Craig Moore assesses how close the British Army came to adopting the Czech-made and later German-espoused Panzer 38(t)
Irecently found an unusual report in the National Archives in Kew, hinting that there could have been a remote possibility in 1939 that the British Expeditionary Force, sent to defend France and Belgium, could have been issued with the same Czechoslovakian-built tanks the Germans were using among their Panzer Divisions. The German designation for this particular tank was the Panzer 38(t). On June 13, 1939, the British War Office Mechanisation Experimental Establishment received a new Czechoslovakian tank by rail for examination and testing. Designated the Praga TNH-P 8-ton tank, it was manufactured by Ceskomoravská Kolben-Danek (CKD) and was based near the capital of Prague. The Praga itself was completely equipped and furnished, although lacked a complement of ammunition. CKD, seeing the way the international winds were turning, was particularly keen to sell its newly manufactured tank to both the British Army and other foreign powers. Designed as a replacement for the Czechoslovakian Army’s LT vz.35 tan, the tank was hoped to be an export success. It had a roomier interior than i…
