Samochód Pancerny wzór 29 ("armoured car year 1929 model"), commonly known as Ursus or CWS, was a Polish interwar heavy armored car. A handful of these vehicles saw combat during the Polish-German War of 1939.

History and description

The car was designed in 1929 by

Rudolf Gundlach Rudolf Gundlach (1892–1957) was a Polish military engineer, inventor and tank designer. He headed the design division of the Armored Weapons Technical Research Bureau (''Biuro Badań Technicznych Broni Pancernych''). He held the military rank ...

. The vehicle was based on the chassis of the

Ursus A Ursus A was a series of Polish lorries and buses produced by Ursus. It was a license-built modification of the Italian SPA 25C Polonia trucks. In 1924 the Polish government ordered a large series of license-built 3-ton Berliet CBA lorries and ...

2-ton truck ( Italian S.P.A. 25C modified by Ursus Mechanical Works in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

), the armored body was built by CWS, Warsaw. The initial armament consisted of the French 37 mm low-velocity gun in the

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope * Mi ...

front, 7.92 mm machine guns in the turret left-rear and right-rear at 120 degrees to the gun (all operated by the commander), and another 7.92 mm MG in the hull rear (operated by the rear gunner). Although this arrangement helped to achieve good balance of the turret, it was awkward to use. In the mid-1930s the right turret machine gun was removed. The car carried 96 rounds for the main gun and 4032 MG rounds in 16 252-round belts. The vehicle was sufficiently armed and armored for late 1920s, but was underpowered, lacked

all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

(which led to poor off-road mobility) and had high silhouette. Because of these shortcomings, only between 10 and 13 cars were built.

Combat history

Although obsolete by 1939, the car was still in service at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. 8 vehicles were assigned to the 11th armoured battalion of the

Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade ( pl, Mazowiecka Brygada Kawalerii) was a cavalry unit of the Polish Army in the interbellum period, which took part in the Polish September Campaign. It was created on April 1, 1937, out of former 1st Cavalry Brigade. It ...

Army Modlin Modlin Army ( pl, Armia Modlin) was one of the Polish armies that took part in the Polish world war 2 defence of 1939. After heavy casualties in the battle of Mława (September 1–3), the Army was forced to abandon its positions near Warsaw aroun ...

, as a reconnaissance unit. The vehicles acted well in combat, but by 16 September all of them were lost.

External links

derela.republika.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samochod Pancerny Wz. 29 Armoured cars of the interwar period Armoured cars of Poland Vehicles introduced in 1929 Military vehicles introduced in the 1920s