LEICHTTRAKTOR RHEINMETALL 1930 "WORLD OF TANKS"

The Lecihttraktor was a German prototype light tank from the interwar period. It is assumed that only 4 prototypes of this tank were built, the first of which was ready in 1930. The length of the vehicle was 4.21 meters with a width of 2.26 meters. The drive was provided by a single Daimler-Benz M36 engine with 100 HP. The armament consisted of a 37mm KwK36 cannon and a 7.92mm MG13 machine gun. Pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany could not possess or develop armored weapons and many other types of weapons (e.g. heavy artillery or war gases). However, the German state often broke these provisions, and already in the mid-1920s the Reichswehr command decided to commission two companies (Krupp and Rheinmetall) to develop - in a strictly secret procedure - prototypes of a tank known as the Lecihttraktor. The vehicle was to weigh up to 12 tons and be armed with an anti-tank gun. Both manufacturers clearly followed another German tank - the LK II. It should be added that the design - both Krupp and Rheinmetall - was intensively tested at the training ground in Soviet Kazan, thanks to the Rapallo agreement of 1922 and the establishment of secret military cooperation between Berlin and Moscow. After these tests, Lecihttraktor did not enter production due to many shortcomings - mainly problems with the cooling system and low combat values. However, the conclusions drawn from testing this design were later used in the mass production of the PzKpfw vehicle. AND.