39M Csaba

39M Csaba
39M Csaba armored scout car
Type	Armored car
Place of origin	Kingdom of Hungary
Service history
In service	1939 -
Used by	Hungarian Army
Wars	Second World War
Production history
Designer	Nicholas Straussler
Designed	1930s
Manufacturer	Weiss Manfred, Csepel
Produced	1939 - 1944
Specifications
Weight	5.95 tonnes
Length	14 ft 8 in (4.52 m)
Width	6 ft 10 in (2.1 m)
Height	7 ft 4 in (2.27 m)
Crew	3
Armour	9 mm
Main armament	20 mm cannon
Secondary armament	2 x 8 mm MG
Engine	Ford, 8-cylinder 90hp
Operational range	93 mi (150 km)
Speed	40 mph (65 km/h)

The 39M Csaba was an armoured scout car produced for the Royal Hungarian Army during World War II.

Hungarian expatriate Nicholas Straussler designed several armoured cars for Britain while living there between the two world wars. Straussler came to an agreement with the Weiss Manfred factory of Csepel, Budapest to produce vehicles from his designs for use in his home country - the most prominent was the Csaba (named after the son of Attila the Hun) which was designed based on his experience of the Alvis AC2 armoured car.

After successful trials in 1939, the Hungarian Army placed an order for 61, and a further order for an additional 40 vehicles was placed in 1940. Of these, twenty were used as actual fighting vehicles, with the remainder serving as armoured command cars and reconnaissance vehicles.

The Csaba had a 20 mm cannon and an 8 mm machine gun fixed on a centrally mounted turret, with 9 mm armoured plating. The vehicle was also equipped with a detachable 8 mm light machine gun fired through the rear hatch in the anti-aircraft role. The crew could dismount and carry this MG when conducting reconnaissance on foot. It also had two driving positions - one at the front as normal, and an additional one at the rear.

The 40M Csaba was a command version armed only with the turret-mounted 8 mm machine gun. This vehicle was fitted with a second R-4T radio, which had a large lattice radio mast.