| TKS (machine gun) | |
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| General Historical Information | |
| Place of origin | Poland |
| Manufacturer | Fabryka Samochodów PZInż. |
| Produced In | 1931 - 1939 |
| Category | Tankette |
| Speed | 40 km/h |
| Armour | 4 - 10 mm |
| Main armament | 7.92 mm km wz.25 (Hotchkiss) machine gun |
| General Ingame Information | |
| Used by | Poland |
| Crew in‑game | 1 |
| Historical Picture | |
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The TKS was a Polish tankette derived from a similar British project and produced in moderate amounts, formed the core of the Polish tank force. Of limited use during the campaign in September 1939, it had great success in combat with the Germans.
Although very similar in shape to its predecessor (TK-2), the TKS could not interchange many mechanical parts. It was powered by a Fiat 122 AC 6-cylinder manufactured under license and rear-mounted: lender 42 hp and a 70-liter tank, gave a range of 180 km and a top speed of 40 km/h. The armament of the prototype consisted of a machine gun Browning wz. 30 air-cooled 7.92 mm. The crew of two men and logged in to the upper half of two doors consist of three sections: the driver sitting on the left had a small opening with the periscope view, the commander was located next door and could benefit from an interesting swivel telescope, placed outside, which guaranteed him a 360 ° (the invention was Rudolf Gundlach, who then sold it to also ‘England). It was finally on the roof hook to use anti-aircraft machine gun as a weapon when the vehicle was stopped.
The TKS began to be produced in February 1934, but the first number of specimens mounted a less reliable machine gun Hotchkiss wz. 25, because the wz. 30 were distributed to the infantry, which had been given priority. In recent orders was also increased armor between 8 and 10 mm (only 3 on the roof): in total 282 units PZI manufactured up to April 1937, including 20 experimental models. And possible, finally, that other 10 copies were built, using the salaries of employees, and delivered 15 in May 1938 for the Polish army.
The triangle decal on the side of the vehicle indicate it is the vehicle of the squad commander. These decals were only used during training
TKS (20 mm gun)[]
| Tankette TKS z nkm 20A | |
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| General Historical Information | |
| Place of origin | Poland |
| Manufacturer | Fabryka Samochodów PZInż. |
| Produced In | 1931-1939 |
| Category | Tankette |
| Speed | 40 km/h |
| Armour | 4 - 10 mm |
| Main armament | 20 mm FK wz. 38 model A |
| General Ingame Information | |
| Used by | Poland |
| Crew in‑game | 1 |
| Historical Picture | |
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Tankette TKS z nkm 20A is a version rearmed with 20mm automatic FK wz. 38 model A gun. 24 cars were rearmed. The first 20 mm Gun on a TKS was the Solothurn S-18/100.
Roman Orlik was a polish university student at architecture departament. In September 1939 he was commander of the TKS tankette with a 20 mm gun (FK wz. 38 model A) in Wielkopolska Brygada Kawalerii (Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade). On 18 September 1939 he was sent with two other tankettes (armed with MG only) to make a recognition of a forest near Puszcza Kampinoska (huge forrests in Poland). Suddenly he had heard enemy tanks, so he had ordered two other tankettes with MG to hide. He had hidden his tankette and made an ambush for enemy tanks. Three german PzKfw 35 (t)'s and few other vehicles appeared. Orlik opened fire and all enemy tanks were destroyed.
Germans were fleeing in blind panic and they were shooting in all directions. Orlik managed to escape. One of the destroyed tanks was commanded by Lieutenant Victor Hohenlohe - Prinz Von Ratibor. The next day Orlik and his tank did something even greater. He counterattacked alone against German tank attacks and destroyed 7 PzKwf 35(t)'s. Also he took 2 POW's. After that he had ran out of ammo and left the battlefield. He survived the war and was working as an architect. He died in 1982.
Did You Know That? - You can move a Goliath or Polish TKS tankette inside houses? You can even drive on the stairs. This also applies for horses. |
Trivia[]
C2P was a artillery tractor based on the TKS design to tow mostly 40 mm Bofors gun carriages and ammunition carts. TKS-D built upon the C2P design. Initially towing the 37 mm wz. 36 AT gun with the ability to mount the gun on the vehicle it evolved into a true self-propelled gun. Two of them saw combat during against the Germans in the Beskid Mountains, southern Poland.
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