romanian armour in world war two

8/13/2019 Romanian Armour in World War Two

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Romanian Armour in World War Two Greg Kelley with Jason Long(gregk@LIBRAR!"T#A$L!LIB!%&!$"'Reised )*++

Introdu,tion

-.,ursions and /igressions A%-RI0A& AR%1$R %2A3 "T$ART TA&K %2A2 GRA&T*L-- TA&K AR%1$R-/ 0AR" A/G4 AR%1$R-/ 0AR A$"TI&5#$TIL16 AR%1$R-/ 0AR A$T1BLI&/A AB73 AR%1$R-/ 0AR BA "-RI-" 18 AR%1$R-/ 0AR" BA59 BA53: BA5;: BA5;< 0K/ T&"#- Riot 0ontrol Armoured 0ar -hrhardt -56*7 Armoured 0ar 8AI AR%1$R-/ 0AR #-$G-1T AR%1$R-/ 0AR "/!K84 ;;; AR%1$R-/ 0AR "/!K84! ;;2 AR%1$R-/ 0AR "K1/A 1A =! ;< AR%1$R-/ 0AR TATRA 1A =! 2: AR%1$R-/ 0AR W=!27 >$R"$"> AR%1$R-/ 0AR AR%1$R-/ TRAI&" A$"TRIA& AR%1$R BRITI"? AR%1$R 6AL-&TI&- %k III 6I0K-R"

04-0? AR%1$R 0K/ A?5I6 TA&K 0K/ #5II a Tank 0K/ #raga T9 Tra,tor 0K/ T&? Tank 0K/ =! 22 Tankette "K1/A "5II TA&K "koda T5;2 Tank Tatra Armoured 0ar 8R-&0? AR%1$R R-&A$LT 8T TA&K R-&A$LT R52) TA&K R-&A$LT $- "$##L 0ARRI-R >0?-&ILL-TT->

G-R%A& AR%1$R ?-T4-R TA&K /-"TR1-R #A&4-R II TA&K #A&4-R III TA&K #A&4-R I6 TA&K #A&4-R 6 >#A&T?-R> TA&K #A&4-R 6I >TIG-R> TA&K #A&4-R 2)(t' TA&K #A&4-R 2(t' TA&K "/!K84! 3: ?AL8TRA0K


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"/!K84! 33 ?AL8TRA0K "/!K84! ;): ?AL8TRA0K "/!K84! ;)3 ?A&1%AG ?AL8TRA0K "/!K84! ;)3*+ >"T$%%-L> A""A$LT ?AL8TRA0K "T$R%G-"0?T4 III A""A$LT G$& ?$&GARIA& AR%1$R

T1L/I I (II' TA&K T$RA& TA&K 4RI&I II A""A$LT G$& ITALIA& AR%1$R #1LI"? AR%1$R TK*TK" TA&K-TT- R1%A&IA& AR%1$R "-&IL-TA %ALACA TI#$L $- 0ARRI-R TA0A% TA0A% R53 TA0A% R5; TA0A% T52 TA0A% T59: DunnamedE Armoured 0ar 55 8ren,h DunnamedE Armoured 0ar 55 RomanianF Tiul 3+3) DunnamedE Armoured 0ar 55 RomanianF Tiul 3+73 6A&AT1R$L /- 0AR- %AR-"AL TA&K /-"TR1-R 6A&AT1R$L /- 0AR- R52) TA&K /-"TR1-R "16I-T AR%1$R I"5; TA&K BT5< TA&K I"$53); A""A$LT G$& K653 TA&K T5;9 TA&K T5;< TA&K-TT- T5; TA&K T527 TA&K

T5275) TA&K T52< TA&K T52 TA&K ("oiet' T57: TA&K T59: TA&K TRA0T1R" LA&4 B$LL/1G TRA0T1R R"1 ARTILL-R TRA0T1R "-&IL-TA 81R/ R$"-"0 /- 0A#T$RA TRA0T1R "T452 K1%"1%1L-T" ARTILL-R TRA0T1R T595R ARTILL-R TRA0T1R "T4 >1/-""A> TRA0T1R T53 TRA0T1R

#RI&0I#AL "1$R0-"

Introdu,tionWhile e.erimenting with armoured ,ars during World War 1neF the Royal Romanian ArmyHs irst tanksdate rom 3+3+F when seenty5si. Renault 8THs with a 8ren,h tank regiment sering in the Balkans wereaandoned y their owners and imressed into lo,al seri,e! These tanksF sulemented y a handul oassorted armoured ,ars o 8ren,hF German and Russian origin re,oered rom lo,al attleieldsF ,onstitutedthe ArmyHs armoured or,es or mu,h o the interwar years!


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?oweerF as art o the ArmyHs re5armament lans estalished in 3+2)F new tanks in modestly in,reasingnumers were slated or a,uisition to allow or the e.ansion o the ArmyHs sole armoured regiment into a

rigade5si=ed ormationF with 0=e,hosloakia and 8ran,eF the nationHs rin,ial alliesF sele,ted as therin,ial arms suliers! Beginning in 3+20henillette>'F so that y the time World War Twoeruted in "etemer 3+2+ the Royal Romanian Army oasted a strength o some two hundred and itytanks and armoured ,arsF growing to nearly ie hundred y the oening o the Russian ,amaign in thesummer o 3+73! AdmittedlyF hal o this imressie numer was ,omrised o either hoelessly outdatedRenault 8T tanksF unarmed tra,ked suly ,arriers (>0henillettes> or >%ala.as>' or ramsha,kle tankettesand armoured ,arsF ut some two hundred marginally useul tanksF mostly "koda "5II5as together withseenty5odd Renault R52)sF hal haing een otained when #olish Army ormations were interned inRomania in the all o 3+2+F roided the Royal Romanian ArmyHs newly5,onstituted 8irst Armoured/iision with a modi,um o an armoured or,e or the oening stages o the ,amaign!

Losses suered in the irst year were theoreti,ally ,omensated or y small shiments o tanks romGermany together with enormous sto,ks o ,atured "oiet armourF artii,ially inlating Romanian A86strength y mid53+7; to oer eight hundredF ut again this numer in,luded hundreds o ehi,les whi,hwere woeully osoleteF me,hani,ally unseri,ealeF or in the ,ase o tra,tors and haltra,ksF simly onegligile ,omat alue! Realisti,ally aluale A86 strength or the Royal Romanian Army stood at

erhas two hundred and ity when the disastrous Battle o "talingrad in &oemer 3+7; inli,tedhorrendous losses uon Romanian or,esF redu,ing oerational tank strength in the ield to a ew do=en!

3+72 saw a gradual restoration o Romanian armoured or,esF eginning with re,oery o hitherto damagedor >lost> ehi,lesF ,onersions o aailale osolete tanks into marginally ee,tie modelsF as with theTA0A% sel5roelled gun series and the re5arming o the Renault R52) tankF as well asF y the end o theyearF the irst o are,iale numers o more ee,tie models rom Germany su,h as #an=er I6Hs and"turmges,ht= III assault guns! &eerthelessF een this new Romanian tank strength neer e.,eeded morethan our hundred (e.,luding su,h osolete models as the Renault 8TF unseri,eale ,atured hulksF andassorted ully5tra,ked ut unarmed towing ehi,lesF haltra,ks and tra,torsF whi,h inlated ehi,le strengthto nearly a thousand ' eore eents o the summer o 3+77 resulted in RomaniaHs return to Allied seri,eollowing the ;2 August H77 Armisti,e!

$nder "oiet guidan,e Romanian armoured strength was ground down during ighting against German andA.is or,esF with only a handul let in seri,e y the end o the war! The immediate ost5war era sawmodest numers o tanks re,oered in salage eortsF with erhas a hundred or so sering with the RoyalRomanian Army until the dissolution o that gallant ody ollowing ,ommunist5imosed e.ile o King%i,hael on 2: /e,emer H7 at the end o this reort'!

"tillF a rie oeriew o the ArmyHs stru,tureF with arti,ular attention to the ArmyHs armoured ormationsFseems in order (i notF wellF eel ree to ski on down!!!'! #rior to World War TwoF i not or its entirehistoryF the Royal Romanian Army has een more or less an inantry odyF aleit with sele,ted elite

ormations o ,aalry and mountain troos! 1ther than a rie lirtation with a ,oule armoured ,arsF theArmyHs irst armoured ormation srang into eing ollowing the end o World War 1ne with thea,uisition o a regiment o 8ren,h Renault 8T tanksF or many years the ArmyHs sole armoured ormation(with the e.,etion o seeral armoured trains whi,h were soon s,raed and a handul o armoured ,arssering with the 0aalry'!

Ater years o negle,tF the Army was reamed with a ten5year national rearmament rogram estalished inthe sring o 3+2) whi,h ,alled or a list strength o twenty5two inantry diisionsF three understrength,aalry diisionsF and three mountain inantry rigadesF with an organised resere o nine inantrydiisionsF one ,aalry diision lus one ,aalry rigadeF and one mountain inantry rigade! Armoured


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or,es were roe,ted at one motorised rigadeF ,omrising an e.anded tank regiment o oth the agingRenault 8THs and an eual numer o newer tanks (either 8ren,h or 0=e,h models' along with some lightinantry attalions (ideally in tru,ks' and assorted suort seri,es! 0aalry ormations would remainhorsedF although small numers o armoured re,onnaissan,e ehi,les tankettes and armoured ,ars wouldnow e in,luded in their ,omosition!

The outreak o World War Two reented Romania rom ,omleting their re5armament rogramFalthough y June o 3+7: the Army oasted a moilised strength o oer a million men (some sour,es say3!; millionF others as high as 3!7 millionF ut surely many o these were ill5euied reserists oF ahemFlimited alue'! At that time Romania ielded our armies o thirteen ,ors (in,luding one ,aalry and onemountain'F with twenty5one regular and eight resere inantry diisions (lus seeral resere ormationsstill orming'F two Guards diisions (more ,eremonial then eliteF ut ,ertainly dedi,ated'F one 8rontierGuard /iision (more on them later'F three ,aalry diisions and one ,aalry rigade (there was also aresere ,aalry diision more or less ormed u or seri,e'F our mountain inantry rigadesF and a modestassortment o other ormations in,luding ortress and ,oast deense rigadesF artillery regimentsF engineersFand so orth! The lone motorised rigade now ,omrised two armoured regiments (aroriately numered3st N ;nd'F although a third o its tank strength were still osoles,ent Renault 8Ts!

The ensuing months saw a series o disastrous seta,ks or RomaniaF with hostile neighors sei=ingroin,es that a,,ounted or a third o the nationHs oula,e! The Army did not es,ae similar raagesM the"oiet anne.ation o Bessaraia (or BasaraiaF as it is oten ,alled' resulted in the loss o some one hundredthousand Romanian troosF in,luding the irtual destru,tion o one o the elite ,aalry diisions! With theloss o oulated regionsF aailale manower resour,es shrank rom 2!) to ;!; millionF or,ing thedisandment o a numer o diisional ,ommands and the loss o oer three hundred thousand reseristsrom regions now under BulgarianF ?ungarianF and "oiet ,ontrol! With RomaniaHs adheren,e to the A.isAllian,e in "etemer 3+7:F the Royal Romanian ArmyF under the guidan,e o the nationHs new leaderFGeneral Ion Antones,u (at one time the ArmyHs 0hie o "ta and later %inister o /een,eF ut dismissed

y the RomaniaHs King 0arol II oer disagreements regarding issues o national oli,y'F was graduallyreuilt with German military assistan,e and arti,iated in the inasion o the "oiet $nion on ;;nd June3+73! Ater droing to aout our hundred thousand y the end o 3+7:F moilised strength douledduring the war yearsF although not all o these were aailale or ield seri,eF and een these igureslu,tuated with the hundreds o thousands o ,asualties suered at su,h ,ostly attles as 1dessa (3+73'F"talingrad (3+7;' and Iasi (3+77'! &umers o ormations remained more or less the sameF although some

resere diisions were disanded while a ,oule se,urity or garrison diisions were raisedF and rigade5si=ed units (si. ,aalry and our mountain' eentually designated as diisions in name i not in strength!

