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Judging by the numbers, by the time the Second World War began, Poland had a fairly impressive fleet of armored vehicles - about 870 units (versus about 2,700 tanks in the German Army Groups North and South). But 3/4 of them accounted for rather specific vehicles - tankettes TK-3 and TKS. What were these combat vehicles, which formed the basis of Polish armored weapons?
Architect student and his "cockroaches"
On September 9, 1939, one of the first major battles of the Second World War began - the Battle of Bzura. The Polish armies "Poznan" and "Pomorie", retreating east from the Poznan ledge, found themselves in the rear of the German Army Group South, which was rushing towards Warsaw. Moving on night marches, the Poles secretly reached the valley of the Bzura River and delivered a powerful blow to the left flank of the 8th Wehrmacht Army. When advancing to the southeast, they liberated several cities and forced the German command to reconsider their plans for operations in central Poland, transferring additional tank and aviation units to Bzura. The situation for the Germans in this area was so critical that, for example, on September 17, the Luftwaffe practically canceled all sorties, except those related to the Bzura area. Nevertheless, the general course of hostilities of the army "Poznan" and "Pomorye" could not be reversed - on September 12, the Germans approached Lvov, and on the 14th they completed the encirclement of Warsaw.
Among other military units, the Poznan army included the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade, which included the 71st armored battalion (71 Dywizjon Pancerny). Of the three companies of this unit formed immediately before the war (August 24–27), only one was equipped with vehicles that, with a certain degree of conventionality, can be called tanks. These were thirteen TKS (and, possibly, TK-3) machine-gun tankettes, four of which the Poles managed to rearm by installing 20 mm wz automatic cannons. 38 model A (according to the Polish classification, this gun was classified as a "super heavy machine gun"). One of these tankettes with “heavy” weapons was commanded by a student of the Warsaw Polytechnic University, drafted into the army on August 26, platoon commander Sergeant Roman Edmund Orlik. The second member of the crew, consisting of two people, was the driver Bronislav Zakrzhevsky.
During the Battle of Bzura, the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade fought hard against the 4th Panzer Division of the 16th Motorized Corps of the 10th Wehrmacht Army. On September 14, the brigade attacked the Germans in the Brokhov area. In this battle, Orlik destroyed 3 tanks from the 36th Tank Regiment; most likely, these were the PzKpfv I and PzKpfv II vehicles, which formed the basis of the tank fleet of the German 4th division.
On September 18, the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade, as part of the Operational Cavalry Group, formed to clear the way to Warsaw for the rest of the Polish units of the Poznan army surrounded by the Germans, fought in the Kampinoska Forest area west of the capital. A platoon (in Polish sources - a half-platoon, półpluton) of Orlik, consisting of his car and two more tankettes with machine-gun weapons, was sent to reconnaissance. Hearing the noise of tank engines ahead, the sergeant sent vehicles with machine-gun weapons into cover, while he himself settled in ambush.
On the road in front of the Polish tankette, a column of three tanks and several vehicles of the 1st light division of the Wehrmacht was moving. Suddenly opening fire, a Polish tanker shot into the side and destroyed the lead German tank right on the road, forcing the rest of the vehicles to detour into the forest. Changing positions, Orlik destroyed the other two German tanks, put the rest of the German column to flight and left the battle with his platoon without loss.
Some sources indicate that all three tanks destroyed by Orlik on September 18 were Czech PzKpfw 35 (t), which formed the basis of the tank fleet of the 1st Light Division. However, with a high probability, one of these tanks was the PzKpfw IV. The 1st Light Division was armed with a small number of them, and during the period from 1 to 25 September, the division lost up to 9 tanks of this type. In the battle, among others, he was seriously injured and the commander of a tank platoon, Lieutenant Viktor IV Albrecht, Prince of Ratiborsky, died - a number of sources indicate that it was he who commanded the crew of the PzKpfv IV, and even a photograph of his destroyed combat vehicle.
Presumably, in the photo PzKpfv IV of Prince Viktor Albrecht, destroyed by Roman Orlyk in the battle on September 18
On September 19, Orlyk took part in the battle for Sierakow, where several dozen tanks of the German 11th Tank Regiment and the 65th Tank Battalion attacked the 7th Regiment of Mounted Riflemen and the 9th Lancers of the Poles. In this battle, more than 20 German tanks were destroyed and knocked out by the battery of the 7th Horse Artillery Battalion and Polish tankers, of which 7 vehicles were accounted for by Orlik's wedges. Orlik captured two German tankers. Then Orlik managed to bring his wedge to Warsaw, took part in its defense, and after the fall of the city, he joined the Polish resistance forces. He managed to survive the war, after which he worked in his specialty - an architect.
Considering the vehicle that Orlik fought in, his achievements (13 tanks hit and destroyed in less than a week of battles) look very worthy. The small, lightly armored and weakly armed tankette TKS, at first and at second glance, was not very suitable for the role of a formidable tank destroyer. Nevertheless, as practice has shown, in skillful hands it could also be a formidable weapon - and, given that Orlik became a tanker just a few days before the start of the war, it was apparently not difficult to master it.
So what are these armored vehicles, about which, as the Polish military historian Janusz Magnuski writes, a German tank officer captured by the Poles responded with these words:
"... it is very difficult to hit such a small cockroach with a cannon."
Pole with British roots
The experiments of British tank building in the interwar period "backfired" around the world. "Vickers six-ton", for example, gave rise to a whole galaxy of the same type of machines in different countries, which subsequently fought on both sides of the fronts of the Second World War. In a similar way, the fate of the two-seat tankette designers John Carden and Vivien Lloyd Mk VI, which in Soviet special literature was sonorously called the "Carden-Lloyd tracked machine gun carrier", was similar. They were produced with various modifications in the USSR (T-27), France, Czechoslovakia, Japan, Italy, Poland - and in the last two countries, by the beginning of the World War, tankettes made up the bulk of tracked armored vehicles.
