- Yes
- No
Hello, and welcome to the suggestion for the Toldi Páncélvadász! Translating to ‘Toldi Armor Hunter’, this is pretty much what the name says, a Hungarian Toldi tank converted into a tank destroyer, armed with the famous 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank gun. While only one prototype was built, I think this would be an excellent addition to the Hungarian sub-tree in Italy, providing an equivalent to the German Marder series and adding an effective anti-tank gun to low tier lineups.
Before I start, I would like to note that the pictures above and in the gallery (with the last one being an exception) are of models, which I have included to provide more angles of the vehicle. Thank you for your understanding!
History
38M Toldi tanks in the Soviet Union, July 1943.
By the time of their use against the Soviet Union in 1941 and 1942, the Hungarian 38M Toldi I was obsolete. Equipped with a 20 mm anti-tank rifle and 13 mm of armor at most, they were no match for the increasingly large numbers of T-34s entering service. In an attempt to remedy this, Hungarian engineers fitted a variant of the subsequent Toldi II, the Toldi IIA, with a 40 mm 37/42M gun and an increase to 23 mm of armor. While a number of older Toldi IIs could be upgraded to the IIA standard, the older Toldi Is could not, as their torsion bar suspension could not handle the increased weight.
While Hungarian military staff pondered this issue, Hungarian armored divisions received 7 Marder II tank destroyers from Germany to replace its tank losses. One of these would be sent back to Hungary for evaluation at the Hungarian Institute of Military Technology in Budapest. The Marder II was a self-propelled gun equipped with either a 7,62 cm or 7,5 cm anti-tank gun on the chassis of obsolete Panzer IIs. With the information from testing on the Marder II, the Hungarian Ganz Works factory, one of two companies producing the Toldi tank, decided to take a note out of the Germans’ book. In autumn of 1943, Ganz Works produced a tank destroyer based on the Toldi I, known as the Toldi páncélvadász, or ‘Toldi Armor Hunter.’
The Toldi páncélvadász in the courtyard of the Hungarian Institute of Military Technology in Spring 1944.
The single prototype produced in 1943 used the hull of a Toldi I that had previously been knocked out, then overhauled. Its armament was the German 7,5 cm Pak 40, taken from one of the Marder IIs used by Hungary. The Toldi páncélvadász utilized a similar design as that on the Marder II, with an open top superstructure mounted on an obsolete tank hull mounting a much larger gun in exchange for protection. On the engine deck was a large metal container, designed to balance the weight at the rear as well as carry 15 rounds of ammunition. This metal container could be rotated downwards to allow the loader standing behind the superstructure to quickly grab a new round. Compared to the Marder II, the Toldi páncélvadász was slightly more narrow, but also slightly taller. It also featured a better power-to-weight ratio and top speed, but had slightly less armor.
All in all, the Toldi páncélvadász seemed like a promising vehicle. The prototype had a German Pak 40, but it’s possible this armament could have changed depending on ammunition and guns available. However, the Toldi páncélvadász was inherently flawed. If the Toldi IIA with increased armor levels and a larger armament gave the torsion bars issues, the Toldi páncélvadász faced even more strain, being two tons heavier than the original light tank, likely causing frequent breakdowns. Another issue was its lack of protection, center of gravity, and low amount of ammunition compared to the Marder II. The final nail in the coffin for the Toldi páncélvadász was that production in Hungary, limited as it was already, was shifting to the 40M Turán tank and 43M Zrínyi assault gun, and left little room for experimental and faulty designs. The prototype was likely scrapped some time in the later stages of the war, and the vehicle itself faded into existence until the 1980s, when some surviving documentation and a picture of the Toldi páncélvadász were discovered.
The Zrínyi II assault gun in March, 1944.
Specifications
- Crew: 3 (possibly 4)
- Mass: 11.5 t
- Length: 5.64 m
- Width: 2.14 m
- Height: 2.23 m
- Main armament: 7,5 cm Pak 40 (21 rounds)
- Secondary armament: 8 mm Gebauer 34/37M machine gun
- Engine: 155 hp Büssing-NAG Type L8V/36TR
- Maximum speed: 45 km/h
- Maximum range: 190 km
Sources
Gallery
