PZINZ-130 WITH 20MM MACHINE-GUN POLISH AMPHIBIOUS TANK

The PZInż 130 was a prototype Polish light amphibious tank from the interwar period. The prototype of the vehicle was built in 1937, but it never entered mass production - probably only one car was made. The vehicle was powered by a single 95 HP PZInż 425 engine. The tank was to be armed with either a single 20mm automatic cannon or one 7.92mm machine gun in a rotating turret. Work on the PZInż 130 began after the failure to obtain a license for another tank of this type - the Vickers-Carden-Lloyd Amphibious Tank. The relatively small and light PZInż 130 was equipped with a fairly powerful engine, which gave a good power-weight ratio and allowed for efficient overcoming water obstacles. To increase buoyancy, a plug was installed in the fenders of the car, which turned out to be a good idea and cheap to use. In addition, to shorten the design work, elements of other, prototype cars were used: TKW and 4TP. Despite the successful completion of the field tests, which proved the high mechanical efficiency of the structure and good performance in water, the command of the Polish Army withdrew from the entire project in order to focus the armament efforts on traditional tanks. Shortly before the war broke out, the entire project was canceled.