mainly due to its simple design and high tolerance to fouling while in the field.

Therefore, the Poles decide to purchase a license from Colt to manufacture the weapon. However, due to an oversight by both Colt and its European representative; Fabrique Nationale, the design patent was not valid in Poland.

The Polish engineers therefore went to work creating their own clone of the Browning M1917 from the weapons used during the initial trials. The end design incorporated some modifications from the original Browning M1917 and was continually refined in the years leading up to the war.

With the German invasion of Poland, the Ckm wz. 30 could be found in units across the entire Polish army. A version was also adapted for use in armored vehicles such as the 7TP series.