The 44M Tas was a Hungarian medium/heavy tank design of World War II. Designed as a cheaper and home-made alternative to German-built Panthers in 1943, a sole mild steel prototype was built by the Manfred Weiss factory. Simultaneously, the development of 44M Tas rohamlöveg tank destroyer started and that vehicle shared most of the new tank's elements. However, as the factory was bombed by Soviet aviation on 27 June 1944, both the factory and the prototype were destroyed and no further production followed. Like its' German counterpart, the 44M Tas was to be armed with the powerful and modern 7.5 cm KwK 42 anti-tank gun. It also shared a similar layout and suspension, with six road wheels on semi-elliptical springs. As the Germans were unwilling to offer their Hungarian allies the powerful Maybach HL230 engine, the 44M Tas was powered by two 260 hp gasoline-powered "Manfred Weiss-Z" engines, identical to those already in production for the 40M Turán I tank.
References[]
- (English) J C M Probst. "Hungarian armour during WW2".
The original article can be found at 44M Tas heavy tank and the edit history here.