Polish wedge tks. Comparison of features of light tanks in the Spanish Civil War

Judging by the numbers, by the time the Second World War began, Poland had a fairly impressive fleet of armored vehicles - about 870 units (versus about 2,700 tanks in the German Army Groups North and South). But 3/4 of them accounted for rather specific vehicles - tankettes TK-3 and TKS. What were these combat vehicles that formed the basis of Polish armored weapons?

Architect student and his "cockroaches"

On September 9, 1939, one of the first major battles of the Second World War began - the Battle of Bzura. The Polish armies "Poznan" and "Pomorie", retreating east from the Poznan ledge, found themselves in the rear of the German Army Group South, which was rushing towards Warsaw. Moving on night marches, the Poles secretly reached the valley of the Bzura River and delivered a powerful blow to the left flank of the 8th Wehrmacht Army. When advancing to the southeast, they liberated several cities and forced the German command to reconsider their plans for operations in central Poland, transferring additional tank and aviation units to Bzura. The situation for the Germans in this area was so critical that, for example, on September 17, the Luftwaffe practically canceled all sorties, except those related to the Bzura area. Nevertheless, the general course of hostilities of the army "Poznan" and "Pomorye" could not be reversed - on September 12, the Germans approached Lvov, and on the 14th they completed the encirclement of Warsaw.

Among others military units The Poznan Army included the Greater Poland Cavalry Brigade, which included the 71st Armored Battalion (71 Dywizjon Pancerny). Of the three companies of this unit formed immediately before the war (August 24–27), only one was equipped with vehicles that, with a certain degree of conventionality, can be called tanks. These were thirteen TKS (and, possibly, TK-3) machine-gun tankettes, four of which the Poles managed to rearm by installing 20 mm wz automatic cannons. 38 model A (according to the Polish classification, this gun was classified as a "super heavy machine gun"). One of these tankettes with “heavy” weapons was commanded by a student of the Warsaw Polytechnic University, drafted into the army on August 26, platoon commander Sergeant Roman Edmund Orlik. The second member of the crew, consisting of two people, was the driver Bronislav Zakrzhevsky.

During the Battle of Bzura, the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade fought hard against the 4th Panzer Division of the 16th Motorized Corps of the 10th Wehrmacht Army. On September 14, the brigade attacked the Germans in the Brokhov area. In this battle, Orlik destroyed 3 tanks from the 36th Tank Regiment; most likely, these were the PzKpfv I and PzKpfv II vehicles, which formed the basis of the tank fleet of the German 4th division.

On September 18, the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade, as part of the Operational Cavalry Group, formed to clear the way to Warsaw for the rest of the Polish units of the Poznan army surrounded by the Germans, fought in the Kampinoska Forest area west of the capital. A platoon (in Polish sources - a half-platoon, półpluton) of Orlik, consisting of his car and two more tankettes with machine-gun weapons, was sent to reconnaissance. Hearing the noise of tank engines ahead, the sergeant sent vehicles with machine-gun weapons into cover, while he himself settled in ambush.

On the road in front of the Polish tankette, a column of three tanks and several vehicles of the 1st light division of the Wehrmacht was moving. Suddenly opening fire, a Polish tanker shot into the side and destroyed the lead German tank right on the road, forcing the rest of the vehicles to detour into the forest. Changing positions, Orlik destroyed the other two German tanks, put the rest of the German column to flight and left the battle with his platoon without loss.

Some sources indicate that all three tanks destroyed by Orlik on September 18 were Czech PzKpfw 35 (t), which formed the basis of the tank fleet of the 1st Light Division. However, with a high probability, one of these tanks was the PzKpfw IV. The 1st Light Division was armed with a small number of them, and during the period from 1 to 25 September, the division lost up to 9 tanks of this type. In the battle, among others, he was seriously injured and the commander of a tank platoon, Lieutenant Viktor IV Albrecht, Prince of Ratiborsky, died - a number of sources indicate that it was he who commanded the crew of the PzKpfv IV, and even a photograph of his destroyed combat vehicle.

Presumably, in the photo PzKpfv IV of Prince Viktor Albrecht, destroyed by Roman Orlyk in the battle on September 18

On September 19, Orlyk took part in the battle for Sierakow, where several dozen tanks of the German 11th Tank Regiment and the 65th Tank Battalion attacked the 7th Regiment of Mounted Riflemen and the 9th Lancers of the Poles. In this battle, more than 20 German tanks were destroyed and knocked out by the battery of the 7th Horse Artillery Battalion and Polish tankers, of which 7 vehicles were accounted for by Orlik's wedges. Orlik captured two German tankers. Then Orlik managed to bring his wedge to Warsaw, took part in its defense, and after the fall of the city, he joined the Polish resistance forces. He managed to survive the war, after which he worked in his specialty - an architect.

Considering the vehicle that Orlik fought in, his achievements (13 tanks hit and destroyed in less than a week of battles) look very worthy. The small, lightly armored and weakly armed tankette TKS, at first and at second glance, was not very suitable for the role of a formidable tank destroyer. Nevertheless, as practice has shown, in skillful hands it could also be a formidable weapon - and, given that Orlik became a tanker just a few days before the start of the war, it was apparently not difficult to master it.

So what are these armored vehicles, about which, as the Polish military historian Janusz Magnuski writes, a German tank officer captured by the Poles responded with these words:

"... it is very difficult to hit such a small cockroach with a cannon."

Pole with British roots

The experiments of British tank building in the interwar period "backfired" around the world. "Vickers six-ton", for example, gave rise to a whole galaxy of the same type of machines in different countries, which subsequently fought on both sides of the fronts of the Second World War. In a similar way, the fate of the two-seat tankette designers John Carden and Vivien Lloyd Mk VI, which in Soviet special literature was sonorously called the "Carden-Lloyd tracked machine gun carrier", was similar. They were produced with various modifications in the USSR (T-27), France, Czechoslovakia, Japan, Italy, Poland - and in the last two countries, by the beginning of the World War, tankettes made up the bulk of tracked armored vehicles.

The British tankette, armed with a water-cooled 7.7 mm Vickers machine gun, was cheap and simple in design. In its manufacture, numerous available automotive components and assemblies were used, including the Ford T engine.

In 1929, when its mass production began in England, the Poles bought one copy for testing. After being shown at the training ground in Rembertov on June 20, 1929, it was decided to purchase 10 more tankettes, from which two platoons of five vehicles were formed. Extensive tests have shown that the vehicles have good mobility and maneuverability, which, together with their small size, makes them suitable for reconnaissance needs. It was decided to replace the wz.28 armored vehicles with tankettes in the reconnaissance units of the cavalry units, and Poland acquired a license to produce the Cardin-Lloyd Mk VI.

More detailed studies, conducted from September to December 1929, showed certain shortcomings. First of all, the problems were caused by the low-comfort, non-sprung suspension, due to which the crew was exhausted after a long trip. Already on two British vehicles, the Poles improved its design by installing semi-elliptical springs.

