Turan (tank)
| 40M Turán | |
|---|---|
40M Turán I in Mátyásföld in 1943 |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 5 |
| length | 5.50 m |
| width | 2.44 m |
| height | 2.43 m |
| Dimensions | 19.2 tons |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | steel
|
| Main armament | 40mm 41M L / 51 (40M Turán)
75 mm L / 25 cannon 41.M (41M Turán II) |
| Secondary armament | 2 × 8 mm machine gun |
| agility | |
| drive | 8-cylinder petrol engine 260 HP (191 kW) |
| Top speed | 47 km / h (road) |
| Power / weight | 13.5 hp / ton |
| Range | 150 km |
The 40M Turán was a Hungarian tank from World War II . A total of 424 pieces were produced by him in two versions: the Turán I with a 40 mm cannon and the 41M Turán II with a 75 mm cannon. It was created on the basis of the ex-Czech Panzerkampfwagen 35 (t) .
history
In December 1937, the Škoda plants were working on the prototype of a medium tank based on the previously successful Czech LT vz. 35 . The tank weighed 16.5 tons and was armed with a Škoda A9-vz.-38 cannon and two 7.92 mm machine guns, and its armor was reinforced to 30 millimeters. The production-ready model was equipped with a 250 hp engine with a 13.8 liter displacement, which enabled a speed of almost 50 km / h.
After the annexation of Czechoslovakia by the German Reich in March 1939, the prototypes were completed under the new type designation "T-21", which became the predecessor of the later "T-22". Two models of the latter type were handed over to Hungary in 1941. The Hungarian engineers reinforced the front armor to 50 millimeters and replaced the 47-mm cannon with a 40-mm Škoda A17 cannon. This increased the total weight to over 18 tons.
Variants of the Turan
There were two variants of the Turan. The version designated Turan I had a 40 mm L / 51 cannon as its main armament and weighed 18.2 tons. Between 1941 and 1944 a total of 285 "Turan I" tanks were built.
After the lost battle for Stalingrad , it became apparent that more effective Soviet tanks , especially the T-34 , would require more powerful weapons. Another variant - the 41 M Turan II - was equipped with a 75 mm stub cannon in a larger turret, the rest remained almost unchanged. Despite this improvement, the Turan II's projectiles were unable to penetrate the frontal armor of a T-34 due to their low muzzle velocity, except from very close range. The main weapon of the T-34, however, was much more dangerous at greater distances and could cause great damage to the 50mm armor of the Turan. The Hungarian manufacturer produced a total of 139 Turan IIs from 1943 until the occupation of Hungary by the Wehrmacht in 1944.
In addition to the tank production, the chassis formed the basis for the 43M Zrinyi assault gun . A total of 66 pieces were made of the Zrinyi II version with the 105-mm cannon. Further variants based on the Turan chassis were the Turan III and the Zrinyi I , which both received the 75 mm L43 tank cannon of the German Panzer IV . However, both were only produced as prototypes, as the Hungarian army was equipped with German equipment in the following years.
The Turan in action
The Turan was used in the 1st and 2nd Hungarian Panzer Divisions as well as in the 1st Cavalry Division in 1943 and 1944. Both versions would have been successful in 1940, but were hopelessly inferior to the Allied armored vehicles when they were later used. The Turan's debut on the battlefield took place in April 1944 with the 2nd Panzer Division in Galicia . The division, however, lost a quarter of its tanks and was unable to achieve any of its objectives, mainly due to the inferiority of the Turan.
See also
Evidence and references
literature
- И.П. Шмелёв: Бронетанковая техника Венгрии (1940–1945). (For example: IP Schmeljow: Armored Vehicles of Hungary (1940–1945). ) ExPrint Ltd., Moscow, 1995.