Hungarian medium tank 41M Turán II In June 1941, the Hungarian General Staff raised the issue of modernizing the Turan I tank. First of all, it was decided to strengthen its armament by installing a 75-mm 41.M cannon with a length of 25 calibers from the MAVAG factory. It was a converted field 76,5-mm gun from Beler. She had a semi-automatic horizontal wedge gate. The turret had to be redesigned for the new gun, in particular, by increasing its height by 45 mm. A modernized machine gun 34./40.A.M. was installed on the tank. The body (all also assembled with rivets and bolts) and chassis remained unchanged, with the exception of a slightly modified shield above the driver's viewing slot. Due to some increase in the mass of the machine, its speed has decreased. Medium tank “Turan II” The prototype of the modernized "Turan" was ready in January and tested in February and May 1942. In May, an order for a new tank was issued to three factories: "Manfred Weiss" "Single", "Magyar wagon". The first four production tanks left the factory in Csepel in 1943, and in total, 1944 Turan IIs were built by June 139 (in 1944 - 40 units). The maximum release - 22 tanks was recorded in June 1943. The creation of a command tank was limited to the manufacture of an iron prototype. Hungarian tank "Turan II" Click image for larger version Of course, a 25-caliber cannon was not suitable for fighting tanks, and the General Staff instructed the ICT to work out the issue of arming the Turan with a long-barreled 75-mm 43.M cannon with a muzzle brake. It was also planned to increase the thickness of the armor to 80-95 mm in the frontal part of the hull. The estimated mass was to grow to 23 tons. In August 1943, Turan I was tested with a dummy gun and 25 mm armor. The manufacture of the cannon was delayed and prototype "Turan" III tested without it in the spring of 1944. It didn't go further. Hungarian tank cannons 20/82 Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 20/82 Mark 36.M Vertical guidance angles, degrees   Armor-piercing projectile weight, kg   High-explosive fragmentation projectile weight   The initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile, m / s 735 high-explosive fragmentation projectile m / s   Rate of fire, rds / min   The thickness of the penetrated armor in mm at an angle of 30 ° to the normal from a distance 300 m 14 600 m 10 1000 m 7,5 1500 m — 40/51 Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 40/51 Mark 41.M Vertical guidance angles, degrees + 25 °, -10 ° Armor-piercing projectile weight, kg   High-explosive fragmentation projectile weight   The initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile, m / s 800 high-explosive fragmentation projectile m / s   Rate of fire, rds / min 12 The thickness of the penetrated armor in mm at an angle of 30 ° to the normal from a distance 300 m 42 600 m 36 1000 m 30 1500 m   40/60 Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 40/60 Mark 36.M Vertical guidance angles, degrees + 85 °, -4 ° Armor-piercing projectile weight, kg   High-explosive fragmentation projectile weight 0,95 The initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile, m / s 850 high-explosive fragmentation projectile m / s   Rate of fire, rds / min 120 The thickness of the penetrated armor in mm at an angle of 30 ° to the normal from a distance 300 m 42 600 m 36 1000 m 26 1500 m 19 75/25 Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 75/25 Mark 41.M Vertical guidance angles, degrees + 30 °, -10 ° Armor-piercing projectile weight, kg   High-explosive fragmentation projectile weight   The initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile, m / s 450 high-explosive fragmentation projectile m / s 400 Rate of fire, rds / min 12 The thickness of the penetrated armor in mm at an angle of 30 ° to the normal from a distance 300 m   600 m   1000 m   1500 m   75/43 Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 75/43 Mark 43.M Vertical guidance angles, degrees + 20 °, -10 ° Armor-piercing projectile weight, kg   High-explosive fragmentation projectile weight   The initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile, m / s 770 high-explosive fragmentation projectile m / s 550 Rate of fire, rds / min 12 The thickness of the penetrated armor in mm at an angle of 30 ° to the normal from a distance 300 m 80 600 m 76 1000 m 66 1500 m 57 105/25 Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 105/25 Mark 41.M or 40/43. M Vertical guidance angles, degrees + 25 °, -8 ° Armor-piercing projectile weight, kg   High-explosive fragmentation projectile weight   The initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile, m / s   high-explosive fragmentation projectile m / s 448 Rate of fire, rds / min   The thickness of the penetrated armor in mm at an angle of 30 ° to the normal from a distance 300 m   600 m   1000 m   1500 m   47/38,7 Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 47/38,7 Mark Skoda A-9 Vertical guidance angles, degrees + 25 °, -10 ° Armor-piercing projectile weight, kg 1,65 High-explosive fragmentation projectile weight   The initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile, m / s 780 high-explosive fragmentation projectile m / s   Rate of fire, rds / min   The thickness of the penetrated armor in mm at an angle of 30 ° to the normal from a distance 300 m   600 m   1000 m   1500 m   Modifications of tanks "Turan": 40M Turán I - basic variant with 40mm cannon, 285 tanks produced, including commander's variant. 40M Turán I PK - commander's version with a reduced ammunition load and an additional R / 4T radio station. 41M Turán II - variant with a short-barreled 75 mm 41.M gun, 139 units produced. 41M Turán II PK - commander's version, devoid of cannon and machine gun turret, equipped with three radio stations: R / 4T, R / 5a and FuG 16, sonly one prototype is complete. 43M Turán III - version with a long-barreled 75 mm 43.M gun and increased armor, only the prototype was completed. Performance characteristics Hungarian tanks Toldi-1   "Toldi" I Year of construction 1940 Combat weight, t 8,5 Crew. 3 Body length, mm 4750 Length with gun forward, mm   Width 2140 Height, mm 1870 Reservations, mm   Body forehead 13 Hull board 13 Tower forehead (deckhouse) 13 + 20 Roof and bottom of the hull 6 weaponry   Gun brand 36.M Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 20/82 Ammunition shots   The number and caliber (in mm) of machine guns 1-8,0 Anti-aircraft machine gun — Ammunition for machine guns, cartridges   Engine, type, brand carb. “Busing Nag” L8V/36TR Motor Power, hp 155 Top speed km / h 50 Fuel capacity, l 253 Range on the highway, km 220 Average ground pressure, kg / cm2 0,62 Toldi-2   “Toldi” II Year of construction 1941 Combat weight, t 9,3 Crew. 3 Body length, mm 4750 Length with gun forward, mm   Width 2140 Height, mm 1870 Reservations, mm   Body forehead 23-33 Hull board 13 Tower forehead (deckhouse) 13 + 20 Roof and bottom of the hull 6-10 weaponry   Gun brand 42.M Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 40/45 Ammunition shots 54 The number and caliber (in mm) of machine guns 1-8,0 Anti-aircraft machine gun — Ammunition for machine guns, cartridges   Engine, type, brand carb. “Busing Nag” L8V/36TR Motor Power, hp 155 Top speed km / h 47 Fuel capacity, l 253 Range on the highway, km 220 Average ground pressure, kg / cm2 0,68 Turan-1   "Turan" I Year of construction 1942 Combat weight, t 18,2 Crew. 5 Body length, mm 5500 Length with gun forward, mm   Width 2440 Height, mm 2390 Reservations, mm   Body forehead 50 (60) Hull board 25 Tower forehead (deckhouse) 50 (60) Roof and bottom of the hull 8-25 weaponry   Gun brand 41.M Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 40/51 Ammunition shots 101 The number and caliber (in mm) of machine guns 2-8,0 Anti-aircraft machine gun — Ammunition for machine guns, cartridges   Engine, type, brand Z-TURAN carb. Z-TURAN Motor Power, hp 260 Top speed km / h 47 Fuel capacity, l 265 Range on the highway, km 165 Average ground pressure, kg / cm2 0,61 Turan-2   "Turan" II Year of construction 1943 Combat weight, t 19,2 Crew. 5 Body length, mm 5500 Length with gun forward, mm   Width 2440 Height, mm 2430 Reservations, mm   Body forehead 50 Hull board 25 Tower forehead (deckhouse)   Roof and bottom of the hull 8-25 weaponry   Gun brand 41.M Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 75/25 Ammunition shots 56 The number and caliber (in mm) of machine guns 2-8,0 Anti-aircraft machine gun — Ammunition for machine guns, cartridges 1800 Engine, type, brand Z-TURAN carb. Z-TURAN Motor Power, hp 260 