But it was decided not to stop at these half-measures - the Poles launched more deeply modernized machines into mass production. The intermediate stages in the improvement of the tankette were the TK-1 and TK-2 versions with a modified hull shape, which differed from each other in the location of the drive wheel: in the TK-1 it was at the back, and in the TK-2 it remained in the front.

In addition, while the Ford T engine was still used as a power plant on the TK-2, the new Ford A was installed on the TK-1. Both cars received an electric starter, and the Hotchkiss air-cooled machine gun wz was installed as an armament. .25. As for the name of the Polish tankette, there is no consensus on its origin. TK may be an abbreviation of the names of the designers Trzeciak and Karkoz, who worked on the machine, the initials of Lieutenant Colonel Tadeusz Kossakowski from the Polish Army Engineering Department, or simply an abbreviation for the word "wedge".

Prototypes TK-2 (foreground) and TK-1. Behind them are the original British Cardin-Lloyds Mk VI. The photograph is probably from 1930. In the background are Ursus A trucks and two Saurers.

Mass production

Further testing and work on prototypes led to the creation of a third version of the vehicle with a closed top fighting compartment. New car called TK-3 and was adopted by the Polish army in 1931. In total, these tankettes were made in 3 batches of 100 pieces, and 15 TK-3 from the first batch were made of non-armored steel.

Serial tankette TK-3. Weight 2430 kg, Ford A 40 hp engine, road speed 46 km/h, cruising range up to 200 km. Armament - 7.92 mm machine gun Hotchkiss wz. 25, ammunition - 1800 rounds

In the early 1930s, the Poles acquired a license for the production of the Italian FIAT-122BC engine and, as part of import substitution (Ford-A engines had to be purchased abroad), in 1933 they installed a domestically assembled engine on a number of tankettes. In total, such machines (which received the name TKF) were produced from 18 to 22; it is believed that they were among the 100 cars last episode TK-3.

In 1933, work began on the modernization of the TK-3. TKS (or, in pre-war spelling, TK-S) received a hull new form with improved armor. Of course, the car was equipped with a domestically produced Fiat engine, as well as a new transmission. The suspension was strengthened, the tracks of the tracks were expanded and the system of their tension was changed. The commander received a turnable modern periscope, and the machine gun on the TKS was installed in a ball mount (the first prototype was equipped with a water-cooled machine gun wz.30 "Browning", but then it was decided to return to the same as on the TK-3, "air" wz.25).

10. Serial tankette TKS with machine guns. Weight 2570 kg, engine FIAT 122BC 46 hp (or FIAT 122AC 42 hp), road speed 45 km/h, cruising range up to 160 km. Armament - 7.92 mm machine gun Hotchkiss wz. 25, ammunition - 1920 rounds

A total of 262 serial TKS wedges were built by the end of production in April 1937. A lighter version of the TKS-B was also developed for operation as an artillery tractor, in which ordinary steel was used instead of armor plates. The car turned out to be lighter, faster (by 5 km / h), with lower fuel consumption and better handling, but it never went into production.

Since from the very beginning it was clear that a tankette armed with a machine gun would not be able to fight enemy armored vehicles, ideas were repeatedly expressed about re-equipping Polish tankettes with more serious weapons. Back in 1931, it was proposed to install a 13.2-mm heavy French Hotchkiss machine gun on them. Options were considered with the installation of 37-mm and even 45-mm guns. At the turn of 1935–1936, a heavy anti-tank 20 mm Solothurn S18–100 gun (which was used as the main armament on the Hungarian Toldi light tank) was experimentally installed on one of the TKS. This experience showed that the installation of weapons with such a caliber is expedient, but the Poles “rejected” the gun due to the fact that it could only fire a single fire.

After testing various models of Oerlikon, Solothurn and Madsen automatic guns, already in August 1939 it was decided to rearm 80 TKS tankettes and 70 TK-3 tankettes with newly developed domestic automatic guns 20 mm wz. 38 model A.

By the beginning of the war, the Poles managed to produce only about 50 of these guns, and even fewer were installed on tankettes - from 20 to 24. It was on such a machine that Roman Orlik fought - due to low visibility, mobility and successful armament, such TK-3 and TKS turned out to be the most valuable examples of Polish armored vehicles.

Experiments on "cockroaches"

Talking about Polish wedges, it is necessary to briefly mention the experimental vehicles based on them. At the end of 1932 or at the beginning of 1933, a tower prototype was built. TKW(W - "wieża", tower). They tried to put machine guns with air and water cooling on it. Tests of this "minitank" showed that the tower is extremely cramped, has terrible ventilation and poor visibility. The car had a very high center of gravity, the right side was overloaded, which could lead to a rollover, and the driver's armor cap limited the turret's traverse angle to 306 degrees.

In 1932, on the basis of the TK-3, a light self-propelled gun TKD armed with a 47 mm Vickers QF short-barreled gun. A total of 4 vehicles were built, of which an experimental platoon was formed. Self-propelled guns were tested as means of anti-tank and artillery support for cavalry units. As a result of the exercises in the summer of 1933, it became clear that there were no complaints about the undercarriage, but the low-powered gun did not quite meet the needs of the Polish army.

Another experimental vehicle was armed with a 37-mm Bofors anti-tank gun TKS-D. Its concept was unique: here the tankette acted as a tractor for a conventional fire monitor, which, however, could, if necessary, be removed from the carriage and installed in front of the vehicle body. In this form, the tractor turned into a miniature, but full-fledged "tank destroyer" for the 30s, a self-propelled anti-tank gun.

Artillery tractor / self-propelled anti-tank gun TKS-D. The gun is mounted on a machine that tows an "empty" gun carriage

Another interesting solution was the Polish implementation of the "wheeled-tracked" tank concept, fashionable in the 1930s. For Polish tankettes based on the Ursus A truck, a special wheeled chassis was developed. After driving from the ramp to this device, the drive wheels of the tankette were connected by chains with a transmission to the rear axle of the unit, and the front wheels of the chassis were connected to the controls of the armored vehicle. In this form, tankettes took on the appearance of a heavy armored car - however, in the reckless version, the practical use of such a solution in combat conditions remains a very big question.

Tankettes TK-3, TKF and TKS were the main and most numerous armored vehicles of the Polish army before the start of World War II. Their impressive number of approximately 600 units on paper created the appearance of the armored power of the Polish army. In fact, they could not and could not become a full-fledged replacement for "real" tanks. However, advantages such as small size, low visibility and high mobility allowed them to successfully operate in reconnaissance or from ambushes. In the absence of other armored vehicles, they could serve as a tank for direct infantry support; sometimes even their very presence raised the morale of the Polish troops and had a depressing effect on the German infantry, which often did not expect a collision with Polish armored vehicles at all.

