Armoured Units and Vehicles in Croatia During WWII, Part II: Axis Armoured Vehicles from April 1941 to September 1943

130 Pages·2008·23.86 MB·English

by  Dinko Predoević

Dink o Predoevit
,/
KLOPNEP OSTROJBUE
N RATUU HRVATSKOJ
mwff.i ffiffi
okfopnav ozilas ilao sovineo d travnja1 941.d o rujna 1943.
ARMOUREDU NITSA ND VEHICLESIN
CROATIAD URINGW W II
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Axis armoured vehiclesf rom April I g4I to Sepfemb er I g43
adumiT - DIGITAL PoINT TISKARA
Riieka2. 008.
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BibliotekHaR VATSRKAAT NPAO VIJEI SCTR OATIAWNA RH STORBYo okS eries
Knjiga6 I BookN o 6
DinkoP redoevi(
OKLOPNVAO ZILAI OKLOPNPEO STROJBUE D RUGOMS VJETSKON/
RATUU HRVATSKOII JD, IO
Oklopnvao zilas ilao sovinoed travnja1 941. d o rujna1 943.
ARMOUREDU NITSA ND VEHICLEISN CROATIAD URINGW W II,
PARTII
Axisa rmouredv ehiclefsr omA pril 1941t o Septembe1r9 43
Uredni5tvboib liotek/e B ookS erieEs ditors:
DanijeFlr kaV, ojislaJve rebD, inkoP redoevi(
lzdavatIi P ublishers:
Adamiid ,oo CroatiaR, ijekaZ,v onimirov2a0 a
tel ++3855 16 501 45w, ww adamic.hr
Digitapl ointt iskarda o o , CroatiaV,i ikovoM, arielj8i 5
tel.+ [phone]w, ww.digitahl r
Zai zdavaieI F ort he publishers:
FranlBo utorac
Cedoll ii
Prijevonda englesk/ iT ranslatebdy
Vo|slavle reb, NenadS etinaS, ilvijaS etinap, rof.
Lekturai k orektur(ah rvatsk)ei zikI) Croatialna nguageed itinga nd
correctton:
DejanD urii
Karte/ Lrnea nd colord rawings:
BorisG reguri(
Grafiikou redenjek,o mpjutorsokbar adai t isak/
Graphica ndA rt Desingp, reparationa ndp rint: Na naslovnici:
Digitapl ointt iskarda o o.,V i5kovo Dana2 1 oZujka1 9 43 godinen a aerodromuR ajlovakcr ajS arajevsam otru
njemaikihp ostrolbki ojes u udestvovalue p othvatu" Weiss"t zvriioj e drZavni
tajniku Ministarstvduo mobranstvag eneraVl ilkoB egii Uz generalaB ergiia
u voziluH orh 15001 ei zapovjedni3k6 9 legionarskdet vrzijeM otornav ozila
02008D inkoP redoevii legionarskih vizijas u uobiialenon a..Qlatobranvuo zilai malah rvatskgi rb
Ail rghtsr eserueNd o pafto f thtsp ublicatiomn ayb e reproducedst,o redin a retriva (HPM,Z agre \
systemo r trasmtt ed in anyf orm by meanse ectricaml, echanicoarl otheryisew,i thout
w'irlenp erms siono I rhep ubr,sher. On front page:
On 21 March 1942 the NDH general Vilko Bdgi( reviewed units involved in
the Operation "Weiss" ltned up on the RailoVaca rrpoft near Sarajevo. He
reviewed units from Horch 1500 that belonge( to the commander of 369th
Legionary Division. Vehicleso f Legionary Divisrfinsu sually had Croattan coat
of arms painted on the mudguard (HPM Zagreb)
Ukoljkoim atez animljivmiha terijalsal,i kovniihli t ekstualniihz, b ilok oleg )11. t L\
ratnogp eriodas ovih naiih podruijaz, aito ne podijelitsi namat e
materilarl ep omoiin amd a objavimoov akvuil ij oi bo{juk njiguo tome
u buduinosti?S vakmr ateljalk oji nam poial.Jetkeo pirati emo t vratt
!