The British tankette, armed with a water-cooled 7.7 mm Vickers machine gun, was cheap and simple in design. In its manufacture, numerous available automotive components and assemblies were used, including the Ford T engine.
In 1929, when its mass production began in England, the Poles bought one copy for testing. After being shown at the training ground in Rembertov on June 20, 1929, it was decided to purchase 10 more tankettes, from which two platoons of five vehicles were formed. Extensive tests have shown that the vehicles have good mobility and maneuverability, which, together with their small size, makes them suitable for reconnaissance needs. It was decided to replace the wz.28 armored vehicles with tankettes in the reconnaissance units of the cavalry units, and Poland acquired a license to produce the Cardin-Lloyd Mk VI.
More detailed studies, conducted from September to December 1929, showed certain shortcomings. First of all, the problems were caused by the low-comfort, non-sprung suspension, due to which the crew was exhausted after a long trip. Already on two British vehicles, the Poles improved its design by installing semi-elliptical springs.
But it was decided not to stop at these half-measures - the Poles launched more deeply modernized machines into mass production. The intermediate stages in the improvement of the tankette were the TK-1 and TK-2 versions with a modified hull shape, which differed from each other in the location of the drive wheel: in the TK-1 it was at the back, and in the TK-2 it remained in the front.
In addition, while the Ford T engine was still used as a power plant on the TK-2, the new Ford A was installed on the TK-1. Both cars received an electric starter, and the Hotchkiss air-cooled machine gun wz was installed as an armament. .25. As for the name of the Polish tankette, there is no consensus on its origin. TK may be an abbreviation of the names of the designers Trzeciak and Karkoz, who worked on the machine, the initials of Lieutenant Colonel Tadeusz Kossakowski from the Polish Army Engineering Department, or simply an abbreviation for the word "wedge".
Prototypes TK-2 (foreground) and TK-1. Behind them are the original British Cardin-Lloyds Mk VI. The photograph is probably from 1930. In the background are Ursus A trucks and two Saurers.
Mass production
Further testing and work on prototypes led to the creation of a third version of the vehicle with a closed top fighting compartment. The new machine was called TK-3 and was adopted by the Polish army in 1931. In total, these tankettes were made in 3 batches of 100 pieces, and 15 TK-3 from the first batch were made of non-armored steel.
Serial tankette TK-3. Weight 2430 kg, Ford A 40 hp engine, road speed 46 km/h, cruising range up to 200 km. Armament - 7.92 mm machine gun Hotchkiss wz. 25, ammunition - 1800 rounds
In the early 1930s, the Poles acquired a license for the production of the Italian FIAT-122BC engine and, as part of import substitution (Ford-A engines had to be purchased abroad), in 1933 they installed a domestically assembled engine on a number of tankettes. In total, such machines (which received the name TKF) were produced from 18 to 22; it is believed that they were among the 100 vehicles of the latest TK-3 series.
In 1933, work began on the modernization of the TK-3. TKS (or, in pre-war spelling, TK-S) received a new hull shape with improved armor. Of course, the car was equipped with a domestically produced Fiat engine, as well as a new transmission. The suspension was strengthened, the tracks of the tracks were expanded and the system of their tension was changed. The commander received a turnable modern periscope, and the machine gun on the TKS was installed in a ball mount (the first prototype was equipped with a water-cooled machine gun wz.30 "Browning", but then it was decided to return to the same as on the TK-3, "air" wz.25).
10. Serial tankette TKS with machine guns. Weight 2570 kg, engine FIAT 122BC 46 hp (or FIAT 122AC 42 hp), road speed 45 km/h, cruising range up to 160 km. Armament - 7.92 mm machine gun Hotchkiss wz. 25, ammunition - 1920 rounds
A total of 262 serial TKS wedges were built by the end of production in April 1937. A lighter version of the TKS-B was also developed for operation as an artillery tractor, in which ordinary steel was used instead of armor plates. The car turned out to be lighter, faster (by 5 km / h), with lower fuel consumption and better handling, but it never went into production.
Since from the very beginning it was clear that a tankette armed with a machine gun would not be able to fight enemy armored vehicles, ideas were repeatedly expressed about re-equipping Polish tankettes with more serious weapon. Back in 1931, it was proposed to install a 13.2-mm heavy French Hotchkiss machine gun on them. Options were considered with the installation of 37-mm and even 45-mm guns. At the turn of 1935–1936, a heavy anti-tank 20 mm Solothurn S18–100 gun (which was used as the main armament on the Hungarian Toldi light tank) was experimentally installed on one of the TKS. This experience showed that the installation of weapons with such a caliber is expedient, but the Poles “rejected” the gun due to the fact that it could only fire a single fire.
After the test various models automatic guns Oerlikon, Solothurn and Madsen, already in August 1939, it was decided to rearm 80 TKS tankettes and 70 TK-3 tankettes with newly developed domestic automatic guns 20 mm wz. 38 model A.
By the beginning of the war, the Poles managed to produce only about 50 of these guns, and even fewer were installed on tankettes - from 20 to 24. It was on such a machine that Roman Orlik fought - due to low visibility, mobility and successful armament, such TK-3 and TKS turned out to be the most valuable examples of Polish armored vehicles.
Experiments on "cockroaches"
Talking about Polish wedges, it is necessary to briefly mention the experimental vehicles based on them. At the end of 1932 or at the beginning of 1933, a tower prototype was built. TKW(W - "wieża", tower). They tried to put machine guns with air and water cooling on it. Tests of this "minitank" showed that the tower is extremely cramped, has terrible ventilation and poor visibility. The car had a very high center of gravity, the right side was overloaded, which could lead to a rollover, and the driver's armor cap limited the turret's traverse angle to 306 degrees.