• Janusz Magnuski, "Czołg rozpoznawczy TKS (TK)"; TBiU nr. 36; Wydawnictwo MON; Warszawa 1975;
• Janusz Magnuski. Karaluchy przeciw Panzerom (Cockroaches against tanks). Pelta, Warsaw (1995);
• Motorized mechanized infantry (Combat use and use of mechanized infantry units). State military publishing house, Moscow, 1934

The Polish tankettes TK and TKS (small reconnaissance turretless tanks) were created on the basis of the chassis of the famous English tankette Carden Loyd. Tankettes were produced in Poland from the beginning of 1931 and were actively used in the battles of the Second World War. Usually they were armed with machine guns, but just before the war in 1939, they began to re-equip them with a 20-mm cannon, but before the start of hostilities, only 24 vehicles managed to be upgraded in this way. By the beginning of World War II, Poland had more than six hundred combat vehicles of this type: they formed the basis of the country's armored forces.

The British Carden-Loyd Mk VI tankette has become one of the most common machines of this class in the world. Created in the late 1920s, it attracted the attention of the military of many countries of the world, in particular the USSR, Poland, and France. The tankette was designed to arm the motorized infantry units of the British Army. It was supposed to increase the tactical mobility of infantry formations - to ensure the continuity of infantry support with machine-gun fire, by quickly moving heavy machine guns on the battlefield from one position to another.

Carden-Loyd Mk VI

The British company Vickers-Armstrong produced a small two-man wedge Vickers Carden-Loyd Mark VI in 1928. Its design attracted the attention of the military of many European countries. Representatives of the Polish army did not bypass it either. In the spring of 1929, Poland bought one such tankette. On June 20 of the same year, the combat vehicle was delivered to the Rembertov training ground, located near Warsaw. According to the results of the tests carried out here, Poland acquired 10 more wedges. They arrived in the country in September, after which their thorough and comprehensive tests immediately began. As a result, the Polish army concluded that the British tankettes had sufficient combat potential and could be used as part of motorized cavalry units, as well as reconnaissance vehicles. After that, Warsaw acquired a license to produce these wedges. At the same time, the Poles equipped the tankette with a significantly more powerful engine, and also added an additional spring to the suspension, as a result of which the tankette got a smoother ride.

At the end of 1929, a prototype of the Polish tankette TK-1 was made, followed by a very similar prototype TK-2. Both tankettes were distinguished by an armored hull open on top and were armed with one 7.92 mm wz.25 or wz.30 machine gun, which could be used against both ground and air targets. The armor of both tankettes was the same, the thickness of the armor ranged from 3 to 7 mm. The differences were only in the location of the motor, air intakes and suspension design. So the Ford-A engine was installed on the TK-1 tankette, and Ford-T on the TK-2 tankette. Both vehicles were tested in the summer of 1930 in Modlin near Warsaw, however, these combat vehicles did not go into series, work on the creation of the Polish tankette was continued.

In the same year, based on the experience of working on the TK-1 and TK-2 tankettes, a heavier improved version of the tankette, designated TK-3, was produced in Ursus near the Polish capital. After extensive tests, which lasted from March to July 1930, this version was adopted by the Polish army. Serial production of the new tankette began at the end of 1931. As a result, until 1934, Panstwowe Zaklady Inzynierii (“Ursus”) produced about 300 TK-3 tankettes. This technique became the first tracked armored vehicle, all parts of which, although under license, were produced directly in Poland. The crew of the tankette, consisting of two people, was located in a lightly armored superstructure with an armor thickness of 3 to 8 mm. This model was armed with a 7.92-mm wz.25 machine gun, from which the commander fired. The Ford-A engine was used as a power plant.

Tankette TKS in the Museum of the Polish Army

In 1933, the tankette underwent modernization, a new Polski Fiat 122A engine appeared on it, which developed a power of 40 hp. at 2600 rpm. The engine consumed about 36 liters when driving on the highway or 70 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers when driving on rough terrain. In total, two dozen such combat vehicles were produced.

The latest and most common modification of the Polish tankette with British roots was the TKS model. It was equipped with a more comfortable and spacious conning tower, and the maximum armor thickness was increased to 10 mm. Since the start of mass production in February 1934, about 390 combat vehicles of this type have been produced. At the same time, before the start of World War II, 40 TKS tankettes were converted into armored tires, some of which were included in armored trains. Such trolleys were a platform with a lifting mechanism, with the help of which a tankette was lifted onto it, and then a wedge was fixed. The armament of these vehicles remained the same, only a few tankettes received Browning LMG anti-aircraft machine guns. The total mass of such a railcar was 4150 kg. Sometimes 2-3 railcars were connected together, such combinations were designated TK-TK or TK-R-TK. They included either two tankettes, or two TK tankettes and one R type, which was armed with a Renault FT-17 light tank.

Already before the war, realizing that the machine gun armament would be clearly insufficient, the Polish military once again initiated the modernization of the TKS tankette, which received a 20-mm Bofors FK-A wz.38 automatic cannon. According to plans, until January 30, 1949, it was planned to re-equip 110 tankettes with such rapid-fire guns, but until September 1939, only about 20 such vehicles got into the troops. They were placed at the disposal of the 10th mechanized brigade, in which they were used as commanders.

Tankette TKS with 20 mm cannon

Also, on the basis of the TKS tankette, Polish designers created the C2P tractor-transporter. The machine was created in 1933. First of all, the changes affected the undercarriage of the tankette: the steering wheel was enlarged and was in contact with the ground, thereby reducing the pressure on the ground. The armored tube was cut and adapted to transport 4 infantrymen or ammunition. The machine was mass-produced from 1937 until the occupation of Poland by the Nazi troops. Up to this point, Polish enterprises have assembled 196 transporters-tractors, the plans were to produce at least 117 more such auxiliary vehicles. They were mainly used to transport 40 mm anti-aircraft guns and 75 mm field guns.

Before the Second World War in Poland there were more than 600 tankettes TK-3 and TKS, they were fully equipped with 11 reconnaissance armored divisions (they included 13 tankettes and 8 armored vehicles), 15 separate reconnaissance tank companies (13 tankettes each), as well as one reconnaissance tank company and one tank battalion, which were part of the mechanized brigades. Already after the start of the war, a company of light tanks was added to them at the headquarters of the defense of Warsaw, as well as several improvised formations of various sizes, which were staffed from the three Reserve Armored Weapons Centers.

Polish tankettes entered the battle on the very first day of the war. So already on September 1, 1939, the 21st armored division, with the support of several wz.34 armored vehicles, put the enemy to flight near Mokra with a surprise attack. The loss of the Poles in this battle amounted to only 3 cars. From 3 to 5 September, together with the tankette cavalry brigades, German units counterattacked several more times with varying degrees of success. In battles, it quickly became clear that against the German infantry, armed only with light infantry, the TKS tankettes acted quite successfully, however, as soon as they met with the enemy’s armored vehicles, they began to serious problems. Insufficient armor and the weakness of machine-gun armament were especially sharply manifested.

