38M Toldi
| 38M "Toldi I" | |
|---|---|
Toldi I in the Kubinka Tank Museum |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 3 |
| length | 4.75 m |
| width | 2.14 m |
| height | 1.87 m |
| Dimensions | 8.5 t |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | steel
|
| Main armament | 20 mm 36M anti-tank rifle |
| Secondary armament | 1 × 8 mm machine gun |
| agility | |
| drive | L8V diesel 155 hp |
| suspension | Torsion bar |
| Top speed | 50 km / h |
| Power / weight | 18.24 hp / t |
| Range | 220 km |
The Toldi was a Hungarian light tank in World War II that was built in several variants between 1939 and 1945.
history
The Toldi was an adaptation of the Swedish Landsverk L-60 light tank and was introduced by MÁVAG in 1937 with support from the Ministry of Defense. It got its name after the Hungarian noble knight Miklós Toldi , who lived in the 14th century. The design was subjected to various comparison tests together with the V-4 light amphibious tank developed by the Hungarian Manfréd Weiss Stahl- und Metallwerke AG .
In the tests, the L-60 proved to be superior to the V-4, which had some problems. The design of the L-60 was changed by the Hungarian General Staff before production began. The General Staff recommended improvements to the steering, the transmission, the visibility and the landing gear suspension.
The license to produce the L-60 was acquired from Landsverk by the companies MÁVAG and Ganz & Co and put into production as the 38M Toldi I light tank. The ministry ordered 40 each from MÁVAG and Ganz. Production began in 1939. In contrast to the Swedish tank, the main armament had been changed to a 20 mm 36M Solothurn anti-tank rifle with a coaxially mounted 34/37 AM machine gun . The 36M was semi-automatic and fired 20 mm shells with a muzzle velocity of 735 m / s. This enabled around 14 mm of armor steel to be penetrated at a distance of 300 meters.
variants
Toldi I
In addition to the standard version, the 38M was also built as a command vehicle with a ring antenna. After only 81 tanks, production of the 38M "Toldi I" was discontinued in favor of the 42M "Toldi II". The thin armor was no longer up to the requirements of the time and was accordingly reinforced in the successor.
Toldi II
The 42M received reinforced armor on the vehicle hull, which grew from 13 mm thick to up to 30 mm. The dimensions remained the same, but the total weight increased to 9.3 tons. With the same engine as its predecessor 38M, the 42M had a force-weight coefficient of 16.67 hp per ton. The ground pressure increased from 0.62 kg per cm² to 0.68 kg per cm² and the top speed fell to 47 km / h.
Later, after the 42M had been built, the main armament was changed from the 20 mm cannon to a 40 mm cannon with 45 caliber lengths . The model was called "Toldi IIa", 80 vehicles of the version were produced.
Toldi III
Under the designation 43M, twelve vehicles of a further version of the Toldi with a simplified turret and reinforced armor were built.
literature
- И.П. Шмелёв: Бронетанковая техника Венгрии (1940–1945). (For example: IP Schmeljow: Armored Vehicles of Hungary (1940–1945). ) ExPrint Ltd., Moscow, 1995.
- Iván T. Berend , György Ránki: The development of the manufacturing industry in Hungary, 1900–1944. Akademiai Kaido, 1960.