The ArmyHs armoured ormations also remained ,onsistent or mu,h o the war! The 3st Armoured/iisionF an outgrowth o the re5war motorised rigadeF a,,ounted or most o the ArmyHs tank strengthFin,luding older models su,h as the aging Renault 8T maintained with a regiment5si=ed /iisional Training/eotM the /iisionHs normal ield strengthF with its one armouredF two motorised inantry and onemotorised artillery regiments lus arious suorting unitsF was aout two hundred assorted A86s!6irtually destroyed at the Battle o "talingrad late in 3+7;F the 3st Armoured /iision was re5ormedduring 3+72 and returned to the ield early in 3+77F only to e eentually destroyed on,e moreF this timewhile sering on the side o the Allies in -astern and 0entral -uroe at the end o the war (a ;nd Armoured/iisionF s,heduled to e ,reated rom the elements o the th 0aalry /iision in the summer o 3+77 wasneer ormedF while two diisions raised y the "oiets rom >re5edu,ated> Romanian risoners o war

were also reuilt into armoured and motorised ormations ater the war ut as su,h all outside the s,oe othis reort'! Romanian ,aalry rigades (and later diisions' remained horsed ormations throughout thewarF their only armour eing a,kets o hal a do=en or so tankettes and light armoured ,ars orre,onnaissan,e uroses! The Army did ,onsider euiing their ,aalry rigades with a attalion o tanksin 3+72F ut ,ir,umstan,es and limited sulies reented su,h an a,tion! Re,onnaissan,e units at the ,orsleel oerated armoured ,arsF ut again in limited numers o less than a do=en! As the war rogressedseeral indeendent tank ormations aearedF su,h as the sel5roelled gun ,omanies o the TA0A%seriesF although these were normally atta,hed to regular diisionsF while y mid53+77 the thirty5two

attalions o >%aresal> tank destroyers eing roe,ted or seri,e may hae seen one assigned to eerydiision o the ArmyF though the war ended eore any su,h units ,ould e ormed!


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In the ,ourse o the war the Army emloyed a numer o ,omat grousF usually o an ad5ho, natureassemled or lo,al use! The irst instan,e o su,h a ormation ,omrising any tanks was in the late summero 3+73F when the Korne Armoured Grou gathered the me,hanised re,onnaissan,e suadrons o seeral,aalry rigades or ,omined oerations in southern RussiaF although a,tual armoured strength was onlysome eighteen R53 tankettes! Later the &istor Armoured Grou was raised rom the suriors o the

de,imated 3st Armoured /iision during the height o the ighting at "talingrad in /e,emer 3+7;F while ayear later a similar ,ommandF the 0antemir Armoured GrouF sered as the ArmyHs tank or,e in the ieldwhile the 3st Armoured /iision was reuiltM unlike &istor with its do=en or so tanksF 0antemir oastedoer seenty assorted tanks and assault gunsF whi,h y Romanian standards was uite a or,e!

8ollowing RomaniaHs return to Allied seri,e with the ;2 August H77 Armisti,e seeral other ormationswere hurriedly ,oled together either rom the remnants o destroyed unitsF su,h as the %atei GrouF orrom training s,hools and deotsF as with the &i,ules,u and #oes,u /eta,hments! In these ,ases tanks andother ehi,les rom any and all aailale sour,esF oten o uestionale alueF were imressed into seri,eF

ut as a rule these ad5ho, ormationsF whi,h neer had more than a do=en or so tanks ea,hF were mergedinto regular units as soon as lo,al ,onditions ermitted! %ention should also e made o an elite ormationknown as the 0ondu,atorHs Bodyguard Regiment D0ondu,ator is Romanian or LeaderF a title irst

estowed uon Antones,u as head o state in the all o 3+7:F though he reerred the military aellationo %aresalF or marshalEF as this unit in,luded a ,omany o hal a do=en Renault 8T tanks deta,hed romthe 3st Armoured /iisionHs deotM Antones,u may hae lanned or this regiment to sere as the nu,leuso a new motorised diisionF ut he was deosed eore su,h lans ,oales,edF and the BodyguardRegimentF now known as the 33)th %otorised Inantry RegimentF was sent to the ront against A.is or,eswhere it was annihilated!

&early eight thousand armoured or tra,ked ehi,lesF reresenting oer one hundred dierent models ormarksF were either oeratedF orderedF or roe,ted or Romanian seri,e during the years re,edingF duringFand immediately ollowing World War Two! The sele,tion is wide and ariedFwith tanksF ranging romtankettes and light tanks u to heay modelsF sel5roelled guns oth olished and imroisedF armoured,ars o arious styles in,luding riot tru,ks or oli,e dutyF haltra,ksF tra,tors oth militaryF as in artillerytowing tyesF and domesti,F as in agri,ultural models imressed into military seri,eF and een armouredtrains! %odels rom do=en nationalities aear on this list in one orm or anotherF romAmeri,an to Russian(oth Tsarist and "oiet'F as well as seeral indigenous Romanian designs! 1 this rodigious totalF aout

hal ,an e dis,ounted as eing either numers roe,ted or ordered ut not re,eiedF and a ew whose useremains un,onirmed and doutul! 1nly aout eleen hundred o the remaining igure reresent legitimatearmoured ighting ehi,lesF the rest eing assorted tra,ked ,arriersF tra,torsF and the likeF ut een thisin,ludes ehi,les that were ,ounted >twi,e> due to ,onersions or similar ugrades! /uration o seri,ealso aried ,onsideralyF some ,ounted in weeks or een days while others soldiered on or a uarter5,enturyM indeedF a ew hae a rolemati,al seri,e re,ordF haing een ,atured in oten unseri,eale,ondition and relegated to training or sare arts duties! I hae tried to limit ,oerage to ehi,les usedduring World War TwoF although e.amles o a arti,ular model whose seri,e was ,onined to either

rewar or ostwar years are in,luded!

"e,ii,ations or models ,oered haeF in the interests o reity (truly a noel ,on,et or meF with myinherent ro,liity or erosityF ut I digress' een areiated to ust the asi,s! Those readers interestedin su,h detail as makes o ma,hine guns or the degree o sloe or a gien gla,is late are urged to ,onsult

any o a lethora o ulished sour,es oten readily aailale rom lo,al liraries or ook stores! I haemade e.,etions when neededF as in the dierent ,annon ,aliers o the #an=erI6 tankF or or ,ertainos,ure models su,h as the TA0A% and >%aresal>tank destroyersF though oten aailale details arelimited!

A/G4 AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight 3; tons M armour 33mm M ,rew o 9 M seed


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An eight5wheeled armoured ,ar rodu,ed y "teyr5/aimler #u,h AG o Austria during the latter hal o the3+2:HsF a ew A/G4Hs were reorted ur,hased y Romania early in 3+2! /etails on suseuent seri,eare la,kingF although their design and armament would suggest a role with the Army as oosed to any

aramilitary or internal se,urity ormations!A%-RI0A& AR%1$RA ew o the thousands o Ameri,an tanks sulied to the "oiet Army ia Lend5Lease were ,atured y

the Romanians! 8or details on se,ii, models usedF see entries underO%2A3 "tuart Light Tank%2A2 Grant*Lee %edium Tank!AR%1$R-/ 0AR"Armoured ,ars were irst emloyed y the Romanian Army during World War 1neF with a lo,al,onersion o a lat5ed ,ommer,ial lorry ,arrying a edestal5mounted ,annon and a air o heayma,hineguns that allowed or oth antiair,rat N ground ire in 3+3) (also des,ried as haing largesoked wheels with solid tires'! Attemts at ur,hasing orty armoured ,ars (make unknown' rom 8ran,ein 3+39 roed unsu,,essulF leaing Romania s,rounging lo,al attleields or aandoned German andRussian armoured ,arsF some o these enerale warriors remaining in seri,e as late as 3+2+ (as this studyo,uses on Romanian armour during World War TwoF IHe omitted te,hni,al entries or any German/aimlers or -hrhardts sin,e they donHt aear to hae remained in seri,e or long'! World War Two sawonly limited use o armoured ,ars y Romania!

8ollowing the outreak o World War Two the Royal Romanian Army ,onsidered e.anding its armoured,ar or,esM lans outlined in "etemer 3+7: roosed roiding all inantry diisions with a suadron otwele armoured ,ars or their re,onnaissan,e deta,hmentsF while ,aalry rigades would ea,h re,eie a

air o three5,ar armoured ,ar latoons! "hortly ater this time the Resita "teel Works assemled anarmoured ,ar rototye with hoes o additional lo,al rodu,tion! $nortunately RomaniaHs inaility tootain the ne,essary euiment reented the imlementation o this reorganisation! 0aalry rigades wereor,ed to >make do> with numers o ma,hine gun5armed tankettes (0=e,h5uilt A?5I6 or R53Hs'F while theinantry diisionHs re,onnaissan,e units remained mounted on horse and the o,,asional motor,y,le!"imilarlyF lans to in,lude two armoured ,ar ,omaniesF ea,h o ourteen ehi,les o oth ie and eightton si=esFwith the newly5ormed 3st Armoured /iision were ui,kly redu,ed to asingle eight5,ar ,omanyand then eliminated entirely y mid53+73! "useuent wartime a,uisitions did allow the Army to artiallyimlement their original lans! 1er a hundred armoured ,ars were ,atured rom the"oiet Army during

the irst year o ighting during the Russian 0amaignthat egan in June 3+73F and these together withsmall numers o s,out ,ars sulied rom Germany allowed y late 3+7; or the estalishment o anarmoured ,ar ,omany with the 3st Armoured /iision andF theoreti,ally at leastF a similarly euied,omany or ea,h o the ArmyHs seen 0ors5leel re,onnaissan,e grousM stillF the modest numer o ,arsa,tually re,eied rom GermanyF ,omined with shortages o me,hani,al sares or the ,atured "oietehi,les let many o the ArmyHs armoured ,ar ormations elow strength or mu,h o the WarF with only ado=en or so listed in seri,e with the 3st Armoured /iision y %ay 3+7)!

A ew armoured ,ars may also hae seen seri,e with the motorised atrols and metroolitan ,rowd ,ontrolormations o the Royal Romanian GendarmerieF a ten thousand man or,e armed and organised along

aramilitary lines whi,h should not e ,onused with less militarily ee,tie odies as the ruralF ,ommunaland muni,ial oli,eF the "tate 8inan,e GuardsF the 8orestry Guards F or the Railway GuardsF ut Idigress!!!!P5'

8or details on se,ii, models usedF see entries underOA/G4 Armoured 0arAustin5#utilo Armoured 0arAutolinda AB73 Armoured 0arBA series o Armoured 0ars0K/ T&"#- Riot 0ontrol Armoured 0ar-hrhardt -56*7 Armoured 0ar8AI Armoured 0ar#eugeot Armoured 0ar


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"d!K=! ;;; Armoured 0ar"d!K=! ;;2 Armoured 0ar"koda 1A =!;< Armoured 0arTatra Armoured 0arTatra 1A =!2: Armoured 0arDunnamedE Armoured 0ar 55 8ren,h

DunnamedE Armoured 0ar 55 RomanianF Tiul 3+3)DunnamedE Armoured 0ar 55 RomanianF Tiul 3+73W=! 27 >$rsus> Armoured 0arAR%1$R-/ TRAI&" DTren BlindatERomaniaHs e.erien,es with armoured trains aears to hae ended rior to the eginning o World WarTwo and thereore alls outside the s,oe o this sureyM stillF as a gesture towards thoroughness somemention seems ineitale!