During the Polish campaign of the Red Army Soviet troops captured in Lvov, where the Polish 6th tank battalion from the 10th motorized cavalry brigade of Colonel Maczek was stationed, up to 10 serviceable TKS tankettes and C2P transporters created on their basis. Some tankettes were captured right on the territory of the unit's barracks. These wedges in 1940 were delivered to the test site of the Research Institute of Armored Vehicles (NIIBT Polygon), where they underwent a series of tests.

It is very curious that when studying the Polish TKS tankettes and the 7TP tank, Soviet specialists practically did not pay attention to the periscope observation device created by Rudolf Gundlach. When studying the tankette, they simply noted the presence of the device, and in the report on the 7TP tank they gave a little information about it. At the same time, in the TKS wedge heel, it was the periscope device that was most likely the most interesting detail. Gundlach's periscope, which today is better known as the Vickers Tank Periscope MK.IV (or simply MK.IV), is perhaps the best example of tank optics of that time period. He had good visibility and was distinguished by the ability to quickly replace a damaged prism. This periscope was first copied by the British, and then by the tank builders of many other countries. In the Soviet Union, this periscope device did not seem to be noticed, it was remembered only in 1943. At the same time, in our country, he received the designation MK-IV not in accordance with the British specification, but in honor of heavy tank MK-IV "Churchill".

The armored hull of the Polish tankette did not particularly impress the Soviet specialists. On the one hand, this hull was developed almost from scratch and clearly surpassed in all respects not only the British original, but also all other vehicles that were created on the basis of the British Carden-Loyd Mk.VI tankette. Unlike them, the Polish crew did not feel cramped, the hull turned out to be quite spacious. Both the driver and the tankette commander had a good overview, wide hatches allowed them to normally get inside and leave the combat vehicle, and also ensured the convenience of maintenance of equipment components and assemblies. On the other hand, the very small dimensions of the tankette still did not allow placing the power plant separately from the crew, the engine was installed in the fighting compartment. Fuel tanks were also placed right there, which could not be moved to another place.

The Poles reinforced the tankette armor, bringing it to 10 mm in the frontal projection and up to 8 mm along the sides of the hull. This provided protection for the crew from enemy fire from small arms at a distance of several hundred meters. When fired at point-blank range, the tankette could be hit with rifle-caliber armor-piercing ammunition, and it was also vulnerable to heavy machine guns. However, the Poles themselves did not have any particular illusions about the armor and combat capabilities of their tankette, its production was discontinued in the spring of 1937. The steel from which its armored hull was made also did not interest the employees of NIIBT Polygon.

Unlike the Soviet tankette T-27, in which the number of road wheels in the undercarriage was increased to 6 per side, the Poles did not lengthen the bearing surface, although this could improve the longitudinal stability of the combat vehicle. However, the Polish development was not a complete copy of the British undercarriage. While the upper branch of the caterpillar was supported by a wooden beam on the Carden-Loyd Mk.VI, the Polish tankette TKS had 4 supporting rollers on board. The suspension has also undergone changes, the TKS has a central spring, to which the bogies were attached, which made it possible to improve the working conditions of the crew, especially when driving over rough terrain. The drive wheels have removable rims, which made it easier to maintain the chassis. In the event of a breakage of the engagement teeth on the British tankette, it was necessary to change the entire wheel, on the Polish version it was enough to replace the crown, which was not only faster, but also easier. You can read more about the tests of the Polish tankette TKS and the C2P transporter in Yuriy Pasholok on warspot.ru.

Based on the results of tests carried out in the USSR and a study of the design of the Polish tankette, the following conclusions were made: “In the Polish army, the TKS tankette was the main type of reconnaissance tank. The tested tankette had the inscription "Death Squadron", on the basis of which it could be concluded that the tankettes were in service with the Polish cavalry units. Made in the style of the British Carden-Loyd tankette, it had a number of changes that were associated with the use of Polish automotive units that improved its design. For the Soviet tank industry, the TKS tankette is only of educational interest.

Tactical and technical characteristics TKS:
Overall dimensions: length - 2560 mm, width - 1760 mm, height - 1330 mm, ground clearance - 330 mm.
Combat weight - 2650 kg.
Booking - 3-10 mm.
Armament - one 7.92 mm machine gun Hotchkiss wz. 25, on 24 vehicles - 20 mm wz. 38 FK-A.
Ammunition - 1920 rounds or 80 shells.
The power plant is a 4-cylinder Polski Fiat 122VS gasoline engine with an HP 46 power.
Maximum speed - 40 km / h (on the highway).
Fuel supply - 60 liters.
Power reserve - 160 km (on the highway), 90 km (cross country).
Crew - 2 people (commander and driver).

Sources of information:
http://opoccuu.com/tks.htm
http://www.aviarmor.net/tww2/tanks/poland/tks.htm
http://www.aviarmor.net/tww2/tanks/gb/carden_loyd_mk6.htm
http://warspot.ru/6460-trofei-iz-galitsii
Materials from open sources

A significant number of which were in the Japanese army during World War II.

Characteristic

Tankette armor protected only from small arms bullets and shell fragments, and at the same time, it was easily penetrated by anti-tank rifle bullets and anti-tank gun shells, starting with a caliber of 37 mm. The armor of tankettes was satisfactory for the late 1920s, but by the mid-1930s, small-caliber anti-tank guns became widespread in the armies of various countries, which easily penetrated the thin armor of tankettes. The armament of most tankettes of this period was also too weak, the crew size was insufficient (1-2 people), and the living conditions were at the limit of the tankers' physiological capabilities. The production of tankettes in most armies ceased around 1935, when it became clear that they could not fulfill the role of full-fledged tanks due to weak armor and weapons, as well as the lack of a turret, which complicated the use of weapons. This was also confirmed by later cases of their use during such wars as the Spanish Civil War and the September 1939 campaign in Poland. However, despite their small size, tankettes proved to be suitable as reconnaissance vehicles, although their weak armor made their use dangerous for the crew. In addition, most tankettes were used as armored tractors.

Story

The prototype of most European tankettes is considered to be the English tankette Carden-Lloyd, and although these vehicles did not have much success in the British army, the armored personnel carrier “Universal Carrier” was created on their basis, which was an elongated and re-arranged tankette. These machines were produced in large numbers and were often used for the same purposes as tankettes.

Progress in the design of all-terrain vehicles has led to the fact that now (2009) the vehicles that occupy the “niche” of wedges are wheeled: the patency is not much worse than a tracked vehicle, but it is easier to maintain [ ] . An exception is the German machine "Wiesel" ("weasel"), used in airborne troops Germany.