u onginalnoomb likuA utorif otografilad,o kumenatiali tekstovbar t ce
naznaienuik oliksoe t o objaviS vojep rilogem oietes latni a:
Uredniitvboi bliotekHe RVATSKRAA TNAP OVUEST CIP-K atalogizacui pjau blikaci
Adamidi o o, Zvonimor2a0 a,R ijekaH,r vatska SVEUCILISNAK NJIZNiCAN IITTN
tel.+ [phone]w, ww.adamihcr UDK6 23 438(4975 )"1939/1945"
PREDOEVDICin,k o
lf you havea ny materialp,h otographoicr textualf,r om any period Oklopnav ozilai oklopnep ostrojbeu Drugoms qetskomr atu
concerninwga re ventisn t hesete rritoriewsh, yn ots hareth emw lthu sa nd u Hrvatsko-j Armouredu nitsa ndv ehicleisn Croatiad uringW W
helpu st o makes imilaor r evenb etterb ook in thef utureA nym aterial ll / DinkoP redoevii;p rijevodn a engleskit,r anslatedb y Volislav
Jereb <et al > - Rileka: "Adami( : DigitalP ointt iskara2, 002
sentt o usw illb ec opieda ndt heo riginarle turnedT hed onorw illb ef ully - (BibliotekHar vatskraa tnap ovijest3; )
credjtefdo r anym ateriaul sedP leassee ndt hemt o:
HRVATSKRAA TNAP OVUESboTo ks eries Teksut sporedon a hrv i nae ngl leziku
Adamidt o o , Zvonimiro2v0aa ,R ijekaC,r oatiaE,u rope
ISBN9 53-291- 088-0( Adamii')
tel ++3855 '16 501 80w, wwadamich r
Dio2 : Oklopnvao zilas ilao sovinoed travnja1 941d o rulna1 943
Namjerai cilj izdavanlab ibLlotekHe RVATSKRAI \TNAP OVUESjeT prrkaziranlc : Axisa rmouredv ehiclesfr om april 1941I o septembe1r 943
povrjesniirhn ;enicua riledii sliciv, ezanjhu z ratovei vojskeu kojimaje sudjelovao - 2008
hrvatsknia rodi l kqi su se doticalhi rvatskiphr ostoraN i u kojems uiaju namjera
autoraI izdavadnai jed av elidaid, ealizirilaio pravdavnait ij ednud eologijiu1 pi olitiiku
111109085
onjentacUu
hr.-
.ARMOUREDU NITS AND VE'IICI.Es/ 'V CROA$A DUfiIIUGU I/U'|T/
ZAHVALA
Ovomp rilrkomZe limz ahvalistiv imak ojis us vojimm ateri-
jalimar,a doms, avjetimia p odrikomp omoglui izradoi ve
knjigea, posebnVo ojislavJue rebuN, enaduS etinii profe-
soricSi ilviSji etinaza t rudo kop rijevodtae kstan ae ngleski
jezikt,e BorisuG reguriiun a izradpi ovijesno-geografskih
karatau knjizi.
Ve(inus likovnogm atrijalap ribavios am u muzejimai
arhivimtae se ovom prilikomz ahvaljujemlvi Vranidaru
iz Muzejan ovejiez godovineS lovenijeiz Ljubljane,
BeritP istoraiz Bundesarchiva/Bildsairzc Khiovbal enzua AKNOWLEDGMENTS
NjematkoRj, heil vanuSiz Hrvatskopgo vijesnomg uzeja
iz ZagrebaB, orisuG rguriiui z Muzejag radaR ijekete I would liket o thank allthosew ho helpedm e with their
Hrvatskodmr7 avnomar hivuiz Z aoreba.
materials,w ork, suggestionsa nd support, especially
VojislavJ ereb, NenadS etinaa nd prof. SitvijaS etinaf or
Posebnuulo guu stvaranjouv ek njigeim alsi um ojik olege their work on translatingt he brt to Englisha nd Boris
i prijateljOi. ni su ovu knjiguo bogatilzi biljai zuzetnim Greguritf or hisw ork on historicdm aps.
prilozimiaz v lastitiahr hiva.
Vetinai menovanishu vrsnii stra2ivai( ia utorim nogih Most of the photo materialw aso btainedf rom museums
objavljenikhn jigas tematikomiz vojnep ovijestHi rvatske and archivess o my sincereth anksg o to Mr lvo Vranitar
ilis vojihz emalja. of the Muzejn ovejiez godovineS lovenijfer om Ljubljana,
Tos u iz HrvatskMe arioR agu2D, ankoia nak,l vicaG olec Sloveniat,o Mr BeritP istoor f the Bundesarchiv/Bildsarchiv
i TomislaAvr alictae VladimiSr pasik( oji2 iviu Madarskoj from Koblenz,G ermany,t o Mrs Rheal vanui of the
r ZvonimiFr reivogeklo ji Ziviu NjemaikojL, arryT e Koeti CroatianH istoricalM useum from Zagreb,t o Mr Boris
i JohnP lowmaninz NovogZ elandaD, anielGe uglielmii Grguri( of the RijekaC ity Museuma nd to the Croatian
Stefandoi Giustoiz ltalijei BorisC igliti z Srbije. StateA rchivesfr om Zagreb.
A prominentp ositioni n making this book was held by
my colleagueas nd friends.T heye nrichedi t by splendid
contributionsfr om their own archives.