A.worthy reorts Romania ossessing our armoured trains o 8irst World War intage whi,h weres,raed in the mid53+2:HsF ut ,annot roide any urther details! #ierangelo 0aitiHs ARTIGLI-RI-8-RR16IARI- -TR-&I BI&/ATI (-! AlertelliF 3+#atria> 55 Romanian or>?omeland>' that hadtwin5arreled antiair,rat guns mounted on oth lead and end ,arriagesF ut again none o the ,ars werearmoured!A$"TI&5#$TIL16 AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight )!; tons M ,rew 7 M armour mm M seed ): km*hrM armament two

A numer o these ehi,les assed into Romanian hands ollowing the,ollase o lo,al Tsarist Russianor,es at the ,lose o World War 1neF our still in sering with ,aalry units in 3+2+! /etails on suseuentseri,e are la,kingF ut in light o their age any wartime seri,e was roaly limited andF umFundistinguished!A$"TRIA& AR%1$RRomania ur,hased a ew armoured ,ars rom Austria shortly eore the outreak o World War Two! 8ordetailsF see entry underOA/G4 Armoured 0ar!A$T1BLI&/A AB73 AR%1$R-/ 0AR


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weight

-ight Italian armoured ,ars were in,luded among arms shiments romisedrom Germany to Romaniaeginning in "etemer 3+72M a,,ording to A.worthy they were roaly re,eiedF although he does notsu,h details as se,ii, models or their suseuent seri,e! 4alogaHs arti,le on Romanian armour identiies

these as Autolinda AB73sF a model used y the Italian -.editionary 8or,e in Russia during the warFsome o whi,h may hae een let ehind in German hands when that ormation was withdrawn rom theront in %ar,h 3+72! 1n the other handF sin,e the delieries ost5date the Italian Armisti,eF ollowingwhi,h the Germans ,onis,ated ast amounts o arms rom the Italian ArmyF these ehi,les might hae

een art o this loot! 4aloga says these armoured ,ars were assigned to the Romanian 3st Armoured/iisionHs re,onnaissan,e ,omanyF ut additional details regarding their ultimate ate are not known!BA "-RI-" 18 AR%1$R-/ 0AR"BA59weight )!3 tons M armour 3:mm M ,rew 7 M seed )) km*hr M armament one7)mm ,annon and two

By 1,toer 3+73 no ewer than 3:2 "oiet armoured ,ars had een ,atured y the Romanian Army duringits initial adan,e thru Bessaraia and southern Russia! A.worthy does not identiy any se,ii, modelsF sothose listed aoe are roisional ased on aailaility and semi5edu,ated guesswork and hardly in,lusie!0ommon models su,h as the BA5;: and BA53:F the "oiet ArmyHs standard light and medium armoured,ars in 3+73F are likely ,andidatesF as would e older ,ars su,h as the 8AI and BA59! -en the elderly BA5;< o the 3+;:HsF while only rodu,ed in modest numers o a ew hundred ("oiet armoured ,ars trengthin 3+73 eing 7F3+' was still sering in the rontier distri,ts55 one eing ,atured y the 8inns in early3+7: 55 and may hae een en,ountered! -.amles o other "oiet armoured ,ars su,h as ariants (BA5

9%'F short rodu,tion runs (BA53' or older ehi,les (BA52' are lesslikely to hae een en,ounteredF utone neer knows!

/etails on suseuent Romanian seri,e are la,kingM as with many other,atured ehi,lesF shortages osares may hae or,ed their withdrawal rom seri,e within a year or een soonerF although their moresimlisti, design may hae allowed the Romanians to kee them in oeration longer! "tillF their oeralllimited military alue suggest an undistinguished ,areer!BRITI"? AR%1$RA ew tanks o British manua,ture that the "oiet $nion re,eied ia Lend5Lease ell into Romanianhands during the -astern 0amaignF the ,amaign in Russia! 8or details on se,ii, modelsF see underO6alentine %k III6i,kers TanksBT5< TA&K

weight 3)!2 tons M ,rew 2 M armour 3:5;;mm M seed The Romanian Army ,atured a numer o these "oiet tanks in the summer o 3+73 and imressed theminto seri,eF although the BTHs ,hroni, maintenan,e demands may hae e.,eeded lo,al resour,es andtherey seerely limiting oth the uality and duration o su,h seri,e! IndeedF while thirty5two BT5,ar,asses on hand>rather than oerational ehi,lesF or shortly aterwards they had een roken u to roide mu,h5neededuality armour lating or the TA0A% series o sel5roelled gunsM ,ertainly no BT5


9/41

0?-&ILL-TT-#oular name or the Renault $- "uly 0arrier!0K/ A?5I6 TA&Kweight 7!; tons M ,rew ; M armour )53;mm M seed 7) km*hr M armament one

In Aril 3+29 Romania ordered oer a hundred tanks rom the 0=e,h irm o 0K/F thirty5si. o these einga ariant o the A?5I6 tanketteitted with a ,ommanderHs ,uola (te,hni,ally these were light tanks withully rotating turretsF ut as all they ,arried were ma,hine gunsF tankette seems more itting'! Within amonth this order had een reised with models sulanted y 0K/Hs rial irm "kodaF and y August onlythirty5ie o the 0K/ tankettes were indeed ordered! /elieries egan late in 3+2


10/41

8ollowing e.tensie trials and reliminary negotiationsF Romania attemted to order 2+) o these 0=e,hlight tanksF along with seeral hundred "koda "5II5, tanksF in January 3+73F ut desite the eorts o oththe 0=e,h and Romanian authoritiesF together with en,ouragement rom the German Rei,hF this eortF aswell as a later attemt in %ay 3+7; to otain li,ensing rights or lo,al rodu,tionF roed unsu,,essul

rimarily due to insui,ient manua,turing ,aa,ity in oth 0=e,hosloakia and Romania!

0K/ T&"#- A&TI5RI1T AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight 3; tons M ,rew 2 M armour 7 to mm M seed ): km*hr M armament one

With a main armament ,onsisting o a high5ressure water ,annon atta,hed to a ie5thousand litre watertankF seen o these 0=e,hosloakian5uilt armoured ,ars were sulied to Romania in 3+2953+2isolated in,idents>' ut does not suggestany ,rossed oer into Romania! Although no reeren,e o su,h a ehi,le aears on suseuent RoyalRomanian Army lists in A.worthy or elsewhereF it is still ossile (howeer unlikely' that one may hae

imressed into Romanian seri,e and in,luded among the 3+73 strength o 3%ala.a> tra,ked suly,arriers in mu,h the same way a handul o #olish TK*TK" tankettes were ater eing interned in the all o3+2+!04-0? AR%1$R0=e,hosloakia was erhas the rin,ial sulier o arms and armour to Romania rior to World WarTwoF although many o RomaniaHs attemts atotaining adeuate uantities o modern tanks rom the0=e,hsF oth in ready5to5roll ehi,le sto,k and li,enses or the lo,al manua,ture o 0=e,h designsF otenmet with ailure due to oth limitations o aailale a,ilitiesF ut alsoF ater 3+2+F as art o GermanyHs>diide and ,onuer>oli,ies dealing with her relations with A.is allies!

8or details on se,ii, models usedF see entries underO0K/ A?5I6 Tank0K/ LT =! 2 Tank

0K/ #5II a Tank0K/ #raga T9 Tra,tor0K/ T&? Tank0K/ T&"#- Anti5Riot Armoured 0ar0K/ =! 22 Tankette"koda 1A =! ;< Armoured 0ar"koda "5II5a Tank"koda "5II5, Tank"koda T5;2 TankTatra Armoured 0ar


11/41

Tatra 1A =! 2: Armoured 0ar

see also entries or 0=e,h ehi,les rodu,ed under German ausi,esO?et=er Tank /estroyer#an=er 2) (t' Tank#an=er 2(t' Tank

/AI%L-R %3+3) AR%1$R-/ 0AR"ee under -hrhardt -56*7 Armoured 0ar-?R?AR/T -56*7 AR%1$R-/ 0AR(also known as the /aimler %3+3) Armoured 0ar' weight 3:!7 tons M ,rew M armour 9 to +mm M seed 9:km*hr M armament three

/eeloed in 3+3) or the Imerial German ArmyF -hrhardts saw seri,e in the $kraine in 3+3F making itery likely that e.amles o this model were among the assorted armoured ,ars re,oered y the RomanianArmy at the end o World War 1ne! ?oweerF any that may hae een so re,oered had assed out oseri,e y the 3+2:HsF making their in,lusion with this reort on Romanian armour o World War TwoseemF i not mootF ,ertainly suerluous (hen,e their mention here y olH otuse me!!!'!8AI AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight ; tons M ,rew o ; M armour mm M seed : km*hr M armament one

"ome o these older light armoured ,ars were still sering with "oiet units in 3+73F so itHs ossile a ewmay hae een ,atured y the Romanian ArmyF though in light o their limited ,omat alue and likelyme,hani,al unreliaility any suseuent seri,e would hae een rie!8R-&0? AR%1$RRomaniaHs ties with 8ran,e on ,ulturalF oliti,alF and military leels are a long5standing traditionF so itHsitting that her irst tanks (a regiment o Renault 8THs'F otained at the end o World War 1neF would e o8ren,h origin (indeedF Romania had attemted otaining armoured ,ars rom 8ran,e rior to this ut to noaail'! 8ollowing the oten militarily5destitute interwar yearsF Romania again turned to 8ran,e oradditional armourF oth or shiments o ehi,les and li,enses or lo,al rodu,tionF as art o her re5armament rograms on the ee o World War Two! IndeedF RomaniaHs greatest (i only' indigenous A86Fthe %aresal tank destroyerF was originally intended to e owered y 8ren,h5 uilt ?ot,hkiss engines!

8or details on se,ii, models usedF see entries underO

#eugeot Armoured 0arRenault 8T TankRenault R52) TankRenault $- >0henillette> "uly 0arrierDunnamedE Armoured 0ar 55 8ren,hG-R%A& AR%1$RRomanian armaments a,uisitions rom Germany rior to World War Two aried! Immediately ollowingthe end o World War 1ne GermanyHs ,aa,ityor arms was seerely ,urtailed y the i,torious Allied#owersF and theonly instan,es o German armour in Romanian seri,e was e.amles o a ew armoured,ars re,oered rom lo,al attleields!

Beginning in the mid 3+2:HsF German attemts at se,uring strategi,ally ital oil shiments rom Romaniasaw an in,rease in oers o war materielF rimarily antiair,rat artillery and military air,ratF the

aailaility o whi,h aried due to oreign oli,y shits and oliti,al ne,essities with the outset o WorldWar Two! IndeedF sustantial German military aid was not roided to Romania een ater her allegian,eto the A.is Allian,e late in 3+7:Fartly due to GermanyHs own ressing demands ut also as art o ?itlerHsdiide and ,onuer oli,ies ,on,erning his A.is allies! 8or e.amleF German ressure on Romania tosurrender territories to neighoring ?ungary and Bulgaria resulted in oth those ,ountries e,oming A.isadherents indeted to the German Rei,hF while also or,ing a trun,ated Romania into the A.is ,am withhoes o restoring its lost territories thru A.is seri,eM howeerF German5,ontrolled arms shiments toRomaniaF while ostering deenden,e uon GermanyF were o a limited nature so as to reent a owerimalan,e is5a5is her rial allies whi,h might erut into inter5A.is ighting! -en ollowing Romanian


12/41

arti,iation in the inasion o the "oiet $nion eginning in the summer o 3+73F German military aidFese,ially armour shimentsF remained irtually token in nature!

This oli,y e.tended to inluen,ing Romanian arms ur,hases rom 0=e,hosloakiaF where German,ontrol egan indire,tly in the all o 3+2 whi,h or,ing 0=e,h attention towards national deense andlater ater %ar,h 3+2+ o a more dire,t nature! /esite GermanyHs ostensile intentions o deeloing

Romania into a iale military allyF ,on,erns oer disturing the Balkan status uo in the orm o aresurgent Romanian atta,k uon ?ungarian5o,,uied Transylania (whi,h were real ,on,ernsF within,reased order ,lashes etween the two rials oten aggraated y su,h oen in,itations as the >&ow onto Budaest> slogans dislayed y Romanian troos during a &oemer 3+73 i,tory arade in 1dessa'tended to restri,t Romanian a,uisition o sustantial uantities o either German or 0=e,h armour duringthe war! 1nly ater the disastrous seta,ks suered at the Battle o "talingrad at the end o 3+7; didRomania eginto re,eie German armour and other euiment in are,iale uantitiesF irst in the orm oaid to Romanian or,es in the 0rimea and Kuan ridgehead in the sring o 3+72F and later with the1lienaum and Quittenaum armour shiments rom 1,toer 3+72 until dis,ontinued with the eents othe ;2 August 3+77 Armisti,e (although in many instan,es the ehi,les sulied were o a well5wornF oten

arely seri,eale nature'! IndeedF Romanian re,eit o German tanks ,ontinued into this eraF aleit in amu,h redu,ed leel and in the orm o ,atured ehi,les sulied ia RomaniaHs new "oiet ally!

