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Leichttraktor VK-31
LeichttraktorProfile
Type Light tank
Place of origin Germany
Service history
In service 1930
Used by Germany
Wars Second World War
Production history
Designed 1929-1933
Manufacturer Krupp, Rheinmetall
Produced 1930
No. built 4
Specifications
Mass 8.7 tonnes (9.6 short tons) (Krupp)
8.96 tonnes (9.88 short tons) (Rheinmetall)
Length 4.35 m (14.3 ft) (Krupp)
4.21 m (13.8 ft) (Rheinmetall)
Width 2.37 m (7.8 ft) (Krupp)
2.26 m (7.4 ft) (Rheinmetall)
Height 2.35 m (7.7 ft) (Krupp)
2.27 m (7.4 ft) (Rheinmetall)
Crew 4; Commander, Driver, Radio operator, and Loader

Armor riveted and welded steel
Main
armament
One 3.7 cm 37mm KwK L/45
Engine Daimler-Benz M36 six cylinder liquid cooled gasoline engine.
100 hp
Suspension coil-spring suspension (Krupp)
leaf springs suspension (Rheinmetall)
Operational
range
137 km (85 mi) on-road
Maximum speed 30 km/h (19 mph)

The Leichttraktor (VK-31) was a German experimental tank.

After the first world war, Germany was restricted in military development by the Versailles Treaty but a secret program under the name cover "Traktor" was developing armoured military vehicles and artillery.

The Germans tested the tank in the Soviet Union under the Rapallo treaty signed in 1922 under high secrecy and security. The testing facility used from 1926 to 1933 was called Panzertruppenschule Kama, and was located near Kazan in the Soviet Union. The location was a joint testing ground and tank training ground for the Red Army and Reichswehr. It was codenamed Kama from the two words Kazan and Malbrandt because the testing grounds were near Kazan and Oberstleutenant Malbrandt was assigned to select the location for testing. In the early years of World War II, it was used as a training tank.

References[]

  • Peter Chamberlain & Hilary Doyle (1999). Sterling. ed. Encyplopedia of German Tanks of World War Two. ISBN 1854095188. 
  • The Book of the World (2012) Kingfisher published
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Leichttraktor and the edit history here.



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