History Spoiler
Following the Salonika agreement in 1938, which put an end to the restrictive measures imposed on the Bulgarian Royal army by the Entente Powers at the end of WW1 in the treaty of Neuilly-Sur-Seine, Bulgaria sought the acquisition of newer & more capable tanks. Prior that, Bulgaria’s tank fleet was composed merely of some secretly delivered L3/33 tankettes & the Vickers 6-ton tanks.
A particular Czechoslovak tank design picked the interest of the Bulgarian Army: the Léhky Tank vzór 35 aka the Pz. 35(t) during a tank demonstration in February 1939, which they considered buying atleast 40 along with 50 tankettes vz. 33. However in March 1939 Czechoslovakia was invaded by Germany taking over the ČKD Praga & Škoda companies meaning that Bulgaria had to strike a new deal. No more than 1 month later, Bulgarian General Rusi Rusev during a visit in Berlin managed to convince the German High Command to deliver 26 Pz. 35(t) intended to be put at the Turkish border, which arrived in Bulgaria the following year.
Another batch of 10 tanks were delivered as well, but those were the T-11 variant of the Pz.35(t) ordered by the Royal Afghan Army prior the German occupation. They were equipped instead of the Škoda A3 37 mm tank gun with the more powerful Škoda A7 37 mm tank gun, the same gun found on the Pz 38 (t). They were also allegedly equipped with modern radio equipment from Telefunken and had a reinforced transmission. Originally camouflaged by German tank gray, they were later spray-painted in khaki, and in early 1945, the surviving specimens received dark green camouflage.
Even though joining the Axis in 1941, Bulgaria did not participate in the invasion of the USSR , neither Yugoslavia nor Greece, but were ready to annex Greek & Yugoslav lands, on which the Pz.35 (t) & T-11 tanks saw combat against partisans.
In late 1944, two weeks after Romania switched to the Allied side, Soviet troops crossed into Bulgaria with no opposition & no more than 1 day later, a successful coup d’état occurred replacing the pro-german government with a communist one, which instantly declared war on the Axis. The new Bulgarian People’s Army assisted the Red Army in the liberation of Yugoslavia , Hungary & Austria, which by that time the long obsolete Lt vz 35 / T-11 tanks were still in use & after the war relocated to training till the early 1950s.
More Photos:
Spoiler
The specs would be pretty mich akin to the specs of the Pz.35 (t) except for the tank gun.
Dimensions:
4.90x2.06x2.37 m (16.1x6.8ftx7.84 ft)
Total weight:
battle ready up to 10.5 tons
Crew:
4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader/radio)
Propulsion:
Škoda Typ 11/0 4-cylinder gasoline 120 bhp (89 kW)
Speed:
(on/off road) 34 km/h
Suspension:
Leaf spring type
Armament:
-1x Škoda ÚV A7 37 mm 72 rounds
-2 x 7.92 mm (0.31 in) Zbrojovka Brno vz.37 machineguns, 1800 rounds
Armor:
Hull 25 mm (18°) Front plate
16 mm (80°) Front glacis
25 mm (31°) Lower glacis 16 mm 16 mm 12 mm
Turret 25 mm (10°)Turret front
25 mm Gun mantlet 16 mm 16 mm 8 mm
Cupola 25 mm (cylindrical) 25 mm (4°)
Maximum range on/off road:
120/190 km (75/120 mi)
Spoiler
-https://web.archive.org/web/20081228184000/http://www.achtungpanzer.com/articles/skoda.htm
-https://militero.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/bulgarian-tanks-1941-1944/
-https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/bulgaria
-http://panzerserra.blogspot.com/2017/09/panzerkampfwagen-35t-light-tank-case.html
-https://www.forumnauka.bg/topic/19063-българската-бронетехника/#google_vignette
-https://tank-afv.com/ww2/czech/Skoda_CKD_LT-Vz-35.php
- Yes, as researchable
- Yes, as a premium
- Yes, in an event
- Yes, in the battlepass
- NO
- Germany
- Czechoslovakia
- Italy
- Other
- No to this tank