Panzerkampfwagen II LT vz. 35: light tank
The Panzerkampfwagen 35(t), commonly shortened to Panzer 35(t) or abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw. 35(t), was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II. The letter (t) stood for tschechisch (German for “Czech”). In Czechoslovak service, it had the formal designation Lehký tank vzor 35 (Light Tank Model 35), but was commonly referred to as the LT vz. 35 or LT-35.
A total of 434 were built; of these, the Germans seized 244 when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939 and the Slovaks acquired 52 when they declared independence from Czechoslovakia at the same time. Others were exported to Bulgaria and Romania. In German service, it saw combat during the early years of World War II, notably the invasion of Poland, the Battle of France and the invasion of the Soviet Union before being retired or sold off in 1942. It was used for the remainder of the war by other countries and as a training tank in Bulgaria into the 1950s.
The 8.62-litre (526 cu in) Škoda T-11/0 four-cylinder, water-cooled engine produced 120 horsepower (89 kW) at 1,800 rpm. Two fuel tanks were fitted, the main tank with a capacity of 124 litres (27 imp gal; 33 US gal) was on the left side of the engine and the 29-litre (6.4 imp gal; 7.7 US gal) auxiliary tank was on the other side.
The engine could run on gasoline, an alcohol-gasoline mixture, and “Dynalkohol” (an alcohol-benzole mixture). It was mounted in the rear along with the six-speed transmission which drove rear-mounted drive sprockets. The suspension was derived from the Vickers 6-Ton tank; eight small pairs of road wheels on four bogies per side, each pair of bogies sprung by a single leaf spring, a front idler wheel, and four track return wheels. An unsprung road wheel was located directly underneath the idler wheel to improve obstacle crossing. The transmission, brakes and steering were mechanically assisted with compressed air, reducing driver fatigue. This last feature proved problematic in the extreme conditions of the Eastern Front.
The main armament was a Škoda 37mm ÚV vz. 34 (German designation “KwK 34(t)”) gun with a pepperpot muzzle brake and a prominent armoured recoil cylinder above the barrel. Škoda called it the A3. It fired a 0.815-kilogram (1.8 lb) armour-piercing shell at 690 metres per second (2,300 ft/s).
Manufacturer: Škoda