Most of them are exceptionalr esearcherasn d authors
of booksd ealingw ith militaryh istoryo f Croatiao r their
country.T heya re, to mentiono nly someo f them, Mario
Ragui, DankoC anak,l vica Goleca nd TomislavA ralica
from Croatia,V ladinir Spasii who livesi n Hungarya nd
ZvinomirF reivogewl ho livesi n GermanyL, arryT e Koeti
andJ ohnP lowmannfr om NewZ eland,D anieleG uglielmi
and Stefanod i Giustof rom ltaly and BorisC iglit from
Serbia.
RAZVOJO KLOPNIHP OSTROJBKIR AUEVINE ROYALY UGOSLAVIANA RMOURED FORCES
JUGOSLAVIJDEO 1941.G ODINE PRIORT O 1941
'l
Neposrednpor ijep oietkaD rugogs vjetskorga ta 939 godinev, ojska Beforet he outbreako f the SecondW orld War in 1939 the Royal
KraljeviJnueg oslavrijaes polagajela s aS ezdesetoakkl opnihb orbenih YugoslaAv rmy had around6 0 armoredc ombatv ehiclesR egardless
vozilaB. ezo bziran a razvooj klopnihvo zilao d krajaP rvogs vjetskog of fastd evelopmenotf armoredf ormationsa fter the FirstW orldW at
ratat e brzir azvooj klopnihp ostrojbui tada5nlimm odernimvo jska- YugoslaviaAnr myp aidl ittle interesitn suchf ormationsV eryl ittlew as
ma,v ojnij e vrh KraljevinJeu goslavidjeo sredinetr idesetigho dina done to developa nd equip armoredb rancho f the RoyalY ugoslav
malo uloZiou stvaranjie opremanjeko pnenev ojskeo klopnom Army in postw ar yearsa nd all the way throughm id thifties During
tehnikomG eneralStjea bo d potetkad vadesetgiho dinap ovremeno the twentiess malgl roupso f officersw eres entf or a trainingin France
slaog ruped asnikia p ojedincnea o bukuu FrancuskOuv aj e zemlja Francew aso ne of the countriesth at usedt anksi n closinas taaeso f
zahvaljujuuiip oraboi klopnihv ozilau zavrSnfoaj ziP rvogs vjetskog WWIa nd laterd evelopepdr oductiono f armoredv ehiclesb ecoming
ratai uspje5nomj asovnopjr odukciojik lopnihv ozilat ijekomr ata a modelf or developmenotf armoredf orcesin variousc ountriesT he
bilau zoru razvojui s tvaranjouk lopnihp ostrojbmi nogims vjetskim RoyalY ugoslavA rmy completelyf ollowed Frenche xamplew hich
vojskamVa.o jskaK raljeviJnueg oslavsijeei u doktrinni adinau porabe drctatedt he usageo f armoredf orcesi n directs uppoft of infantry.
oklopnihvo zilau potpunosotis lonilan a francuskuiz or,p o kojemu Manualsw ere taken directlyf rom FrenchA rmy and accordingt o
su oklopnav ozilap redvidenias kljuiivoz a neposrednpuo driku Frencho rigina rmoredv ehiclews ered esignateads "Combavt ehicles'
pjeSa5tvPar avilau porabes u bezuvjetnpor eneseniaz francuskih Firstt anksw ered eliveredfr om Francea t the beginningo f the thirties
izvoraU. skladusf rancuskodmo ktrinomo,k lopnvao zilas uu nazivlju undertheA rmsa id program ln 1930f irst2 1 RenaulFt T17t anks
'borna
naoruZanvjoaj skdeo bilan aziv kola' wered eliveredF rrsat rmoredu nit was formedi n April of 1930.T he
Poietkomtr idesetihg odinai z Francuskseu u okvirub esplatne unit was assignedto lnfantry and Artillery OfficersS choold uring
vojnep omotii sporutenpir vit enkoviG. odine1 930 dobivenje 21 19 31
tenkR enaulFt T.17P oietkomtr avnja1 930 godinef ormiranjae i Next batch of armored vehiclesa rrived in 1935 when around
prvao klopnap ostrojbkao jaj e sljede(geo dinep rebaienua sastav 20 FT17w ered eliveredln 1936o ther2 0 FT17a nd 20 Renault
Pjeiadijski ea rtiljerilsktaes nitkeik olek opnenevo jske. KegressMe 28 werea cquiredH. avinge nougha rmoredv ehiclesth e
'combat
Sljedeijae popunao klopnimvo zilimiaz vriena1 935 godineO vom firstb attaliono f vehicles'wasfo rmedi n 1936.T heb at-
'l
prilikomje dobivenoo ko 20 tenkovais togt ipa Godine 936. u talionw asc omposedo f 3 armoreda nd 1 supportc ompaniest,o tal