In 1932, a light self-propelled gun was created on the basis of the TK-3 TKD armed with a 47 mm Vickers QF short-barreled gun. A total of 4 vehicles were built, of which an experimental platoon was formed. Self-propelled guns were tested as means of anti-tank and artillery support for cavalry units. As a result of the exercises in the summer of 1933, it became clear that there were no complaints about the undercarriage, but the low-powered gun did not quite meet the needs of the Polish army.
Another experimental vehicle was armed with a 37-mm Bofors anti-tank gun TKS-D. Its concept was unique: here the tankette acted as a tractor for a conventional fire monitor, which, however, could, if necessary, be removed from the carriage and installed in front of the vehicle body. In this form, the tractor turned into a miniature, but full-fledged "tank destroyer" for the 30s, a self-propelled anti-tank gun.
Artillery tractor / self-propelled anti-tank gun TKS-D. The gun is mounted on a machine that tows an "empty" gun carriage
Another interesting solution was the Polish implementation of the "wheeled-tracked" tank concept, fashionable in the 1930s. For Polish tankettes based on the Ursus A truck, a special wheeled chassis was developed. After driving from the ramp to this device, the drive wheels of the tankette were connected by chains with a transmission to the rear axle of the unit, and the front wheels of the chassis were connected to the controls of the armored vehicle. In this form, tankettes took on the appearance of a heavy armored car - however, in the reckless version, the practical use of such a solution in combat conditions remains a very big question.
Tankettes TK-3, TKF and TKS were the main and most numerous armored vehicles of the Polish army before the start of World War II. Their impressive number of approximately 600 units on paper created the appearance of the armored power of the Polish army. In fact, they could not and could not become a full-fledged replacement for "real" tanks. However, advantages such as small size, low visibility and high mobility allowed them to successfully operate in reconnaissance or from ambushes. In the absence of other armored vehicles, they could serve as a tank for direct infantry support; sometimes even their very presence raised the morale of the Polish troops and had a depressing effect on the German infantry, which often did not expect a collision with Polish armored vehicles at all.
- Janusz Magnuski, "Czołg rozpoznawczy TKS (TK)"; TBiU nr. 36; Wydawnictwo MON; Warszawa 1975;
- Janusz Magnuski. Karaluchy przeciw Panzerom (Cockroaches against tanks). Pelta, Warsaw (1995);
- Motorized mechanized infantry (Combat use and use of mechanized infantry units). State military publishing house, Moscow, 1934
Roman Orlyk was born in 1918 and was a student of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Warsaw, when, shortly before the outbreak of the war, he was drafted into the army and appointed commander of a TKS tankette with a 20mm automatic cannon in a reconnaissance platoon of the 71st tank battalion of the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade, with the rank of sergeant. The driver of his tankette was Bronisław Zakrzewski. Here, probably, it is worth telling what the “combat vehicle” of Sergeant Orlik was like.
Tankettes of the TK series, armed with a machine gun
In 1928, the British company Vickers-Armstrong produced the two-man Vickers Carden-Loyd Mark VI wedge. This project attracted great attention, and in mid-1929 Poland purchased several Mark VI tankettes. After extensive testing, it was decided that tankettes had potential and could be used to motorize cavalry units and as reconnaissance vehicles. The license was bought, and the internal production of this project began, with changes to the British project (in the USSR, the tankette was produced under the brand name T-27). The upgraded Mark VI tankette, which had 3-8 mm thick armor and was armed with a single 7.92mm wz.25 machine gun, received the name TK-3 in 1931 and was adopted by the Polish Army. Wedge length - 2600 mm, width - 1800, height - 1300. In 1933 it was produced prototype TK-3 tankettes with thicker armor - 3-10 mm (protection against small caliber armor-piercing bullets), called TKS. A total of about 300 TK-3s and 390 TKSs were produced by the Panstwowe Zaklady Inzynierii (National Engineering Works) at Ursus near Warsaw until September 1939.
Tankette TKS with 20mm automatic cannon 
She's just behind
In 1938/39 the Polish 20mm FK-A wz.38 L/73.5 automatic cannon (capable of penetrating 40mm armor at 200m) was developed and the rearmament process of some TK-3s and TKSs began. After testing and further refinement, in January 1939, a prototype TKS armed with a 20mm cannon was ready. The tankettes were changed (the front superstructure was redesigned), the automatic gun was installed in a large ball mount. It was planned to rearm about 100 to 150 tankettes by 30 January 1940. But by September 1939 only a small number were rearmed (some sources say 10). The crew of 2 people - the driver and the commander - was in all tankettes of the TK series. 
On September 14, 1939, during the battle near the village of Brokhov, 52 km west of Warsaw, he knocked out 3 tanks from the 36th tank regiment of the 4th tank division of the Wehrmacht. 
On the map in the center you can see the directions of the attack of the 36th tank regiment and 2 rhombuses - TKS tankettes, which stopped it on the left flank.
On September 18, in a battle near the road to Pociecha, Orlik destroyed 3 tanks of the 11th tank regiment of the 1st light division of the Wehrmacht - 2 tanks Pz.Kpfw. 35(t) and the Pz.Kpfw IV tank (the best German tank at that time). Orlik's crew, along with two other TKS crews (armed only with machine guns), were sent to reconnoiter the area near the Kampinos forest west of Warsaw. 
