| 44M Tas | |
|---|---|
| Type | Medium / Heavy tank |
| Place of origin | Kingdom of Hungary |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Kingdom of Hungary |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Weiss Manfréd Works |
| Designed | 1943 |
| Manufacturer | Weiss Manfréd Works |
| Produced | 1943–1944 |
| No. built | 2 prototypes (unfinished) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 38 tonnes (37 long tons; 42 short tons)[1] |
| Length | 9.2 m (30 ft 2 in) gun forward[1] |
| Width | 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in)[1] |
| Height | 3 m (9 ft 10 in)[1] |
| Crew | 5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)[2] |
| Armor | 20–120 mm (0.79–4.72 in) |
Main armament | Intended production armament: 1 × 80 mm 29/44M L/58 tank gun[2] Prototype armament: 1 × 7.5 cm 43.M tank gun[2] |
Secondary armament | 2 × 8 mm Gebauer 1934/40A M machine gun |
| Engine | 2 × 8 cylinder gasoline Weiss Manfréd Z-V8H-4 2 × 260 hp (2 × 195 kW) for a total of 520 hp (390 kW)[1] |
| Power/weight | 13.68 hp/ton |
| Suspension | two-wheel leaf spring bogies with shock absorbers |
Operational range | 200 km (120 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 45 km/h (28 mph) |
The 44M Tas was a Hungarian heavy tank/medium tank design of World War II. It was developed to combat heavily armored Soviet tanks encountered on the Eastern Front and to replace the older Turán I and Turán II tanks which Hungary operated, modernising Hungary's armoured forces. The Tas somewhat resembled the German Panther tank in terms of both looks and capabilities. It was to be well armored – up to 120 mm thick and with sloped armor. The main armament would likely have been a Hungarian built heavily modified anti-tank version of the 80 mm Bofors AA gun. The only prototypes built were destroyed when the Americans bombed the Weiss Manfréd factory in July 1944.