The 38(t), originally known as the Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk (ČKD) LT vz. 38, was a tank designed during the 1930s, which saw extensive service during World War II. Developed in Czechoslovakia by ČKD, the type was adopted by Nazi Germany following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. In all, over 1,400 Pz. 38(t)s were manufactured.

Description

The Panzer 38(t) was a conventional inter-war tank design, with riveted armour.

The main advantages of the Panzer 38(t), compared to other tanks of the day, were high reliability and sustained mobility. In one documented case, a regiment was supplied with tanks driven straight from the factory in 2.5 days instead of the anticipated week, without any mechanical breakdowns. In the opinion of the crews, the drive components of the Pz. 38(t) – engine, gear, steering, suspension, wheels and tracks – were perfectly in tune with each other. The Pz. 38(t) was also considered to be very easy to maintain and repair.

After production of the Pz. 38(t) ceased, the chassis was used for tank destroyer designs, which were produced in greater numbers than the original Pz. 38(t). no changes were made to the 116 m/41 ordered from Scania-Vabis in June 1941. Deliveries started in December 1942 and were completed in August 1943, no less than three years behind the original plan.

While clearly outdated, the need for a 10-ton light tank was so pressing that another order was placed in mid 1942. Since Scania-Vabis had reached the production ceiling, the 122 tanks had to be complemented by some 80 strv m/40. The second batch had the frontal armour upgraded to 50 mm bringing the weight to 11 tonnes, and to deal with the increased weight the 145 hp Scania-Vabis typ 1664 was replaced by a more powerful 160 hp Scania-Vabis typ 603. Due to the larger size, the hull had to be made 65 mm longer causing a wider gap between the second and third roadwheel. This enabled the fueltanks to be upgraded from 190 litres to 230 litres. Only 104 got delivered when production ended in March 1944; the last 18 chassis were built as the assault gun Stormartillerivagn m/43 instead. Another 18 Sav m/43 were purpose built.

At the end of the 1950s, 220 SI & SII were converted to Pansarbandvagn 301 armoured personnel carriers and the turrets used for airbase defences.

Operational history

Germany

thumb|Tank LT vz. 38 in Swiss Army during the expo in [[Zürich in 1939]]

thumb|Panzer 38(t), France, June 1940

The Panzer 38(t) performed well in the invasion of Poland in 1939 and the Battle of France in 1940.

It was also used in the German invasion of the Soviet Union from 1941 onwards in German and Hungarian units but, like other Axis tanks, was outclassed by Soviet tanks such as the T-34.

The above report highlights the reason why the 38(t) was pulled out of front lines in favour of the heavier Panzer III, Panzer IV, and StuG III.

  • Slovak National Uprising: 13 tanks of this type were used by the Slovak insurgent army.

Iran

thumb|TNH tanks at military parade in Tehran, December 1946

Iran purchased 50 TNH tanks armed with a Skoda 37mm gun. A further order of 200 was interrupted by the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. Iranian TNHs were assigned to the 1st and 2nd Divisions and the Imperial Guards but were overwhelmed by the 1000 tanks used by the Soviet Army in the Anglo-Soviet invasion in August 1941.

Peru

thumb|left|Renovated LTP at [[Military Technical Museum Lešany|Lešany military museum]]

A Peruvian mission went to Europe in 1935 and looked at tanks from several major manufacturers before settling on the Czech LTP. Peru bought 24 of them. They were delivered in 1938–1939 and designated 38 (then 39). This small armoured force of two tank companies was complemented by truck-mounted infantry and artillery pulled by tractors (the Czech ČKD). Peruvian doctrine was influenced by the French military mission operating in Peru at the time, and emphasized the use of tanks to support infantry attacks rather than in independent mobile columns (as in the German Blitzkrieg).

The Peruvian tank battalion played an important role in the 1941 Ecuadorian–Peruvian War, spearheading the attack across the Zarumilla River and at Arenillas.

Hungary

With a local designation T-38 was used by the Royal Hungarian army. 108 were handed over between 1941 and 1942. 92 deployed with the 1.st Field Armoured Division.

Romania

The T-38 was the local designation for the wartime deliveries of Panzer 38(t)s from Germany in 1943. T-38 served with the forces operating in Kuban within 2nd Tank Regiment and later the 54th Company attached to the HQ and the cavalry corps in Kuban and Crimea. T-38 tanks were still in action with the 10th Infantry Division and Cavalry Divisions in 1944.

Slovakia

thumb|Slovak LT-38 tank in Museum of Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica.

In the Slovak Army, this tank received the designation LT-38. Because of the first series of the LT-38 was not yet finished in March 1939, when Czechoslovakia dissolved, and as the first series was seized by Nazi Germany, the army of the Slovak State, which was a German ally in the Polish and Soviet campaigns, initially had only LT-35 tanks. In 1940 the Slovak Army ordered 10 tanks, which were used in Operation Barbarossa. All of them were used at the Eastern Front in the Fast division in the Battalion of Assault Vehicles. Two tanks were destroyed; the other 8 tanks later returned to Slovakia. After that, the Slovak Army ordered another 27 tanks, and when the Germans started withdrawing Panzer 38(t) tanks, the Slovak Army received another 37 tanks from Germany. Thirteen tanks of this type were used by Slovak insurgents during the Slovak National Uprising in 1944.