kontingenstue n alazilook o2 0t enkovaF L17i pribliZnios tib rojt en- strengthw asa bout5 0 FT17a ndM 28 tanks
kovaR enauKlt egressMe 2 8 Zahvaljujudioi voljnombr ojut enkova, ln mid thirtiesB Skoda7 32 were purchasedfr om Czechoslovakia
1936 godinep ostrojejne "bataljonb ornihk ola"k ojis e sastojao and during 1937 those were formed into 'FastC ombat Vehrcles
od trijuo klopnihij ednep omo(nete te s pedesetatekn kovaF T.7'l Squadronc' omposedo f two platoonsw ith 4 vehiclese ach Fufther
i M.28 negotiationsw ith Czechoslovakiagno vernmentc easedf ollowing
Sredinomtri desetiuh Cehoslovaik1oejd ogovorennaa bavkoas am Germanin vastonin 1938 SkodaC ompanyw as in phaseo f devel-
oklopnihv ozilaS kodaT .32,a od njihj e 1937 godinef ormiran
'eskadron
brzihb ojnihk ola'o d dvajuv odovas po tetirio klopna
vozilaS. iehoslovaikovmla domp regovarasloeo daljnjimn abavka-
mao klopnivho zilaa, lij e to zbogN jemaikoek upacijCee hoslovadke
1938.g odinep ropaloT.v rlkaS kodaje u okvirus vojihra zvojniphl a- 1 Borna koa RenaultK egresseM 28 vojskeK raljevineJu goslavijeB orna
kolaF T:17iM 28 bilas u opremljenas dvamar azliditimti povimak upole Na
novar adilap oboljianiun aiicuo vogl akogo klopnovgo zilas namje- fotografijis e nalaziv ozilos a kupolomt ipa Berlietk ojaj e karakteristiinzaa
romd aljnjepgl asmanvao jscKi raljeviJnueg oslavpijoed n azivomI3 d. borna kola proizvedenak rajem Prvogs vjetskogr ata Borna kola ovih tipova
S obziromd a je Cehoslovad1k9u3 8.g odineo kupiralNa jematka, opremanas u sa dva razliditati pa naoruZanjaO ko tretinas vihp roizvedenih
izradejne samo.ledapnro totipv ozila vozilab ilo je naoruZanok ratkimt opom SA 18 Puteauxp romjera3 7 mm
Eskadrosn n avedenimvo zilimab io je u sastavuK onjiike5 koleu
Zemunu
A Renault KegresseM 28 light tank of the Yugoslav Kingdom Army. Both
U okviruK onjidkSek olen alazisoe i vodo klopniha utomobilsa t rima
FT17 and M 28 armored vehicles were equipped with two different types
oklopnima utomobilimaP remap odacimara dilos e o oklopnim of turrets The photo deprcts a vehicle with a Berliet type turret which was
automobilimkao jis u u KraljevinJuu goslavidjuo premljejnoii 1928 characteristicf or vehicleso f WW I production Armored vehicleso f that type
godinei zapravosu konstrukciijze razdobljPa rvogs vjetskorga ta. were equipped with two different types of armament - about one third ol
PodetkomD rugogs vjetskogra ta vojskaK raljevinJeu goslavinjea s- all vehicles were armed with a short SA 18 Puteaux 37 mm qun whtle two
tojalaje osuvremenii toip remitsi vojuv ojskuS togas e pregovaralo
i narufivalnoa oruZansjea svihs tranaO. klopnas u
se vozilau spjelau tom razdobljun arutitis amou
FrancuskNoja rudensau 54 tenkaR enauRlt3 5,k oja
su podetkom19 40 godinei isporutenaO d ovihj e
'l
vozilau svibnju9 40 godinep ostroje2n bataljon
bornihk ola
U okvirun avedeniohk lopnihp ostrojbiiu rno se
izvodiloab ukate je do podetkraa tau travnju1 941
godineo budenook o3 00t enkovskpiho sadsa o titom
namjeromda sed aljnjimn abavkamoak lopnihvo zila
poveiab rojo klopnihp ostrojbNi, o tijekr ata1 940
godinei njemadkoak upacijaF rancuskzea prijeiile
su daljnjun abavkuvo zilaE. uropskder Zavek oje u
proizvodiloek lopnav ozila:C ehoslovatkPao, ljski
Francuskbai,le s u pod njematkomok upacilomS.i le
osovin-e N jemaikia l talij-a nisub ilev oljneu govarati
isporukeo klopnihv ozilaz bog rastutep otrebez a
njimau svojima rmijamaJ edinaze mljak ojaje imala
dovoljnson aZnpur oizvodnij kuo jaje moglais porutiti
vozila.1 eb io SSSRU studenom1 940 godines ov-
jetskaje vladap onudilaK raljeviJnui goslaviisjpi oruku
ARM0URED{. rilrft"s,Afulu} gFtfcaEst frj c8sAflA fr{.ifrfrvc ww ft
oping specialv ersiono l
T32 for YugoslavA rmy.