Suddenly, he heard the rumble of enemy tanks and, having ordered two other crews on the TKS with machine guns (marked I and II on the diagram) to find cover, he himself took up a position in an ambush. Three German tanks appeared (1,2,3 on the diagram). Letting the column closer, Orlik suddenly opened fire and destroyed all enemy tanks. In this battle, Orlik, in addition, destroyed several enemy vehicles and captured 2 German tankers. Orlik also tried to save the crew of the Pz.Kpfw IV (2 in the diagram), which caught fire, but he failed and the crew died. It was the tank of the platoon commander, lieutenant (according to other sources, chief lieutenant) Victor IV Albrecht von Ratibor (Prince Ratiborsky).
Destroyed by Orlik on September 18, 1939 Pz.Kpfw IV 
The arrow indicates the place where the TKS pierced the armor of a German tank. The thickness of the side armor of the Pz.Kpfw IV Ausf B (and in the picture it is this modification) was 20 mm, i.e. from a distance of 200 m was pierced for a gun mounted on a tankette
The next day, September 19, in the battle near Sieraków, Orlik counterattacked and destroyed 7 enemy tanks that had broken through. At least 6 of them were Pz.Kpfw 35(t) of the same 11th Tank Regiment.
C 
Scheme of the battle on September 19. Tanks marked with numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 are German. 3 TK - Polish tankettes. 
Pz.Kpfw 35 (t) - captured Czechoslovak tanks used by the Wehrmacht on initial stage war. In particular, the 1st Light Division was equipped with them. Frontal armor - 25 mm, side - 16 mm
Thus, in five days of fighting, the crew of Orlik and Zakrzhevsky, driving a lightly armored tankette, disabled 3 + 3 + 7 = 13 enemy tanks, superior to the TKS in armament and armor. Captured in the first days of the war, a German tank officer appreciated the speed and agility of the Polish tankette, stating: "... it is very difficult to hit such a small cockroach from a cannon."
His tankette was one of 2 TKS with 20mm cannon, which were in service with the 71st tank battalion. Both of them were destroyed on the night of September 20-21 near Warsaw. Sergeant Orlik fought in Warsaw until its surrender on September 28, and later participated in the Polish Resistance. After the war, he worked as an architect and died in 1982.
Wedge heel TKS
The tankette was developed on the basis of the English Carden-Loyd Mk-VI tankette, for the production of which Poland acquired a license. Adopted by the Polish Army in 1931. Serial production was carried out by the state enterprise PZInz (Panstwowe Zaklady Inzynierii) from 1931 to 1936. The tankette was produced in four modifications. TK-3 - the first serial version, riveted armored hull closed on top (280 units were made). TKF - TK tankette with 46 hp engine. (produced 18 pieces). TKS - improved model of 1933 (260 produced). TKS z nkm 20A - armed with a 20 mm FK-A wz.38 automatic cannon (24 units converted). A total of 582 cars were produced. A special trailer was developed that could be towed by a tankette. Armored tires, self-propelled guns and artillery tractors were produced on its basis. About 100 tankettes captured by the Wehrmacht were used under the designation "l Panzerkampfwagen TK-3 / TKS (p)" as transporters and for crew training.
TTX wedges: length - 2.6 m; width - 1.8 m; weight - 2.4-2.6 tons; height - 1.3 m; booking - 4-10 mm; engine type - Ford A/Polski FIAT-122 petrol engine; engine power - 40-46 hp; specific power - 17 hp / t; speed on the highway - 46 km / h; power reserve - 180 km; armament - 7.92 mm wz.25 machine gun or 9 mm Browning wz.28 machine gun (ammunition - 2 thousand rounds), since 1939 - 20 mm cannon; crew - 2 people.
"You can beg for everything! Money, fame, power, but not the Motherland ... Especially one like my Russia"
By the beginning of the events 72 years ago, "pan Poland" had a rather small supply of armored vehicles. On September 1, 1939, the Polish armored forces (Bron Pancerna) had 219 tankettes TK-3, 13 TKF, 169 TKS, 120 tanks 7TP, 45 R-35, 34 Vickers Mk.E, 45 FT-17, 8 armored vehicles wz .29 and 80wz.34. 32 FT-17 tanks were part of the staff of armored trains and were used as armored tires. During the hostilities, most of the equipment was lost, some went as trophies to the Wehrmacht and a small part to the Red Army.
Tankette TK-3
Developed on the basis of the English Carden-Loyd Mk VI wedge (one of the most successful in its class, exported to 16 countries, produced under license in Poland, the USSR, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Japan). Adopted by the Polish Army on July 14, 1931. Serial production was carried out by the state enterprise PZInz (Panstwowe Zaklady Inzynierii) from 1931 to 1936. It was the first completely Polish armored tracked vehicle. About 600 units were made.
TTX. Layout with a front location of the transmission compartment and with the engine in the middle. The suspension is blocked on a semi-elliptical spring. Riveted armored hull closed on top. Armor 6-8 mm. The combat weight is 2.43 tons. The crew is 2 people (the commander used the machine gun). Overall dimensions: 2580x1780x1320 mm. Ford A engine, 4-cylinder, carbureted, in-line, liquid-cooled; power 40 hp Armament: 1 Hotchkiss wz.25 7.92 mm machine gun (or "Browning"). Ammunition 1800 rounds. Highway speed 45 km/h. Cruising on the highway 150 km.
TKS version - new armored hull (increased armor in vertical projection, reduced roof and bottom armor), improved suspension, observation devices and weapon installation (machine gun is placed in a ball mount). Combat weight increased to 2.57. With an engine power of 42 hp. (6-cylinder Polski Fiat) speed dropped to 40 km/h. Ammunition for 7.92 mm machine guns: wz .25 - 2000 rounds, wz .30 - 2400 rounds.
TKF variant - Polski Fiat 122V engine, 6-cylinder, carbureted, in-line, liquid-cooled: power 46 hp Weight - 2.65 tons.