8or details on se,ii, modelsF see entries underO?et=er Tank /estroyer#an=er II Tank#an=er III Tank#an=er I6 Tank#an=er 6 #anther Tank#an=er 6I Tiger Tank#an=er 2)(t' Tank#an=er 2(t' TankR"1 Artillery Tra,tor"d!K=! 3: ?altra,k"d!K=! 33 ?altra,k"d!K=! ;): ?altra,k"d!K=! ;)3 ?anomag ?altra,k

"d!K=! ;)3*+ >"tummel> Assault ?altra,k"d!K=! ;;; Armoured 0ar"/!K84! ;;2 AR%1$R-/ 0AR"turmges,ht= III Assault GunGRA&T*L-- TA&Ksee under %2A2 Grant*Lee Tank?AL8TRA0K"The Romanian Army made use o only a ew haltra,ksF all o German manua,tureF during World WarTwo! 8or details on se,ii, modelsF see entries underO"d!K=! 3: ?altra,k"d!K=! 33 ?altra,k"d!K=! ;): ?altra,k"d!K=! ;)3 >?anomag> ?altra,k

"d!K=! ;)3*+ >"tummel> Assault ?altra,k?A&1%AG#oular name or the German "d!K=! ;)3 ?altra,k?-T4-R TA&K /-"TR1-Rweight 3+!; tons M ,rew 7 M armour 59:mm M seed 7; km*hr M armament one

1ne sour,e ,laims that iteen o these German sel5roelled guns ased on the 0=e,h "koda T&?# tank,hassis were s,heduled to e deliered to Romania on ;) August 3+77F ut eents surrounding theArmisti,e reented their delieryF ut this has not een ,onirmed y the most re,ent sour,es


13/41

In the all o 3+77 two ?et=ers were ,atured y the Romanian Army during ighting in Transylania andimressed into seri,e!?$&GARIA& AR%1$RA ew In light o the strainedF i not outright hostile relations etween the two ,ountriesF it is hardlysurrising that the only ?ungarian tanks oerated y Romania were those ew e.amles ,atured on the

ield o attle ollowing RomaniaHs return to Allied seri,e with the ;2 August 3+77 Armisti,e!8or details on se,ii, ehi,lesF see entries underOToldi I (II' TankTuran Tank4rinyi II Assault GunI"5; TA&Kweight 79 tons M ,rew 7 M armour 2:539:mm M seed 2< km*hr M armament one 3;;mm ,annonF two

A.worthy reorts that a rand5new I"5; tank was one o hal a do=en "oiet tanks ,atured in eitherdamaged or disaled ,onditions y Romanian troos during ighting along the Romanian5"oiet rontier

etween ;th %ay and )th June 3+77 (the "oiet Army deloyed one o their ery irst heay tankregiments euied with the I"5; against Romania in %ay 3+77F erhas mute re,ognition o Romanian

rowess or then erhas not'! In,luded in a dislay o ,atured "oiet tanks held in Bu,harest shortlyaterwardsF the I"5;Hs aearan,e is said to hae een >rooundly deressing> uon memers o theRomanian ?igh 0ommand (,onsidering they were still oerating Renault 8THs and the like at that timeFthatHs hardly mu,h o a surrise'!

/etails on any suseuent seri,e are la,king ut it was no dout ,onis,ated y the "oiet Army shortlyater the August Armisti,e! /r! Werner RegenergHs 0A#T$R-/ TA&K" $&/-R T?- G-R%A&8LAGO R$""IA& BATTL- TA&K" (",hier #ulishing 0o!F ,3++:' oints out that >!!! When in 3+77 theheay HJose "talinH tanks aeared at the rontF the Wehrma,htHs days o ,aturing tanks were oer e,auseo their ,onstant retreatsF and there was great dii,ulty in taking een one e.amle or the Army Weaons1i,eF whi,h naturally was interested in e.amining this tank!> The a,t that humle Romania with its moremodest armed or,es ,ould a,,omlish this on its own deseres se,ial merit!I"$53); A""A$LT G$&

weight 79 tons M ,rew 7 M armour 2:5+:mm M seed 2< km*hr M armament one 3);mm gun5howit=er and one3;!


14/41

i,inity o &eadadaut=i! The tank was des,ried as eing inta,t with un,tioning armament ,omlete withammunitionM howeerF the motor deied the soldiersH est eorts to start itF and in the eent the tank was let

ehind when the ormation adan,ed!

$nortunatelyF the only instan,e I hae ound o what should hae een a noteworthy a,,omlishmentaears in the memoirs o Ion -milianF a Romanian ,aalry oi,er sering with the ;nd 0alarasi Regiment!

While there is no reason to uestion the alidity o -milianHs status as a eteran o the -astern 8rontF hismemoirsF written thirty years ater eentsF ,ontain instan,es o what may e ha=y re,olle,tions (or more onthis see the entry under the %7A; "herman tank'M or e.amleF his des,rition o this aandoned K65;Fwhile ,iting its 3);mm ,annonF also reers to turretsF suggesting a ossile ,onusion with the T5;F amodel ,onirmed elsewhere as eing en,ountered and indeed ,atured y Romanian troos in the ,ourse othe war! 1 ,ourseF the matter may e a,ademi,F as een -milian a,knowledges that the tank was let

ehind as an immoile dereli,tF leaing the ,ontriution o a K65; in Romanian hands limited to the role oattleield s,ra!LA&4 B$LL/1G TRA0T1Rweight !!! tons M ,rew !!! M armour nil M seed !!! km*hr M armament nil!

8ollowing the disastrous Battle o "talingradF a January 3+72 meeting etween Antones,u and ?itleraddressed RomaniaHs ,riti,al euiment shortages in oth armaments and motorisation! 0onseuentlyF 3:Lan= Bulldog agri,ultural tra,tors were sulied to Romanian diisions oerating in the Kuan and0rimean se,tors who emloyed them as all5terrain artillery transorts! Another 7:: su,h tra,tors were

romised with arms shiments throughout 3+72 and 3+77 (all or at least most o these eing re,eied'whi,h were used or similar duties with Romanian artillery ormations or the duration o the war! Theo,,uation administration or Transnistria also ur,hased a numer o agri,ultural tra,tors rom Germanyduring the warF ut whether these were Bulldogs is not known!%2A3 "T$ART TA&Kweight 32!< tons M ,rew 7 M armour 3:577mm M seed ) km*hr M armament one 2In early 8eruary 3+72 the "oiet Army lost thirty5two tanks and some two thousand troos during anunsu,,essul amhiious landing at 1=ereika Bay near &oorossiysk in the Kuan! Twenty5one o thosetanks lost were %2A3 "tuart light tanksF re,ently otained rom the $nited "tates in Lend5Lease aidshiments (#aul 0arellHs 1#-RATI1& BARBAR1""A I& #?1T1GRA#?"F ulished y ",hier

Books in 3++3F has a ni,e hotograh o these tanks on ages ;+ N ;++'M as many had suered no attledamage ut were simly waterlogged due to aulty landing ro,eduresF they were ui,kly re,oered andimressed into Romanian seri,e (ater allF this se,tor was under the rote,tion o elements o the RoyalRomanian ArmyHs 2th Inantry RegimentF together with sele,ted German ormations'! A numer o these"tuarts saw limited seri,e with oth the 9th and +th 0aalry /iisionsF erorming ,oastal rote,tion

atrols while still oerational as well as similar duties in a more stati, role ater a la,k o sares let themimmoilised!

"eeral other "tuart tanks were ,aturedF or more a,,urately re,oered rom the attleieldF ollowing theelimination o the "oietsH -ltigen ea,hhead in the Kuan at the end o /e,emer 3+72F our su,h tankssering riely with Romanian or,es in the 0rimea eore eing reatriated to Romania as art o anassortment o ,atured unseri,eale tanks in %ar,h 3+77F sending their inal days as stati, antitanktargets with Romanian training units!

%2A2 GRA&T*L-- TA&Kweight 2: tons M ,rew 9 M armour 3;52


15/41

%7A; >"?-R%A&> TA&Kweight 27!) tons M ,rew ) M armour 3; to

While -milianHs e.erien,es seem genuineF dis,rean,ies elsewhere in his memoirs suggest either ha=ymemories orF umF >editing or ee,t> as it wereM or e.amleF the 7th Inantry /iisionHs en,ounter with %7"hermans in the autumn o 3+7; when ew "hermans had een arried in the "oiet $nion (okayF erhashe meant 3+72F ut y then Romanian disositions in the 0au,asus were largely limited to the Kuanregion'F while at the same time he names General Baru Alines,u as the 7th Inantry /iisionHs,ommanderF a name I ,anHt ind on any roster o Romanian Army oi,ersF een i I sell it -lines,uFIlines,uF and the like (&a=iger la,es Gheorghe 0iala, in that osition in 3+73F who IHe seen reortedelsewhere as a ,aalry ,ommanderF while A.worthy and others la,e #laton 0hirnoaga in ,ommand o the7th Inantry /iision y 3+77F soF who knows'! #erhas -milian mistook "tuarts or Grant*LeesF oth owhi,h saw seri,e with Romanian or,es as ,atured ootyS As or "hermans in Romanian seri,eF wellFintriguing as su,h a rose,t may aearF I must ,on,lude it to e ery unlikely!%;9 AR%1$R-/ 0AR

ossile Romanian designation or the "koda 1A =! ;< Armoured 0ar%;< AR%1$R-/ 0AR

ossile Romanian designation or the Tatra 1A =! 2: Armoured 0ar%ALACA TA&K-TT-

"ee under "enileta %ala.a Tiul $- 0arrier!%AR-"AL TA&K /-"TR1-R"ee under 6anatorul de 0are %aresal Tank /estroyer!1/-""A TRA0T1Rsee under "T4 >1dessa> Tra,tor#A&T?-R TA&K"ee under #an=er 6 >#anther>!#A&4-R II TA&Kweight !+ tons M armour 37mm M ,rew o 2 M seed 7: km*hrM armament one ;,m ,annon and one

Two #an=er IIHsF roaly sering with the German )th 8lak /iisionF were ,atured y the Romanian 3th"e,urity /eta,hment (whi,hF BTWF was using Renault 8THs at the time' during ighting around the #loiesti

oil ields in late August 3+77! There is no re,ord o any suseuent useF ut then any German ehi,les,atured y the Romanians y this stage o the war were as a rule ,onis,ated y their new "oiet allies!#A&4-R III TA&Kweight ;2 tons M ,rew ) M armour 3:5)In resonse to reuests or modern armourF Germany sulied Romania with twele #an=er III model &tanks late in 3+7;! /esignated y the Romanians as the T52F eleen euied a medium tank ,omany othe 3st Armoured /iisionF while the twelth was assigned to training duties with the /iisionHs deot!$nortunatelyF the 3st Armoured /iision had little time to enoy these new a,uisitionsM re,eied on 3


16/41

1,toer 3+7; in less than ristine ,ondition 55 as it turned out they were well5worn ma,hines in need oreairF and not all were still seri,eale shortly thereater 55 the T52Hs had arely egun oerations when theentire /iision was ,aught u in the "oiet ,ounteroensie at "talingrad on 3+th &oemer! Within a ewdays nearly hal o the /iisionHs T52Hs had een lost during the saage ightingF and y the time the/iision withdrew a,ross the /onets Rier and out o the ront line on 3st January 3+72 only a single T52remained on strength (or twoF ,ounting the one with the training deot'!

