The TK (TK-3) and TKS were

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

tankette A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting.

s developed during the 1930s and used in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Design and development

The TK (also known as the TK-3) tankette was a Polish design produced from 1931 based on the chassis of the British

Carden Loyd tankette The Carden Loyd tankettes were a series of British tankettes of the period between the World Wars, the most successful of which was the Mark VI, the only version built in significant numbers. It became a classic tankette design worldwide, was ...

, with an improved hull and more powerful engine, and

armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

up to thick ( on the TKS). In 1939, up-arming of the tankettes with nkm wz. 38 FK autocannons began, but only 24 of these were completed before the outbreak of World War II. On 6 November 1934 Estonia purchased 6 vehicles from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, with the contract deal worth over 180,000

krones Krones AG is a German packaging and bottling machine manufacturer. It produces lines for filling beverages in plastic and glass bottles or beverage cans. The company manufactures stretch blow-moulding machines for producing polyethylene tereph ...

. The deal also included one additional tracked-lorry, and a motorcycle was given free as a bonus. After the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

occupied Estonia, these vehicles were put into service with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

Combat history

575 TK/TKS tankettes formed the bulk of the Polish armoured forces before the outbreak of war. They suffered heavy losses during the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, often being the only armoured fighting vehicles available. Their small size suited them for

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

and infantry support, but with their light armament of a single machine gun they stood no chance in combat against German tanks, except against the

Panzer I The Panzer I was a light tank produced by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for ( German for " armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as . The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was '' Sd.Kfz. 101 ...

. The handful of tankettes armed with 20 mm guns were more effective against enemy tanks; in one instance on 18 September 1939 a 20 mm gunned TKS commanded by ''

Podchorąży Podchorąży is the Polish military title of officer cadets of various ranks. The term literally means "under-ensign" (or could be rendered as sub-flagbearer, second flagbearer, or deputy flagbearer) and historically has referred to an officer cade ...

'' (officer cadet) Roman Orlik destroyed two German

Panzer 35(t) The Panzerkampfwagen 35(t), commonly shortened to Panzer 35(t) or abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw. 35(t), was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II. The letter (t) stood for ''tschechisch'' (Ge ...

tanks and a

Panzer IV The IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panzer IV was the most numer ...

''ausf B'' tank which was commanded by Victor IV Albrecht von Ratibor. After the conquest of Poland, captured tankettes were used by the German army in various support roles, mostly for training, security duties or as artillery tractors. Many captured tankettes were also used by the Luftwaffe for airfield security and snowplowing. Some were later sold to the

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. In spring 1941, the National Police received 18 TK-3 tankettes, some with the 20mm gun, while in summer 1941 the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

received 18 TKS, 4 of them being sent to the Ustashe Militia. A smaller Polish force retreated to (then neutral)

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

from the German and Soviet troops occupying Poland. This mixed formation had 30 tracked vehicles, of which 15-20 were TKS (contemporary sources did not officially distinguish between TK-3 and TKS). These vehicles were used for training in tank driving and machine gun handling drills. By the end of the war, they were worn out due to the lack of spare parts, so there is no trace of them after early 1944. The crew was able to travel to England with the help of the Hungarian government during 1940.

Variants

*TK (TK-3) - from 1931, about 280 built (Ford A engine) *TKF - TK tankette with 46 hp (34 kW) Polski Fiat engine and new (TKS-type) suspension, about 18 built *TKS - improved model of 1933, about 260 built (new hull, suspension, Polski Fiat engine) *TKS with nkm wz. 38 FK - about 24 TKS fitted with 20 mm autocannon in 1939. * C2P - unarmoured light

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked. Traction There are two m ...

, about 200 built. Experimental models: *TK-1, TK-2 - first prototypes *TKD - light

self propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

with 47 mm gun, four made. *TKW - light reconnaissance tank with turret, one prototype made. *TK-3 with 20 mm gun - only one prototype with a modified hull was completed. *TKS-D - light

tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter or tank killer is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, predominantly intended for anti-tank duties. They are typically armed with a direct fire anti-tank gun, artillery gun, also known as a self-propelled anti-ta ...

with

37 mm Bofors The Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun was an anti-tank gun designed by Swedish manufacturer Bofors in the early 1930s originally for Swedish use. It was exported to several countries during the 1930s of which several bought licences to produce it ...

anti-tank gun An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...

, two made TKS-prototyp

List of registration numbers

A list of registration numbe

(might be incomplete): *1143-1152 - Carden-Loyd Mk.VI (10 tanks) *1154-1168 - "iron" TK-3 (15 tanks) **1156-1159 - rebuilt to TKD SP-guns **1160 - rebuilt to TKS prototype **1164 - rebuilt to TKW prototype *1169-1353 - TK-3 (185 tanks) **1221 - rebuilt to TKF prototype *1362-1461 - TK-3 (200 tanks), possibly including TKF *1492-1511 - "iron" TKS of pre-production series (20 tanks) **1510 - rebuilt to TKS-B prototype, than to TKS-D tank destroyer * Prototyp TK-1

1512-1594 - TKS (83 tanks, of these 6 sold to Estonia) *1597-1682 - TKS (85 tanks) *1702-1764 - TKS (63 tanks) *1799-1814 - TKS (16 tanks) *6006 - TK-1 prototype *6007 - TK-3 prototype *6008 - TK-2 prototype *Some from among 8890-8910 range - TKS (14 tanks?) **8897 - rebuilt to TKS-D tank destroyer **8898 - C2P tractor prototype

Users

* * * * * * (possibly)Axworthy, p. 33

Surviving TK-series tankettes

There are only two fully operational TKS tankettes and one TK-3 surviving. All of them were reconstructed from wrecks in the first decade of 21st century, using non-original parts. * 1 x TKS - One of the TKS tankettes was donated to Poland by the Swedish Axvall Tank Museum and since 2008 it is on exhibition in the

Museum of the Polish Army Museum of the Polish Army () is a museum in Warsaw documenting the military history of Poland. Established in 1920 under the Second Polish Republic, it formerly occupied a wing of the building of the Polish National Museum and now occupies a bui ...

