Panzer 38

Panzerkampfwagen 38(t)
Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) Ausf. S
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Czechoslovakia
Service history
In service	1939–1944 (Nazi Germany)
Used by	Nazi Germany Romania Bulgaria Hungary Slovakia Sweden
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	ČKD
Manufacturer	ČKD
Produced	1939—42
Number built	1,414
Specifications
Weight	9.725–9.85 tonnes (9.571–9.694 LT; 10.720–10.858 ST)
Length	4.61 metres (15.1 ft)
Width	2.135 metres (7.00 ft)
Height	2.252 metres (7.39 ft) (overall)
Crew	4
Armor	8–30 mm Ausf. A–D 8–50 mm Ausf. E and newer
Primary 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 (road) 15 km/h (off-road)

The Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) was a Czech tank used by Germany during World War II. The (t) stands for tschechisch, the German word for Czech. (The Czechoslovak military designation was LT vzor 38. Manufacturer's designations included TNH series, TNHPS, LTP and LTH). The special vehicle designation for the tank in Germany was Sd.Kfz. 140.

Description

The Panzer 38(t) was a conventional pre-World War II tank design, with riveted armor and rear engine. The riveted armor 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.

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 machinegun was in a separate ball mount rather than a coaxial mount. This meant the machine-gun could be trained on targets independently, rather than being aimed with the main gun. Alternatively, the commander could couple the machine gun internally to the main 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. A total of 2,550 rounds were carried for the bow and turret machine guns. The commander could also fire the hull machine gun with remote control.

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.

Development

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. Britain evaluated one tank, but rejected it.

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) were a very high reliability and sustained mobility, compared to other tanks of the day. In one documented case a regiment was supplied with the new 38(t) tanks. To the surprise of the regiment, the tanks managed the drive from the factory to the regiment in 2.5 days instead of the anticipated week, without any mechanical breakdown (in: History of the 25 Panzer Regiment of the 7 Panzerdivision). In the oppinion 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 (Spielberger).

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 the latest tanks and manufacturing ceased. However, because the chassis was mechanically reliable, turretless versions were built with a weapon mounted on the superstructure. Assault guns, anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns were mounted on the chassis. A Swedish variant, the Sav m/43, remained in use until 1970, which is probably a longevity record for a pre-WW2 tank.

Variants

A TNHP in the military museum of Tehran

An LTH

• TNHP Initial export version to Iran (50 ordered in 1935) (Iran was the first customer)
• LTP export version to Peru
• LTH export version to Switzerland
• LTL export version to Lithuania (21 ordered)
• LT vz. 38 Czechoslovak Army designation (none entered service)
• Strv m/41 version built under license in Sweden, as compensation for the seized Ausf. S tanks
• Sav m/43 assault gun on TNH hull, built by Sweden
• PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. A-D TNH tank in German manufacture
• PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. E-G Pz 38(t) with frontal armour increased to 50 mm
• PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. S Ordered by Sweden but seized by Germany

Designs based on chassis

• SdKfz 138 Marder III carried German 75 mm gun in open-top superstructure
• SdKfz 139 Marder III carried Soviet 76.2 mm gun in open-top superstructure
• SdKfz 138/1 Grille carried German 150 mm infantry gun; also munition variant which carried ammunition
• SdKfz 140 Flakpanzer 38(t) carried a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun
• SdKfz 140/1 reconnaissance tank with 20 mm turret from a SdKfz.222 armored car
• Jagdpanzer 38(t) (unofficially known as the Hetzer) a tank destroyer carrying a 75 mm L/48 anti-tank gun
• G-13 Swiss designation for postwar-built Jagdpanzer 38(t) sold by Czechoslovakia

Operational history

The Panzer 38(t) performed well in the Polish campaign in 1939 and the Battle of France in 1940. It was much 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 become largely obsolete, though the chassis was re-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."'' ^[1]

Several captured examples were refitted with Soviet DTM machineguns and employed by the Red Army. The vehicle continued to serve after 1941 as a reconnaissance vehicle and in anti-partisan units for some time.

The Hetzer and Marder models of tank destroyers were two of the most common German AFVs in the last year of the war.^{[citation needed]} Production continued for the Czechoslovak Army after the war. Switzerland purchased 158 examples, which served into the 1960s.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}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.^{[citation needed]}

Campaigns

• Invasion of Poland with the German 3rd Light Division
• Operation Weserübung (Norway) with the German 31st Army Corps
• Battle of France with the 7th Panzer, and 8th Panzer Divisions
• Operation Barbarossa with the German 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th, 19th, 20th and 22nd Panzer Divisions
• Eastern Front operations with the Romanian forces.

