| Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) | |
|---|---|
Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) Ausf. S |
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| Type | Medium tank |
| Place of origin | Czechoslovakia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1939–1944 (Nazi Germany) |
| Used by | Nazi Germany Romania Bulgaria Hungary Slovakia Sweden Switzerland Peru |
| Wars | World War II Ecuadorian–Peruvian War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | ČKD |
| Manufacturer | ČKD |
| Produced | 1939—42 |
| Number built | 1,414 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 9.725–9.85 tonnes (9.571–9.69 long tons; 10.720–10.86 short tons) |
| Length | 4.61 metres (15.1 ft) |
| Width | 2.135 metres (7.00 ft) |
| Height | 2.252 metres (7.39 ft) (overall) |
| Crew | 4 |
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| Armor | 8–30 mm Ausf. A–D 8–50 mm Ausf. E and newer |
| Main armament |
1x 3.7 cm KwK 38(t) L/47.8 |
| Secondary armament |
2x 7.92 mm ZB53 (MG 37(t)) machine gun |
| Engine | Praga Typ TNHPS/II water-cooled, 6-cylinder gasoline 125 PS (123.3 hp, 91.9 kW) |
| Power/weight | 13.15 PS/tonne |
| Transmission | 5 + 1 Praga-Wilson Typ CV |
| Suspension | leaf spring |
| Ground clearance | 40 centimetres (16 in) |
| Fuel capacity | 220 litres (58 US gal) |
| Operational range |
250 kilometres (160 mi) (road) 100 kilometres (62 mi) (cross-country) |
| Speed | 42 km/h, 26.1 mph (road) 15 km/h (off-road) |
The Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) was originally a Czech tank of pre-World War II design. After Czechoslovakia was taken over by Germany, it was adopted by the German Army, seeing service in the invasions of Poland and Russia. Production ended in 1942, when its armament was deemed inadequate. In all, over 1400 were manufactured. The chassis continued to be produced for Hetzer and Marder III tank destroyers, turretless assault guns, anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns.
The (t) stands for tschechisch, the German word for Czech; the Czechoslovak military designation was LT vz 38. Manufacturer's designations included TNH series, TNHPS, LTP and LTH). The special vehicle designation for the tank in Germany was Sd.Kfz. 140.
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The Panzer 38(t) was a conventional pre-World War II tank design, with riveted armour and rear engine. The riveted armour was mostly not sloped, and varied in thickness from 10 mm to 25 mm in most versions. Later models (Ausf. E on) increased this to 50 mm by bolting on an additional 25 mm armour to the front. Side armours received additional 15 mm armour from Ausf. E onward.
The two-man turret was centrally located, and housed the tank's main armament, a 37 mm Skoda A7 gun with 90 rounds stored onboard. It was equipped with a 7.92 mm machine gun to the right of the main ordnance. This turret machine gun was in a separate ball mount rather than a fixed coaxial mount. This meant the machine gun could be trained on targets independently. Alternatively, the commander/gunner could couple the machine gun internally to the main gun and use it as a coaxial machine gun. The driver was in the front right of the hull, with the bow machine-gunner seated to the left, manning a 7.92 mm machine gun. As with many 1930s tanks, the bow gunner was also the radio operator. The radio was mounted on the left of the bow gunner.
Minor adjustments, such as adjustable seats for the driver and firmer footing for the commander/gunner and loader was provided in German service. A total of 2,550 rounds were carried for the bow and turret machine guns. The driver could also fire the hull machine gun with a trigger fitted on the left tiller bar.
In German service, a loader position was added to the turret by reducing ammunition capacity by 18 rounds. All future Panzer 38(t) tanks were rebuilt according to this specification, whereas those already in service were modified accordingly. The commander had to aim and fire the main gun.
The engine was mounted in the rear of the hull and drove the tank through a transmission with five forward gears and one reverse gear to forward drive sprockets. The track ran under four rubber-tired road wheels and back over a rear idler and two track return rollers. The wheels were mounted on a leaf-spring double-bogie mounted on two axles. Despite the large wheel size, the tank did not use a Christie suspension.
In 1935, the Czechoslovak tank manufacturer ČKD was looking for a replacement for the LT-35 tank they were jointly producing with Škoda Works. The LT-35 was complex and had shortcomings, and ČKD felt there would be orders both from the expanding Czechoslovak army and for export.
ČKD decided to use a suspension with four large wheels for their new tank. It resembled the Christie suspension outwardly, but was actually a conventional leaf spring unit. The resulting vehicle was reliable, and an export success: 50 were exported to Iran, 24 each to Peru and Switzerland. Latvia also ordered some. The British Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) had one trial model delivered on March 23, 1939 to Gunnery School at Lulworth. A report stated, the "(bow) gunner could not sit back comfortably as the wireless set was in the way of his left shoulder." The report also states that the due to the judder whilst the vehicle was in motion, it was impossible to lay the gun on the move, and that even at 5 mph accuracy was poor. As a result, the RAC did not purchase the Panzer 38(t) and the trial model was returned.
