Panzerkampfwagen 38(t)
The Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) was originally a Czech tank of pre-World War II design. After Czechoslovakia was taken over by Germany, it was adopted by the German Army, seeing service in the invasions of Poland and Russia. Production ended in 1942, when its armament was deemed inadequate. In all, over 1400 were manufactured. The chassis continued to be produced for Hetzer and Marder III tank destroyers, turretless assault guns, anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns.
The (t) stands for tschechisch, the German word for Czech; the Czechoslovak military designation was LT vz 38. Manufacturer's designations included TNH series, TNHPS, LTP and LTH). The special vehicle designation for the tank in Germany was Sd.Kfz. 140. On the night of March 15, 1939, German troops almost without a shot shot the Czech Republic, after which Hitler's decree Bohemia and Moravia were declared a protectorate of Germany. Between the two world wars, Czechoslovakia, formed on one of the fragments of Austria-Hungary, managed to create a developed defense industry capable of producing light and medium tanks. In the years 1935-36, the lightweight Czechoslovak troops began to receive the Skoda LT vz.35 tank.
However, it was not very reliable, and it was decided to leave the LT-35 in service only as a temporary option, until the LT-38 was fully developed and the LT-38 was launched. The LT-38 tank was not created from scratch. In parallel with the LT-35 tank manufactured by Skoda, the Prague-based company CHD, later known as Tatra and Prague cars, produced a light export tank TNH. In 1935-1937, 50 units of this type were manufactured for the Pesidian army, where the TNH tanks were used up to 1957. The TNH tank was a modernized version of LT vz.34 with a modified chassis, in which, unlike the prototype, larger rollers were used. In 1938, the Czechoslovak military became interested in this tank.
With a 9.7-ton mass of LT vz.38, it was armed with a 37 mm Skoda A-7 gun with a barrel length of 47.8 caliber and the initial velocity of the armor-piercing projectile at 762 m / s, and two 7.92 mm machine guns vz.37. The ammunition consisted of 72 gunshots and 2700 machine guns.
The tank was powered by the Prague engine EPA, six-cylinder, carburetor, in-line, liquid cooling with a capacity of 125 hp. at 2200 rpm. This power allowed the tank to reach speeds of up to 48 km / h on the highway and about 20 km / h on the rough terrain. The power reserve was 230 km. The tank was equipped with a six-speed planetary gearbox (five forward speeds and one backward) and a multi-disc main friction clutch of dry friction.
The undercarriage included four rubberized skating rinks on the board, suspended in pairs on semi-elliptic leaf springs, two supporting rollers, a front wheel and a steering wheel. Each track consisted of 93 trains with a width of 293 mm. The length of the supporting surface was 2900 mm, and the specific pressure on the ground was 0.57 kg / cm2.
In Operation Barbarossa, 17 German tank divisions took part. Six of them were armed with Czechoslovak tanks: 6th Panzer - Pz.35 (t), the rest - Pz.38 (t) . As is known, on June 22, 1941, in the East, including the reserve of the Wehrmacht Main Command (2nd and 5th Panzer Divisions), about 3,680 tanks and assault guns were concentrated. Thus, Pz.38 (t)accounted for 17% of Germany's tank fleet of that period.
In early 1942, the largest number of tanks Pz.38 (t) had a newly formed 22nd Panzer Division. Her baptism of fire took place in March 1942 with the attack of the positions of the Soviet troops on the Kerch Peninsula. In the morning fog, parts of the 22nd division collided with Soviet units preparing for the attack, mixed up and suffered heavy losses. At the beginning of the German summer offensive, in addition to the 22nd Panzer Division, Pz.38 (t) tanks were still in six Wehrmacht junctions.
In the spring of 1943 Pz.38 (t) were practically withdrawn from the combat tank units of the Eastern Front. So, before the start of the Battle of Kursk, they were only in the 8 th and 20 th Panzer Divisions - three and nine units respectively. In total, on July 1, 1943, there were 204 combat-ready tanks of this type in the Wehrmacht. As of October 1944 (this month the statistics for Pz.38 (t) was coming to an end) there were 229 other combat vehicles in the Wehrmacht.