Gun versions. TKD - 47 mm wz.25 "Pocisk" cannon behind a shield in front of the hull. Ammunition 55 artillery rounds. Combat weight 3 tons. Four units converted from TK-3. TKS z nkm 20А - 20-mm automatic gun FK-A wz.38 of Polish design. starting speed 870 m/s, rate of fire 320 rds/min. ammunition 250 rounds. Rearmed 24 units.
On the basis of the tankette in Poland, a light artillery tractor C2P was produced.
Wedges were the main type of Polish armor. TK-3 (301 units produced) and TKS (282 units manufactured) were in service with armored divisions of cavalry brigades and separate companies of reconnaissance tanks, which were subordinate to army headquarters. Tankettes TKF were part of the squadron of reconnaissance tanks of the 10th cavalry brigade. Each of the listed units had 13 wedges (company).
Tank destroyers armed with 20-mm cannons were in the 71st (4 units) and 81st (3 units) divisions, the 11th (4 units) and 101st (4 units) companies of reconnaissance tanks , a squadron of reconnaissance tanks of the 10th cavalry brigade (4 units) and in a squadron of reconnaissance tanks of the Warsaw Motorized Armored Brigade (4 units). It was these vehicles that were the most combat-ready, since tankettes armed with machine guns turned out to be powerless against German tanks.
Tankette TKS with 20 mm cannon
The 20-mm guns of the Polish tankettes FR "A" wz.38 pierced armor up to 25 mm thick with a 135-gram projectile at a distance of 200 m. The effect was enhanced by their rate of fire - 750 rounds per minute.
The 71st Armored Division, which was part of the Greater Poland Cavalry Brigade, operated most successfully. On September 14, 1939, supporting the attack of the 7th Regiment of Mounted Riflemen on Brochov, the tankettes of the division destroyed 3 German tanks with their 20-mm guns. If the re-equipment of tankettes had been completed in full (250 - 300 units), then the losses of the Germans from their fire could have been much greater.
Captured in the first days of the war, a German tank officer appreciated the speed and agility of the Polish tankette, stating: "... it is very difficult to hit such a small cockroach from a cannon." Polish tanker Roman Edmund Orlik in September 1939 on a TKS tankette with a 20-mm gun, together with his crew, knocked out 13 German tanks (among which, presumably, one PzKpfw IV Ausf B).
In 1938, six TKS tankettes were purchased by Estonia. In 1940 they became the property of the Red Army. On June 22, 1941, the 202nd motorized and 23rd tank divisions of the 12th mechanized corps had two tankettes of this type each. During the withdrawal of troops on alert, they were all left in the parks.
Polish armored forces occupy the Czechoslovak village of Yorgov during the operation to annex the Czechoslovak lands of Spis.
Tank 7TP
"Semiton Polish" - the only serial Polish tank of the 1930s. Developed on the basis of English lung Vickers tank Mk.E (created by Vickers-Armstrong in 1930. rejected by the British army, widely exported - Greece, Bolivia, Siam, China, Finland, Bulgaria, one tank for demonstration was sent to the USA, Japan, Italy, Romania and Estonia; served as the basis for the production Soviet tank T-26, Polish 7TR and Italian M11 / 39, which many times exceeded the output of the base vehicle).
From the UK in 1932, 22 Vickers Mk.E mod.A twin-turreted vehicles were delivered.
TTX:
Combat weight, t: 7
Crew, people: 3
Armor, mm: 5 - 13
Armament: two 7.92 mm machine guns mod 25
Ammunition: 6600 rounds
Highway speed, km/h: 35
Power reserve on the highway, km: 160
And in 1933, 16 Vickers Mk.E mod.V single-turret vehicles
TTX:
Combat weight, t: 8
Crew, people: 3
Armor, mm: 13
Armament: 47 mm gun "Vickers-Armstrong" model E (or 37 mm "Puteaux" M1918)
one 7.92 mm machine gun "Browning" model 30 (or model 25)
Ammunition: 49 shots, 5940 rounds
Engine: carbureted, "Armstrong-Sidley Puma", power 91.5 hp
Highway speed, km/h: 32
Power reserve on the highway, km: 160
7TP arr. 1935
Double-turreted machine-gun tank (aka 7TPdw). Layout with front transmission and rear engine compartments. Frame type body. Bolt fastening of armor plates. Suspension blocked on leaf springs. Armament consisted of either two 7.92 mm Browning wz.30 machine guns, or one 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun and one 7.92 mm machine gun. The world's first production tank with a diesel engine. Produced at the National Machine Building Plant (Panstwowe Zaklady Inzynierii) in Ursus near Warsaw. 40 cars were produced.
performance characteristics
Combat weight, t: 9.4
Crew, people: 3
Overall dimensions, mm:
length 4750
width 2400
height 2181
clearance 380
Armor, mm:
hull forehead 17
hull side 17
towers 13
Ammunition: 6000 rounds
The design and shape of the hull, except for the engine compartment, converted for the installation of a diesel engine, suspension and tracks are identical to those of English tank Vickers Mk E. The towers were somewhat different from the English ones, had a different hatch design and ventilation system.
The appearance of characteristic ledges on the roofs of the towers was due to the upper attachment of stores to Browning wz.30 machine guns.
7TR arr. 1937
A single-turret variant of the 1935 model tank (aka 7TPjw). It was equipped with a conical turret designed by the Swedish company Bofors. The barrel of the coaxial machine gun was closed with an armor casing. There are no means of communication.
TTX:
Combat weight, t: 9.4
Crew, people: 3
Armor, mm:
hull forehead 17
hull side 17
towers 15
Armament: 37 mm gun
7.92 mm machine gun
Ammunition: 70 rounds
2950 rounds
Engine: diesel, "Saurer" VBLD, power 110 hp
Highway speed, km/h: 35
Range on the highway, km: 200
7TR mod 1938
The tower received a rectangular aft niche designed to install the N2C radio station. It was also distinguished by the presence of a TPU and a gyrocompass. In total, about 100 vehicles were produced with single-turret 7TR tanks.
