| 43M Zrínyi II | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 43M Zrínyi II inKubinka Tank Museum | |
| Type | Assault gun |
| Place of origin | Kingdom of Hungary |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1943–1945 |
| Used by | Kingdom of Hungary |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Manfréd Weiss |
| Designed | 1942 |
| Manufacturer | Manfréd Weiss,Ganz |
| Produced | 1943–1944 |
| No. built | 72 (43M Zrínyi II) |
| Variants | 43M Zrínyi II 44M Zrínyi I |
| Specifications (Zrínyi II) | |
| Mass | 21.6t |
| Length | 5.90 m (19 ft 4 in) |
| Width | 2.99 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armour | 13–75 mm (0.51–2.95 in) |
Main armament | 40/43M 105 mm MÁVAG L/14 or L/20.5 howitzer 52 rounds |
| Engine | Manfréd Weiss Z-V8H-4 8 cylinder 260 hp |
| Power/weight | 12 hp/t |
| Fuel capacity | 445 l |
Operational range | 220 km (140 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 43 km/h (27 mph) |
The43M Zrínyi II was aHungarianassault gun ofWorld War II based on theTurán medium tank chassis. The Zrínyi assault gun was used to fight against the Soviets on theEastern Front and in thedefence of Hungary and it was quite a successful vehicle.
The Zrínyi's development process started in 1942; after the Hungarian delegation had the chance to witness the success of theStuG III Ausf. F armed with a long75 mm anti-tank gun or short105 mm howitzer.[1]
Hungary attempted to negotiate with Germany to try to acquireStuG IIIs. However, they could only receive a fraction of what they needed, and started to design a similar vehicle of their own.[2]
Following the success ofassault guns on the Eastern Front, the situation required the fastest way possible to start the production of a vehicle of the same role. The engineers at theManfréd Weiss Works decided to use the base of theTurán tank as it was a proven, solid chassis already in use in theHungarian army.[3] Proving the Turán tank was a successful armament.
As for the armament, both a first variant mounting the long-barrelled 43M 75 mm anti-tank gun (which was still in development), and another version equipped with the40M 105 mm MÁVAG howitzer which was compatible with theleFH 18's ammunition was considered.[1]
The hull of theTurán was made wider and higher to make space to house the large caliber cannon, with the front armor being reinforced to a total thickness of 75 mm.[1]
The first variant would become the44M Zrínyi I armed with the 43M 75 mm gun and 100 mm frontal armor, being accepted for service in 1944, and the later one resulted in the43M Zrínyi II. The Zrínyi II was armed with a short barrel (14 or 20.5 calibers)105 mm MÁVAG 40/43M howitzer.[4] The Zrínyi II's design was a traditional infantry support vehicle, while the Zrínyi I was hoped to fulfill ananti-tank role.[5]
After the successful army trials in December 1942, themilitary leadership ordered 40 Zrínyi IIs. These were finished until the end of 1943. In January 1944, 50 more vehicles were ordered, 20 of these rolled out of the factories between March and July.[1]
On July 27, after 6 new Zrínyis were finished in the morning,factory was hit by a bombing raid, which resulted in its collapse. Around 20 semi-finished Zrínyi 105s were saved and at least 6 of them were rebuilt byGanz. A total number of 7243M Zrínyi IIs were delivered to the armored units leastwise.[1]
The 43M Zrínyis were sent to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd assault battalions, and mainly fought inGalicia in the summer of 1944 against the massive Soviet offensive.[5] They also fought in thedefence of Hungary from late 1944 to early 1945.
Several Zrínyi IIs were captured by theUSSR during the Soviet occupation of Hungary, one was also captured byRomania during October 1944, but it was later confiscated by theRed Army.[6]
There is only one surviving Zrínyi II in theKubinka Tank Museum nearMoscow.
Media related toZrinyi (self-propelled gun) at Wikimedia Commons