. The Swedish TKS survived the post-war period in Norway, where it was operated by a local farmer as a tractor. * 1 x TKS - Private collection. * 1 x TK-3 - Private collection. The other survivors are not in working order. * 1 x TKS - On exhibition in the

Kubinka Tank Museum The Kubinka Tank Museum (Центральный музей бронетанкового вооружения и техники - Tsentral'nyy Muzey Bronetankovogo Vooruzheniya I Tekhniki -Central Museum of Armored Arms and Technology) is a larg ...

in Russia. * 1 x TKF - On exhibition in the

Military Museum A military museum or war museum is an institution dedicated to the preservation and education of the significance of wars, conflicts, and military actions. These museums serve as repositories of artifacts (not least weapons), documents, photographs ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. * 1 x TKS - Returned from the Norwegian Armed Forces museum to the Armoured Weapon Museum in Poznan, Poland * 1 x C2P artillery tractor - Was found in Belgium and bought by the National Military History Center of

Auburn, Indiana Auburn is a city in DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,412 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1836 by Wesley Park (1811–1868), the city is the county seat of DeKalb County. Auburn is also known as ''Home of the Classics' ...

, where it was on exhibition until the center closed in 2019. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.

Gallery

Image:Opublikowane w Czołg rozpoznawczyTK (TKS) z 1975 (seria Typy Broni i Uzbrojenia).jpg, TKS Image:EST-Tanks-TSK.jpg, Estonian TKS tankettes on the republic's anniversary parade on 24 February 1937. Image:EST-TKS-2.jpg, Estonian TKS tankettes

Comparable vehicles

* Czechoslovakia

Tančík vz. 33 The ''Tančík vz''. 33 () was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-designed tankette used mainly by Slovakia during World War II. Seventy-four were built. The Germans seized forty when they occupied German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Bohemia-Moravia i ...

and AH-IV * France Renault UE2 * Italy:

L3/33 The Carro Veloce 33 (CV 33) or L3/33 was a tankette originally built in 1933 and used by the Italian Army before and during World War II. It was based on the imported British Carden Loyd tankette (license-built by Italy as the CV 29). M ...

•

L3/35 The L3/35, also known as the Carro Veloce CV-35, was an Italian tankette that saw combat before and during World War II. It was one of the smallest tanks that faced combat. Although designated a light tank by the Italian Army, its turretless con ...

* Japan: Type 94 * Romania: R-1 * Soviet Union:

T-27 The T-27 was a tankette produced in the 1930s by the Soviet Union. It was based on the design of the Carden Loyd tankette, bought under license from the United Kingdom in 1930. Design The Soviets were not fully satisfied with the Carden Loyd des ...

• T-37A •

T-38 T38 or T-38 may refer to: Aviation * Allison T38, an American turboprop aircraft engine * Northrop T-38 Talon, an American jet trainer aircraft * Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper, a British training glider Other uses * T38 (classification), a disabi ...

* Sweden: Strv m/37 * United Kingdom:

References

* Adam Jońca, Rajmund Szubański, Jan Tarczyński Wrzesień 1939 Pojazdy Wojska Polskiego wyd. WKiŁ Warszawa 1990 * Magnuski Janusz "Czołg rozpoznawczy TK (TKS)" seria TBiU-Typy broni i uzbrojenia (tom: 36), MON 1975

Bibliography

Janusz Magnuski Janusz Magnuski (1933–1999) was a Polish author and military historian. His principal works document the development and deployment of Polish and Soviet armor utilized during World War II and he has been called "the world's most noted historian of ...

, "Karaluchy przeciw panzerom"; Pelta; Warsaw 1995 *Leszek Komuda, "Przeciwpancerne tankietki" in: "Militaria" Year 1 Nr. 3 and Nr. 4. *Adam Jońca, Rajmund Szubański, Jan Tarczyński, "Wrzesień 1939 - Pojazdy Wojska Polskiego - Barwa i broń"; WKL; Warsaw 1990. *Jan Tarczyński, K. Barbarski, A. Jońca, "Pojazdy w Wojsku Polskim - Polish Army Vehicles - 1918-1939"; Ajaks; Pruszków 1995. *"Czołg rozpoznawczy TK-S", Militaria i Fakty nr. 31 (6/2005) *Janusz Magnuski, "Czołg rozpoznawczy TKS (TK)"; TBiU nr. 36; Wydawnictwo MON; Warsaw 1975 *Zbigniew Lalak, "Czołg rozpoznawczy TK3 / Reconnaissance tank TK3" in Z. Lalak, T. Basarabowicz, R. Sawicki, M. Skotnicki, P. Żurkowski "Pojazdy II wojny swiatowej (tom 2) / Military Vehicles of WW2, part 2", Warsaw 2004, *Eesti soomusmasinad : soomusautod ja tankid 1918-1940 / Tiit Noormets, Mati Õun Tallinn : Tammiskilp, 1999 Page 52

External links

Articles on TK/TKS development, variants and construction in English
i
Polish Armour 1918-1939
website
TK & TKS tankettes
wwiivehicles.com

achtungpanzer.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tks World War II armoured fighting vehicles of Poland World War II tankettes Tankettes of the interwar period Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s Tankettes