TTX:
Combat weight, t: 9.9
Crew, people: 3
Overall dimensions, mm:
length 4750
width 2400
height 2273
clearance 380
Armor, mm:
hull forehead 17
hull side 17
towers 15
Armament: 37 mm gun mod. 37g.
one 7.92 mm machine gun
Ammunition: 80 rounds
3960 rounds
Engine: diesel, "Saurer" VBLDb
power 110 hp
Highway speed, km/h: 32
Range on the highway, km: 150
Overcoming obstacles
elevation angle, deg. - 35;
moat width, m - 1.8;
wall height, m - 0.7;
fording depth, m -1.
On the basis of the 7TR tank, since 1935, the C7R artillery tractor was mass-produced.
On the eve of World War II, the 1st and 2nd battalions of light tanks (49 vehicles each) were armed with 7TR tanks. Shortly after the start of the war, on September 4, 1939, the 1st Tank Company of the Warsaw Defense Command was formed at the Training Center for Tank Troops in Modlin. It consisted of 11 combat vehicles. The same number of tanks were in the 2nd company of light tanks of the Warsaw Defense Command, formed a little later.
Tanks 7TR were better armed than the German Pz.I and Pz.II, had better maneuverability and almost did not concede to them in armor protection. They took an active part in the hostilities, in particular, in the counterattack of the Polish troops near Piotrkow Trybunalski, where on September 5, 1939, one 7TR from the 2nd battalion of light tanks knocked out five German tanks Pz.I. The combat vehicles of the 2nd tank company, which defended Warsaw, fought the longest. They participated in street fighting until 26 September.
Polish 7TP tanks enter the Czech city of Tesin. October 1938.
A former Polish 7TP tank captured by the Germans in France, found by American forces in 1944.
The formation of Polish tank forces began immediately after the end of the First World War and the granting of independence to Poland from Russian Empire. This process took place with strong financial and material support from France. On March 22, 1919, the 505th French Tank Regiment was transformed into the 1st Polish Tank Regiment. In June, the first echelon with tanks arrived in Lodz. The regiment had 120 Renault FT17 combat vehicles (72 cannon and 48 machine guns), which in 1920 took part in the battles against the Red Army near Bobruisk, in northwestern Poland, in Ukraine and near Warsaw. Losses amounted to 19 tanks, seven of which became trophies of the Red Army.
After the war, Poland received a small number of FT17s to make up for losses, and until the mid-1930s, these combat vehicles were the most massive in the Polish army: on June 1, 1936, there were 174 units.
Work on the alteration and improvement of imported samples was carried out at the Military Engineering Research Institute (Wojskowy Instytut Badan Inzynierii), later renamed the Research Bureau of Armored Vehicles (Biuro Badan Technicznych Broni Pancernych). Several original prototypes of combat vehicles were also created here: the PZInz.130 amphibious tank, the 4TP light tank, the 10TP wheeled-tracked tank and others.
performance characteristics
Combat weight, t. 6.7
Length, mm. 4100, 4960 with tail
Width, mm 1740
Height, mm. 2140
Engine type in-line, 4-cylinder liquid-cooled carburetor
Power, hp 39
Maximum speed, km/h 7.8
Power reserve, km 35
Armor thickness, mm 6-16
Crew 2 people
Armament: 37 mm Hotchkiss SA18 cannon and 8 mm Hotchkiss machine gun mod.1914
By the beginning of World War II, the German Pz.Kpfw.I, although they had already lost the role of the main tank to the much more combat-ready Pz.Kpfw.II, were still used by the Wehrmacht in significant quantities. As of August 15, 1939, 1445 Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf.A and Ausf.B were in service with Germany, which accounted for 46.4% of all Panzerwaffe armored vehicles. Therefore, even the hopelessly outdated by that time FT-17, which nevertheless had cannon armament, had an advantage over it in battle and were quite suitable, in conditions of competent use, for use as a tank destroyer. The armor penetration of the SA1918 gun was 12 mm at a distance of 500 m, which made it possible to hit from ambush vulnerabilities German tanks.
The Renault of the Polish army accepted their last battle without any hope of success. So, on September 15, Renault blocked the gates of the citadel of the Brest Fortress, trying to stop the assault on Guderian's tanks.
A Polish Renault FT-17 tank stuck in the mud near Brest-Litovsk
The 21st tank battalion was armed with French Renault R-35 tanks (three companies of 16 tanks each). The Renault light tank of the 1935 model formed the basis of the armored forces of the French army (1070 units were delivered by September 1939). It was developed in 1934-35 as a new infantry escort tank to replace the obsolete FT-17.
The R-35 had a layout with the engine compartment located in the aft part, the transmission in the frontal part, and the combined control and combat compartment in the middle part, offset to the port side. The crew of the tank consisted of two people - a driver and a commander, who simultaneously performed the functions of a tower shooter.
performance characteristics
Combat weight, t 10.6
Case length, mm 4200
Hull width, mm 1850
Height, mm 2376
Clearance, mm 320
Type of armor cast steel homogeneous
Armor, mm 10-25-40
Armament: 37 mm SA18 L/21 semi-automatic cannon and 7.5 mm Reibel machine gun
Gun ammunition 116 shells
Engine type in-line
4-cylinder liquid-cooled carburetor
Engine power, l. With. 82
Highway speed, km/h 20
Range on the highway, km 140
Specific ground pressure, kg/cm² 0.92
Overcoming obstacles
rise, deg. twenty,
wall, m 0.5,
ditch, m 1.6,
ford m 0.6
On the night of September 18, the Polish President and the High Command with a battalion armed with French Renault R-35 tanks (according to other sources, there were also 3 or 4 Hotchkiss H-39 tanks purchased for testing in 1938), left Poland, moving to Romania, where and were interned. 34 Polish tanks were included in the armed forces Romania.