Designationw as T3d but
due to occupation only
one prototype was pro-
duced Squadron was
tl
attachedt o CavalryS chool
I at Zemunt ogetherw ith a
r,
platoon of armored cars
r5 (3 cars)A ccordingt o data
V those carsw ere lA/Wlt ype
q
deliveredin 1928
,f With the outbreak of
WWll Yugoslavias ought
l
to modernize its armed
forces The arms supply
h
negotiations were done
with variouss uppliersa nd
) 2. Vod brzihb o.jnihk ola SkodaT .32 Ukupnat eZinav ozilai znosilaje oko sourcesA. rmored vehicles
4,8 to1a, Debljinao klopaj e varrralao d 5-20 mm. Voziloj e pogonilo6 were orderedf rom Francea nd 54 RenaulRt 3 5 tanksw ere deliv-
s cilindritnbi enzinskSi kodinm otor od 44,2 kW (60 KS)b rzinomo d oko 40 ereda t the beginningo f 1940 Thesev ehiclews eref ormedi n 2d
s Battaliono f Combatv ehicles
I Ath pel aartmooonr o thf iSckknoedsasT v 3a2ri eligdh frto tman 5k st.o T h2e0s emv meh. icTlheesw peoiwghetre pdl 4a,ngt twoanss aa n6d Btaynt kh cer oeuwtsbw reitahk oo fb tvhioeu wsia nrtr ennA tipornilo o ff e lx9p4al nyduingqoo sf laaravmr moryeh daf odr 3c0e0s.
cylinder Skoda engine developing 44,2 kW (60 Hp) ind driving the vehicle Germa.no ccupattono f mosto f Europes toppede veryd ehveryo f
/r to 40 km/h. The crew consistedo f a driver and a commander which was also armored vehicles.E uropeann ations that had armored vehicles
responsiblef or the weapons productionc apabilitiesw ere under Germano ccupationa nd Axis
powersw ere unwillingt o negotiatea rmoredv ehiciesd eliveriedsu e
to everg rowingd emandi n their own armies Theo nlv countryw ith
vojneo,p remen akoni ega je zatra)enais poruka6 00 zrakoplova significanat rmorp roductionw as the U55R.ln Novembero f tgqt
i 300 tenkovaP. oradpi ribliZavanvjlaa dajuiihs trukturaK raljevine the USSRgo vernmenot fferedm ilitarye quipmentto theK ingdomo f
JugoslavNijeje Tglkojd, aljnik ontaktni isur azvijanpia takon i ova Yugoslaviaan d the orderf or 300 tanksa nd 600 aircraftw ai neqoti-
naoavKnatj er ealtztrana.
ated. Yugoslagvo vernmenwt asd eveloptngr elationsw ith Germany
but that ordern everm aterialized
Peacetr eatyb etweenY ugoslavaian d USSRsi gnedin then ighto f 516
April 1941 compriseda rms deliveriesT. he yuqoslava mbassador's
in Moscowc able sento n 6 Apr 41 containsin formationo n USSR
offer but only for aircraft,a nti-aircrafct anonsa, nti-tankc anonsa nd
moftars
clearlyv isiblet hat camouflage pattern on the first three vehicles are different v
SKt{:}PhI&V SAILA I OKil.SPRiHP ffiST${SJE6F. JE RIJGOM$ \ruET5KOMR ATUU HRVATSKOJ
l
4 Borna kola RenaultF T.l7 na manevrimav olske Kraj evine
JugoslavijeK upolaj e tipa Berliets topom SA18 Puteaux I
Tjekom Prvog svjetskogr ata top je upotrebjavaod vije vrste
granata:p robojnut ipa Mle1892(AP)b rzine3 88 m/sec,k ola 1e
na udallenostoi d 500 metara mala probojnum oi od 12 do 15 c
mm oklopa ekspolozivntiup aM le1916(HEp)u nlenus 3Og rama
eksplozivai dometom od 2,5 km Tridesetihg odtnau upotrebu 1
je uvedenon ovo streljivop: robojnag ranataM le1935(APb) rzine I
600 m/sec,k ojaj e na udaljenostoi d 400 metarap robia a 21 mm 5
oklopa,e ksplozivngar anataM le1937(HEp)u njenus 56 grama t
eksploziva( zbirkaD jnkoP redoevi()
i
Kingdom of YugoslaviaA rmy's Renault FT17 light tanks on
maneuvers The turret rs of the Berliet type with a SA 78 Puteaux 1
gun During the WWI these guns used two different type of I
ammunition - the Mle 1892(AP)a rmor piercing shell with muzzle (
velocityo f 388 m/secc apableo f penetrating 72 -15 mm of armor
on a 500 m distancea nd the Mle 1916(HE)h tgh explosives hell i
with 30 grams of explosive and a range of 2,5 kilometers ln
the thiftiesa new type of ammunition was introduced the Mle
1935(AP)p ierctng shell with muzzle velocity of 6a0 mlsec capable
of penetrating2 1 mm of armor at a 400 meter range and the Mle
193f(HE) high explosive shell with 56 grams of explosive (Dtnko
Predoevii collection)
5 i6 Onesposobljenbao rnak olaR enaulFt T.17
snimljen1a3 travnja1 941 godineu Makedon1 i
Najvjerojatnijsee radi o voziluo klopned etek oja
pogonio je benzrnskmi otor od 29 kW (39 KS)
brzinom od 7,1 km/h S jednim spremnikom
goriva vozilo 1e moglo prijeii 65 km po putu
odnosno oko 20 km lzvan puta Borna kola
FT.17m oglas u savladatui spond o 45 stupnleva.
