Samochód pancerny wz. 29
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| Samochód Pancerny wzór 29 | |
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| Type | Armored car |
| Place of origin |  Poland |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Rudolf Gundlach |
| Designed | 1929 |
| Number built | 10 to 13 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 4.8 t |
| Length | with MG: 5.49 without MG: 5.15 m |
| Width | 1.85 m |
| Height | 2.48 m |
| Crew | 4 (driver, backward driver, commander/gunner, rear gunner) |
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| Armor | 4-10 mm |
| Primary armament |
37 mm SA-18 Puteaux L/21 gun |
| Secondary armament |
2 x 7.92 mm wz. 25 Hotchkiss machine guns |
| Engine | Ursus-2A 4 cylinder gasoline 35 hp (26 kW) |
| Power/weight | 7.3 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | wheels, 4 x 2 |
| Operational range |
380 km |
| Speed | 35 km/h |
Samochód Pancerny wzór 29 ("armoured car 1929 pattern"), commonly known as Ursus or CWS, was a Polish interwar heavy armored car. A handful of these vehicles saw combat during the Polish-German War of 1939.
[edit] History and description
The car was designed in 1929 by Rudolf Gundlach. The vehicle was based on the chassis of the Ursus A 2-ton truck (Italian S.P.A. 25C modified by Ursus Mechanical Works in Warsaw), the armored body was built by CWS, Warsaw. The initial armament consisted of the French 37 mm low velocity gun in the turret front, 7.92 mm machine guns in the turret left-rear and right-rear at 120 degrees to the gun (all operated by the commander), and another 7.92 mm MG in the hull rear (operated by the rear gunner). Although this arrangement helped to achieve good balance of the turret, it was awkward to use. In the mid-30s the right turret MG was removed. The car carried 96 rounds for the main gun and 4032 MG rounds in 16 252-round belts.
The vehicle was sufficiently armed and armored for late 1920s, but was underpowered, lacked all-wheel drive (which led to poor off-road mobility) and had high silhouette. Because of these shortcomings, only between 10 and 13 cars were built.
[edit] Combat history
Although obsolete by 1939, the car was stiil in service at the outbreak of the Second World War. 8 vehicles were assigned to the 11th armoured battalion of the Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade, Army Modlin, as a reconnaissance unit. The vehicles acted well in combat, but by 16 September all of them were lost.
[edit] External links
| Polish armoured fighting vehicles of World War II | ||
| Tanks | Armoured cars | |
|---|---|---|
| 7TP | FT-17 | R 35 | TK-3 | TKS | Vickers E | wz.28 | wz. 34 | wz. 29 | |
| Artillery tractors | Cars and Lorries | |
| C2P | C4P | C7P | PZInż 302 | PF 508 | PF 518 | PF 508/518 | Ursus A | PF 621 | PF 618 | wz. 34 | |
| Armoured trains | ||
| Poznańczyk | Śmierć | Danuta | Śmiały | Gen. Sosnkowski | Paderewski | Pierwszy Marszałek | Piłsudczyk | Groźny | Bartosz Głowacki | Smok Kaszubski | Zagończyk | Stefan Czarniecki | ||
| Prototypes and experimental designs | ||
| 10TP | 4TP | 14TP | 20/25TP | PZInż 130 | PZInż 152 | PZInż 202 | PZInż 222 | PZInż 303 | PZInż 342 | PZInż. 703 | PZInż. 713 | PZInż. 723 | PZInż. 603 | TKD | TKS-D | ||
