Amazing things happen sometimes in the world of military technology. A small country makes a contribution to its development that is incomparable with its size. Here is the Czech Republic too … A country in the center of Europe, but very small. And nevertheless, rifles were created by its designers-gunsmiths, and pistols, and cannons, and which ones … The entire Austro-Hungarian army and navy were armed with Skoda guns and which - up to a caliber of 420-mm, and mortars did not up to 500 mm. And in the interval between the two world wars, the Czech Republic not only became a member of the world tank club, but also took a very decent and worthy place in it. So worthy that the German Wehrmacht did not disdain the products of its tank factories, and she fought until 1945. Well, on the eve of World War II, it was Czechoslovakia that was the most important exporter of tanks in Europe. After all, tanks belonging to the Skoda and CKD firms went to Austria and Bulgaria, were supplied to Hungary, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and even to Iran and Peru. And yes, indeed, these firms were able to organize the release of two samples, which left a noticeable mark among all other machines of a similar class and era - that is, the LT-35 and LT-38 tanks. But this is not enough. When Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, these vehicles continued to be produced under the German designations Pz-Kpfw. 35 (t) and Pz-Kpfw. 38 (t), or 35 and 38 (t), where “t” meant “Czech”. A large number of these tanks were also transferred and sold to satellites in Germany, or were used as the basis for completely new vehicles.
Museum in Banska Bystrica, tank LT-38.
Well, the story about these two tanks should begin with a reminder that in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s two firms were engaged in the production of armored vehicles: ČKD and Škoda. The Skoda firm was founded in 1859 by Emil Ritter von Skoda - hence its name. The factories of this company were located in the city of Pilsen, and the production of weapons was started in 1890. Skoda cannons were supplied to many countries of the world at the end of the First World War. Then the company acquired the automobile factories Laurin and Clement, and at Skoda they thought not only about the production of cars, but also about armored vehicles. Although the matter was complicated by the fact that there was already a company in the country that produced armored cars - "Tatra". Another reason is the success of competitors from the ČKD company, whose factories were located in Prague. However, the CKD firm was never armed, although it produced army trucks and even tracked artillery tractors. That is why, when the military began to select a manufacturer for the Cardin-Lloyd tankette purchased in England, it was CKD that fell on their choice, because it had already produced machines on tracks. True, the tankettes produced under the designation vz. 33 (P-1) did not last long in production. A total of 70 cars were made and in 1933 they stopped there.
LT-35 on display at the US Aberdeen Proving Ground. The carefully executed camouflage painting is noteworthy.
However, the production of combat vehicles turned out to be a profitable business for the company, and in 1934, CKD, on its own initiative, offered the army a light tank of its own design, armed with a 37-mm Skoda cannon and two machine guns. The tank was accepted into service under the designation LT.vz.34 (light tank, model 34), and was produced in the amount of 50 vehicles.
"Skoda", of course, did not want to yield to a competitor, since it also had some experience in these matters - two experimental self-propelled guns built on an initiative basis for the needs of anti-tank and air defense. In the same year, she offered the military a medium tank SU, but they rejected it. By the way, one of the reasons was that ČKD immediately put up an improved model of the LT.vz.34.
"Skoda" responded with the S-N-a tank (S - Skoda, II - light tank, and - cavalry model), and the military liked it more than the tank from the CKD company. At first, both tanks were presented to the commission in the form of wooden mock-ups of the company in October 1934. The S-II received approval, and in June 1935 its prototype went for testing. Well, as soon as the tests were over, in October 1935, the company was given an order for 160 tanks of this type at once. So the CKD lost its monopoly on the production of tanks in Czechoslovakia. Well, the S-II-a, which was given the designation LT-35, began to be produced not only for the needs of its own country, but also exported abroad. Then Skoda proposed the S-III medium tank model, and a number of successive modifications - T-21, T-22 and T-23.
Interestingly, the competition did not prevent the firms from agreeing on the joint production of the new LT-35 tank, and the number of ordered vehicles was distributed almost equally.
