Panzer 35(t)

Infobox Weapon
name= LT vz.35


caption= Panzer 35(t) at the Belgrade Military Museum.
origin= Czechoslovakia
type= Light tank
is_vehicle= yes
service= 1939 - 1941 (Nazi Germany)
used_by= flagicon|Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia
flagicon|Germany|Nazi Nazi Germany
flagicon|Romania Romania
flagicon|Bulgaria|1878 Bulgaria
flagicon|Slovakia|1938 Slovakia
wars= World War II
designer=
design_date=
manufacturer=
unit_cost=
production_date=
number=
variants=
length= 4.90 m
width= 2.16 m
height= 2.20 m
weight= 11 tonnes
suspension= leaf spring bogie
speed= 34 km/h
vehicle_range= 193 km
primary_armament= Skoda 37 mm Model 1934 gun
secondary_armament= 2×7.92 mm MG
armour= 25 mm
engine= gasoline Škoda T11
crew= 4
engine_power= 120 hp (90 kW)
pw_ratio= 11 hp/tonne

The LT-35 or LT vz. 35 was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II. In German service it had the formal designation Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) (Pz.Kpfw. 35(t)) but it is commonly referred to as the Panzer 35(t).

Description

The LT-35 was a conventional tank design for the late 1930s, with riveted armor, a two-man turret, and rear-mounted engine. Main armament was a Škoda vz 34 37.2 mm gun. A 7.92 mm machinegun was fitted as well. An unusual aspect of the gun mounting was the ability to operate the machinegun as a coaxial gun or independently in a ball mount.

The turret crew consisted of two men: the commander/gunner and loader. In the hull, the driver was on the right and the radio operator to his left; the radio operator also had a ball-mounted 7.92 mm machinegun. A total of 72 rounds of 37 mm ammunition and 1,800 rounds of belted 7.92 mm ammunition was carried.

The Škoda six-cylinder engine produced 120hp. It was mounted in the rear along with the six-speed transmission and drove the rear-mounted drive sprocket. Eight small pairs of road wheels on four bogies carried the tank, with a single front idler, and four track return wheels. The suspension was derived from the Vickers 6-Ton tank. Both transmission and steering were mechanically assisted with compressed air, reducing driver fatigue. This last feature proved problematic in the extreme conditions of the Eastern Front.

Development

The LT vz35 was constructed in the Czech Škoda Works, and produced from 1936. Eighty were built by ČKD in 1937. Total production was 434, including 298 for the Czechoslovak Army, 126 for Romania (under the designation Škoda R-2) and ten for Bulgaria. The Czechoslovak army had placed the initial order for the S-ll-a in October 1934, and had rushed development of the tank despite a great number of faults that came to light. The first production order for 160 tanks was placed on 30 October 1935, and deliveries began in July 1936. The Czechoslovak army placed a follow-on order for 103 in November 1937, and a third for 35 in 1938. In August 1936 Romania placed an order for 126; these were delivered from May 1937. Afghanistan ordered ten in 1938. The Afghan vehicles were exported to Bulgaria in 1939 on German orders. The Wehrmacht used 219 vehicles captured from the Czechoslovak army in March 1939.

Variants

* S-ll-a - Original designation for prototypes
* LT vz. 35 - basic Czechoslovak variant (37 mm A-3 gun)
* T-11 - export variant for Bulgaria with better 37 mm A-7 gun
* LTM 35 – designation when used by the German Cavalry until January 1940
* Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) - German designation of LT-35
* Panzerbefehlswagen 35(t) - German command tank variant
* Mörserzugmittel 35(t) - German armored mortar tractor
* R2 - Romanian designation of LT-35
* TACAM R2 - Romanian tank destroyer on R-2 (LT-35) chassis

Operational history

The LT vz.35 tanks were used in the Czechoslovak Army from 1937 until 1939.

In 1939, 219 vehicles of the Czechoslovak army were seized by the Germans. They were first used, from 5 June 1939, by the Cavalry as LTM 35. After 16 January 1940 they were used under the designation Pz.Kpfw. 35(t) by German armored units. The letter (t) stood for "tschechoslowakisch" (Czechoslovak), an assignment for captured equipment. In German service, the 37 mm-armed tanks were used as substitutes for the Panzerkampfwagen III medium tank.

The German 6th Panzer Division used 35(t)s in Poland, France and the USSR. The fighting in the invasion of the Soviet Union exposed the vehicle's unsuitability for cold weather operations and general unreliability. In late November all PzKpfw 35(t)s were reported non-operational. This weakness, in addition to their thin armor and inadequate firepower, resulted in most being withdrawn from tank units and all 26 in working condition in 1942 were sold to Romania. From 1940 on there had not been any spare parts available and tanks had to be completely rebuilt to remain operational, so it had already been decided the summer campaign of 1941 was to be their last. The tank continued for another year in service with Slovakia and Romania. Some were later rebuilt by Germany as munition carriers.

The Axis Slovak army used 79 tanks against the USSR. Bulgaria used 26 tanks, delivered by Germany in March 1940, with the normal A-3 gun and 10 tanks with the better A-7 gun delivered in 1939. The Romanian army employed 126 of the tanks against the USSR in 1941 and 1942. Twenty vehicles were rebuilt as tank destroyers TACAM R-2 with an ex-Soviet 76.2 mm gun.

See also

* Comparison of early World War II tanks
* 40 M Turan I

References

*

External links

* [http://www.panzerworld.net/pzkpfw35t.html Information about the Pz.Kpfw. 35(t) at Panzerworld]
* [http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pzcz1.htm Panzerkampfwagen 35(t)] at Achtung Panzer!
* [http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Modified_Foreign_Vehicles.pdf Captured German vehicles] - A PDF file presenting the German vehicles based on captured and modified foreign equipment (PzKpfw. 35(t), PzKpfw 38(t), 10.5 cm leFH 18(Sf) auf Geschützwagen, Marder I, Panzerjäger I, Marder III, Grille, Munitionspanzer 38(t)) still existing in the world