As soon as Czechoslovakia was occupied by German troops, all LT-35s were sent to Dresden, where the Germans changed their optics, installed German Fu5 VHF radios and hung their own entrenching tools. But out of 150 tanks ordered by ČKD, it managed to produce only nine vehicles. The Germans immediately took them to their Kummersdorf proving ground and tested them simultaneously with the Skoda tank. It was then that it turned out that their own Pz. II is not at all better, and in many respects even worse than the “Czechs”. Moreover, this conclusion concerned only the LT-35. But about the LT-38, the Germans immediately decided that it was practically not inferior to the Pz. III, which was still produced in small quantities at that time. Thus, the ČKD company, which the Germans immediately named BMM (Bohemian-Moravian Machine-Building Factory), became very important for Germany. She was ordered to urgently complete a series of 150 tanks, and then fulfill three more consecutive orders for 325 vehicles, which were now called 38 (t).
September 1, 1939. Pz. 35 (t) tanks from the 1st battalion of the 11th tank regiment. It is clearly noticeable how tight this tank is. A German tanker can barely fit in it.
During the period from May to August 1939, BMM produced 78 38 (t) Ausf. A vehicles, which, as part of the German BTTs, took part in the campaign to Poland. The Germans celebrated their success and in January 1940 demanded another 275 tanks of this type. In addition, they received 219 35 (t) vehicles from Skoda. "Comrade Tanks" were most actively used on the territory of Norway, in France, as well as in hostilities in the Balkans.
Well, when on June 22, 1941, all 17 tank divisions of the German Wehrmacht were on Soviet soil, six of this number, i.e. more than a third were armed with Czechoslovak tanks. A total of 160 tanks of the 35 (t) type and also 674 of the 38 (t) tanks were involved. But … during the six months of the military campaign in Russia, most of the 35 (t) and 38 (t) were destroyed. Such a fiasco contributed to the fact that the Germans transferred the new BMM tanks to the Allies, but on the basis of the chassis of these machines they began to produce self-propelled guns for various purposes.
LT-35 in camouflage of the Czechoslovak army.
But even at the end of September 1944, a fairly large number of 38 (t) tanks, namely 229 vehicles, continued to fight on the Eastern Front. True, they were used mainly against partisans and in a rather unusual capacity as part of armored trains. That is, they were simply put on platforms, and it was believed that this was enough. The production of 38 (t) tanks on BMM continued until June 1942, then only self-propelled guns were produced. In total, 6,450 different combat vehicles were manufactured on the 38 (t) chassis - for the German armored vehicles, the number is very significant.
Tank LT-35 [Panzer 35 (t)] at the Army Museum in Zizkov. View of the front of the turret with the Skoda vz. 34, caliber 37-mm (factory designation A-3). Traces of bullets and shell fragments hitting the armor are clearly visible, accentuated by color. Photo by Andrey Zlatek.
As for the design features, both the LT-35 and LT-38, even if they belonged to different companies, were in many ways similar. These were typical tanks of the 1930s, designed to be used for reconnaissance purposes, for direct support of the infantry and joint actions with cavalry. The assembly of the tower and the hull was carried out on rivets, and the parts were attached to the frame made of corner profiles. Tank LT-35 had a combat weight of 10, 5 tons, and LT-38 - 9, 4 tons. The crew of the first tank consisted of four people, and the second consisted of three. The LT-35 had a Skoda T-11 engine, a carburetor, six-cylinder, with a capacity of 120 hp. with.(1800 rpm), thanks to which he could move along the highway at a speed of 34 km / h, which is quite decent for a tank. Its power reserve was 190 km. With the available fuel supply of 153 liters, which was considered quite acceptable for such a small country as Czechoslovakia. The tanks were very easy to drive thanks to the three-speed twelve-speed gearbox.
Drive sprocket with track control disc and mud cleaner. Army Museum in Zizkov. Photo by Andrey Zlatek.