Technical Data

TNH P-S

• General
  • Role: Light/medium tank
  • Manufacturer: ČKD
  • Crew: Commander, loader, driver, bow machine gunner-operator of radio
• Armament and armor
  • Main armament: 37.2 mm Skoda A7 gun
  • Coaxial armament: 7.92 mm machine gun
  • Bow armament: 7.92 mm machine gun
  • Ammunition: 90 rounds of 37.2 mm and 2,550 rounds of 7.92 mm
  • Armor: 10 mm to 25 mm
• Power and weight
  • Engine: Praga EPA six-cylinder inline water-cooled petrol
  • Transmission: 5 forward, 1 reverse
  • Power: 110,3 kW (148 hp)
  • Weight: 9,700 kg (21,400 lb)
  • Power/Weight: 11.5 kW/metric ton (14.0 hp/short ton)
• Performance
  • Max road speed: 42 km/h
  • Max range: 200 km
  • Fording: 0.9 m
  • Gradient: 60%
  • Vertical obstacle: 0.8 m
  • Trench: 1.9 m
• Dimensions
  • Length: 4.55 m
  • Width: 2.13 m
  • Height: 2.31 m

Panzer 38(t) Aus. A-C

• General
  • Role: Medium tank
  • Crew: 4
• Armament and armor
  • Main armament: 37.2 mm Skoda A7 (L/47.8) gun with 90 rounds
  • Secondary armament: 2 x 7.92 mm MG 37(t) (Model 37) machine gun with 2,550 rounds.
  • Armour: front 25 mm, side 15 mm
• Power and weight
  • Engine: Praga EPA Model I inline six-cylinder, liquid cooled, petrol
  • Bore: 110 mm (~ 4.331 in)
  • Stroke: 136 mm (~ 5.354 in)
  • Displacement: 7754,7 cc (~ 473.22 cu in)
  • Power: 91,9 kW (123.3 hp, 125 PS)
  • Transmission: 5 forward, 1 reverse
  • Weight: combat: 9.5 tonnes, dry: 8.5 tonnes
  • Power/Weight: 10 kW/metric ton (13.0 hp/short ton)
• Performance
  • Speed: 56 km/h (35 mph)
  • Range: 200 km (125 miles)
• Dimensions
  • Length: 4.61 m
  • Width: 2.14 m
  • Height: 2.40 m

See also

• Comparison of early World War II tanks
• German armored fighting vehicle production during World War II
• Tank classification
• List of military vehicles

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Panzer 38(t)

Notes

References

• Bishop, Chris (ed.) 1998, The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Barnes & Noble, New York. ISBN 0-7607-1022-8.
• Otto Carius (2003). Tigers in the Mud, Stackpole Books ISBN 0-8117-2911-7
• Chamberlain, Peter, and Hilary L. Doyle. Thomas L. Jentz (Technical Editor). Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two: A Complete Illustrated Directory of German Battle Tanks, Armoured Cars, Self-propelled Guns, and Semi-tracked Vehicles, 1933–1945. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1978 (revised edition 1993). ISBN 1-85409-214-6
• Jentz, Thomas L. (2007). Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t) Ausf.A to G und S: Production, Modification, and Operational History from 1939 to 1942. Panzer Tracts. No. 18. Boyds, Maryland: Panzer Tracts. ISBN 0-9771643-6-5. 
• Francev Vladimír, Kliment Charles, Praga LT vz.38 (PzKpfw 38 (t), publisher Miroslav Bílý (MBI), ISBN 80-86524-01-9
• Spielberger, Walter J., Die Panzer-Kampfwagen 35(t) und 38(t) und ihre Abarten, 2nd Ed. 1990, Motorbuch Verlag, ISBN 3-87943-708-4

External links

• Information about the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) at Panzerworld
• WWII Vehicles
• Photo galleries at Tanxheaven: [1], [2].
• Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) at Achtung Panzer!
• Captured German vehicles - A PDF file presenting the German vehicles based on captured and modified foreign equipment (PzKpfw. 35(t), PzKpfw 38(t), 10.5 cm leFH 18(Sf) auf Geschützwagen, Marder I, Panzerjäger I, Marder III, Grille, Munitionspanzer 38(t)) still existing in the world