PANZERKAMPFWAGEN 38(T) AUSF.B

LT vz. 38 or Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t) was originally a Czechoslovakian and later a German light tank from World War II. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in 1938, and serial production continued in the period 1938-1942, ending with the production of about 1,400 vehicles. The tank was powered by a single Prague EPA engine with 125 HP. It was armed with one 37.2 mm KwK 38 (t) L / 47 gun and two 7.92 mm MG 37 (t) machine guns. The CKD factory in Czechoslovakia produced the LT vz.35 tank from 1935, which was sold to the domestic army, but which - as it turned out in the course of its operation - had a number of disadvantages that made it impossible to succeed on foreign markets. Hence the initiative of the CKD company, which decided to develop the LT vz. 38. The new vehicle turned out to be a much better design than its predecessor, which resulted in orders placed by Peru, Iran, Switzerland and the Czechoslovak army. LT vz. 38 after Czechoslovakia was taken over by the Third Reich, it was taken over by the Wehrmacht under the name of Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t), and its production continued. The tank took part in the September campaign in 1939, in the French campaign in 1940 and in the initial period of the war with the USSR. From the second half of 1941, however, it was withdrawn from service due to too weak armor and low susceptibility to modernization. Based on the Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t) chassis, a tank destroyer named Hetzer was created.