40M Turán

In December 1937 the Škoda workshops prepared a prototype of a medium tank, the Škoda T-21, based on the earlier successful LT vz. 35 project. Two prototypes were designed and designated S-IIc, but their construction was never finished. The tank weighed , was armed with a 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38 gun, two 7.92 mm machine guns and its maximum armour was increased to 30 mm. The S-II-c was to have an improved 13.8 liter engine giving 250 hp; this increased the maximum speed to roughly After Germany annexed Czechoslovakia, the prototypes were finished under the new designation of T-21, which in turn was a predecessor of a new prototype; the T-22. Two of the latter type were given to Hungary in 1941. It is sometimes reported that the T-22 was the basis for the Turán, but it was actually the T-21 prototype that was used instead. and the turret was likewise protected by the same arrangement. The Czech machine guns were changed to Hungarian 8 mm Gebauer 34/40.M guns. The overall weight was also increased to over 18 tonnes. Spaced armour in the form of side skirts were added in 1944 as protection from anti-tank rifles such as the PTRS-41 and PTRD-41. == Variants ==

The Turán was produced in three versions – Turán I, II and III. The Turán I was the original medium tank with the 40 mm gun. The gun, the standard Hungarian light anti-tank gun, fired the same 40×311mmR cartridge as the Bofors 40 mm L/60 anti-aircraft gun, which Hungary produced under license at the time. The turret was of riveted construction. The HTI ordered the modification of the gun to be done by the Swedish Bofors company, which willingly accepted. Both the modifications of the chassis – increasing armor thickness to 50 mm by riveting extra 20 mm armour plates on the frontal armour and lower glacis, changing the driver's hatch from a single door which opened to the right to a two-piece folding door which opened to the front, and the prototype of the new gun and turret were finished in January 1942, with the new turret being finished in February 1942. The new 75 mm gun was the first Hungarian tank gun with a horizontal semi-automatic sliding block. During the installation, the gun cradle cracked and repairs delayed the production of the vehicle even further. On May 6, 1942, all the preparations were done for ground testing, and the gun cradle was repaired. The test was successful and the new heavy tank was put into service as the 41.M Turán (also known as Turán II or "Turán 75 short"). The first Turán IIs were not delivered to their units until September–October 1943 because the production of gun optics and ammunition were delayed. By that time the Turán II became obsolete as well, but it was still lethal to T-34 medium tanks within 500 meters, which was still good progress compared to previous Hungarian armored vehicles. According to records from 1944, 129 Turán IIs were issued to combat effective units; factory notes recorded that 182-185 41.M Turán heavy tanks (Turán IIs) were manufactured. According to other sources, around 195 Turán IIs were made. , Hungary, 1943 Aside from tank production, the chassis was the basis for the Zrínyi II assault gun. This mounted a 105 mm short gun in the hull and lacked the traversable turret of a tank. A total of 66-72 Zrínyi IIs were made during the war. The only other vehicles known based on this chassis were the Turán III and the Zrínyi I, both of which used the 7.5 cm 43.M tank gun. The 7.5 cm 43.M tank gun was developed from the blueprints of the PaK 40, converted for Hungarian production. The Turán III's prototype with an actual turret was finished in February 1944. Unlike the frontal armour of the hull which was thickened by riveting two armour plates together, the 75 mm thick armour of the turret was made of only one plate. Mobility and firing tests were carried out after the prototype was completed and the prototype was accepted for mass-production. However, no more 43.M Turáns (a.k.a. Turán III or Turán 75 long), or Zrínyi Is were constructed because of the lack of materials and the fact that after the occupation of Hungary in March 1944, Germany did not allow further tank and gun production, restricting the Hungarian industry to only spare part manufacturing level. It is not known if the Zrínyi I and Turán III were officially put into service, and their fate is unknown. There is at least one account of the Turán III seeing combat. ==Service history==

Turáns were used in fighting on the Eastern Front in Galicia, Transylvania, the Dukla Pass and the Battle of Hungary against the Soviet Union and Romania. The Turán saw its combat debut with the 2nd Hungarian Armored Division on the 17th of April 1944. Thirty-one 40M Turán I and seventeen 40M Turán II tanks launched an offensive from Solotwina towards the Bistrica River. A number of Turán tanks were captured after the 1944 Royal Coup by the Kingdom of Romania, along with some Toldis and a Zrínyi assault gun. Turans also took part in the Battle of Torda and the Battle of Debrecen where they were deployed against Soviet cavalry attacks at Gyula. On 17 March 1945 the Bulgarian 1st Independent Tank Battalion was equipped with 12 captured tanks, including a Turán, taken by the 3rd Ukrainian Front to replace the loses it had suffered in the fighting around Lake Balaton. ==Survivors==

, near Moscow Whilst multiple Turáns were captured by Romanian and Soviet forces, ==See also==