preprekuv tsined o 60 cm i rov Sirined o 1,35
metara (zbirkaD inkoP redoevii)
A disabledR enaultF T17 light tank photographed
on April 13, 1941 in Macedonia Thts is mast
probable one of the vehicleso f the platoon whtch
was driven by a 29 kW (39 HP) petrol engine at
a road speed of 7 7 kmlh With a full gasoltne
tank it had a range of 65 kilometerso n the road
ot abouL2 0 ktlomeler>(r oss country.l l could
negotiate 45 degrees climb, 0 6 meter vertical
obstacle or 1 35 m trench (Dinko Predoevit
collection)
A,RMOUREDU NITS AND VEHICLEST IUC ROAT'A DURINGW W II
USTROOJK LOPNIHP OSTROJBKIR ALJEVINE ORGANIZATIONO F ROYALY UGOSLAV
JUGOSLAVIJE ARMOUREDF ORCE
VojskKar aljeviJnueg oslavpijoet etkom1 941g odineim alaje sljedeie At the beginningo f 1941t he RoyalY ugoslaAv rmy had the follow-
oklopnpeo strojbe: tng armoreou ntts
1.b ataljobno rnihk olap ostrojejen 1936 godines tenkovimFaT .7'l l stB attaliono f combatv ehicles- createdin 19 36 ande quippedw ith
i M.28.N ijep oznatok olikoje tenkovau trenutkuiz bijanjraa tnog FT17a ndM .28 tanksl.t isu nknownh ow manyt anksw eret n useo r
sukobab ilou uporabii jesul i iete bileu potpunostpio punjene how many weres eruiceablaet the outbreako f the war. LJnknown
predvidenbimro jemvo zilate, kolikoih j e u travnju,1 94.1 g odineb ilo ts the statuso f companieasn d their combat readinesass well With
ispravnzoa borbenod jelovanjeD.o laskomno viht enkovaR enault arrivaol f RenaulRt 3 5 tanksin April 1940a ll FTIT andM .28 tanks
'1
R.35u travnju9 40,g odinet,e nkovFi I17 i M.28s u razdijeljeuni wereo rganizedin threei ndependenct ompaniews ith threep latoons
tri samostalnteet eb ornihk ola,s astavljenoihd trijuv odovas po pet equippedw ith five vehiclese ach.
bornihk olau svakome. Contemporarpyh otographssh ow us that majorityo f FTlT tanks
wereo f the oldert ypem aded uringW WIw ith round castt urretsA,
smallern umbero f tanksw ereo f newerp roduc'tionw ith octagonal
"Berliet'turret.
l't Battaliono f combat vehiclesw as reorganizedin May of 1940
with the arrivalo f new RenaulRt .35 tanks.B attalionr etainedo ld
organizationw ith addeds upportc ompanye quippedw ith I I tanks.
Battalionw as complete$m echanizedB. esrdesfu el and ammltni-
tion transportertsh e SupportC ompanyh ad a mobilew orkshopa s
well. Companyc ommandersh ad reconnaissancvee hicleso n their
q6posat.
Sinceth e tanksa rrivedin 1940i t canb e assumetdh at the battalion
wasi n full strength.A numbero f sourceds esignateth isb attaliona s
1nB attaliono f combatv ehicleslt. is not cleari f separateh eadquar-
tersf or lsta nd 2ndb aftalione vere xistedT. he Battalioonf combat
vehiclesw ith R.35t anksw asi n theA pril war.C onideringt hat FTI 7
and M.28 tanksw erea ssignedto individuaAl rmies disperseodn a
widea reai t is not veryl ikelyt hat therew asc ommonH Qa t battalion
level TheR oyalY ugoslaAv rmy enteredt he war with one battalion
and threei ndependenct ompanieso f combatv ehicles
EightS kodaT 32 combatv ehiclesw ered ivideda monqf our platoons
with 2 vehiclese ach.T heyw ere paft of Combatv {hicle Squadron
attachedt o CavalryS chooli n Zemun.A ttachedt o CavalryS chool
was alsoa platoono f armor.
Osamb ornihk olaS kodaT .32,r asporedenui hie tirimav odovimsa
po dvav ozilan, alazilsoe u sastavEus kadronbao rnihk olau sklopu
KonjitkeS koleu ZemunuU sastavuK onjiikeik ole nalazios e i vod
oklopniahu tomobila.
