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Welcome to the suggestion for the 40M Nimród! This is a Hungarian self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle armed with the famous 40 mm Bofors cannon. In War Thunder, this would become an addition to the Italian tree as part of the Hungarian sub-tree. While it does share similar traits and history with the L-62 ANTI II in the Swedish tree, the Nimród would fire Hungarian ammunition, which can be found on the Turan I in-game.
One potential addition for the 40M Nimród is the 42M páncélrobbantó gránát shaped charge round, a modified Stielgranate 41 for the 40 mm gun. This would likely cause a lower rate of fire due to the projectile having to be placed at the front of the gun instead of being fed via clips in the turret. Regardless, the 40M Nimród would provide a decent anti-tank and anti-aircraft platform for the lower tiers of the Hungarian sub-tree.
History
The draft for the Landsverk ANTI, 1933.
In the early 1930s, the Swedish Landsverk company began development of a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun converted from its L-10 medium tank. This was to be one part of a larger line of vehicles based on the L-10 for the export market. During development however, Landsverk was also developing the L-60 light tank, and it was decided to use this chassis instead for the projected L-62 anti-aircraft gun. At the end of the 1930s, the L-62’s first prototype, the ANTI I, was completed as the L-60 underwent testing. The ANTI I used the popular 40 mm Bofors L/60 cannon as its armament, but its chassis was slightly longer and wider than the L-60, having an extra roadwheel on each side.
Meanwhile in Hungary, the Royal Hungarian Army realized it would need a mobile anti-air and anti-tank system for supporting its armored and motorized units. Hungary had already bought the L-60, developing it further into the 38M Toldi series of tanks. On October 25th, 1939, Hungarian military and engineering representatives visited a display showcasing the L-62. Since it was on the same chassis, the Hungarians immediately took interest, as it would fit the Army’s needs and be an economically and logistically sound choice.
The Hungarian Army trialed an L-62 without armament in 1939, and the MÁVAG company purchased a license in 1940. After purchasing the license, the vehicle was designated as the 40M Nimród, and in 1942, redesignated to 36/40M Nimród. Although MÁVAG had obtained the license, production was to be done at the Manfréd Weiss Works factory in Csepel, Budapest. An initial order of 46 was delivered in October of 1941, followed up that same year by a request for a further 89.
40M Nimróds near Újszász in Mátyásföld, 1943.
The original structure was modified, enlarging the turret to fit five crew inside, increasing the crew size to six. Its armament remained the same as the original ANTI I, as the main armament was a license produced 40 mm 36M Bofors gun, which had been licensed by Hungary prior to the adoption of the 40M Nimród. In Hungarian service, this gun fired a few different rounds, including the 39M HE, 36M APHEBC, and 43M solid APBC. The initial batch of 46 vehicles used a Büssing-NAG L8V/36TR engine, with a later batch of 89 vehicles using a Ganz-Büssing IP VGT 107 Type II. On top of this, the turret armor was increased to 28 mm.
Soon after being delivered to troops in 1941, Hungary found itself involved in the Second World War, notably in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Manfréd Weiss Works produced the aforementioned 46 40M Nimróds for the Royal Hungarian Army, and these were primarily used by the 51st Heavy Armor Battalion, 1st Hungarian Armored Division and 52nd Heavy Armor Battalion, 2nd Hungarian Armored Division, with the 1st Hungarian Cavalry Division using some as well. When attached to a battalion, a Nimród battery consisted of six vehicles, with two vehicles forming a platoon.
