Tančík vz. 33
| Tančík vz. 33 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Tankette |
| Place of origin |
 Czechoslovakia
|
| Service history | |
| In service | 1934—44 |
| Used by |
Czechoslovakia Slovakia
|
| Wars | Slovak National Uprising |
| Production history | |
| Designer | ČKD |
| Designed | 1930—33 |
| Manufacturer | ČKD |
| Unit cost | about 131,200 Czechoslovak koruna |
| Produced | 1934 |
| No. built | 70 + 4 prototypes |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2.3 tonnes (2.3 long tons; 2.5 short tons) |
| Length | 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) |
| Width | 1.75 metres (5.7 ft) |
| Height | 1.45 metres (4.8 ft) |
| Crew | 2 |
|
|
|
| Armor | 4–12 millimetres (0.16–0.47 in) |
|
Main
armament |
2 x 7.92 mm (0.312 in) ZB vz. 26 machine guns |
| Engine | 4-cylinder, water-cooled Praga 30 horsepower (22 kW) |
| Transmission | 4 x 1 |
| Suspension | leaf spring |
| Fuel capacity | 50 litres (13 US gal) |
|
Operational
range |
100 kilometres (62 mi) |
| Speed | 35 kilometres per hour (22 mph) |
The Tančík vz. 33 (literal translation Tankette model 33) was a Czechoslovak-designed tankette used mainly by Slovakia during World War II. Seventy-four were built. The Germans seized forty when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939; there is no record of their use. The Slovak Republic inherited thirty at the same time when it declared independence from Czechoslovakia. In Slovak service it only saw combat during the Slovak National Uprising.
The Tančík vz. 33 was assembled from a framework of steel "angle iron" beams, to which armor plates were riveted. The driver sat on the right side using a 300 mm × 125 mm (11.8 in × 4.9 in) observation port protected by 50 millimetres (2.0 in) of bulletproof glass and an armored shutter which had a 2 mm (0.079 in) slit. The gunner sat on the left and had a similar vision port half the size of the driver's. His ZB vz. 26 machine gun was mounted in a ball mount directly to his front. There were similar vision ports on the sides and the rear. The driver's machine gun was fixed and he fired it using a Bowden cable; 2,600 rounds were stored for the machine guns.
The front armor was 12 mm (0.47 in) thick, the sides had a thickness of 8 mm (0.31 in), the top was 6 mm (0.24 in) thick and the bottom plates were 6 mm (0.24 in) in thickness. This was deemed enough to deflect armor-piercing 7.92 mm (0.312 in) bullets fired from distances greater than 125 metres (137 yd) from the front and 185 metres (202 yd) from the sides. Both were supposed to withstand ordinary bullets from over 50 metres (55 yd).
The 1.95 litres (119 cu in), water-cooled, 30 horsepower (22 kW), inline 4-cylinder Praga engine sat directly in the fighting compartment. It had a top speed on the road of 35 kilometres per hour (22 mph). One 50-litre (13 US gal) fuel tank was located to the left of the engine. The transmission had four forward gears and one reverse gear. It, the reduction, differential, driving shafts and brakes were taken from the Praga AN truck.
The suspension was a modified version of that used in the Carden-Loyd tankettes. It consisted of two small road wheels fastened together on a frame, two frames paired and sprung by leaf springs that made a wheel carrier, one wheel carrier per side. The track was guided by wooden, metal-lined frames. It had a ground pressure of only 0.5 kg/cm2. The vehicle could cross a ditch 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) wide, climb an obstacle .5 metres (1.6 ft) high and ford a stream .4 metres (1.3 ft) deep.
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