T52Hs were not in,luded with either the ad5ho, 0antemir Armoured Grou ormed later in 3+72F nor thereitted 3st Armoured /iisionF oth suriing e.amles sending their remaining days as training ehi,les

eore inally disaearing rom seri,e ollowing the ;2rd August 3+77 Armisti,eM whether this was dueto ossile attle damage whi,h may hae een in,urred i they arti,iated in lo,al anti5A.is oerationsFsimle me,hani,al ailure aggraated y unaailale saresF or erhas ,onis,ated y the "oiets is not,ertainF although this last rose,t seems most likely!#A&4-R I6 TA&Kweight ;: to ;) tons M ,rew ) M armour 3: to :mm (2:mm or %odel /F ):mm or %odels - N 8;F 9:mmor %odel 8F and :mm or %odels GF ?F N J' M seed 7: km*hr M armament one

een the result o misidentii,ationF erhas stemming rom sightings o the similarly5shaed #an=er III%odel & whi,h at the time were in Romanian seri,e! It is ossileF howeer unlikelyF that seeral o theseearlier models o #an=er I6Hs may hae een riely oerated or orientation urosesF ut i so su,h usewas indeed transitoryF or none were on hand at the Battle o "talingrad in &oemer 3+7;!

RomaniaHs irst ,onirmed use o the #an=er I6 tank is o a at,h o twele %odel G tanks re,eied y the3st Armoured /iision on 3


17/41

the ,ourse o ighting to ,lear the ,ountry o German and ro5A.is or,es! Ten T57Hs were imressed intoseri,e with the &i,ules,u Armoured /eta,hment ormed rom training elements o the 3st Armoured/iisionHs deot at Tirgoiste and elsewhereF and a numer o #an=er I6HsF roaly no more than a do=enor soF were sulied rom ,atured sto,ks rom the "oiet Army! T57Hs arti,iated in Romanian oerationsor the duration o the warF rom ,amaigns in northern Transylania into ?ungaryF 0=e,hosloakiaF andAustria! By %ay 3+7) only a single T57 remained in seri,e with Romanian armoured or,esF although

some twenty or so were eentually re,oered rom salage yards and lo,al attleields and returned toseri,e during the ostwar eraF the last e.amles haing elieed to surie into the early 3+):Hs!#A&4-R 6 >#A&T?-R> TA&Kweight 72 tons M ,rew ) M armour 2:53::mm M seed 79 km*hr M armament one

At the end o World War Two the Romanian Army otained a numer o these German tanks 55 whetherdereli,ts re,oered rom lo,al attleields or hand5me5downs rom the "oiet Army (who oerated entire,omanies o ,atured #anthers during the war' is not ,lear with as many as twenty5one eing in,luded onthe rosters o the "oiet5raised >Tudor 6ladimires,u> /iision when it ,onerted rom an inantry to anarmoured diision in 3+7957TIG-R> TA&Kweight )< tons M ,rew ) M armour ;)53::mm M seed 2 km*hr M armament one !,m ,annon and two

Romania neer re,eied any o these German heay tanks during her >A.is> eraF ut a air o Tigersaandoned y retreating German or,es ater running out o uel were re,oered y Romanian troos on23st August 3+77M howeerF oth tanks were immediately ,onis,ated y RomaniaHs new "oiet >allies>Fmaking any Romanian seri,e (erhas limited to drieF erF tow time rom the attleield to the nearest"oiet unit' leeting at est!#A&4-R 2)(t' TA&Kweight 3:!) tons M ,rew 7 M armour 5;)mm M seed 2) km*hr M armament one 2!Romania re,eied a shiment o twenty5si. #an=er 2)(t' tanks sulied y Germany in the summer o 3+7;

as rela,ements or a similar numer o R5; tanks lost during the irst year o the Russian ,amaign! ThesetanksF irtually identi,al to the "koda "5IIa tanks already in Romanian seri,e as the R5; (eing German5

rodu,ed ersions o the "koda tank'F were deliered in June and July o 3+7; and ound to e well5wornehi,les in less than reliale running order! 8urther details as to their suseuent seri,e in Romanianhands are la,king as the Romanians lumed them together with their R5;sM see entry under under "koda "5II5a or additional inormation! In light o their oor ,ondition it seems likely that mostF i not allF o these#an=er 2)(t' tanks were lost during the disastrous Battle o "talingrad in late 3+7;F although any still e.tantin early 3+72 would also e in,luded with the TA0A% R5; ,onersions!#A&4-R 2(t' TA&Kweight +! tons M ,rew 7 M armour 3:5;)mm M seed 7; km*hr M armament one 2!Based on the 0=e,h T?" tank (an outgrowth o the 0K/ LT =! 2'F these tanks were uilt y B%%

under German ausi,es with the designation #an=er 2(t' Dt reerring to German word or 0=e,hosloakiaE!In 3+72 Germany sulied ity #an=er 2(t' tanksF models AF B N 0F to Romanian or,es in the 0rimeaFdelieries ,ommen,ing on 3) %ay and inishing y ;7 JuneF entering seri,e with the Romanian ;ndArmoured Regiment under the designation T52! $on their re,eit the Romanians dis,oered to theirdismay that only seenteen T52Hs were in running ,onditionF this numer droing to a mere eight y earlyJulyM urther inestigation reealed these tanks to e worn5out models already ree,ted y the ?ungarians asunseri,eale!

&eedless to sayF the oor ,ondition o these ehi,les seerely retarded Romanian lans to reinor,e her,aalry ormationsF the original intention o ,reating a tank attalion ,omrising three iteen5tank


18/41

,omanies 55 the )3stF );ndF and )2rd 55 whi,h would e assigned to the armour5oor ,aalry diisionsFeing drasti,ally redu,ed! In the eentF the three ,omaniesF now at only ie tanks ea,hF were errieda,ross to the Kuan Bridgehead at the end o July 3+72F with ie more tanks in running ,ondition held inresere with the attalion headuarters! ?al o the ,omaniesH T52s were lost in ighting eore the,omanies were withdrawn rom the Kuan at the end o "etemer! A ourth ad ho, tank ,omanyF the)7thF was ormed late in 3+72 rom the ie T52s held in resere at attalion headuartersM this ,omany

suorted the Romanian ArmyHs %ountain 0ors in anti5artisan oerations in the 0rimea eore allsuriing T52s were ea,uated to Romania eginning at the end o &oemer 3+72!

T52s were held more or less in resere or most o 3+77F y now redu,ed in strength to twenty y mid5%ar,h and only nineteen y late JulyF their numers diminishing thru simle me,hani,al ailure! TheArmisti,e o ;2 August 3+77 saw these suriing tanks imressed into ,omat seri,eF with a air o three5tank latoons roing instrumental in the se,uring o Bu,harest! T52s ,ontinued in seri,e with Romanianor,es in the ensuing monthsF eight arti,iating in oerations as late as 8eruary 3+7)M a ew aear tohae suriedF or erhas re,oered and suseuently restoredF or seri,e in the ostwar years! In 3+72

lans were made or the ,onersion o some orty T52s into sel5roelled guns with the designationTA0A% T52F ut this roe,t was ,an,eled rior to its imlementation!#-$G-1T AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight !!! tons M armour !!! mm M ,rew !!! M seed !!! km*hr M armament one 2


19/41

oen ields in the i,inity'F "alter des,ries ,olumns o #olish troos and ,iilian reugees ,rossing therontier at ?otin oth on oot and in ,ars and ,ommandeered uses (with growing iles o ,onis,atedeuiment rilesF suma,hine gunsF and gas masks y the roadside' ut makes no mention o any #olishA86s (he does relate the a,tions o a air o "oiet tanks sent to se,ure the /niester Rier ridgesearating #oland and Romania at the illage o 4ales,=,ykiF one tank reaking through the ridgeHswoodwork and ee,tiely lo,king assageF ut I digress'!

#atri,k %aitland in his -$R1#-A& /AT-LI&- (0amelot #ressF 3+79' des,ries ,olumns o #olishtroos and reugees ,rossing into Romania whi,h in,luded an array o ehi,les 55 amulan,esF riatemotor ,arsF lorriesF light artilleryF ire5enginesF een steam5rollers along with some >armed ans> whi,hmightF or might notF e armoured ,ars! 1ther a,,ounts are similarly in,omlete! Germany also roidedRomania with an assortment o ,atured #olish arms as ayment or oil shiments ater 3+7:F and whilethese aear limited to artillery (RomaniaHs irst tanks date rom 3+3+F when a air o 8ren,h tank ,omanies stationed in the ,ountryreturned to 8ran,e ut let their ehi,les ehind! These seenty5si. Renault 8T tanksF orty5eight armedwith the short5arreled 2


20/41

headuarters in Bu,harest! %any o the 3th "e,urity /eta,hmentHs ,omany o twenty5ie Renault 8Tswere still oerational and arti,iated in se,uring the strategi, #loiesti oil ields in ighting against theGerman )th 8lak /iisionM indeedF it is ossile that Renault 8Ts may hae gone >head to head> with ahandul o #an=er II tanks atta,hed to the )th 8lakF erhas the last time a Renault 8T was inoled in ana,tual tank ersus tank engagement DnaturallyF the #an=er IIHs lost!!!E! Indeendent latoons o Renault 8Ttanks were also instrumental in se,uring ital industrial ,enters at "iiu and Resita! /esite their

osoles,ent natureF Renault 8T tanks arti,iated in Romanian military oerations in northern Transylaniaand ?ungary into early 3+7)F artly due to a ,hroni, shortage o armoured ighting ehi,les as a result o airtual arms emargo imosed uon Romania y her new "oiet >ally>F and also as art o "oiet attemtsat urging Romania o royalist ormations that may roe disloyal to the new ro5,ommunist regimes,heduled or installation in the ostwar eraM an e.amle o this ra,ti,e is ound in the ,ommitment to theront as irtual ,annon odder o the 0ondu,atorHs Bodyguard RegimentF now redesignated as the 33)th%otorised Inantry Regiment ut still with its handul o Renault 8TsF none o whi,h suried the end othe war (norF or that matterF did many o the regimentHs troos'! In Aril 3+7) all e.tant Renault 8TsFwhether oerational or notF were ,onis,ated y the "oiet authorities and disaeared -astward (erhassomeone rememered how years eore one had sered as the rototye or the %"53F that armouredanguard o the &ew -,onomi, #rogram o the 3+;:Hs and wanted to aoid a similar industrial renaissan,ein RomaniaF or maye they ust needed more s,ra iron'F although one was either oerlooked or returnedlater to end u on dislay at the %ilitar %u=eul D&ational %ilitary %useumE in Bu,harest!R-&A$LT R52) TA&Kweight 33 tons M ,rew ; M armour 3757)mm M seed ;: km*hr M armament one 2As art o her re5armament rogram o the late thirtiesF Romania sought to otain a li,ense or the lo,almanua,ture o ;:: 8ren,h Renault R52) inantry tanks! &egotiations or estalishing a a,tory or their

rodu,tion had rea,hed an adan,ed state y early 3+2F y whi,h time 8ran,eHs own demands or re5armament rohiited urther deeloment! As a sto5ga measure orty5one R52)s were sulied to theRoyal Romanian Army in 3+2+F sering as the rin,ial (okayF sole' tank o the newly5ormed ;ndArmoured Regiment!

An additional thirty5our rand5new R52)s out o a shiment o ity su,h tanks re,ently otained y#oland assed into Romanian hands when the #olish ;3st B0L DBatalion 0=olgow Lekki,hF or light tank

attalionE ,hose internment oer ,ature ollowing the German ,onuest o #oland at the end o "etemer

3+2+! With seenty5ie tanks on strength the ;nd Armoured Regiment e.anded into two attalions! R52)swere used in suressing the aortie Iron Guard urising in January 3+73F with at least one eing set airein the streets o Bu,harest as shown in a hotograh on age ;3 o AR%ATA R1%A&A I& AL /1IL-ARA4B1I %1&/IAL! Whether this ehi,le suered irreo,ale damage is not ,learF as ,onli,tinga,,ounts ,redit the ;nd Armoured Regiment with either seenty5our or seenty5ie R52)s on ,harge whenas art o the 3st Armoured /iision it arti,iated in the Romanian inasion o the "oiet $nion in June3+73! Be,ause o the R52)s slower seed when ,omared to the 0=e,h5uilt R5; tanks also sering in the3st Armoured /iisionF the ;nd Armoured Regiment was deta,hed to suort the 7th ArmyHs IIIrd Army0ors early in July 3+73! In this role the ;nd Armoured RegimentHs R52)s arti,iated in the atta,k on1dessaF where these tanksH thi,ker armoured rote,tion roed useul against "oiet antitank riles andsimilar weaonsM stillF y the time 1dessa ell in mid51,toerF iteen R52)s had een irreo,aly destroyedand many others needing reair due to attle damage and e.treme wear!

