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38M Toldi

1940 WORLD WAR 2

38 million stories

The Hungarian Tordi light tank is derived from the Swedish AB Landsverk L-60 light tank, a tracked, turret-mounted armoured fighting vehicle that appeared in the Swedish Armed Forces in 1934. The type was also used at the time under the flag of the Irish Army. The L-60 appeared in the Swedes' four main production brands (L-60A, L-60B, L-60C and L-60D), with the Toldy based on the L-60B model. To the Hungarians, the L-60B was licensed as "38M Toldi" and informally (simply) called "Toldi Tank".

State facilities produced the Toldi from 1939 to 1942, and the tanks provided combat operations for the Hungarian army during their voluntary participation as an Axis army.

Starting with the original Toldi I (A20), several variants of the Toldi tank were produced. These were all done with one 20mm main weapon, and 80 of this type were eventually produced. The production brand was followed by the Toldi II (B20), which brought an increase in frontal armor protection (from 20mm to 35mm). This brand has about 110 completed.

The next production brandmore specifically, the standardization of early production variantswas the Tordi IIa (B40), which incorporated a 40mm main gun into the design and was first released in 1942. At least 80 existing Toldi tanks were upgraded to this wartime standard.

The Toldi III (C40) was the last notable production variant of the Toldi and came as an "improved" form of the series, although there were only 12 examples in total. Toldi has a total of 202 production examples during its lifetime.

The Toldi light tanks appear to be very similar to their original Swedish L-60 form. The design is more traditional in nature, consisting mainly of chain hulls with lateral turret positions. The fuselage contained the engine, cab, fighting compartment fuel and ammunition depots and was mounted on a suspended wheeled rail system.

There are five wheels on one side of the rail, with the drive sprocket at the front and the chain idler at the rear - the chain is supported by the two idlers on top. In front of the driver's position on the front left of the vehicle is a short, flat glass plate. A short superstructure was designed below the turret to provide the necessary interior space for crew, systems and ammunition storage. The Toldi's crew consisted of three people, including the driver, commander and gunner - the commander also served as the main gun loader.

Armor protection ranges from 20mm thick for the Toldi I production brand to 35mm thick for the Toldi II production brand and beyond.

The Toldi tank is powered by a Bussing-Nag 8-cylinder 155 hp petrol engine. This gives the vehicle a top speed of 29 mph and a maximum range of 124 miles. Dimensionally, the telli measures a barrel length of 15 feet 7 inches, a width of 7 feet and a height of 6 feet 2 inches.

The armament of the Toldi light tank series varies by production variant. The Toldi I and Toldi II variants are equipped with a 20mm main gun, while the Toldi IIa and Toldi III variants are equipped with a 40mm main gun.

However, both configurations were obsolete by the modern tank gun standards of the day, especially in 1942, which resulted in tactical restrictions on the use of tanks in front-line combat. Self-defense is provided by an 8mm 34/37 machine gun coaxially mounted in the turret and operated by the gunner.

In 1940, the first Tordi light tank entered service with the Hungarian army. Their first combat action was recorded during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia led by German troops in April 1941. The resulting actions - involving German, Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and Romanian elements - led to the independence of Croatia and the surrender of the Yugoslav army to the Axis powers.

The surgery was relatively short in duration - from April 6 to April 17.

Since then, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union through Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Tordi light tanks were used in Hungarian units against the forces of the Red Army. At this time, however, the Red Army began to use their war-winning T-34 medium tanks in combination with their KV heavy tanks, which caused huge problems for light tank systems like Toldi.

Due to the lack of armor protection and firepower against these foes, Toldi tanks were easily routed by these foes. During her time in the war, the Toldi was used as a fast armored reconnaissance vehicle, using her radio equipment to communicate relevant enemy movements and positions to the main force.

The

Toldi light tank is named after Miklos Toldi, a 14th century Hungarian knight, nobleman and national hero of the Hungarian kingdom.