Nevertheless, CKD continued to work on new tanks, which resulted in the AH-IV tankette and the TNH light tank. AH-IV interested mainly customers abroad, while TNH liked the Czechoslovak military. The tests of the vehicle went well; on July 1, 1938, the tank was accepted into service under the designation LT-38. In total, 150 of these tanks were ordered, with the first 20 required by the end of 1938, and all the other 130 in 1939, by the end of May. Moreover, the company had to master the medium tank V-8-H or ST-39, which should have been produced in the amount of 300 vehicles. True, they did not have time to make it, everything ended at the prototype level, since Czechoslovakia was annexed. But so far this has not yet happened LT-35 and LT-38, and besides them, their numerous modifications, and various intermediate samples began to be exported abroad. Romania ordered two types of tanks at once: CKD AH-IV * (* Romanian designation R - 1) and Skoda LT-35 - R-2. Moreover, the Romanians needed 126 tanks, some of which were made by Skoda, and some were made directly in Romania under an acquired license. In 1942, Romania acquired 26 more 35 (t) tanks, but from Germany. The next 50 tanks 38 (t) were delivered to them by the Germans in March 1943, as they lost many tanks at Stalingrad. The Romanians converted 21 tanks into self-propelled guns with captured F - 22 USV and ZIS-Z cannons. Until June 1944, about 20 of these installations were made, called TASAM R-2. At the beginning of 1940, the Romanians wanted to buy 200 T-21 tanks from the Skoda company, but this contract was never signed.
German PzKpfw. 38 (t) Ausf. A on display at the tank museum in Munster.
Then Czech tanks received … Slovakia. Before the Munich agreement, the 3rd "fast division" of the Czechoslovak army was stationed here, armed with 79 LT-35 tanks. Now, on its basis, national Slovak armored units were created. Then Slovakia bought an additional 32 38 (t) tanks from the Germans, and 21 LT-40 tanks (a lightweight, "export" version, which was being prepared for shipment to Lithuania) were transferred to the Slovaks as military aid.
On June 22, 1941, the Slovak army included 114 LT-35, LT-38 and LT-40 tanks. Large losses in tanks on the Soviet-German front forced the Slovaks to purchase 37 more tanks from the German side from the CKD company, and, of course, tanks of direct German production.
German PzKpfw. 38 (t) in a museum in Togliatti. Feel the difference, as they say. Well … well, at least we did it!
Many tanks were delivered to very remote and, one might even say, exotic countries. For example, in 1935, 50 TNH tanks went to Iran, and at the end of 1938, 24 LT-38s (one of the LTP modifications) were bought by the Republic of Peru. For Iran, all these tanks were such a significant value that they were in service with its army until 1957! But the Peruvian tanks served much longer: two of these tanks took part in some events in 1988 - well, obviously, some kind of another local "pronunciamento". These LTPs differed from the actual Czech tanks in armament similar to the LT-35.
21 LTL tanks, armed with a 20 mm Oerlikon automatic cannon, were to be exported to Lithuania. They did not reach the Lithuanians, and then they were equipped with 37-mm cannons, and they just turned into the very LT-40 tanks, which the Germans then decided to sell to the allied Slovakia. And the same tank, but of the LTH brand and with the Oerlikon cannon, was supplied to Switzerland (24 vehicles), where it was designated Pz.39.
Finally, for 92 TNH SV tanks, delivered in 1939-40. made the order by Sweden. It is clear that with the beginning of the war the contract was canceled, but the Germans still did not dare to quarrel with the neutral Swedes, and two prototype tanks, along with the license for their production, were nevertheless transferred to Sweden. And the Swedes created on their basis an impressive tank park, some of which served until … 1970!
Tank Museum in Thun, Switzerland. Prototype ACS on the LTH chassis mod. 1943 g.
Another country in the East that ordered Czech tanks in 1938 was Afghanistan, which needed 10 Skoda tanks. It is clear that these tanks did not get there, but they ended up … in Bulgaria, which received 26 LT-35s in 1940, and wished to order more. Here the "Afghan" tanks were given to her. These LT-35s differed in that they were equipped with a 37 mm A-8 cannon, which was used for the LT-38 tanks. And they served in Bulgaria for so long that in 1948 Škoda supplied spare parts for them from the old stock.
Tanks "Bulgarian delivery". Photo of the war years.
Yugoslavia ordered a prototype of the T-12 - S-II-A, but only with a diesel engine and a 47mm cannon. The Yugoslavs counted on 120 of these tanks, but the war destroyed this plan too.
