Polish tanks 1939
Inspection of tanks and crews before the war.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://ww2incolor.com/gallery/polish-forces/41921/polish-tanks-1939
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://ww2incolor.com/gallery/polish-forces/41921/polish-tanks-1939
These are, I think, Polish-manufactured 7TP light tanks, a Polish variant developed from the British-made Vickers 6-Ton Tank, of which the Polish Army (unlike the British) was a purchaser. Bizarrely enough, the first Polish variant, the 7TP 1, was a two-turret model (must have been a tight fit for the 3-man crew). This was quickly displaced by the single-turret 7TP 2, mounting a 37mm Bofors gun as main armament and with maximum (rivetted) armour thickness of some 17mm. This was in turn displaced from production (in 1937) by the 7TP 3, which mounted a Bofors 37mm high-velocity antitank gun in a modified, Swedish-built turret, a new, more powerful engine and significantly heavier (welded) armour. As a result of this evolution, the 7TP 3 weighed in at about 11.2 Kg, as compared with the 7.2 Kg of the Vickers "6-Ton".
The 7TP 2 and 3 models were very respectable tanks by 1939 standards. Either was at least the match, tank for tank, of any of the light tanks in German service at the time, and the “3” type in particular (of which Poland had some 160 in 1939) was deserving of respect from any opposing Panzer. Unfortunately for Poland, the employment of these vehicles in small units - or even singly - as infantry support gave them little opportunity to show their full merit, as it left them highly vulnerable to German antitank guns and general artillery and, where they occurred, massed attacks by the Panzers. Interesting 'photo. Best regards, JR.