With RomaniaHs modest industrial and me,hani,al resour,esF the remaining R52)s were not ullyoerational until later in 3+7;F y whi,h time the inadeua,y o their short5arreled 2


21/41

8ollowing the Armisti,e o August 3+77 and RomaniaHs return to the AlliesF R52)s arti,iated inoerations ,learing the ,ountry o German and A.is or,es! 1ne ,omany o nine R52)s was in,luded in ami.ed tank attalion o the ;nd Armoured Regiment stationed in Bu,harestF roing instrumental inse,uring the ,aital rom German or,es! The #oes,u Armoured /eta,hmentF ormed rom residualelements o the 3st Armoured /iisionHs training deotF in,luded a latoon o R52)sF and similar a,kets oR52)s s,attered aout the ,ountry suorted Romanian troos in rounding u German ersonnelM in eastern

Romania a latoon o R52)s in ,onun,tion with Romanian marines were resonsile or the lieration o8agaras! Aout ourteen R52)s were still sering with the ;nd Armoured Regiment as late as 8eruary3+7)F ut suseuent oerations in 0=e,hosloakia and Austria redu,ed this to only a ew y Aril andnone were oerational y the end o the war! ?oweerF some were re,oered or seri,e in the immediate

ostwar era (until erhas as late as 3+);'F with one resently on dislay with the %u=eul %ilitar &ationalD&ational %ilitary %useumE in Bu,harest!R-&A$LT $- "$##L 0ARRI-R >0?-&ILL-TT->weight ;!; tons M ,rew ; M armour making do> with inadeuate resour,esF with the ingenuity o theTA0A% series standing out as an e.amle o making the most o what little one has aailale!

8or details on se,ii, modelsF see entries underO"enileta 8ord Ruses, de 0atura Tra,tor"enileta %ala.a Tiul $- tankette*suly ,arrierT53 Tra,torTA0A% R53 "el5#roelled GunTA0A% R5; "el5#roelled GunTA0A% T52 "el5#roelled GunTA0A% T59: "el5#roelled GunDunnamedE Armoured 0ar RomanianF Tiul 3+3)

DunnamedE Armoured 0ar RomanianF Tiul 3+736anatorul de 0are %aresal Tank /estroyer6anatorul de 0are R52) Tank /estroyerR"1 ARTILL-R TRA0T1Rweight !!! tons M ,rew !!! M armour !!!mm M seed !! km*hr M armament nil!

1ne hundred R"1 artillery tra,tors were in,luded in German arms shiments roided to Romaniandiisions (3:th N 3+th Inantry /iisionsF 3stF ;ndF 2rdF N 7th %ountain /iisionsF and 9th N +th 0aalry/iisions' stationed in the Kuan and the 0rimea in early 3+72M details on their suseuent seri,e arela,king!


22/41

R$""IA& AR%1$R(see also entries under "oiet Armour'

Romania inherited a ew armoured ,ars o Tsarist Russian origin at the end o World War 1ne! 8or detailson se,ii, models usedF see entries underO Austin5#utilo Armoured 0ar"/!K84! 3: ?AL8TRA0K

weight )!7 tons M ,rew ; 9 M armour nil M seed 9) km*hr M armament nil!The Royal Romanian ArmyHs 3st Armoured /iision re,eied nine o these haltra,ks rom Germany astows or their ),m #ak 2 antitank guns in the all o 3+7;! "eeral may hae een lost when that diisionwas irtually destroyed during the Battle o "talingrad in &oemer 3+7;F while others ,ontinued inseri,e or the rest o the war!"/!K84! 33 ?AL8TRA0Kweight

1 the twenty5si. German haltra,ks sulied to the Romanian 3st Armoured /iision in the all o 3+7;Feighteen 55 nine ea,h o the "d!K=! 3: and "d!K=! 33 models 55 sered as towing ehi,les with the/iisionHs Antitank Battalion! "d!K=! 33Hs towed the /iisionHs

eing lost as a result o the /iisionHs irtual destru,tion during the Battle o "talingrad in &oemer 3+7;Falthough enough suried to erorm similar duties when the /iision re,eied a do=en Resita>antitank guns later in the war!"/!K84! ;;; AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight 7! tons M ,rew 2 M armour mm M seed ) km*hr M armament one ;,m ,annon and one

In the se,ond hal o 3+7; Germany sulied Romania with a numer o these our5wheeled armoureds,out ,ars whi,h euied the re,onnaissan,e deta,hment o the Romanian 3st Armoured /iisionMA.worthy and &a=iger la,e their numer at tenF while 4aloga suggests some may hae een the radio5euied "d!K= ;;2 model (!!'! -ither wayF most were lost during the disastrous attle o "talingrad atthe end o 3+7;! As art o the arms shiments in,luded in the 1lienaum delieries eginning late in3+72F Germany romised another orty "d!K= ;;; armoured ,arsF most o whi,h may hae een re,eied

y July 3+77F although a numer were well5worn and arely seri,eale! The Royal Romanian Armyaears to hae oerated these ehi,les with armoured re,onnaissan,e deta,hments o the 3st Armoured

/iisionF seeral ,aalry diisionsF and ossily ,ors5leel re,onnaissan,e grous or the duration o thewarF in,luding notale a,tions around Bu,harest ollowing the ;2rd August 3+77 Armisti,e (the &i,ules,uArmoured /eta,hment ormed rom training elements had ie su,h ehi,les' as well as suseuentighting in northern TransylaniaF ?ungaryF and AustriaF with some ossily suriing into the ostwar era!"/!K84! ;;2 AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight 7!7 tons M ,rew 2 M armour ) to mm M seed ) km*hr M armament one

8orty o these German haltra,ks were sulied to Romania as art o the >1lienaum> rearmamentrogram rom &oemer 3+72 onF most (i not all' eing assigned to the Romanian 3st Armoured /iision!/etails on their suseuent seri,e are sket,hyM ie were in,luded with the /iisional re,onnaissan,e,omanyF while the others are resumed to hae oerated as troo ,arriers! Those not lost during heayighting in the summer o 3+77 remained in seri,e ollowing the Armisti,e o ;2rd August 3+77F

arti,iating in oerations against A.is or,es in northern TransylaniaF ?ungaryF 0=e,hosloakiaF andAustria u to Aril 3+7)F y whi,h time ew armoured ehi,les o any sort were let in Romanian hands!"/!K84! ;)3 ?A&1%AG ?AL8TRA0K


23/41

weight tons M ,rew ; 33 M armour 53)mm M seed )2 km*hr M armament two

The Romanian 3st Armoured /iision re,eied eight o these haltra,ks rom Germany shortly eore thedisastrous Battle o "talingrad in &oemer 3+7;F during whi,h mostF i not allF o these ehi,les were lost!Another twenty su,h haltra,ks were sulied to Romanian or,es oerating in the Kuan during the irst

art o 3+72F sering with me,hanised ormations in ,aalry diisionsM details on their suseuent seri,eare sket,hyF ut it is assumed wartime attrition may hae a,,ounted or many o themF although a ew werestill with the th 0aalry /iision in August 3+77! A inal at,h o twenty5seen ?anomag haltra,ks werein,luded in the 1lienaum arms shiments ,ommen,ing in "etemer 3+72M whether this igure wase.,lusie o the hal5do=en or so assault models known as the "d!K=!;)3*+ >"tummel> whi,h were alsosulied is not ,learF ut at least twenty were standard ?anomags! These sered with the re,onnaissan,eand motorised inantry deta,hments o the 3st Armoured /iision or the duration o the warF in,ludingollowing the ;2rd August 3+77 Armisti,eF with at least a ew arti,iating in oerations in 0=e,hosloakiaand Austria in the sring o 3+7)!"/!K84! ;)3*+ >"T$%%-L> A""A$LT ?AL8TRA0Kweight !) tons M ,rew 2 M armour ) to mm M seed )2 km*hr M armament one

4aloga reorts that a >small numer> o these haltra,ks armed with the short5arreled

Armoured /iisionF and the last ourF issued in August 3+77F with the )th 0aalry /iision! %ost aear tohae een lost in ighting during the summer o 3+77F with any suriing models roaly ,onis,ated ythe "oiets ollowing the ;2rd August 3+77 Armisti,e!"-&IL-TA %ALACA TI#$L $- 0ARRI-Rweight ;!< Dsi,SE tons M ,rew ; M armour 0henillette> tra,ked suly ,arrierF to sere as an all5terrain towing ehi,le or the ArmyHs new 7


24/41

The %ala.a ,arrier irst saw ,omat when two e.amles were literally drien o the a,tory loor ymemers o the as,ist Iron Guard during the aortie urising against the Antones,u regime in January3+73M the ,omat alue o these ehi,les may hae een limited y their la,k o armamentF though nodout they were no dout wel,omed y ill5armed Guardists or their sho,k alue in street ighting! Whetherthese air o ,arriers were destroyed in the ,ourse o ighting and their numers rela,ed rior to June 3+73

is not knownF ut as stated reiously a total o 3asaailale>' or the duration o the warF aleit in diminishing numers as attrition and attle losses took theirtoll! At least orty5two were lost during the disastrous Battle o "talingrad in 3+7; and others duringighting o the summer o 3+77F y whi,h time the %ala.a was s,heduled or rela,ement y the T53artillery tra,tor! "ome %ala.as are resumed to hae suried to arti,iate in oerations ollowing theAugust Armisti,eF ut details are la,king! Whether any %ala.a ,arriers suried the war is not ,learF asaailale Army lists ater 3+7; ail to in,lude them!"K1/A %;9 AR%1$R-/ 0AR/esignation aearing in a Romanian sour,e or what might e the 0=e,h "koda 1A =! ;< armoured ,ar!"K1/A 1A =! ;< AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight 9!) tons M ,rew ) M armour )5mm M seed 2) km*hr M armament two

Three 0=e,h armoured ,ars des,ried as "koda %;9Hs were interned y Romania ollowing the ?ungariananne.ation and o,,uation o Ruthenia in early 3+2+M rom the des,rition they may hae een 1A =! ;

rose,tie models rom oth 0K/ and "kodaF a ,onta,t was inally signed on 37th August 3+29 or theur,hase o 3;9 "koda "5II5a tanksF lus an otion on another 92F whi,h would enter Romanian seri,ewith the Army designation o R5;! As se,iied in the ,ontra,tF "koda deliered a rototye ma,hine in

January 3+2< ollowed y at,hes o eleen and our tanks in Aril and %ayF although rodu,tion demandsor,ed "koda to >orrow> these ehi,les rom an e.isting order romised to the 0=e,h Army!

These tanks underwent e.tensie trials with the Royal Romanian ArmyF e.erien,ing what may hae eenmore than the usual out o new ma,hine dee,ts eore eing inally returned (some in arely running,ondition' to "koda at the end o July 3+2! "tillF the Royal Romanian Army was leased with the

erorman,e o what now eing ,alled the R5; tankF so mu,h so that in August 3+2 they reuested anadditional ;: tanksM howeerF the stiulation that three5uarters were to e lo,ally assemled y theRomanian irm o %ala.aF whose dealings with "koda hadF as they sayF let a ad taste in the mouths o the0=e,hsF led "koda to de,line! "tillF rodu,tion delieries o the initial order ,ommen,ed in "etemer3+2F twenty5seen ma,hines eing re,eied eore the %uni,h 0risis la,ed a moratorium on armsdelieries rom the deensie5minded 0=e,hs! /elieries resumed in 1,toerF with Romania re,eiing the

alan,e o the original 3;9 R5; tanks soon aterF the last at,h o thirty arriing in 8eruary 3+2+! 8ormed

into two attalionsF these tanks euied the ArmyHs 3st Armoured Regiment whi,h y 3+73 had ,oales,edinto the 3st Armoured /iision!