The guns installed on these tanks A3 vz. 34 - with a caliber of 37.2 mm (the length of the gun barrel in 40 calibers) and A9 vz. 38 - with a caliber of 47 mm (the length of the gun barrel in calibers 33, 7), were considered quite modern. The shells for them weighed 850 g and 1650 g, respectively, with an initial speed of 675 and 600 m / s. On armor 32 mm thick, they could confidently shoot from a distance of 550 m, but it made its way only if the angle of impact of the projectile into the armor was 90 degrees. But a year after the start of the war in Russia, these guns ceased to satisfy the military. Time was running out, and they decided to make new guns, but for old ammunition, but with an increased charge of gunpowder. The barrel length of the new gun was increased to 47.8 calibers, given the designation A-7.vz.37 and put on LT-38 tanks. The 47 mm A-9.vz.38 cannon was developed for Czech experimental medium tanks. But since they did not go into production, the Germans used it under the brand name 4, 7 cm PaK (t) in both the wheeled and also in the self-propelled tracked version. First on the LT-35 chassis - this is how the German 4, 7 cm PaK (t) Pz. Kpfw. 35 R (F) tank destroyer appeared, and then on the Pz. Kpfw. I Ausf. B. In both cases, the towers were removed from the vehicles, and the gun itself was installed, covering it with a light armor shield. Nevertheless, the armor penetration of these guns relative to the T-34 tank was insufficient, but it was impossible to put a heavier gun on Czech tanks, since they were not designed for this.
LT-35 with the insignia of the Bulgarian army.
The LT-35 tank had 72 rounds and 1800 rounds of ammunition. The LT-38 had slightly more ammunition - 90 rounds and 2250 rounds. The armor of these tanks corresponded to the vehicles of the mid-30s: 8-10 mm thickness of horizontal armor plates, 15 mm - thickness of side armor and 25 mm - thickness of frontal projection armor. The quality of this armor was greatly reduced by the almost complete absence of the slope of the armor plates. For comparison, note that the armor protection of the main Soviet T-26 and BT tanks was 20 mm, that is, it was thinner, but only slightly, but they had 45-mm guns, the armor penetration capabilities of which were incomparable with Czech guns. So, the blunt-headed armor-piercing shells of this gun at a distance of 1000 m at an impact angle of 60 and 90 degrees pierced armor with a thickness of 28 and 35 mm - i.e. defeat of the frontal projections of Czech tanks was guaranteed!
LT-38 in camouflage of the Czechoslovak army.
Both tanks could overcome the same angle of maximum lift, equal to 60 degrees. LT-35 could force a ford of 0.8 m, overcome a wall with a height of 0.78 m and climb over a ditch 1.98 m wide. ditch -1, 87 m.
The radio stations of both tanks had a range of about 5 km. There was no voice communication system between the driver and the commander, but an alarm system with colored lights was invented for them. The big drawback of both tanks was the small number of hatches - only two. The driver has one over his head and one more on the roof of the commander's cupola. The LT-35 commander had four observation blocks on the commander's cupola and a gun sight. The LT-38 also had a periscope sight; and, of course, inspection hatches with triplexes. But Czech tanks were less equipped with observation equipment than the German Pz. II and Pz. III. The Germans did not modify the LT-35, it became obsolete so quickly, but the LT-38 and or as it began to be designated in a new way 38 (f) was modified several times. The first modification - Ausf. A - is the very 150 tanks that were ordered by the Czechoslovak army, but were not made on time. The tanks were equipped with German radios and excellent German optics were installed on them, and a fencing was made for machine-gun ball mounts. In addition, a fourth tanker was pushed into this already cramped tank, placing him in the tower.
German 38 (t) with red tactical numbers.
The Ausf. B was produced from January to May 1940, and they managed to make 110 machines, which differed very slightly from the original model. Then came the Ausf C series, and also of 110 cars. They were produced from May to August 1940. The antenna was installed on them differently, and a different muffler was installed. Ausf D was produced in the amount of 105 units in September-November of the same year. The front plate on it was already 30 mm.