Russia/USSR

Wedge heel TKS

The tankette was developed on the basis of the English Carden-Loyd Mk-VI tankette, for the production of which Poland acquired a license. Adopted by the Polish Army in 1931. Serial production was carried out by the state enterprise PZInz (Panstwowe Zaklady Inzynierii) from 1931 to 1936. The tankette was produced in four modifications. TK-3 - the first serial version, riveted armored hull closed on top (280 units were made). TKF - TK tankette with 46 hp engine. (produced 18 pieces). TKS - improved model of 1933 (260 produced). TKS z nkm 20A - armed with a 20 mm FK-A wz.38 automatic cannon (24 units converted). A total of 582 cars were produced. A special trailer was developed that could be towed by a tankette. Armored tires, self-propelled guns and artillery tractors were produced on its basis. About 100 tankettes captured by the Wehrmacht were used under the designation "l Panzerkampfwagen TK-3 / TKS (p)" as transporters and for crew training.

TTX wedges: length - 2.6 m; width - 1.8 m; weight - 2.4-2.6 tons; height - 1.3 m; booking - 4-10 mm; engine type - Ford A/Polski FIAT-122 petrol engine; engine power - 40-46 hp; specific power - 17 hp / t; speed on the highway - 46 km / h; power reserve - 180 km; armament - 7.92 mm wz.25 machine gun or 9 mm Browning wz.28 machine gun (ammunition - 2 thousand rounds), since 1939 - 20 mm cannon; crew - 2 people.

wedge heel

Official designation: TK-3, TKS
Alternative notation:
Start of design: 1929
Date of construction of the first prototype: 1930
Stage of completion: TK-3 was mass-produced in 1931-1933, TK-S in 1934-1939.

In 1928, the British company Vickers-Armstrong produced the two-seat Vickers Carden-Loyd Mark VI tankette, the design of which attracted the close attention of military specialists. In the middle of 1929, Poland acquired one such tankette, and it was tested on June 20, 1929 at the Rembertow training ground, near Warsaw. On 29 June, after extensive testing, 10 more tankettes were ordered, along with five trailers and spare parts. The ordered weapons arrived in September 1929. Immediately after this, large-scale testing of equipment began. In the end, it was concluded that tankettes have sufficient combat potential and can be used as part of motorized cavalry units and as reconnaissance vehicles. A license was acquired and local production of tankettes began, with some changes made to the design. The main problem of the British tankettes was their suspension, which simply exhausted the crew in long-range raids. Polish designers initially modified one or two British tankettes by improving and lengthening the suspension. Nevertheless, it was decided to produce their own version of the tankette based on the British one, and not a modified version of the original.

At the end of 1929, the prototype TK-1 (also known as Tek 1001 and TK wz.30, registration number 6006), followed by a very similar prototype TK-2(number 6008). Both of these prototypes were open at the top and armed with a single 7.92mm. machine gun wz.25 or wz.30, which could be used both against ground targets and against air targets. Booking prototypes was 3-7 mm. Both were very similar except for some difference in the location of the engine, air intakes and suspension. The TK-1 was powered by a Ford Type A engine, and the TK-2 was powered by a Ford Type T. Both prototypes were tested in the summer of 1930 in Modlin, near Warsaw. However, these machines did not go into the series. The refinement of the tankette continued.

In 1930, based on the experience of developing the TK-1 and TK-2, in Ursus (Ursus), near Warsaw, a heavier and improved version of the tankette was released - TK-3(number 6007). By March 1931, he was ready for testing. After extensive tests, on July 14, 1931, the TK-3 was adopted by the Polish Army. Serial production began at the end of 1931.

The design of the serial tankette TK-3 retained many similarities with the original version. The undercarriage was extremely simple and, as applied to one side, consisted of the following elements: two carts with two rubber-coated road wheels each, four support rollers, a front drive wheel, a rear guide wheel. The small-link caterpillar chain consisted of steel tracks 140 mm wide and 127 mm long. The suspension of carts with road wheels included leaf springs.

The body of the tankette was a box assembled from sheets of armored steel with a thickness of 3 to 8 mm. The mechanical type transmission was located at the front of the hull, while the engine, fuel tank and cooling system were at the stern. The TK-3 tankettes were equipped with a 40 hp Ford-A 4-cylinder gasoline engine, which was produced in Poland under license. The crew of two was located in the middle part of the hull under a high superstructure. The tankette was armed with a 7.92 mm wz.25 machine gun, which was controlled by the commander.

The first 15 vehicles were made of non-armored steel (registration numbers 1154-1168) and subsequently 6 of them were used to build prototype tankettes and light self-propelled guns. The main series consisted of 185 units (registration numbers 1169-1353).

In 1931, a special one was developed that could be towed by a TK-3 tankette. In addition, a whole series of other (armored and unarmored) trailers (with one or two axles) was developed to carry various ammunition, ammunition, fuel, radio equipment and even soldiers.

In order to increase the mobility of tankettes and save their chassis, Ursus engineers developed a unique transporter platform in 1931, called AT-1(sometimes the name Autotransport is found). The essence of the innovation was as follows: the TK-3 wedge was mounted on a platform, and its drive wheels were connected by a chain to the rear axle of the conveyor. In such a simple way, it was possible to achieve some increase in speed characteristics, although the release of the AT-1 was limited to only a few copies and officially this system
not accepted for service.

The usual method of transportation, for which Ursus A trucks were used, turned out to be more reliable. In addition, several Saurer 4ВLD \ 4ВLDP transporters (which could carry two tankettes at once) and Polski Fiat 621 were produced. True, the number of tank transporters was very small - in 1936 In the year the Polish army had 14 Ursus A-type vehicles and only two Saurer 4ВLD.

Around the same time, tests were carried out on a railway platform on which a TK-3 or TK-S tankette could be installed,
and then use this bundle as part of armored trains.

Throughout the mass production of tankettes of the TK series, Polish engineers have been looking for ways to increase firepower and expand the range of their use.

One of the first to appear was the TKF modification, which featured a new Polski Fiat 122A engine with a working volume of 2592 cc.
He developed a power of 42 hp. at 2600 rpm and spent 70 liters of fuel per 100 km on rough terrain and 36 liters on the highway.
The armament was reinforced by replacing the 7.92 mm machine gun with a 9 mm Browning wz.28 machine gun. A total of 16 were built (according to other sources - 20)
tankettes, after which preference was given to a more advanced version TK-S. Design work on the updated model were completed in March 1933 and by May the tankette had successfully passed the tests. From TK-3, this option “borrowed” the chassis, but the engine was installed from TKF. The armored cabin has undergone changes, the shape of which has been changed for a more convenient placement of weapons, and the thickness of the armor has been increased to 10 mm. Another improvement was the installation of a panoramic periscope designed by Captain A. Gundlach (A. Gundlach). However, outwardly TK-3 and TK-S differed very little, which cannot be said about performance characteristics. During the tests, it turned out that the heavier TK-S has slightly reduced driving performance, which made it necessary to introduce caterpillar tracks extended to 170 mm, and the capacity of the 60-liter fuel tank was enough for 180 km of highway traffic, against 200 km for TK- 3. Nevertheless, the combat value of the tankette was estimated quite highly.