During fighting in the Soviet Union, it was found that the 40 mm 36M was incapable of dealing with heavier tanks, notably the T-34 and KV-1, however the gun did excel at taking out lighter vehicles and aircraft. In 1943, the Nimród was reclassified for anti-aircraft use instead of its original dual anti-air and anti-tank use, but it didn’t stop being used in this role regardless. Later in the war, Hungary license produced the German 3.7 cm Stielgranate 41, modified for use in the 40 mm gun. This was designated 42M páncélrobbantó gránát, and consisted of a shaped charge, fin-stabilized 150 mm rifle grenade loaded on to the end of the barrel, and fired using a blank cartridge. This could penetrate about 180 mm of armor, vastly increasing the Nimród’s ability to fight tanks. It wasn’t an ideal solution though, as the crew needed to leave the vehicle to put the round on the end of the barrel, and as such, it was only used in ambushes.
The 43M Lehel in the Institute of Military Technology’s yard, Budapest, 1943.
Back in 1941, the Ministry of Defence ordered the Institute of Military Technology, HTI, to create an armored personnel carrier and ambulance based on the Nimród chassis. At the time, MÁVAG had turned down the development offer, since it would be too expensive, and the vehicle’s development was halted. Two years later, as the war began to increasingly strain Hungary, HTI realized that the Royal Hungarian Army was in desperate need of an armored all-terrain medical vehicle. The new vehicle, the 43M Lehel S, for Sebesültszállító (Ambulance), was to be able to hold four seriously wounded lying soldiers, as well as two lightly wounded sitting soldiers, and a field doctor. The seriously wounded would lay on a set of stretchers on either side of the vehicle, underneath which were seats, which could be lifted up to store medical equipment. To make it easier to load stretchers, two guide rails were installed on the engine deck. Another variant, the 43M Lehel Á, for Árkász (Archer), was envisioned as a troop transport variant. It was designed to transport a fully equipped squad of 7 sappers, but could instead also fit 11 regular infantry inside.
MÁVAG created a prototype of the 43M Lehel on July 15th, 1943. The maximum armor of the vehicle was 20 mm, and had a lower height of 1.95 m. The Á variant did fit requirements, but military representatives wanted it to have a built in 31M 8 mm light machine gun, closeable observation slits on the side armor, and a few other minor modifications. These changes were completed on August 16th, 1943, followed by testing on the 30th of August and 14th of September. The Ministry of Defence ordered both variants from MÁVAG, with the intention of converting 9 existing Nimróds to the Lehel, and to produce 28 Lehels. Unfortunately though, there were other vehicles in higher priority, and no further Lehels were made.
As the war progressed to its final stages, the Soviet Union became an unlikely user of the 40M Nimród. On September 9th, 1944, an independent tank battalion under the Red Army’s 18th Army led by Lieutenant-General Yevgeny Zhuravlev was formed based on captured Hungarian equipment. This battalion used 32 Hungarian armored vehicles and trained to operate in mountainous terrain. By October of 1944, the unit had eight Turáns, two Toldis, three Zrínyi and two 40M Nimróds, and would see some action until the end of the war. After the conflict had ended, nearly all surviving 40M Nimróds were scrapped. One survived scrapping by breaking down during the Siege of Budapest and being towed to its unit’s barracks, while another was captured in Galicia by the Red Army, and currently is displayed in the Kubinka Tank Museum.
A 40M Nimród in the Kubinka Tank Museum.
Specifications
- Crew: 6
- Mass: 10.5 t
- Length: 5.32 m
- Width: 2.31 m
- Height: 2.8 m
- Armament: 40 mm 36M Bofors autocannon
- Ammunition: 39M HE, 36M APHEBC, 42M HEAT-FS, 43M APBC
- Engine: 150 hp VIII EST 107, 8-cylinder, gasoline, water-cooled engine or 155 hp Büssing-NAG L8V/36TR engine
- Maximum speed: 50 km/h
- Maximum range: 300 km
Sources
- The Royal Hungarian Army, 1920-1945, Volume II, Hungarian Mobile Forces, by Dr. Peter Mujzer
- 40M Nimrod
- 40M Nimród
- 42M páncélrobbantó gránát
- 40M Nimród Classic Military Vehicle 2020-12 (235).pdf | DocDroid