On July 1, 1938, Czechoslovakia ordered 150 of the TNHPS model, although none had entered service by the time of the German occupation. After the German takeover, Germany ordered continued production of the model, as it was considered an excellent tank, especially compared to the Panzer I and Panzer II tanks that were the Panzerwaffe's main tanks. It was first introduced into German service under the name LTM 38; this was changed on 16 January 1940 to Panzerkampfwagen 38(t). Production of tanks for Germany continued into 1942, and amounted to more than 1,400 examples. Examples were also sold to a number of German allies, including Hungary (102), Slovakia (69), Romania (50), and Bulgaria (10). In German service the 38(t) was used as a substitute for the Panzer III.
The main advantages of the Panzer 38(t), compared to other tanks of the day, were a very high reliability and sustained mobility. In one documented case a regiment was supplied with tanks driven straight from the factory in 2.5 days instead of the anticipated week, without any mechanical breakdowns (in: History of the 25 Panzer Regiment of the 7 Panzerdivision). In the opinion of the crews, the drive components of the 38(t), engine, gear, steering, suspension, wheels and tracks were perfectly in tune with each other. The 38(t) was also considered to be very easy to maintain and repair.[1]
The Panzer 38(t) was manufactured up to the middle of World War II. The small turret was incapable of taking a weapon big enough to destroy late-war tanks, and manufacturing of the tank version ceased. However, the chassis continued in production as the basis for several turretless assault guns, anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns. A Swedish variant, the Sav m/43, remained in use until 1970.
The Aufklärungspanzer 38(t) - Sd.Kfz.141/1 was a reconnaissance conversion fitted with a "Hangelafette" turret (20 mm KwK 38 L/55 gun and MG42 - used in armored cars) or armed with 75 mm KwK 37 L/24 (and MG42) gun mounted in the modified superstructure. Only 50 to 70 Aufklarungspanzer 38(t) with 20 mm gun were built from late 1943 to early 1944 and only 2 Aufklarungspanzer 38(t) with 75 mm gun were built in 1944.
The Panzer 38(t) performed well in the Polish campaign in 1939 and the Battle of France in 1940. It was better armed than the Panzer I and Panzer II tanks. It was on par with most light tank designs of the era, although it was unable to effectively engage the frontal armour of medium, heavy and infantry tank designs.
It was also used in the German invasion of the Soviet Union from 1941 onwards in German and Romanian units, but was outclassed by Soviet tanks such as the T-34. By then, it had become largely obsolete, though the chassis was adapted to a variety of different roles with success. Notable variations include the SdKfz 138 Marder III mobile anti-tank gun, the SdKfz 138/1 Grille mobile howitzer, and the Jagdpanzer 38(t) "Hetzer" tank destroyer.
The well-known German tank commander Otto Carius, who was credited with over 150 'kills' described the following action in a 38(t) in 1941:
On July 8, we got hit. I had to bail out for the first time.... It was at Ulla... Our engineers had built a pontoon bridge next to the one blown up over the Duna. It was there that we penetrated the positions along the Duna. They put us out of commission just this side of the wood line on the other side of the river. It happened like greased lightning. A hit against our tank, a metallic crack, the scream of a comrade, and that was all there was! A large piece of armor plating had been penetrated next to the radio operator's seat. No one had to tell us to get out. Not until I had run my hand across my face while crawling in the ditch next to the road did I discover that they had also got me. Our radio operator had lost his left arm. We cursed the brittle and inelastic Czech steel that gave the Russian 47 mm AT gun so little trouble. The pieces of our own armor plating and assembly bolts caused considerably more damage than the shrapnel of the round itself.[2]
The vehicle continued to serve after 1941 as a reconnaissance vehicle and in anti-partisan units for some time. Several captured examples were refitted with Soviet DTM machineguns and employed by the Red Army.
The Hetzer and Marder models of tank destroyers were two of the most common German AFVs in the last year of the war. Production continued for the Czechoslovak Army after the war. Switzerland purchased 158 examples, which served into the 1960s.
Removal of turrets from Panzer 38(t) tanks for conversion of the chassis to tank destroyer and other uses freed 351 turrets for use in fortifications in various locations. Almost half of these (150) were used in Southwest Europe, while 78 went to the Eastern Front, 75 to Norway, 25 in Italy, 20 in Denmark, and 9 in the Atlantic Wall. The small-bore armament and thin armor of the turrets made them insignificant as an anti-tank pillbox by the later stages of the war, but they were still useful in combating infantry attacks.
The SdKfz 140/1 came about from a shortage of light reconnaissance tanks as the Panzer I was outdated and the Panzer II Luchs was only just starting production. The basic construction was to remove the 38(t)'s turret, build up the hull superstructure and place an open turret from either a SdKfz 222 or SdKfz 234/1.
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