From the start of serial production of the TK-S in February 1934 until September 1939, about 290 vehicles were assembled. Initially, a pre-production batch of 20 tankettes (registration numbers 1492-1511) was assembled, which were made of non-armored steel - these vehicles were intended for familiarization and training of personnel of Polish tank units. New production tankettes received the following series of registration numbers: 1512-1594 (including 6 TK-S built for Estonia), 1597-1682, 1702-1764 and 1799-1814. Various minor improvements were made to the design of the TK-S during production, including the installation of a more powerful Polski FIAT-122BC engine (46 hp). The fact of the release of several more tankettes with numbers from 8890 to 8910 remains uncertain. Two of them served as the basis for the prototypes of the TK-S-D (8897) self-propelled gun and the C2P (8898) semi-armored tractor.

Basically, tankettes were distributed between tank companies, but before the war, 40 tankettes TK-S were converted into armored tires of the TK type, some of which were included in armored trains. The railcar itself was a platform with a lifting mechanism on which the wedge was raised and fixed. The armament remained the same, but several TCs were equipped with Browning LMG anti-aircraft machine guns. The total weight of the railcar was 4150 kg. In some cases, two or three railcars were connected together - such combinations were designated as TK-TK or TK-R-TK. As you might guess, the first option was purely "tankette", but the second one consisted of two railcars of the TK type and one of the R type (with an FT-17 light tank armed with a cannon).

The next option is called TKW, most of all looked like a light tank. The chassis was again left unchanged, but the machine gun was installed in the tower, located to the right of the driver's seat, and the thickness of the armor reached 20 mm. Although the convenience for the shooter was minimal, the turret allowed for circular fire, which significantly increased the effectiveness of the tankette. The TKW tests were quite successful, but it did not go into mass production. In 1935, the Polish command opted for the 4TR light tank project, however, six TKWs still managed to enter the limited operation of the Polish army.

However, the armament capacity of the TK-3\TK-S tankettes was still insufficient. In 1933-1934. repeatedly
the question was raised about their re-equipment with machine guns of a larger caliber. The 13.2-mm machine gun seemed the most suitable option, but it was also insufficient to effectively combat the armored vehicles of a potential enemy. Then a proposal was made to equip tankettes with 20-mm automatic anti-tank guns. In 1936, two options were submitted for consideration: with guns from Madsen (Denmark) and Solothurn (Switzerland).

Tests carried out in the same year showed that both guns did not have the required armor penetration, therefore, in July-October 1938, a prototype TK-3 entered the tests, and from January 1939 two TK-S armed with a Polish automatic gun joined it. FK-A wz.38. It was she who was chosen to modernize tankettes. The rearmament plans assumed that by January 30, 1940, 110 tankettes would be equipped with 20-mm guns, but until September 1939, only 10 such vehicles entered the troops. According to other sources, the number of modified tankettes ranged from 15 to 24. Such a small number is due to the lack of guns, the production of which unfolded at a very slow pace. They differed from the standard (machine-gun) version by the presence of a ball mount and a long gun barrel protruding beyond the dimensions of the tankette. Cannon TK-3 \ TK-S were placed at the disposal of the 10th mechanized brigade, where they served as commander tankettes.

They also tried to use the TK-3 tankette chassis to install a heavier gun on it. Simultaneously with the TKF tests, a prototype self-propelled artillery mount called TKD, developed under the guidance of engineer J. Lapushevsky in April 1932. It was originally planned that the TKD would be used as an infantry support self-propelled gun - for this purpose, the tankette was equipped with a 47-mm Polish gun wz.25 “Pocisk” with 55 rounds of ammunition. It was located in the cabin, which was open at the top, which gave the self-propelled guns some similarity with the artillery version of the T-27 equipped with a 76-mm gun. Tests confirmed the suitability of the tankette chassis for the installation of cannon armament, and by the middle of the year, 4 TKD samples were made from conventional tankettes TK-3 (s / n 1156-1159). Since the power of the 47-mm gun was enough to fight light armored vehicles, the self-propelled guns were reoriented to perform this particular task, at the same time testing options with the British 47-mm Vickers gun and the French 37-mm Puteau. From the autumn of 1932 until the end of 1933, the TKD took an active part in the maneuvers of the Polish army. First, the received self-propelled guns were reduced to a separate platoon, giving it to the cavalry brigade as an “anti-tank reserve”, and in 1934 they were transferred to the 11th experimental armored division in Modlin for various tests. The reason for the termination of work on the TKD was the appearance of the TK-S variant with a 20 mm gun. As for the 47-mm self-propelled guns, in August-September 1938 they were transferred to the 10th motorized cavalry brigade and involved in maneuvers near the border with Czechoslovakia. After this episode, the fate of TKD remains unclear. According to some sources, the last time two self-propelled guns were used in the defense of Warsaw.

Since 1936, improved TK-S have been involved in such experiments. The first to appear was a variant with a 37 mm Peuteau gun, which was planned to be used as an anti-tank self-propelled gun. There is no data on the details of testing this tankette.

In the meantime, another modernization attempt was made, this time aimed at improving the driving performance of the tankette. Model TKS-B received a modified chassis, in which the guide wheels were increased in diameter and lowered to the surface. The tankette was equipped with a Polski Fiat 122AC engine and a standard transmission. In tests carried out in the summer of 1936, she showed a maximum speed of about 50 km / h, with somewhat lower fuel consumption and better handling. Despite the better overall results compared to the TK-S, the TKS-B tankette never became serial. By that time, the command of the Polish army had finally decided to focus its main efforts on the creation of well-protected light tanks, while continuing to produce TK-S for reconnaissance units with their subsequent replacement. In addition, plans to upgrade serial tankettes TK-S to the level of TKS-B turned out to be too expensive - in fact, it was proposed to pay PLN 10,000 for a change of running gear (with the cost of the entire tankette PLN 47,800), which in those years was a significant amount.

However, the successful TKS-B undercarriage was used to create other tracked vehicles. One of them was the weapons transporter TK-SD, the development of which was led by J. Lapushevsky. The main purpose of this vehicle was to transport the 37 mm Bofors wz.36 anti-tank gun. The cabin TK-SD was made open and adapted to carry 4 people. The armament of the tankette consisted of a 37-mm cannon protected by a frontal shield, and it was possible to fire from it not only from the tankette, but also by setting the gun on the ground. In April 1937, two prototypes were made, slightly differing in the shape of the conning tower. The TKS-B prototype served as the basis for the first prototype. Since the ammunition load was small for self-propelled guns, a special trailer was developed that housed 80 shells. In the summer of 1937, the Polish command staged a demonstration of the TK-SD in front of the Romanian delegation, hoping to receive an order for export deliveries, but it was not possible to agree with the Romanians. At the end of the year, the self-propelled guns were sent to Modlin, but already in August 1938, the TKS-D was placed at the disposal of the 10th motorized cavalry brigade and took part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia. There is no exact data on the combat use of prototypes of self-propelled guns, but in early September 1939, both TK-SDs participated in the battle in the Beskid Mountains. One of them was destroyed on September 5 in the battle near the village of Skrydlna (Skrzydlna), and the second - on September 9 near the city of Albigow (Albigow).

