LT vz. 34

LT vz. 34
TypeLight tank
Place of originCzechoslovakia
Service history
In service1934—1944
Used byCzechoslovakia
Slovak Republic
Kingdom of Hungary
WarsSlovak National Uprising
Production history
DesignerČKD
Designed1932—1934
ManufacturerČKD
Produced1934—1935
No. built50 + 1 prototype
Specifications
Mass7.5 t (7.4 long tons; 8.3 short tons)
Length4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
Width2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Height2.22 m (7 ft 3 in)
Crew3

Armor8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in)
Main
armament
37 mm (1.5 in) ÚV vz. 34 gun
Secondary
armament
2 x 7.92 mm (0.312 in) ZB vz. 35 machine guns
Engine4-cylinder, water-cooled Praga
62.5 hp (46.6 kW)
Transmission4 x 1
Suspensionleaf spring
Fuel capacity129 L (34 US gal)
Operational
range
160 km (99 mi)
Maximum speed 30 km/h (19 mph)

The LT vz. 34, formally designated as Lehký tank vzor 34 ("Light Tank Mark 34") was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Slovakia during World War II. Its suspension was based on that of the Carden-Loyd tankette, of which the Czechs had purchased three, plus a manufacturing license, in 1930. Dissatisfied with the prototypes of the Tančík vz. 33 tankette, the Czech Army decided that it would be easier to design a light tank from scratch rather than modify a tankette's chassis to carry a fully rotating armored turret. 50 were built, the last of which was delivered during 1936, of which the Germans captured 22 - including the prototype, when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939, but they promptly scrapped them. The Slovaks seized the remaining 27 when they declared independence from Czechoslovakia at the same time. In Slovak service it only saw combat during the Slovak National Uprising.