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AH-IV

1936 WORLD WAR 2

History

The AH-IV is an export tank design of Czech origin, released in 1936. A limited number of agile and fast machine gun armed combat systems were eventually exported to Ethiopia (AH-IV-Hb), Iran, Romania (AH-IV-R) and Sweden (Strv m/ 37).

The scaled-down design was launched in the second World Wars, Eritrean War of Independence (1961-1991), Ethiopian Civil War (1974-1991), Ogaden War (1977-1978) and Ethiopia-Somali Border War (1982). Surprisingly, the last AH-IV tank was retired in the mid-1980s.

Tankettes, as the name suggests, are small battle tanks that are much smaller than light tanks. Such tracked systems are extremely useful because of their speed, relative armor protection, off-road performance, and available armament, enabling even the smallest (and poorest) nations to deploy an economically mechanized force with modern considerations. Tankettes served until World War II, when medium, heavy and super tanks took center stage. After the war, the classification of tanks was more or less eliminated, as were medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks, not "main battle tanks" (light tanks still exist today). From a military point of view, the tank can be used as a fast reconnaissance vehicle or for police duty due to its lightweight construction and selected repetitive weapons.

Of course, tanks could suffer huge losses if forced to fight other "real" tanks or anti-tank weapons and mines directly.

Although the range is similar to Tancik vz. Before the 33 Tankette (which appeared in 1934), the AH-IV had a 360-degree rotating turret for the gunner, rather than a flexibly mounted forward-facing machine gun. This makes for a more practical tactical machine. Like Tancik wz.

On the 33rd, the AH-IV was flown by a two-person crew consisting of a driver and commander/gunner. The driver is mounted in the left front hull, while the gunner is mounted in an offset turret in the center of the left design. The commander also served as the gunner and ammunition guide in the turret.

The turret was mounted on a boxy fuselage structure with a sloping fairing that provided the required space for the cockpit, fighting compartment and engine compartment. The structure mainly consists of riveted plates. Primary armament consisted of a pair of heavy 7.92mm machine guns, one mounted at the driver's position (ZB vz.

26 or ZB vz. 30 models) and the other mounted on the turret (ZB vz. 35 or ZB vz. 37 models). The armor protection in various finishes is 6mm to 12mm, and the total weight of the armored track is 4.3 tons.

As designed, the tank has a barrel length of 10 feet, a width of 5.7 feet, and an overall height of 5.5 feet. Power is provided by a single water-cooled Praga RHP 6-cylinder 55 hp engine mounted in the aft compartment of the hull.

The running gear consists of four wheels on one side of the track with a track idler, drive sprocket at the front and track idler at the rear. It is suspended by leaf springs. The engine is mated to a Praga-Wilson 5-speed transmission system consisting of five forward and one reverse gears.

Top road speed is listed as 28 mph, with a range of 110 miles.

Design work on the AH-IV began in 1935 by Ceskomoravska Kolben-Danek (CKD) in Czechoslovakia and continued until 1937, culminating in the introduction of four pilot vehicles. Production started in 1936 and ended in 1938, but resumed in 1949 due to demand. The second service continued until 1950. In addition to the four prototypes, a total of about 153 AH-IV tanks were built, all by the Czech company CKD.

All shipped to foreign carriers.

Iran received the first (and first production batch) AH-IV tanks in 1936. Their history seems rather limited, but Iranians (politicians, military and even civilians) respect this man for who he is and what he provides for their burgeoning army.

50 AH-IV tanks filled the inventory of the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions and fought during World War II. The Iranian government planned to buy 100, 200 or 300 more tanks, but the demands of the war in Europe dashed those hopes.

The Romanians received the first deliveries of the AH-IVs in 1937, although revised specifications delayed their initial entry into service. The Romanians even bought licensed production rights for the tank type, but the delay (again) ensured that the AH-IV was only produced by CKD in its history. The Romanian version - designated AH-IV-R - ended up in combat operations against the Axis powers on the Eastern Front - from the German invasion of the Soviet Union to Operation Barbarossa and the failed Vienna Offensive in 1945.

AH-IV also fought in Stalingrad.

Sweden received the AH-IV and named it Stridsvagn m/37 (Strv m/37). These variants were modified to a certain extent, with more powerful engines and improved armor protection to match the Swedish style of tank warfare of the time.

However, unlike the original Czech production AH-IV, the Swedish version did away with the driver's machine gun armament, instead centralizing the machine guns in the turret with 2 x 8mm Ksp m/36 Strv series machine guns. The use of tanks ended in Sweden in 1953.

Ethiopians received the AH-IV (as AH-IV-Hb) in the postwar world, it arrived in mid-1948, and it officially entered service in 1950. Unlike the wartime version, which used a riveted structure, the Ethiopian model was welded and had a 65-horsepower diesel engine.

The AH-IV has been in Ethiopian hands for the longest time, fighting only in the 1982 border war with Somalia. Their use (probably) ended in 1985.