On the basis of TK-S, Polish engineers also developed a tractor-transporter in 1933. C2R. First of all, the undercarriage underwent changes, the steering wheel of which was noticeably enlarged and in contact with the ground, thereby reducing the pressure on the ground. The armored cabin was cut and adapted to carry 4 infantrymen or ammunition. Serial production of C2P began in 1937 and continued until the occupation of Poland. During this time, 196 tractors were assembled, although another 117 remained in the plans. They were mainly used to transport 75 mm field guns or 40 mm anti-aircraft guns.

Until September 1939, the Ursus enterprise managed to transfer to the operating
an army of at least 500 wedges of all modifications. By this time, their foreign counterparts Carden-Lloyd Mk.VI and T-27 had already withdrawn from the first line units, but in Poland the tankettes TK-3 and TK-S formed the basis of the armored forces. They were equipped with 11 reconnaissance armored divisions (which included 8 armored vehicles and 13 tankettes each), 15 separate reconnaissance tank companies (13 tankettes each), as well as one
reconnaissance tank company and one tank battalion that were part of the mechanized brigades. During the September campaign, they were supplemented by a company of light tanks at the Warsaw defense headquarters and several improvised formations, the material part of which was recruited from the three Reserve Centers of Armored Technical Armaments. The distribution by combat units was as follows:

Bron Panzerna (Polish tank troops) 11 reconnaissance tank company (was not fully formed before the war, later the platoons of the company were attached to the regiments of the Warsaw armored brigade) 13 TK-S. Captain Stanislav Letovsky
31 separate reconnaissance tank company (September 3 attached to the 25th infantry division) 13 TKS. Captain Tadeusz Schalek
32 separate reconnaissance tank company (September 3 attached to 1 cavalry regiment of the border guard corps) 13 TKS. Lieutenant Florian Kažmierczak
41 separate reconnaissance tank company (83rd infantry regiment of the 30th infantry division) 13 TK-3. Captain Tadeusz Witanowski
42 separate reconnaissance tank company (Kresovskaya cavalry brigade) 13 TK-3. Captain Maciej Grabowski
51 separate reconnaissance tank company (Belsko Task Force) 13 TK-3. Captain Kazimierz Poletillo
52 separate reconnaissance tank company (task group "Shlensk") 13 TK-3. Capt. Pavel Dubicki
61 separate reconnaissance tank company (from 3 to 6 September as part of 1 mountain brigade) 13 TK-S. Captain Vladislav Chaplinsky
62 separate reconnaissance tank company (79th infantry regiment of the 20th infantry division) 13 TK-S. Captain Stanislav Shapkovsky
63 separate reconnaissance tank company (8 infantry division) 13 TK-S. Lieutenant Mechislav Kosevich
71 separate reconnaissance tank company (14th infantry division, 04.09. transferred to the 17th infantry division) 13 TK-3. Lieutenant Stanislav Skibnevsky
72 separate reconnaissance tank company (according to the plans, the 17th infantry division, but from 1.09. in the 26th infantry division) 13 TK-3. Lieutenant Lukian Shchepanovski
81 separate reconnaissance tank company (according to the plans, the 15th infantry division, in reality, the Vskhud task force) 13 TK-3. Captain Felix Polkowski
82 separate reconnaissance tank company (26th infantry division) 13 TK-3. Lieutenant Evgeniusz Wlodkowski
91 separate reconnaissance tank company (10th infantry division) 13 TK-3. Captain Stanislav Krainski
92 separate reconnaissance tank company (10th infantry division) 13 TK-3. Captain Vladislav Ivanovsky
101 reconnaissance tank companies (in 10 motorized cavalry brigade) 9 TK-3 and 4 TK-S. Lieutenant Zdzisław Zemski

Total: 133 tankettes TK-3 and 82 TK-S

Reconnaissance units of the Polish cavalry brigades
11 armored division Major Stefan Majewski - TK-3 and wz.29 armored cars, Mazowiecka
21 armored division Major Stanislav Glinski - TK-S and armored cars wz.34-II, Wolynska
31st armored battalion Captain Bruno Blensky - TK-S and armored cars wz.34-II, Suwalska
32 armored division Major Stanislav Shostak - TK-S and wz.34-II armored cars, Podlaska
33rd Armored Division Major Vladislav Lubensky - TK-S and wz.34-II armored vehicles, Wilenska
51 Armored Division Major Henryk Svetlicki - TK3 and armored cars wz.34, Krakowska
61st armored battalion Captain Alfred Wujcicki - TK-S and armored cars wz.34-II, Kresowa
62 armored division Kapitan Zhygmund Brodowski - TK-S and wz.34-II armored cars, Podolska
71 armored battalion Captain Kazimierz Zholkevich - TK3 and wz.34-II armored cars, Wielkopolska
81st Armored Division Major Franciszek Szystowski - TK3 and armored cars wz.34, Pomorska
91st Armored Battalion Major Artur Shliwiński - TK3 and wz.34 armored vehicles, Nowogrodzka

Polish armored trains of the 1st division

No. 11 Danuta. 2 guns of caliber 100 mm and 2 calibers of 75 mm, 2 armored tires of the R type and 4 of the TK type. Captain Boleslav Karabovich
No. 12 "Poznanczyk". 2 guns of caliber 100 mm and 2 calibers of 75 mm, 2 armored tires of the R type and 4 of the TK type. Captain Kazimierz Majewski
No. 13 "General Sosnowski". 4 guns of caliber 75 mm, 2 armored tires of the R type and 4 of the TK type. Captain Stanislav Mlodzianovsky
No. 14 "Paderewski". 2 guns of caliber 100 mm and 2 calibers of 75 mm, 2 armored tires of the R type and 4 of the TK type. Captain Jerzy Zelechowski
No. 51 "Pierwszy Marszalek". 4 guns of caliber 75 mm, 2 armored tires of the R type and 4 of the TK type. Captain Leon Cymborski
No. 52 "Pilsudczyk". 2 guns of caliber 100 mm and 2 calibers of 75 mm, 2 armored tires of type R and 4 type TK.Captain Mikolaj Gonchar
No. 53 "Smily". 2 guns of caliber 100 mm and 2 calibers of 75 mm, 2 armored tires of type R and 4 type TK.Captain Mieczysław Malinowski
No. 54 Grozny. 1 caliber guns 100 mm and 2 caliber 75 mm, 2 armored rubber type R and 4 type TK. Captain Jan Rybshinsky
No. 55 "Bartosz Glowacki". 2 guns of caliber 75 mm, 2 armored rubbers of type R and 4 types of TK. Captain Andrzej Podgurski

The TK-S and TK-3 went into battle with the German troops from September 1, however, due to the tactics of their use, adopted from the French army, the combat effectiveness of the tankettes turned out to be low. The reports often indicated that when using tankettes against infantry units, they had every chance of success, but TK-S could not fight German tanks, and even more so anti-tank artillery, in an oncoming battle. For example, on September 1, the 21st armored division, supported by several wz.34 armored vehicles, suddenly attacked the Germans near the settlement of Mokra, putting the enemy to flight with the loss of only three vehicles.