Then, from November 1940 to May 1941, 275 Ausf E tanks were produced. The frontal armor plate on it was straightened, its thickness was increased to 50 mm, and a new tool box of much larger size was placed on the left fenders.
The thickness of the armor plates on the sides of the hull and turret was increased by 25 and 15 mm and, again, all crew members were equipped with new and improved observation devices. The Ausf F was produced from May to October 1941, and it was no different from the Ausf E. The "S" series was produced in the amount of 90 tanks. They were intended to be sent to Sweden in February 1941, but went to the Wehrmacht.
Experienced TNH NA arr. 1942 g.
The last of the production tanks 38 (t) had the designation Ausf G. 500 chassis were made for it, and in the period between October 1941 and July 1942 of this number, 321 of them went to tanks. That is, a total of 1414 tanks were built (1411 and 3 prototypes), and BMM also produced 21 LT-40 tanks, which entered the Slovak army, and 15 TNH NA tanks in 1942. His company offered the Wehrmacht as a high-speed reconnaissance tank with 37- mm gun and a speed of 60 km / h. The thickness of his armor was 35 mm. The tank was tested, but it was not accepted into the series. Then BMM produced only self-propelled guns, but the history of the LT-35 and LT-38 did not end there. The production of the commander's Pz. BefwG.38 (t) was continued, which was 5% of the total number of manufactured vehicles. Towers from damaged and unfinished tanks were used to equip bunkers. From 1941 to 1944, the Germans installed 435 towers from Czech tanks with all their standard armament on their defensive lines. Then the Swedes did the same, installing towers from decommissioned tanks on the seashore.
And this is how the famous "Hetzers" on the Eastern Front were painted. Not always, of course, but often.
The tanks of the Czechoslovak army proper were initially painted in a rusty red color, and then army camouflage was applied over this paint. The following colors were installed: RAL 8020 (dark brown), RAL 7008 (field gray), RAL 7027 (dark gray). Then, in 1941, they added another yellow-brown RAL 8000 to them and used it for tanks that operated in Africa. Interestingly, if the Czechoslovak army used three-color camouflage, then in the Wehrmacht they were painted in one of these colors. Two-tone camouflage of the above two colors could also be used. The obligatory sign was a large white cross, which was painted on the front of the tower, as well as on the sides and back. Thus, these signs were applied to 35 (t) in German armored divisions. Then the "German cross" became not as bright and noticeable as before. Divisional signs were drawn on the hull both in front and behind, then on the turret in the back, and in addition, on the sides. Sometimes the hood was covered with a Nazi cloth to facilitate identification from the air. Until 1940, tactical numbers were placed on black rhombic plates on the front, back and sides, but then they were replaced by large numbers painted on the tower in white as a whole, or they were painted in color and made a white outline. Tanks of the Romanian army were painted in the color of "olive drab" and had a white Romanian cross and German tactical numbers on the tower.
ACS "Hetzer", which was in service with the ROA. I wonder why it was necessary to decorate these cars with tricolor cockades so clearly visible from a distance? Even the Germans at the end of the war abandoned bright tactical signs and emblems. And here … for some reason, the opposite is true.
As for the chassis, on their basis, the Germans created an amazing number of experimental vehicles, including an SPG with a 75-mm gun with a hard recoil, a Pz.38 (d) reconnaissance tank, a 38 mit Pak 43 tank destroyer with an 88-mm gun, and a SZU " Kuebelblitz ", several types of self-propelled guns with recoilless guns of various calibers, a medium tank with a turret from the Pz. IV on chassis 38 (t), armored personnel carriers "Katzchen", self-propelled guns "Great 547" and many other different models. Many chassis have been upgraded in Sweden and Switzerland. But that's a completely different story …
Rice. A. Shepsa