One complete LT-38 tank in Slovak camouflage and one LT-38 torso are displayed in the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica. Tank 313, the torso of which can be seen in the museum, was the third tank of the first order and saw combat on the Eastern front. Later it was used for training because of its high mileage. During the Slovak National Uprising it was used by insurgents, but because its engine failed, it was abandoned.

Sweden

All Strv m/41 SI were sent to P 3 in Strängnäs, who were the only regiment who painted the road-wheels in the same camouflage pattern as the hull against regulations prescribing field-grey to be used. Most of the m/41 SII went to P 4 in Skövde, with a small number allocated to P 2 in Hässleholm and the material reserve of P 3.

  • LT-40 Slovak Army designation for the LTL tanks taken-over from the Lithuania order
  • PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. A-D TNH tank in German manufacture
  • PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. E-F Pz 38(t) with frontal armour increased to 50 mm by bolting on an additional 25 mm armour
  • PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. S 90 TNH ordered by Sweden in February 1940 but seized by Germany, intermediate design between Ausf. D and E
  • PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. G Pz 38(t) with integral 50 mm frontal armour
  • PzKpfw 38(t) n.A. modified version of the Panzer 38(t), used welded armor instead of riveted armor. Uses modified turret.
  • Panzerbefehlswagen 38(t) command version of the Panzer 38(t). Additional radio antennas fitted, including a frame antenna over the rear upper hull. The hull-mounted machine gun was removed to make room for the radio equipment.
  • Stridsvagn m/41 S(eries)I, Swedish license-built TNH version as compensation for the seized Ausf. S tanks. 116 produced.
  • Stridsvagn m/41 S(eries)II, Strv m/41 with upgraded armour and stronger engine. 104 produced.

Other designs based on 38(t) chassis

  • Marder III (Sd.Kfz. 138) - German Panzerjäger (tank destroyer); German 7.5 cm Pak 40 gun in open-top superstructure.
  • Marder III (Sd.Kfz. 139) - German tank destroyer; Soviet-based 7.62 cm Pak 36(r) gun in open-top superstructure.
  • Sd.Kfz. 138/1 Grille - German self-propelled gun; German 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun in open-top superstructure.
  • Also Munitionspanzer 38 (Sf) Ausf. K (Sd.Kfz.. 138/1). ammunition carrier variant, which carried ammunition for the SP gun.
  • Flakpanzer 38 (Sd.Kfz. 140) - German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun; 2 cm Flak 38 anti-aircraft gun in open-top superstructure.
  • Sd.Kfz. 140/1 Aufklärungspanzer 38 mit 2 cm KwK 38 - German reconnaissance tank with 20 mm turret from a Sd.Kfz. 222 armoured car (70 built).
  • Sd.Kfz. 140/1 Aufklärungspanzer 38 mit 7.5 cm K 51 L/24 - German close-support reconnaissance tank with 7.5 cm gun mounted in a modified superstructure (2 built).
  • Jagdpanzer 38 - German tank destroyer carrying a 7.5 cm PaK 39 anti-tank gun in enclosed superstructure.
  • G-13 - Swiss designation for postwar-built Jagdpanzer 38(t) sold by Czechoslovakia.
  • Nahkampfkanone 1 - Swiss built tank destroyer, similar to Marder III (1 built).
  • Pansarbandvagn 301 - Swedish Stridsvagn m/41 (SI and SII) rebuilt to armoured personnel carriers (220 converted).
  • Stormartillerivagn m/43 - Swedish assault gun based on the m/41 SII chassis (36 built).
  • TACAM T-38 - Romanian tank destroyer.

See also

  • Panzer 35(t)
  • Weapons of Czechoslovakia interwar period
  • German armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II
  • Tank classification
  • List of military vehicles

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Bishop, Chris (ed.) 1998, The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Barnes & Noble, New York. .

Further reading

  • Information about the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) at Panzerworld
  • Photo galleries at Tanxheaven: [http://tanxheaven.com/ludob/lt38(Pzkpfw38t)/lt38(Pzkpfw38t).htm], [http://tanxheaven.com/jib/lt38jib.htm].
  • Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) at Achtung Panzer!
  • LT-35 and LT-38 tanks - A PDF file presenting the LT-35 and LT-38 tanks still existing in the world
  • Captured German WW2 vehicles - A PDF file presenting the German vehicles based on captured and modified foreign equipment (10.5 cm leFH 18(Sf) auf Geschützwagen, Marder I, Panzerjäger I, Marder III, Grille, Munitionspanzer 38(t)) still existing in the world
  • [https://www.mocr.army.cz/informacni-servis/zpravodajstvi/ceskoslovensky-tank-z-peru-dosedl-po-74-letech-na-rodnou-pudu-74887/] Tank returned from Peru