The R-35 did not have a significant impact on the course of the Polish campaign of 1939. In the German army, the R-35 received the index PzKpfw 35R (f) or Panzerkampfwagen 731 (f). By German standards, the R 35 was considered unsuitable for arming front-line units, primarily because of its low speed and the weak armament of most tanks, therefore it was used mainly for counter-guerrilla operations and security tasks. The R-35, used by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS in Yugoslavia, received comparatively high praise from the soldiers who used it, due to its small size, which allowed it to be used on narrow roads in mountainous terrain.
Wz.29 - Armored car model 1929
The first armored car completely Polish development, wz.29 was created by designer R. Gundlakh. In 1926, the mechanical plant "Ursus" near Warsaw acquired a license for the production of 2.5-ton trucks from the Italian company SPA. Production in Poland began in 1929. It was also decided to use them as a base for armored vehicles. The project was completed in 1929. In total, about 20 armored vehicles mod. 1929 or "Ursus" ("Bear").
They had a mass of 4.8 tons, a crew of 4-5 people. Armament - 37 mm SA-18 "Puteaux" gun with a shoulder rest and two 7.92 mm wz. 25 or three 7.92 mm machine guns mod. 1925. Ammunition 96 shells in boxes of 24 shots.
One machine gun was located on the left side of the turret (if you look at the armored car from the front), at an angle of 120 degrees to the gun. The commander could not use a cannon and a machine gun at the same time. The second machine gun was located in the aft armor plate, to the right of the rear driver's seat, and a rear gunner was needed to fire from it. At the beginning of the service, a third, anti-aircraft, machine gun was also installed on armored cars in the upper right part of the tower, but it was ineffective and in the mid-30s all anti-aircraft guns were dismantled. Machine gun ammunition - 4032 rounds (in 16 tapes of 252 rounds each). Machine guns had telescopic sights.
Reservation - steel plates on rivets from chromium-nickel steel. The shape of the hull with fairly rational angles of inclination of the armor plates. The thickness of the armor varied between 4-10 mm: the forehead of the hull - 7-9 mm, the stern - 6-9 mm, the sides and engine cover - 9 mm, the roof and bottom - 4 mm (vertical plates were thicker), an octagonal tower with all sides - 10 mm. The armor protected against armor-piercing bullets at a distance of over 300 m and from conventional bullets and shrapnel at any distance.
Engine "Ursus" power - 35 liters. s, speed - 35 km / h, cruising range - 250 km.
Two "Ursus" had radio horns instead of weapons, for which they were nicknamed "armored bands"
The armored car turned out to be heavy and had poor cross-country ability, because it had only one pair of driving wheels (drive only on the rear axle). They were used mainly for educational purposes. On mobilization, they became part of the 14th armored division of the Mazovian Cavalry Brigade. Seven vehicles made up the squadron of armored vehicles of the 11th tank battalion, the eighth was the vehicle of the battalion commander, Major Stefan Mayevsky. The commander of the armored car squadron is Lieutenant Miroslav Yarosinsky, the platoon commanders are Lieutenant M. Nakhorsky and weapons officer S. Vodzhezak.
They were actively used in the September battles, during which all were lost or destroyed by the crews.
On the evening of September 1, 1939, the 2nd platoon of armored vehicles stopped an attempt to penetrate the territory of Poland by the German reconnaissance unit of the 12th Infantry Division and destroyed all 3 German light armored vehicles. 2 Polish Ursus vehicles were damaged.
On September 3, one vehicle was lost in a battle with a reconnaissance unit of the Kempf Panzergruppe. On this day, all armored cars of the squadron covered the 11th Lancers from the attacks of the third battalion of the SS Regiment "Deutschland".
On September 4, the 1st Platoon covered the 7th Lancers in an attack on the village of Zhuki. Polish vehicles destroyed 2 German tank PzKpfw I, who tried to surround the positions of the lancers. Lieutenant Nakhorsky destroyed a staff car with an artillery spotter and captured German maps.
On September 7, Ursus armored cars, supporting the attack of the 7th Lancers, destroyed 2 German armored vehicles, losing one of their own.
On the thirteenth of September, the battalion was transferred to the location of the cavalry brigade. Meanwhile, the battalion was given 2 wz.34 armored vehicles from the 61st tank battalion. Near the small town of Seroczyn (southeast of Warsaw), the 1st armored car platoon, following in the vanguard of the battalion, collided with the outposts of the Steiner group. The German unit included a motorcycle company, a platoon of armored vehicles, anti-tank and infantry guns. In a short battle, 2 enemy armored vehicles were destroyed, but one Ursus was lost (hit by an anti-tank gun), and the Polish unit retreated.
Soon the main enemy forces pulled up and entered the city, the Poles retreated across the Swider River. Major Maevsky formed a battle group from his 11th battalion, soldiers from the defeated Polish units scattered nearby, artillery battery, found in a forest without horses, and approached by the 62nd reconnaissance tank company. Then the Poles tried to attack the enemy on the other side of the river with these forces, but failed. Armored cars tried to force the river through the bridge, but the first car that entered the bridge was hit by fire anti-tank gun, and wedges on the right flank got stuck in a swampy meadow. The main forces of the Steiner group, supported by tanks and artillery, forced the weakened Polish unit to retreat. The total losses of the Poles in this battle are 2 armored vehicles wz.29, 1-2 wz.34 and several wedges. The Germans suffered small losses, but their advance on Vistula was suspended for some time. Thanks to this, the cavalry group of General Anders was able to get out of the encirclement. In the evening, the 11th battalion put out of action the reconnaissance unit of the 1st infantry division (which lost the commander's armored vehicle in the battle).