The R5;s o the 3st Armoured /iision arti,iated in the inasion o the "oiet $nion in the summer o3+73F oerating in northern Bukoina andF ollowing the ,rossing o the #ruth RierF re,eied thedistin,tion o ighting the irst tank5to5tank engagement etween Romanian and "oiet or,es at the attleo Brin=eni on 7th July 3+73F during whi,h two "oiet T5; tanks were destroyed or the loss o a single R5;! 8urther ighting a,,ounted or some twenty R5;s lost y late AugustF with an eual numer renderedunseri,eale y me,hani,al reakdowns and ield attrition eore the /iision withdrew rom ront lineduty in 1,toer 3+73! By the end o the year twenty5si. R5;s had een irreo,aly lostF another si.ty


25/41

seriously damaged ut salageale (the Romanian Army remaining in ossession o the yearHs attleields'Fand most o the rest in need o reairF i not ,omlete oerhauls! ?er,ulean eorts on the art o Romanianmaintenan,e teams resulted in returning to seri,e eighty5three R5;s y the summer o 3+7;F althoughsimilar attemts at otaining rela,ements met with more limited su,,essF Germany eing either unwillingor unale to roide more than twenty5si. rather used #an=er 2)(t' tanks rom her own Army sto,ks!

By the end o August 3+7; the 3st Armoured /iision returned to rontline seri,e with 3:+ R5;s (or theirGerman euialentsF whi,h the Romanians ui,kly lumed together with their own R5; sto,k' on strength!0aught u in the disastrous Battle o "talingrad eginning in &oemer 3+7;F the 3st Armoured /iisionHsR5;s were ound to e hoelessly out,lassed y "oiet T527 tanksF hardly a surrise to those halessRomanian tankers who months reiously had witnessedF with no dout roound disillusionmentF theshells o their tanksH 2


26/41

weight 39!) tons M ,rew 7 M armour 39 to 2:mm M seed ): km*hr M armament one 7!Late in 3+2+ Romania aroa,hed the 0=e,h armaments irms o 0K/ and "koda with the intent ootaining numers o modern tank in order to ugrade its ArmyHs modest (i not outright osolete'armoured or,es! 8ollowing oer a year o trials and delierations and Romanian Army ordered ;39 "koda

"5II5, tanks in January 3+73 whi,h were to enter Romanian seri,e with the designation o R52M howeerFdesite eorts on the arts o "koda as well as the German and Romanian goernmentsF the order ailed tomaterialise due to insui,ient manua,turing ,aa,ities! Romania made another attemt to order ;< othese tanksF y now known y their manua,turerHs designation o T5;3F in June 3+73F only a ew days aterthe inasion o the "oiet $nion ,ommen,edF ut again the la,k o ne,essary a,ilities oth with "koda andnowF when the rose,t o li,ense5uilt rodu,tion aroseF RomaniaF and in the eent no tanks werere,eied!"K1/A T5;2 TA&Kweight 3 tons M ,rew 7 M armour to ):mm M seed 7) km*hr M armament one 7!In %ay 3+7; the Romanian goernment aroa,hed the 0=e,h arms irm o "koda with an oer tour,hase li,ensing rights or their T5;2 tankF an undetermined numer to e uilt y either the Resita or%ala.a industrial irms! While the 0=e,hs were eager to grant a li,enseF RomaniaHs inaility to roide thene,essary manua,turing ,aa,ity ui,kly resulted in the ,an,ellation o the roe,t with no tanks rodu,edor deliered!"16I-T AGRI0$LT$RAL TRA0T1RIn the ,ourse o the "oiet ArmyHs withdrawal rom southern Russia whi,h ollowed the A.is inasion othe "oiet $nion in June 3+73F oer hal o the agri,ultural tra,tors normally used on lo,al ,olle,tie arms(or kolkho=s' were either wre,ked or ea,uated! -orts on the art o the 8ord Romana 0omanysu,,eeded in re5oening the GI&A# agri,ultural ma,hinery lant in 1dessa ater that ,ity ell to adan,ingRomanian or,es in the autumn o 3+73F allowing the o,,uation administration or the region oTransnistria to re,oer and suseuently seri,e many o the tra,tors let ehindF and y mid53+72 someseenty o the %a,hine Tra,tor "tations (or %T"' in the region were a,k in oeration! /esite theseeortsF and the ur,hase o hundreds o tra,tors rom GermanyF Transnistrian harests were handi,aed

y ,hroni, shortages o su,h ma,hinesF urther aggraated when late in 3+7; no ewer than 3F


27/41

With the Armisti,e o ;2 August 3+77 Romania returned to the Allied #owersF ut the ossiility o "oiet5sulied tanks during this time remains in doutF although su,h shiments e,ame reality in the ostwarera! 8or details on se,ii, models see entries underO

"oiet Agri,ultural Tra,torBA "eries o Armoured 0ars (BA59F BA53:F BA5;:F BA5;


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rom the 3st Armoured /iisionHs training deot! "useuent ighting in northern TransylaniaF ?ungaryF0=e,hosloakia and Austria resulted in the loss o nearly all TAHs in Romanian seri,e desitereinor,ements o a handul o ,atured "tuG IIIHs re,eied rom the "oiet Army at this time! Withre,oery and salage eorts ,ondu,ted at the end o the warF thirty5one TAHs returned to Romanian strengthto sere into the ostwar era!"T45&ATI TRA0T1R

weight !!! tons M ,rew !!! M armour nil M seed !!! km*hr M armament nilAs the most ,ommon model o "oiet agri,ultural tra,tors in seri,e oth rior to and during World WarTwoF "T45&ATI tra,tors roaly ,omrised the maority o the thousands o agri,ultural tra,tors ,atured

y the adan,ing Romanian Army in 3+73 and suseuently imressed into seri,e with the o,,uationauthorities o Transnistria and erhas indiidual Army ormations or the duration o the war!"T4 >1/-""A> TRA0T1Rweight!!! tons M ,rew N a,,omodation !! !! M armour !!! mm M seed!! km*hr M armament !!!!

8ourteen o these "oiet5uilt ehi,les were listed y A.worthy as eing in Romanian Army seri,e as o3st &oemer 3+7;F although he is un,lear as to details regarding se,ii, modelsM i!e! whether these wereartillery tra,tors su,h as the "T452 Komsomolyets or lo,ally rodu,ed agri,ultural tra,tors along the linesFthere eing a tra,tor lant lo,ated in 1dessa!

1n the other handF these may reer to the &I D&a Isug or Terroriser TankE 1dessa tra,tors ,onerted y the"oiets into tanks with lo,al armour lateF ma,hine guns and 2A numer o these "oiet armoured artillery tra,tors were ,atured y Romanian or,es during the initial

stages o the inasion o the "oiet $nion in 3+73F ollowed y a ew more in the irst hal o 3+7;F withthirty5si. aearing on Army seri,e rosters y &oemer 3+7;! $nlike the maority o ,atured "oietarmoured ehi,les whose me,hani,al reliaility and la,k o sare arts resulted in limited seri,eF thesetra,torsF similar in design to agri,ultural tra,tors ,atured in large uantities and seri,ed y lants oth in1dessa and RomaniaF remained oerational in Romanian seri,e or the duration o the war!

Beginning in the summer o 3+72F suriing Komosomolyets tra,tors were ,onerted y Romania into"enileta 8ord Ruses, de 0atura Tra,tor!T53 TRA0T1Rweight !!! tons M ,rew !!! M armour !!! mm M seed !!! km*hr M armament!!!!!

In 3+77 Romania designed a ully5tra,ked artillery tra,tor ased on ,atured "oiet "T4 agri,ulturaltra,tors (!!' to sere as an all5terrain towing ehi,le or the new


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T5;3 TA&Kmanua,turerHs designation or the "koda "5II5, TankT5;2 TA&Ksee under "koda T5;2 TankT5;9 TA&Kweight 3:!) tons M ,rew 2 M armour 95;)mm M seed 2: km*hr M armament one 7)mm ,annon and one

&oemer 3+7;! As su,hF it is ossile these T5;0henillette> tra,ked ,arrier (!!'!T5; TA&Kweight ; tons M ,rew 9 M armour 3:52:mm M seed 2< km*hr M armament one "eeral o these "oiet multi5turretted tanks were ,atured y the Romanian Army in the summer o 3+73Ftwo still in seri,e as o &oemer 3+7;! Their inal disosition is unknownF ut it is likely they werewithdrawn as unseri,eale and s,raed y 3+77!T527 TA&Kweight ;9 tons M ,rew 7 M armour 3)57)mm M seed )) km*hr M armament one While the Royal Romanian ArmyHs irst en,ounter with this "oiet medium tankF argualy one o the esttanks o World War TwoF may hae een in late 3+73F the irst inta,t model to e ,atured y Romaniantroos dates rom %ay 3+7;F when the Romanian 6I Army 0ors re,oered an aandoned T527 at the endo the aortie "oiet Kharko oensie! Two su,h tanks were in Romanian hands as o 3st &oemer3+7;F y whi,h time the T527Hs ,lear sueriority oer anything in the Romanian arsenal was well knownM airing demonstration against a ,atured tank in 1,toer showed the 2


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are either instan,es o ehi,les ,atured during ighting or else sulied while Romania sered as a "oietally ollowing the ;2rd August 3+77 Armisti,e! A.worthy reers to hal a do=en "oiet tanks ,atured ineither damaged or roken5down ,onditions during Romanian ,ounteratta,ks along the old Romanian5"oietrontier etween ;th %ay and (although in this ,ase the soldiersH headgear is

lainly "oiet in origin'! -en 8oleyHs a,,ount o German ,ommandoes assing or >Red Rumanians>

aears to hae een garledF or GirgHs iniltration teamF while oerating seeral ,atured "oiet tanksF isdes,ried as eing disguised as a Red Army inse,tion attalion a,,ording to 1tto "kor=eny in his ook% 01%%A&/1 1#-RATI1&"O T?- %-%1IR" 18 ?ITL-RH" %1"T /ARI&G 01%%A&/1(AtglenO ",hier #ulishing LtdF 3++)F ,3+Tudor 6ladimires,u> was


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reormed as an armoured diision at the end o the warF with the >?oriaF 0los,a si 0risan> e,omingmotorised shortly thereaterF ut the 3at leastone> armouredF and one or more motorised' and two rigadesF lus another 3::F::: se,urity troosF andwas ,redited y T?- "TAT-"%A&H" -AR B11K as ossessing no ewer than 7:: tanks! In Ale.andre0ret=ianuHs 0A#TI6- R$%A&IAO A /-0A/- 18 "16I-T R$L- (8rederi,k A! #raegerF ,3+)9'Romanian tank strength y 3+)2 was uite imressieF ,omrising two armoured diisions o two hundredtanks ea,h lus a tank attalion atta,hed to ea,h o the ArmyHs si. inantry diisionsF while the date or re5euiing with "oiet and 0=e,h (and later -ast German' war materiel is gien as eginning in the sring

o 3+7!