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7. i8- Onesposobljenbao rna kola FT.17s nimljenau travn.ju1 941. godine
u MakedonijiP. osadub ornih kola saiinjavalsi u vozadi zapov.jednviko zila
te kojij e ujedno i rukovaon aoruZanjemT. eZinav ozila bila je oko 7 tona.
d Maksimalnoak lopnaz aitita iznosilaje 22 mm. (zbirkaD inkop redoevii)
td
Anotherd isabledR enaultF Tl7 light tank photographed during Aprit 1941
ri in Macedonia.V ehicleh ad crew of two, driver and commander who handled
the weapons as well. (Dinko Predoevi( collection)
OKLSPN,EU OZILAI OKLSPh'frP OSTROjEEU DRUGOMS VJETSKOMR ATUt J HRVATSKOJ
OKLOPNEP OSTROJBKER ALJEVINE ARMOUREDF ORMATIONO F ROYAL
JUGOSLAVIJUE TRAVANJSKOMR ATU1 941. YUGOSLAVA RMY IN 1941 APRILW AR
GODINE
Bornak ola1 bataljonsa t enkovimFaT .1i7 M 28 bilas ur asporedena
in cooperationw ith Britisha nd Greekf orces
armr.Je
Upitna1 et injenicjae Ii set etab ornihk ola4 . armijeu op(en alazilua Royal Army armored forces
Zagrebiu g djes ez apravnoa lazilas,t ogait o njematkria tnii zvje5tali Accordinqto war plan'R-41' one battaliono f armoredc arsw as
o plilenuu opien e spominjuo klopnav ozilan a podrutjuH rvatske attachedt o 4th Army. Their task was to defend Donli Mihollac
No,u kolikoje i bilau Zagrebun,a jvjerojatnnijieje n i izailaiz kruga - Radgonali ne.T heb attalionw as scheduledto be deployedw ith
voJarne the hdadquarter(sH Q)o f 4thA rmy in BielovarT woc ompanieos f 2nd
Cetab ornihk ola2 , armijeiz S arajev9a t ravnjau puienaje u pravcu Battalionw eret o remaina s reserveo f GeneraHl eadquarter(sG HQ)
Arandelovcua s astavU nsked ivizijeD ana1 2 travnjap ostrojbjae at the Mladenovaca rea.R oyalY ugoslaAv rmy GQHb eganw ith
ostalab ezp ogonskoggo rivap aj e zapovjednpiko strojbnea loZidoa pland evelopmenotn 2ndF ebruar1y 941a ndb y theo utbreako f the
hostilitietsh ep lan waso nlyp artiallye xecuted.
sev ozilao nesposobae l,j udstvvor atiu Saralevo
Armoredv ehicleosf !'t battalronw ith FTl7 and M 28 tanksw ere
ieta bornihk ola3 , armijeje u noiis a6 . na7 travanjuat ovarennaa
Zeljezniikvea goneu Skopljui p oslanua pravcuS trumiceS.l jedeieg
danad etaj e uslijediz dajez apovjednikkao,j ij e pripadaop okretu
'Zboi DimitrijaL jotiia,n espremndao iekalan jematkep rednje
oklopnoed redete 1 eu vrlok ratkomvr emenuun iSteni az arobljena.
2. bataljobno rnihk olas tenkovimRae nauRlt .35n alazisoe u priiuvi
Vrhovnkeo mandue Beograd3u..t enkovskdae tao vogb ataljonjea u that hast o be researched
jesen1 940g odineiz dvojenia u pu(enan a raspolagantrjuep ama3 Whereaboutso f 4thA rmy Armoredp latoon is unknowna nd it is
armijskoeb lastui Skoplju verv questionableif that unit had ever been in Zagreb.G erman
reportsd on't show any armoredv ehiclesc apturedo n the territory
of Croatia.T hatu nit, if it wasi n Zagrebp, robablyn everl eft the bar
9 Bornak ola RenaultK egresseM 28 na njemaikolt ransportnojp rikolici racks.O n 9 April 1941t he 2'd ArmyA rmoredp latoonw as sentt o
Ovoj e poboljianai naticav ozla Ff.17i z sredined vadesetihg odinau kojoij e Arandelovatco join the lJnskaD ivisionO. n 12 April the unit usedu p
all itsf uel and the commandeor rderedt he vehiclesto be destroyed
and the men to returnt o Saraievo
gotovou dvostrutenaG uslenicseu ojaianei eliinim elementima obloZene
gumom (zbirkaD inkoP redoevi() On then ight of 6 April armoredp latoono f 3rdA rmy wasl oadedo n
railcaras id sentf rom Skopieto StrumicaD. ue to betrayaol f com-
A RenaultK egresseM .28 light tank on a German trarler. Thrsv ehtcle was an
upgraded versiono f the FT 17 model of the twenties with an tmproved speed manderw ho belongedto 'Zbot' movemenlte d by DimitriieL iotic
