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The Panzerkampfwagen 35(t), commonly shortened to Panzer 35(t) or abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw. 35(t), was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II. The letter (t) stood for ''tschechisch'' (German: "Czech"). In Czechoslovak service, it had the formal designation Lehký tank vzor 35 (Light Tank Model 35), but was commonly referred to as the LT vz. 35 or LT-35. Four hundred and thirty-four were built; of these, the Germans seized two hundred and forty-four when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939 and the Slovaks acquired fifty-two when they declared independence from Czechoslovakia at the same time. Others were exported to Bulgaria and Romania. In German service, it saw combat during the early years of World War II, notably the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France and the invasion of the Soviet Union before being retired or sold off in 1942. It was used for the remainder of the war by other countries and as a training tank in Bulgaria into the 1950s. == Description == The ''Panzerkampfwagen 35(t)'' was assembled from a framework of steel "angle iron" beams to which the armor plates were riveted. A firewall separated the engine compartment from the crew. It had several mesh-covered openings to allow access to the engine and improve ventilation drawing air in through the commander's hatch. This had the advantage of rapidly dispersing gun combustion gases when firing〔 a scheme used by the modern American M2/M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, although it uses removable panels in lieu of the firewall,〕 but several disadvantages. The constant draft generated by the engine greatly affected the crew during cold weather, the danger of an engine fire reaching the crew compartment was increased and the engine noise and heat increased crew fatigue.〔Kliment and Francev, p. 60〕 The driver sat on the right side of the tank using a observation port protected by of bulletproof glass and an armored shutter thick. To his right was a vision slit with a similar thickness of bulletproof glass.〔Kliment and Francev, pp. 60-61〕 The Germans replaced the original three colored lights used by the Czechs to communicate with the driver with an intercom system.〔Kliment and Francev, p. 66〕 The radio operator sat on the left and had his own observation port with the same protection as the driver's. His radios were mounted on the left wall of the hull. The hull machine gun was between the driver and radio operator in a ball mount capable of 30° of traverse, 25° of elevation and depressing up to 10°. Most of the machine gun's barrel protruded from the mount and was protected by an armored trough. The mount had a spotting telescope, but open sights could be used if the plug at the top of the ball mount was removed. If necessary, the driver could lock the mount into position and fire it himself using a Bowden cable. The driver's hatch was exposed to direct fire and could be damaged from the front.〔Kliment and Francev, p. 61〕 The turret ring had a diameter of . The turret had a flat face in the center of which was mounted the main armament. On the right side was another machine gun in a ball mount. The commander had four episcopes in his cupola and a monocular mirror, 1.3 x 30° periscope which he could extend, once he had removed its armored cover in his hatch, to give vision while "buttoned-up".〔 As the sole occupant of the turret, the commander was responsible for loading, aiming and firing the main gun and the turret machine gun while simultaneously commanding the tank. The Germans added an extra crewman on the right side of the turret to load the main gun and to operate the turret machine gun. Some ammunition had to be removed to accommodate him.〔Kliment and Francev, pp. 66-67〕 The Škoda T-11/0 four-cylinder, water-cooled engine produced at 1,800 rpm. Two fuel tanks were fitted, the main tank with a capacity of was on the left side of the engine and the auxiliary tank was on the other side. The engine could run on gasoline, an alcohol-gasoline mixture, and "Dynalkohol" (an alcohol-benzole mixture). It was mounted in the rear along with the six-speed transmission which drove rear-mounted drive sprockets. The suspension was derived from the Vickers 6-Ton tank; eight small pairs of road wheels on four bogies per side, each pair of bogies sprung by a single leaf spring, a front idler wheel, and four track return wheels. An unsprung road wheel was located directly underneath the idler wheel to improve obstacle crossing. The transmission, brakes and steering were mechanically assisted with compressed air, reducing driver fatigue. This last feature proved problematic in the extreme conditions of the Eastern Front.〔Kliment and Francev, pp. 62-66〕 The main armament was a Škoda ''ÚV vz. 34'' (German designation "KwK 34(t)") gun with a pepperpot muzzle brake and a prominent armored recoil cylinder above the barrel. Škoda called it the ''A3''. It fired a armor-piercing shell at . It was credited with penetrating a plate inclined at 30° from the vertical thick at , thick at , thick at , and thick at .〔Chamberlain and Doyle, p. 245〕 Kliment and Francev quote penetration of a vertical plate thick at . The machine gun's ball mount could be coupled to the main gun or used independently. Both weapons could elevate 25° and depress 10°. They both used 2.6x power sights with a 25° field of view.〔Kliment and Francev, p. 67〕 Initially the tank used Zbrojovka Brno ''ZB vz. 35'' machine guns, but these were exchanged for ''ZB vz. 37''s during 1938. This was adopted by the Germans as the ''MG 37(t)''.〔Kliment and Francev, pp. 57-8〕 In German use, a total of 72 rounds of 37 mm ammunition were carried. These were stored in 6-round boxes: three on the hull side wall, eight in the turret overhang and one ready box above the gun on the turret roof. For the machine gun, 1,800 rounds of belted 7.92 mm ammunition were carried. The machine gun ammunition was in 100-round belts, stored three to a box. In Czech service, the ''LT vz. 35'' carried 78 rounds (24 AP and 54 HE) and 2,700 rounds of machine gun ammunition, the difference being removed to make room for the fourth crewmember in German service. The German command tank version (''Panzerbefehlswagen 35(t)'') exchanged ammunition for another radio set and a gyrocompass, although exactly how much isn't known.〔Kliment and Francev, pp. 66-7〕 It could be recognized by the prominent "clothesline" radio antenna mounted on the rear deck. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Panzer 35(t)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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