Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

40M Turan I / 41M Turan II

1941 WORLD WAR 2

History

The Czechoslovakian company Skoda-Werke, the largest arms producer in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the First World War, proved no slouch in the development and production of artillery systems and bulky weapons. After World War I, the company persevered in civilian heavy equipment, returning during the turbulent 1930s to producing field guns and similar weapons that would eventually be used by all parties in the coming World War.

In 1937, Skoda engineers began work on a new intermediate tank, largely borrowing from the company's earlier success, the LT vz. 35 light tanks. The new tank will be an 18-ton design with a turret-mounted 47mm main gun, defended by multiple machine guns with multiple crews.

The engine is housed in the rear compartment, and the overall design scheme is more conventional in nature. Prototypes were being built when Germany annexed Czechoslovakia, marking the end of Skoda's leadership on the project. Under German control, the prototype was completed in the form of the "T-21" and left for evaluation, eventually creating a new design form - the "T-22".

Since Hungary joined the Axis powers in 1940, the evaluation of the T-22 was obtained in two complete examples. The Hungarian army contributed arms and manpower to the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, culminating in the conquest of Yugoslavia in April 1941.

They later participated in the German invasion of the Soviet Union through Operation Barbarossa in June 1941.

The T-22 proved to be a suitable tank for the needs of the Hungarian army, and its engineers set about adjusting the original design to fit the Hungarian army's specifications. This included the installation of the Skoda A17 series 40mm main gun on the original 47mm armament (the 40mm Skoda system was the standard system for the Hungarian Army's light anti-tank guns at the time, so the decision made sense from a logistical point of view). The frontal armor was then increased from 30mm to 50mm thick to improve occupant protection. These increases inevitably pushed the vehicle's expected operating weight to the 20-ton mark and reduced performance to some extent. The tank was piloted by five men and powered by a 260 hp Manfred Weiss Z petrol engine.

The engine exits at the rear along the upper rail platform by a pair of cylindrical muffler fittings. The driver will occupy a forward position on the right side of the hull, with the archer/radio operator on the left.

The tank commander, gunner and quartermaster will be housed in a 360-degree rotating turret. The turret structure was riveted in nature, although combat experience eventually showed that this practice was weaker than welded or cast structures (the rivets could turn into "balls" in the tank if hit directly by the enemy).

The sides of the hull are spanned by a system of long tracks, with no less than nine wheels on each side of a track - eight as paired bogies and most importantly as individual wheel units. The drive sprocket is in the front and the chain idler is in the back. Optional side skirt armor will protect the tracks and upper part of the hull.

Point defense is provided by two 7.92mm machine guns - one coaxial in the turret and the other in a flexible bow mount.

Overall, the Turan has a barrel length of 5.55 meters, a width of 2.44 meters and a height of 2.39 meters. The hull is placed on a leaf spring bogie suspension system for adequate off-road capability. The Manfred Weiss engine gave the mount a top speed of 47 kilometers per hour and a range of 165 kilometers. The engine is connected to a drivetrain with six forward and six reverse gears. All in all, the Turan was a solid armoured fighting vehicle for the Hungarian army, and would prove useful to some extent in later operations - especially early in the war with "lesser" enemies.

Production of the Turan began in 1941 and continued until 1944, with approximately 285 units eventually delivered. Production is divided into MVG, Manfred Weisz, Canz and MAVAG, with MAVAG also producing the barrel, while Manfred-Weisz, MVG and MAVAG producing the engine.

In combat use, Turan tanks were assigned to three divisions of the Hungarian Army (Hungarian 1st and 2nd Panzer Divisions and 1st Cavalry). Their participation in armored operations provided the Hungarian army with a mechanized arm capable of protecting the movements of the infantry, attacking the enemy's fortified positions, and rapidly moving the Hungarian army. It turned out that the engine deck of the tank was helpful in transporting infantry to and from the front. Operations related to Turan lasted from 1943 to 1944, although the latter did not record direct combat engagements in Galicia on the Polish-Ukrainian border until April. War records show Turan underperformed on an evolving battlefield where thicker armor and larger guns were the norm.

The battle also revealed many of the type's inherent shortcomings compared to commercially available modern tanks - notably relatively thin armor protection and small-caliber main guns.

When the Turan series was forced to confront the latest Soviet armament developments - especially the legendary, war-winning T-34 medium tank - the Turan series was completely eliminated in its original form, forcing the Hungarian authorities to create a A modified version was required, with a more powerful short-barreled 75mm 41M main gun. This new gun (based on the Borough 75mm 18M field gun), in turn, forced the development of a larger turret to accommodate all relevant parts of the weapon system and to allow room for ammunition storage, critical systems and turret personnel. Even in this modified form, which appeared in May 1943, the new "41M Turan II" simply could not compete with the thick armor of the Soviet T-34 or its related heavy KV tank counterparts. On the contrary, even at a distance, Soviet tanks could easily deal with Turan tanks. Due to Hungary's lack of available options and Germany's inability to mass-produce tanks for all of its allies, the Turan tanks moved on without much help.

Production continued until 1944, when control of Hungary fell to the Soviet Union. There were also plans to mount the 1944 "43M Turan III" to a German 75mm L/43 (PaK 40) gun with side skirt armor - although this effort was unsuccessful and exists only as a prototype.

However, the existing Turan I and Turan II tanks inherited the expected side skirt armor from the abandoned Turan III program.

In addition to the Turan I and Turan II production forms, Manfred Weiss took the chassis of the Turan tank and converted it to the "Zrinyi II" - a 105mm armed, quad-barrel, self-propelled, chain-drive, armored assault Gun 22 metric tons. This system retains the complete landing gear of the Turan tank, but omits the movable turret. In its place was a fixed superstructure on which a 105mm MAVAG 40/43M L/20 was mounted.

5 howitzers with applicable recoil and shutter system. Armor protection is 75mm thick at its thickest point. The vehicle should support joint main battle tank operations as well as infantry movement. There are believed to be as many as 66 examples of this type, although their participation and success in warfare appears to be limited.

The design of the "Zrinyi I" preceded the Zrinyi II with a 75mm 43M howitzer for tank destroyer missions - however, like the Turan III proposal, the Zrinyi I only exists as a prototype.