In the inal analysisF thereoreF use o the T5275) tank y elements o the Royal Romanian Armed 8or,esremains tentatieF oth in the orm o seeral e.amles ossily ,atured in the early summer o 3+77F aswell as a small numer whi,h may (ut may not' hae een sulied near in the end o the warF eitherinstan,eF i indeed trueF eing rom an oerational iewoint leeting at est!T52< TA&Kweight 2!; tons M ,rew ; M armour 25+mm M seed 2) km*hr M armament one

A numer o these small amhiious tanks deeloed y the "oiet Army during the 3+2:Hs were ,aturedy adan,ing Romanian troos in the summer o 3+73F while others may hae een ,atured in the 0rimeain early 3+7;! "imilar in erorman,e to the R53 sering with Romanian ,aalry ormationsF ,atured T52


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T52 TA&KRomanian designation or the 0=e,h5uilt German #an=er 2(t'T57: TA&Kweight )!+ tons M ,rew ; M armour

A air numer o these "oiet light tanks were ,atured y the Romanian Army in the summer o 3+73 andsring o 3+7;! $nlike the maority o "oiet tanks ,atured y Romania during the warF the T59: ,ould ereadily seri,ed y the nationHs modest industrial a,ilities as the T59:Hs GA4 ;:; engine was essentially ali,ense5uilt ,oy o the /odge /eretto58argo 8!?!; motor eing rodu,ed as ower lants or ,ommer,ialtra,tors in oth Germany and Romania! This seri,eaility ,omined with an out,lassed ;:mm ,annonmade the thirty5odd T59:Hs on hand rime ,andidates or ,onerting into sel5roelled gunsF and eginningin &oemer 3+7; all aailale ehi,les were so ,onertedF the last eing ,omleted y the end o 3+72M4alogaHs arti,le on Romanian armour suggests that some o the T59:Hs ,onerted may hae een otainedrom German sto,ks rather than dire,tly ,atured rom the "oietsF ut this is not ,lear! 8or urther detailson this ,onersionF see entry under TA0A% T59:! 1ne T59: tank ,hassis was also used in the assemly othe rototye or the >%aresal (!!' tank destroyer during the irst hal o 3+72F while T59: ,omonentswere also used in as many as ie additional suseuent model ariations and trials ehi,les in the>%aresal> series later in the war!T595R ARTILL-R TRA0T1Rweight

Romania ordered a ;;3 o these ully5tra,ked artillery tra,tors rom the 0=e,hosloak manua,turers o0K/ N B%% in 3+2


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TA0A% R5;weight 3; tonsM ,rew 2 M armour 3;5;)mm M seed ;) to 2: km*hrM armament one 8ollowing his su,,ess with the deeloment o the TA0A% T59: (!!'F Lo,otenent 0olonel DLieutenant0olonelE 0onstantin Ghiulai was assigned the task o ugrading the ArmyHs woeully5out,lassed R5; tanksM

i!e! the 0=e,h5uilt "koda "5II5a (!!' with a similar ,onersion! Beginning in /e,emer 3+7;F seeralmonths o design work eentually rodu,ed lans or remoing the R5;s turret and itting a ,atured "oiet


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easily seri,eale ower lant (the GA4 ;:; engine o the T59: was a li,ensed model o the /odge/eretto58argo 8!?!; motor in use with assorted agri,ultural tra,tors in oth Germany and Romania'F whilealso eing a tank o limited ,omat alue whose withdrawal rom seri,e would not adersely ae,t Armyoerations!

Assemly o a rototye ehi,le at the Leonida 8a,tory in Bu,harest egan in &oemer 3+7;F with initial

trials ,omleted y mid5January o the ollowing year! -ssentiallyF the turret o the T59: was remoed witha three5sided oen5toed ,omartment made rom 3)mm armour lates salaged rom unseri,eale,atured BT5< tanks en,losing the aout ten> Tatra 1A =! 2:'F and A.worthy an assortment othirteen in,luding two >unidentiied TatraHs>! #ending urther erii,ationF the rose,t o one or erhastwo additional Tatra armoured ,ars in Romanian hands in 3+2+ must remain se,ulatie!TATRA 1A =! 2: AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight 2!9 tons M ,rew 2 M armour 259mm M seed 9: km*hr M armament two

8ollowing the ?ungarian anne.ation o Ruthenia rom the "loak Reuli, in %ar,h 3+2+F seeral "loakmilitary ormations ,hose internment in neighoring Romania oer ,atureF their euiment suseuently

eing imressed into Romanian seri,e! Among this loot were nine Tatra 1A =!2: armoured ,arsF a lightlyarmed si.5wheeled ehi,le o some modest ,omat alue! /etails on their seri,e in Romanian hands arelimited and somewhat ,onli,tingM A.worthy suggests they sered with Army re,onnaissan,e deta,hmentsthough or how long is not knownF and may hae re,eied the designation %;< while in Romanian seri,e(erhas a transosition o TatraHs original manua,turerHs designation o T5


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until 3+77 (4aloga also la,es their numer at >aout ten>'! As aailale sour,es or the ,omosition o the0ondu,atorHs Bodyguard Regiment make no mention o any armoured ,arsF only a ew Renault 8T tanksFurther erii,ationF or at least more ,larii,ationF is ,ertainly needed!TK*TK" TA&K-TT-weight ;!


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weight 3!; tons M ,rew ) M armour 375):mm M seed 7< km*hr M armament one 7,m or one

In the ,ourse o ighting in northern Transylania during the all o 3+77F the Romanian Army ,aturedF ormore likely re,oered rom aandoned attleieldsF a ew o these ?ungarian tanks 55 whether earlierF 7,m 5armed models or e.amles o the later ersion with its

more likely 55 and while their dereli,t ,ondition suggests any suseuent Romanian seri,e to hae eenleeting i at allF y this stage o the war the Romanian Army was so hard5ressed or armour o any sort(een resorting to using thirty year5old Renault 8THs' that een remotely oerale TuranHs were roalyimressed into seri,e! I any suried to the end o the warF they were no dout ,onis,ated with all otherA.is euiment y RomaniaHs "oiet allies5,um5masters!D$&&A%-/E AR%1$R-/ 0AR 8R-&0?weight !!!! tons M ,rew !!!! M armour !!!! mm M seed !!!! km*hr M armament !!!! !!!! 0row reorts that Romaniaattemted to ur,hase orty armoured ,ars rom 8ran,e in 3+39 ut wartime ,onditions reented theirdeliery! /etails are la,king as to se,ii, modelsF and sin,e they were neer re,eiedF the mystery o theiridentity would seem an a,ademi, issue at est!D$&&A%-/E AR%1$R-/ 0AR R1%A&IA&F TI#$L 3+3)weight !!!! tons M ,rew !!!! M armour !!!! mm M seed !!!! km*hr M armament one !!!! mm ,annon and two !!!! mmma,hine guns

In 3+3) Romania rodu,edF in at least rototye ormF an armoured ,ar ,onerted rom a lated,ommer,ial tru,k! /es,ried as haing large5soked wheels with solid tiresF this ehi,le was itted with a

edestal mounting that ,arried a ,annon and two heay ma,hine guns ,aale o oth antiair,rat andground5leel ire! AlasF the ultimate ate or what was RomaniaHs ery irst armoured ighting ehi,le isunknown!D$&&A%-/E AR%1$R-/ 0AR R1%A&IA&F TI#$L 3+73weight !!!! tons M ,rew !!!! M armour !!!! mm M seed !!!! km*hr M armament one 2$rsus>!6AL-&TI&- %k IIIweight 3

8our 6alentinesF sulied to the "oiets y Britain ia Lend5Lease and suseuently ,atured y theRomanian ArmyF were among the orty5odd tanks ea,uated rom the 0rimea y Romania in %ar,h 3+77!/etails as to their ,ondition and ossile seri,e are la,kingF ut y this stage they had een ,onsigned tostati, antitank training duties!6A&AT1R$L /- 0AR- %AR-"AL TA&K /-"TR1-Rweight 9!7 to 9!< tons (%5:: to %5:2'F 3: tons (%5:7 N %5:)'F !!!tons (%5:9' M ,rew ; (2 or %5:9' Marmour ;:52:mm (%5:: to %5:2'F 3:5;:mm(%5:7 to %5:9' M seed !!! km*hr (all models' M armament one

3;;mm howit=er(%5:: to %5:2'F one

In ,onun,tion with the TA0A% series o sel5roelled guns authorised late in 3+7;F the Royal RomanianArmyHs General "ta also ,ommissioned a resear,h team headed y %aor &i,olae Anghel and 0aitanD,atainE -ngineer Gheorghe "amotin to deelo a new heaily5armoured tank destroyerF ideally romoriginal or indigenous designs rather than an adatation o any e.isting ehi,le! With the assistan,e o othLo,otenent 0olonel Dlieutenant ,olonelE 0onstantin Ghiulai and the dire,ting engineer o the %ala.a Dlaterrenamed RogierE 8a,toryF Radu 6eresF the irst rototyeF utilising the ,hassis o a ,atured "oiet T59:light tank itted with a heaily5armoured tortoise5like suerstru,ture en,asing a %3+:7*3+2: 3;;mm


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howit=er o 3; ,alier length (another ,atured "oiet weaon' with a ,o5a.ially mounted

Initial ,on,erns or this unorthodo. designF rimarily whether the weighty suerstru,tureF with its eight tonearly twele in,h thi,k armour lateF mightF when ,ouled with the re,oil rom su,h a large5orearmamentF li the ehi,le on its sideF roed groundlessF although tests soon showed the T59:Hs original

ower lant to e rather underowered (test irings also sheered o some o the gunHs mounting oltsF whilethe heaily5loaded susension oten resulted in tra,k sliageF ut these ,ould e ,orre,ted'F and additionalrototyes o what was now oi,ially designated as the 6anatorul de 0are %aresal or %aresal Tank/estroyer (named or %aresalF or %arshal Ion Antones,uF who had ersonally en,ouraged the roe,t'were ordered!

$nder the dire,tion o what was known as >% "ta>F three rototyes designated %5:3 to %5:2 (theoriginal ehi,le was now known as %5::'F were assemled and resented or testing y mid51,toer 3+72!These three trials ehi,les resemled the original rototye ut in,ororated su,h imroements as weldedarmour latesF a more owerul (3;: as oosed to ) horseower' engineF and a ,hassis modiied to e

oth longer and wider then the original T59: tank so as to etter a,,ommodate oth the in,reased weightload and e.,essie howit=er re,oil! As with the irst rototyeF the ,rew was limited to two memersF andwhile erorman,e during testing roed more than adeuateF use o the "oiet 3;;mm howit=er or mainarmament was ,umersome at est (and stowage or the oersi=ed hollow5,harge shells ery limited'F

romting a reision in armamentF and at a demonstration ,ondu,ted or %aresal Antones,u at "uditi on;2rd 1,toer 3+72 one o the memers o >% "ta>F Lo,otenent 0olonel #aul /raghies,uF en,ouragedusing the new %3+72


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hundred %aresals until 3 &oemer 3+77F with the remaining eight hundredF e.e,ted to in,ororateurther imroements and modii,ations as determined y tests o the as5yet uninished %5:9 rototyeFs,heduled to ,ommen,e sometime in January 3+7)! The Allied inasion o 8ran,e in the summer o 3+77also rought an end to the rose,t o any ?ot,hkiss engines eing delieredF although y now Germaninterest was su,h that they oered sulies o 0=e,h5uilt engines o een greater ower (39: andugraded ;;: horseower si=es' as a sustitute! Testing o the arious %aresal rototyes together with

rearations or series rodu,tion ro,eeded into the summer o 3+77F the %5:) su,,essully ,omletingtrials until the eents surrounding the ;2rd August 3+77 Armisti,e rought an arut end to German5Romanian ,ollaoration!

Limited rogress on the %aresal roe,t ,ontinued or seeral monthsF in,luding urther tests o the %5:)(inal status o the %5:9 model is un,learF ut it does not aear to hae een inished' and the ten "eries :ehi,les ro,eeding to an adan,ed stage o assemly whenF on ;9th 1,toer 3+77 RomaniaHs new "oietally romtly ,onis,ated all e.isting models as well as most o the design work and any uninished,omonents! At least one %aresal rototye is rumored to surie in "oiet ,atiityF erF storageF ut hasyet to aear with any museum dislay!

In the summer o 3+77 Germany e.ressed interest in the %aresal tank destroyerF een roosing therodu,tion o seeral do=en euied with 2!


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the 6i,kers 6alentineF seeral o whi,h areF howeerF identiied y name in that same 3+77 shiment! The"oiets also re,eied %atildas and 0hur,hills ia Lend5LeaseF while their own T5;9 was ased on the6i,kers 9 ton light tankM stillF the origin o these nineteen >6i,kers> remains unknown!w=! 27 >$R"$"> AR%1$R-/ 0ARweight ;!7 tons M ,rew ; M armour 95mm M seed !! km*hr M armament one 20rowHs ook on armoured ,ars suggests that a ew o these light our5wheeled armoured ,ars manua,turedy #oland in the mid53+2:Hs may hae een in,luded with #olish Army elements interned in Romania atthe end o "etemer 3+2+ and suseuently imressed into seri,e with the Royal Romanian ArmyMhoweerF details and urther ,onirmation are la,king A.worthyF or e.amle makes no mention o any$rsus armoured ,ars in Romanian seri,e!

1n the other handF Bararski (,ited under #1LI"? AR%1$R' tells o an armoured ,ar o the #olishArmyHs Training 0enter whi,h rea,hed the #olish5Romanian rontier only to e ushed into a gorge y its,rew when the terrain roed imassaleF while 4alogaHs arti,le on Romanian armour leaes the door

romanian armour in world war two

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