From 3 to 5 September, together with the cavalry brigades, tankettes counterattacked the Germans several more times with varying degrees of success. Against infantry armed only with light small arms TK-S acted quite successfully, but as soon as it came to meetings with armored vehicles, tankette crews began big problems. The weakness of machine-gun armament and insufficient armor were especially pronounced in this case. You can often find references to the fact that the TK-3 and TK-S fought quite successfully against light tanks type Pz.I, since "the shelling of a gas tank with armor-piercing bullets gave good results." This statement was true only when the tankette was in ambush and its attack was sudden. One of these cases occurred on September 18, when the crew of one TK-S with a 20-mm cannon, under the command of Roman Orlyk, managed to knock out three German Pz.Kpfw.35 (t), which had more powerful armor than the Pz.I. In other cases, armored divisions suffered serious losses. They were especially sensitive when trying to break out of the German encirclement near the Swieder River (September 13-15) and near Tomaszow Lubelski (September 17-19), when some Polish units simply ceased to exist. Such a fate, for example, befell the tankettes and armored vehicles of the 21st, 31st, 32nd, 33rd and 51st armored divisions, which by September 20 were left without materiel. The last mention of the use of TK-3 \ TK-S refers to September 27-30, when the surviving combat vehicles tried to break through to the Hungarian border.

The same tragic fate also suffered armored tires of the TK type, almost all of which died, participating together with armored trains in
support for infantry units. Part of the railcars was dismantled, since wedges and tanks from them were installed on the ground in
as bunkers and were subsequently destroyed or abandoned by their crews.

Despite the fact that the Polish tankettes TK \ TK-S turned out to be no worse than their British prototype, large export deliveries were never made. In January 1937, an order was received from Sweden for a batch of TK-S, the number of which varied from 20 to 60 copies plus one wedge for testing, but, as in the case of the 7TP tanks, the Polish side refused to fulfill this contract.

It was not possible to agree with the Spanish delegation, which planned to purchase 80 wedges.

The only country where TK-S were delivered was Estonia. In 1935, the Estonian army received a platoon from
6 tankettes, which remained in service until the summer of 1940. According to unverified reports, the former Estonian TK-S were used in July 1941 by the Red Army against the Wehrmacht.

In the autumn of 1939, due to circumstances, several tankettes came into the possession of the Hungarian army. These were vehicles from the 10th cavalry (motorized) brigade, which on September 22, 1939 were lucky enough to break into Hungarian territory. In total, under Mukachevo, the Hungarians took one machine-gun and four cannon tankettes TK-S, as well as eight tankettes TKF and TK-3. On the same day, one tankette from the 32nd Separate Reconnaissance Tank Company and the 21st Tank Battalion crossed the border with Hungary.

On the initial stage these vehicles did not take part in hostilities against the USSR and, together with CV3 / 33 wedges, were used only for training. However, since 1942, captured TKF and TK-S began to be used against partisans in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The success of their combat use was very relative, and in March 1944 one of the TKF was captured in the battle near the city of Zenta and is now a monument. The rest of the Hungarian tankettes were eventually disposed of.

It is difficult to say how many tankettes fell into the hands of the Germans now. Many TK-3\TK-S were damaged and required repair, however, some of the tankettes were captured in a completely combat-ready condition. Their total number is estimated from 111 to 137 units. The captured wedges were adopted by the Wehrmacht under the designation Leichte Panzerkampfwagen TK-3/TK-S(p) and were very intensively used together with C2P trophy tractors as transporters and for crew training.

The most widely known was the Leichte Panzer Companie "Warschau", formed on June 12, 1940 specifically for propaganda purposes and never participated in hostilities. As of October 6, 1940, the company included two full-fledged tank platoons equipped with captured wedges. For some time, the company participated in various parades reviews, but in May-June 1941 it was disbanded, and the equipment was sent to training units.

In November 1941, several TK-S tankettes (according to various sources, from 6 to 18) were transferred to Croatia. Wedges were included in the composition
a separate tank platoon of the III Army Corps of the Ustashe, whose staffing strength did not exceed 41 people. The platoon had no
numbers and until the beginning of 1943, his TK-S was used only as training in Sarajevo and Zepc. When the partisan war in Yugoslavia
reached the limit of activity to combat the formations of IB Tito began to attract even outdated equipment.

From January to July 1943, tankettes took part in the fighting against partisans near the settlements of Vlasenitsa and Hadzichi, while losing most of the materiel. On July 5, the platoon still had 3 tankettes, but due to their small number and weakness of weapons and armor, they did not represent a real force. By decision of the Croatian command, the remaining TK-S were transferred to the 1st Battalion of the 5th Infantry Regiment and their fate is unknown. There are also references to the fact that several Polish tankettes were handed over to a tank company of the Presidential Guard Brigade in December, but since January 1942 this unit was armed only with Italian L3 tankettes.

The history of tankettes that ended up in the hands of the Red Army after the return of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine has not yet been clarified. According to the most approximate data, there were at least a dozen TK-S and TK-3 on the balance sheet of the Red Army in the border districts, and in June-July 1941 there were
they were used against German troops. For example, the 23rd Panzer Division of the 12th Mechanized Corps included 340 T-26 Model 1933\1937, two twin-turret T-26 Model 1931. with a 37-mm cannon, eight twin-turret T-26s in a machine gun version, nine KhT-26s, as well as two former Polish tankettes TK-S and seventeen Vickers M1936 light tanks (formerly owned by Lithuania). Foreign-made tanks were used only as training tanks before the war, but the possibility of the fact that TK-S could again go into battle on the side of the Red Army cannot be denied.

Sources:
J. Ledwoch "TK-3/TK-S" (Wydawnictwo Militaria 321)
J.Magnuski "Czołg rozpoznawczy TK (TKS)", TBiU nr 36, Warsaw, 1975

Polish tankettes TK-3 and TKS
Beutepanzer: Tankette TK-3 & TKS

PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TANKETs
TK-3 and TK-S model 1931-1936