and reduced traveling noise.l mprovementsw ere made on the suspension theu nit wasu nfit for combata nd in contactw ith the Germansn, ext
enabling the top speed to be almost doubled. The tracks were strengthened day,i t wasd estroyedo r capturedin a verys hott time
with steela nd rubber elements (Dinko Predoevt( collectton)
ARMOUREDU NITS AND VEHIC'-ES'I U CROAT'A DITRINGW W II
ty
e
te
l5
tn
ln
)y
l0 protivu sta5ia p obunjenikPa.r emato j zapovjedsiv akjie odredt rebao
rf bitis astavljoedn p etb ornihk olai petk amionsa p o )0 puSakad,v ije
lakeij ednomte ikoms trojnicopmo k amionuje, dank amions brdskim
topoms poslugoim s treljivotme d vad o tetirim inoobaca8ial mmi
t5
)c
:h
1d
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h lzdvcjenieat a 2. bataljonab ornihk ola6 . je travnjaiz vr5ilpao kreti z
te Skoplijuai lau sastaBvr egalniddkievi zijkeo d5 tipaf.l ekom7 .t ravnja
ietas uspjehovmo dio brambenbeo rbe,n o krajemd anau pornim
e napadimnaje maikishn agab ivap otpunou niitenau borbi,
ty Eskadrobno rnihk olas oklopnimv ozilimaS kodaT .32i vodom
O oklopniahu tomobilnaa laziose u Zemunus a zadatkomd a zaititi
7vL
tt
11 Nlemadkit enkist snimljeni spred napuitenrh bornih kola FT.71 21
/5 travn1au Arandelovcuu Srbiji.lz medub ornihk olaF T.17n aoruZanitho pom i
n strolnicomp ostojalaje uobidajenap odjelan a ,,muikab ornak olan aoruiana
v topom i "Zenskab"o rnak olan aoruZanast rojnicomU praviluu svakomv odu
od pet bornih kola nalazilas u se dva muika" itroje "Zenskihb"o rna kola
(zbirkaV ladimirS pasii)
0
p A Germant ank crew photographed in front of two abandonedF Tl 7 tanks
dn Ol1a0bk aoDrv uiookz boilovauar n loptihe rk lveoo lmiam R paleoan ndauou snltatFa ovT re.u1lZi7kpa urnp ikarsau ukp ttloijiepnnouimb hor dzS iAsnt ujr8pa an3lej7nb jemeo mmd a 1TiOkoeg pv rooamjnsas kteea golGeunaen dAns ept worra ieltl r2hlyeae1 ' pmiunlsaa Autloearaosl dn'nwid sohetfii lnlfoeic vv tteihao ecFn, S in|en 7 reubssni ac aoor Tfmfnihcseeiiadsd l tw ief'ftidtyeoh prf e emtnw ancocae him 'nmin eaaesrl'q emu'a anthnmsod wes tneehtr oar eefr me'tfh ee'femde F mawTlaieltlThse''.
F u minuti Na ovojf otografijsi ej asnom oZeu oditir azllkaii medu standardne ta n ks (Vladi m i r Sp asit col lectio n)
c lijevanek upole vozila FflT i osmerokutne
t kupolet ipa BerlietN. a deonimp loiamat rupa
vozilav ides e i originalnfir ancuskei videncijski
brojevvio zilak ojid olaskomv ozilau .Jugoslaviju
nisum ijenjani.(zbirVkala dimirS pasii)
Som of Renault FT17 vehicles collected by
the erman Army after the fighting. Both
vehiclesi n the front are equipped with the
SA 18 37 mm gun This parcicularg un was
easy to handle and had a high practical rate
of fire of 10 rounds per minute Thisp hoto
shows clearly the differences between the
standard FT17 cast turret and the octagonal
Berliet type turret Original French serial
numbers can be seen on the front plates
Spasi(c ollection)
12. Napuitena borna kola RenaultK egresseM .28. Osnovnon aoru2anje
olog tenka je takodert op SA.18 puteauxp romjera3 7mm. Zanimljivaje
iinjenicaj e da su francuskit enkovi nove predratnep rodukcijeo prlmahi
ovim topovima koji su skidanis otpisanihb ornih kola FT.17.S topom ie
spregnutas trojnicaC hatelleraulMt le31 promjera7 ,5 mm. (zbirkaD inlio
Predoevii)
An abandoned Renault KegresseM 28 light tank The main armament of
thistankwasthe 5A.18 Puteaux3 7 mm gun. Of interesti sthat newly buitt
pre-war tanks of that type were equipped with guns which were taken
from broken up RenaultF T.l7 tanks. Secondarya rmament was coaxral
ChetelleraulMt le3l 7,5 mm machineg un. (Dinkop redoevii collection)
9