Top speed km / h 43 Fuel capacity, l 265 Range on the highway, km 150 Average ground pressure, kg / cm2 0,69 T-21   T-21 Year of construction 1940 Combat weight, t 16,7 Crew. 4 Body length, mm 5500 Length with gun forward, mm 5500 Width 2350 Height, mm 2390 Reservations, mm   Body forehead 30 Hull board 25 Tower forehead (deckhouse)   Roof and bottom of the hull   weaponry   Gun brand A-9 Caliber in mm / barrel length in calibers 47 Ammunition shots   The number and caliber (in mm) of machine guns 2-7,92 Anti-aircraft machine gun — Ammunition for machine guns, cartridges   Engine, type, brand Carb. Skoda V-8 Motor Power, hp 240 Top speed km / h 50 Fuel capacity, l   Range on the highway, km   Average ground pressure, kg / cm2 0,58 Hungarian tanks in battle "Turans" began to enter service with the 1st and 2nd TD and the 1st Cavalry Division (KD). The divisions were completed according to the new states introduced in October 1942. On October 30, 1943, the Hungarian army had 242 Turan tanks. The 3rd tank regiment (TP) of the 2nd TD was the most complete of all: it consisted of 120 tanks in three tank battalions of 39 vehicles, plus 3 tanks of the regiment command. In the 1st TP of the 1st TD there were only 61 tanks: three battalions of 21, 20 and 18 plus 2 commander's. The 1st KD had one tank battalion (56 tanks). In addition, 2 "Turan" were in the 1st company of self-propelled guns and 3 were used as training. "Turan" II began to enter the troops in May 1943, and at the end of August there were 49 of them. Gradually, their number grew and in March 1944, by the beginning of active hostilities in Galicia, the 3rd TP consisted of 55 vehicles (3 battalions of 18, 18 and 19), 1st TP - 17, tank battalion of the 1st KD - 11 vehicles. 24 tanks were part of eight battalions of assault guns. Together this amounted to 107 Turans” II. Experienced tank 43M "Turan III"     Click on the image to enlarge In April, the 2nd TD went to the front with 120 Turan I and 55 Turan II tanks. On April 17, the division counterattacked the advancing units of the Red Army in the direction from Solotvino to Kolomyia. The wooded and mountainous terrain was not suitable for tank action. On April 26, the division's offensive was stopped, and the losses amounted to 30 tanks. This, in fact, was the first battle of the Turan tanks. In September, the division took part in a tank battle near Torda, suffering heavy losses and was withdrawn to the rear on September 23. The 1st KD, with its 84 Turan and Toldi tanks, 23 Chabo BA and 4 Nimrod ZSU, fought in Eastern Poland in June 1944. Retreating from Kletsk through Brest to Warsaw, she lost all her tanks and was withdrawn to Hungary in September. The 1st TD with its 61 "Turan" I and 63 "Turan" II from September 1944 participated in the battles in Transylvania. In October, fighting was already going on in Hungary near Debrecen and Nyiregyhaza. All three mentioned divisions participated in them, with the help of which, by October 29, it was possible to temporarily restrain the offensive of the Soviet troops at the turn of the river. Yews. An echelon with tanks "Turan I" and "Turan II", which came under attack by Soviet aircraft and captured by units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. 1944 Click on the photo to enlarge   On October 30, the battles for Budapest began, which lasted 4 months. The 2nd TD was surrounded in the city itself, while the 1st TD and 1st CD were fighting to the north of it. In the April battles of 1945, the Hungarian armored forces practically ceased to exist. Their remnants went to Austria and the Czech Republic, where they laid down their arms in May. "Turan" from the very moment of creation turned out to be obsolete. In terms of combat characteristics, it was inferior to the tanks of the Second World War - English, American, and even more so - Soviet. His armament was very weak, the armor was poorly located. In addition, it was difficult to manufacture. Sources: M. B. Baryatinsky. Tanks of Honvedsheg. (Armored Collection No. 3 (60) - 2005); I.P.Shmelev. Armored vehicles of Hungary (1940-1945); G.L. Kholyavsky "The Complete Encyclopedia of World Tanks 1915 - 2000"; George Forty. World War Two Tanks; Attila Bonhardt-Gyula Sarhidai-Laszlo Winkler: The Armament of the Hungarian Royal Order.