Mareșal tank destroyer
| Mareșal tank destroyer | |
|---|---|
| Type | Tank Destroyer |
| Place of origin |
 Romania |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1943—44 |
| Used by | Romania |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Comandamentul Trupelor Motomecanizate |
| Designed | 1942—43 |
| Manufacturer | Rogifer |
| Produced | 1943-1944 |
| Number built | 17 (7 prototypes + 10 "Series 0" vehicles) |
| Specifications (M-05 prototype) | |
| Weight | 10 tonnes (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons) |
| Length | 5.8 metres (19 ft) |
| Width | 2.44 metres (8.0 ft) |
| Height | 1.54 metres (5.1 ft) |
| Crew | 2 |
|
| |
| Armor | 10–20 millimetres (0.39–0.79 in) |
Main armament | 1 x 75 mm DT-UDR |
Secondary armament | 1 x 7.92 mm ZB-53 machine gun |
| Engine |
Hotchkiss H-39 120 horsepower (89 kW) |
| Speed |
On road: 45 kilometres per hour (28 mph) Off road: 25 km/h |
The Mareșal (Marshal) tank destroyer was a Romanian armored fighting vehicle produced in limited numbers during the Second World War.
History
Romania, a member of the Axis powers during World War II, had few modern fighting vehicles when the war began. Most were captured obsolete Allied vehicles, which were quickly destroyed by superior Soviet armor. After the German army provided armor replacement and modernization assistance to Romania, Romania began to receive 38t, Stug III, and Panzer IV tanks.
The Romanian military began development of a modern armored fighting vehicle at the end of 1942. The new design was of a contemporary appearance, having an enclosed fighting compartment, and it was armed with a captured Soviet 122 mm Putilov-Obluchov M1904/30 howitzer on a modified captured Soviet T-60 undercarriage with special 4-piece turtle-shaped armor similar to the Hetzer. Later prototypes incorporated the 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) on a modified and enlarged T-60 undercarriage and Romanian built 75 mm anti-tank gun DT-UDR M1943 Resita on a widened T-60 (captured) Soviet light tank chassis. Orders were placed for 1,000 vehicles (from November 1944), but development stopped when a coup d'état led by King Michael of Romania overthrew Marshal Ion Antonescu, the Romanian leader, and the country switched sides. All prototypes were later confiscated by the Soviets which stopped any further work on the project.
(Taken from http://www.worldwar2.ro/arme/?article=244)
References
Third Axis - Fourth Ally, Romanian armed forces in the European war, 1941-1945 by Mark Axworthy, Arms & Armour press
External links
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