The Czech army placed an order with Skoda in October 1934 for a medium tank. The first trial vehicles were delivered in spring 1935, and were found to have many faults, these machines were returned to Skoda for modifications. An order for 160 was placed in October 1935, and a further batch of 138 were ordered during 1937. These vehicles were also ordered by Romania who took 126, these were called the R2. The Skoda factory was taken over by Germany during 1938, and a further 219 were built for the Panzer Divisions.
General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)
1935
Ordnance classification
Quantity Produced
0
Weight
unknown
Crew
4
M.G's small
2
M.G's large(>10mm)
n/a
Length
4.95 mtr
Width
2.15 mtr
Height
2.23 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed
21 mph
Max Cross Country Speed
unknown
Range Road
0 miles
Range Cross Country
unknown
Fuel Type
Petrol
Fuel Capacity
unknown
Horse Power
120 hp
Power/Weight
unknown
General Information
The Czech army placed an order with Skoda in October 1934 for a medium tank. The first trial vehicles were delivered in spring 1935, and were found to have many faults, these machines were returned to Skoda for modifications. An order for 160 was placed in October 1935, and a further batch of 138 were ordered during 1937. These vehicles were also ordered by Romania who took 126, these were called the R2. The Skoda factory was taken over by Germany during 1938, and a further 219 were built for the Panzer Divisions.
The vehicle transmission sprocket was at the rear, the track passed over 4 track return rollers to the front idler, then down over 8 road wheels on two bogies. Compressed air was used to help the transmission and steering, but this system had problems when used in low temperatures such as found on the Eastern Front.
The main armament was the Skoda 37mm P.U.V. vz34 L/39 anti tank gun in the turret.
Armour Details
Turret
Front
25mm
@
10°
(25mm)
Side
15mm
@
14°
(15mm)
Rear
15mm
@
15°
(16mm)
Top
8mm
@
85°
(8mm)
Superstructure
Front
25mm
@
17°
(26mm)
Side
16mm
@
0°
(16mm)
Rear
15mm
@
60°
(30mm)
Top
8mm
@
88°
(8mm)
Hull
Front
25mm
@
30°
(29mm)
Side
16mm
@
0°
(16mm)
Rear
19mm
@
0°
(19mm)
Top
8mm
@
90°
(8mm)
Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)
Effective Armour - Maximum 30 mm - Minimum 8 mm
Weapon Details
Skoda 37mm P.U.V. vz34 L/39
Manufactured
1934 - 1938
Calibre
37mm
Length
L/39
Ammunition Details
Name/Id
Calibre Weight MVelocity
Explosive Content
AP(AP)
37mm 0.85Kg 675M/Sec
Range(Mtr)
100
200
400
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
Flight Time(Secs)
0.15
0.31
0.67
1.51
2.64
4.18
6.46
10.15
Penetration(mm@30°)
46
41
36
29
22
17
12
7
Penetration(mm@0°)
54
48
42
34
26
20
14
9
Hit Probability(%)
98
98
98
85
41
15
3
0
Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.
The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive
and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The
information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre,
the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation
originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.