The weakened battalion was attached to the units of the Lublin army in Lublin (the best Polish armored units, the Warsaw Motorized Brigade, were concentrated here). The last armored vehicles were destroyed on September 16 near the town of Zwierzyniec, because. they could not drive along uneven sandy forest roads to retreat southeast of Lublin (they sank into the sand to the very axis). In addition, the tanks needed the rest of the fuel for the last battle, which took place on September 18th.
Several wz.29 vehicles could be repaired by the Germans and used in occupied Poland. Not a single wz.29 armored car survived after the war.
Armored car model 1934
Obtained by converting a low-speed armored car of the 1928 model on a Citroen-Kegress B-10 type chassis from a half-track to a wheeled one. One armored car was converted and tested in March 1934 for tests, which were more or less successful, and in September 11 armored vehicles mod. 1934. During alterations and further modernization, the components of the Polish Fiat car were used.
On machines arr. 34-I caterpillar undercarriage was replaced with a wheeled axle of the car "Polish Fiat 614", the engine "Polish Fiat 108" was installed. On an armored car mod. 34-II, a new engine "Polish Fiat 108-III" was delivered, as well as a rear axle of a new reinforced design, hydraulic brakes, etc.
Armored vehicles arr. 1934 were armed with either a 37 mm cannon (approximately a third) or a 7.92 mm machine gun mod. 1925. The combat weight is 2.2 tons and 2.1 tons, respectively. For BA arr. 34-II - 2.2 tons. Crew - 2 people. Reservation - 6 mm horizontal and inclined and 8 mm - vertical sheets.
BA arr. 34-II had a 25 hp engine. s, developed a speed of 50 km/h (for sample 34-1 - 55 km/h). The range is 180 and 200 km, respectively. The armored car could overcome the rise of 18 °.
Organizationally, armored cars were part of armored car squadrons (7 armored cars in a squadron), which were an integral part of reconnaissance armored divisions of cavalry brigades.
By the beginning of World War II, wz.34 armored vehicles were equipped with 10 armored squadrons, which were part of the 21st, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 51st, 61st, 62nd, 71st, 81st and 91st armored cavalry battalions brigades of the Polish Army. As a result of intensive use in Peaceful time the outdated materiel of the squadrons was badly worn out. These vehicles did not take a significant part in the hostilities and were used for reconnaissance.
By the end of the Polish campaign, all copies were either destroyed or captured by the Wehrmacht. To date, not a single copy of the Wz.34 has survived. In the photo - a modern replica based on the GAZ-69.
(Poland)
Polish tank forces were formed in 1919 when Poland separated from Russia and gained independence. France took direct part in the process of arming the army of this country. In addition to financial support, France also sent military specialists to Poland, with the help of which the Higher Military School was organized and military equipment was purchased, including aircraft and tanks. The 120 Renault PCh7 vehicles provided to Poland became part of the 1st Tank Regiment and soon took part in the battles against the Red Army. 7 tanks became trophies Soviet troops, and 19 were lost in battle. After the war, Polish tank units were replenished with some more P-17s, and until the early 1930s, tanks of this type were the most common in Poland. Since they quickly became obsolete, the country had to start creating its own armored vehicles. The first samples of caterpillar armored vehicles that the Polish industry mastered were the tankettes TK-3 and TKB. On the eve of World War II, two-thirds of the Polish armored forces fleet consisted of these vehicles.
In 1929, Poland was among the first countries to wrap ten Cardin-Loyd Mk VI wedges in the UK and a license for their production. However, the English car was not built in Poland, but it was decided to develop an improved model based on it. In 1930, two Polish experimental tankettes, TK-1 and TK-2, were manufactured, which differed from the foreign prototype in improved suspension, a three-speed gearbox, a different way of placing the engine, and other innovations. The 7.92 mm Browning machine gun could be moved to the outer pin and used as an anti-aircraft gun. The cabin, open from above, had armor 6-8 mm thick.
In 1931, the Ursu plant in Varnava built a tankette TK-3 with an armored wheelhouse roof and an additional leaf spring for the suspension of road wheels. It was she who was put into mass production, and in three years 280 such machines were manufactured. During the operation of the tankette, its shortcomings were revealed: the unsuccessful installation of a machine gun, insufficient security and tightness for both crew members. Therefore, in 1933, the production of an improved modification, TKB, began, which has an increased internal volume and better hull protection. The machine gun received an installation that provides a horizontal sector of fire 48˚ vertical - 35˚.
An additional mount in the form of a fork reappeared outside the hull, on which a machine gun could be rearranged for anti-aircraft fire. At the same time, the shooter commander had to be outside the car. In addition to installing a more powerful engine, the suspension of the rollers was strengthened and the width of the tracks was increased, which led to better cross-country wedges. Six-cylinder engine "Polish Fiat" 122AC with a capacity of 42 liters. With. allowed the car to reach a speed of 40 km / h.
The commander conducted observation on the battlefield through a periscope and three viewing slots. Until 1937, about 280 TKB were built
By the time of the German attack on Poland, 403 tankettes of both tanks and 250 light tanks remained in service. Everything was sent to battle, including reserves. But the Polish armored vehicles, and first of all tankettes, were destroyed by superior enemy forces. The surviving and captured by the Wehrmacht TK-3 and TKB were then used as ammunition transporters and to carry out security services for rear facilities after replacing weapons with German-made machine guns. The Polish campaign revealed the failure of wedges on the battlefield. When meeting with German tanks, they were doomed to defeat. Machine guns and even 20-mm cannons mounted on some vehicles could not cause significant damage to enemy armored vehicles. Only light tanks of the 7TP type could inflict damage on the enemy.
