OA vz. 30
Encyclopedia
The OA vz. 30 was a Czechoslovak
-designed armored car used by Nazi Germany
, Slovakia, Romania
and Hungary during World War II
. Fifty-one were built, of which the Germans seized twenty-four when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia
in March 1939 and the Slovaks captured eighteen when they declared independence from Czechoslovakia at the same time. Romania acquired nine when Czech troops sought refuge in Romania after the Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine
that same month. Slovak vehicles saw combat in the Slovak-Hungarian War
, the invasion of Poland
, the opening months of Operation Barbarossa
and the Slovak National Uprising
.
The 1.91 litres (116.5 cu in), air-cooled, 32 hp, 4-cylinder boxer
Tatra 71 engine was mounted in the front. It gave a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37.3 mph). It could cross a ditch 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) wide, climb an obstacle 0.28 metre (0.918635170603675 ft) high and ford a stream 0.3 metre (0.984251968503937 ft) deep.
were not yet complete.
The Army decided to organize them in three-vehicle platoons assigned to the reconnaissance companies of the four Mobile (Rychlá) Divisions and assigned the extra platoons to support the border areas. These platoons were heavily used suppressing the protests and violence instigated by Konrad Henlein
's Sudeten German Party (Sudetendeutsche Partei - SdP) and the Sudetendeutsche Freikorps (paramilitary groups trained in Germany by SS
-instructors) between May and October 1938. After the Munich Agreement
two companies of OA vz. 30s were sent to reinforce Slovakia and Ruthenia where they were used to repel Hungarian and Polish border-crossers, sometimes up to a battalion in strength. They helped to screen the infantry when they had to evacuate southern Slovakia after the First Vienna Award
on 2 November 1938. Ten armored cars, no longer needed once that the border areas had been annexed by Germany and Hungary, were sold to the Gendarmerie in February—March 1939. Two companies defended Carpatho-Ukraine in March 1939 from a Hungarian attack, but were forced to seek refuge in Slovakia and Romania. One OA vz. 30 was captured by the Hungarians during the fighting, but they made no known use of it.
when they occupied that area. Another twenty-three were seized in March 1939 when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia. Seven were used by the propaganda companies as radio cars. Ten were taken over by the Uniformed Police (Ordnungspolizei)
and three equipped a platoon of the 14th Armored Police Company (Polizei-Panzer-Kompanie) in Slovenia
in January 1944.
that began a week later. The seventeen surviving OA vz. 30s formed one company in the Armored Battalion "Martin" formed by the Slovak Army in mid-1939, but that was reduced to a platoon by late 1939. Four armored cars reinforced the 2nd Infantry Division during the invasion of Poland and three others reinforced a cavalry reconnaissance unit in the vicinity of Sanok
. A company of six OA vz. 30s was part of Mobile Group Kalinčiak that was formed on 5 September to work with the 2nd Infantry Division, but saw no combat before being withdrawn back to Slovakia on the 21st.
A platoon of three was assigned to the Mobile Group that joined the Germans in Operation Barbarossa
on 24 June 1941. Two more were added when the Mobile Group was reinforced and redesignated as the Mobile Brigade on 8 July. The only serious combat encountered by the Slovak armor was at Lipovec in late July where they failed to dislodge the Soviet 44th Mountain Division from its positions. One OA vz. 30 was destroyed during this battle and two others were heavily damaged. All of the armored cars were withdrawn together with all the other armored vehicles and returned to Slovakia in early August. A company of six OA vz. 30s was sent to reinforce the Security Division on anti-partisan duties in Ukraine in August 1942. Two were destroyed in combat and there was only one running when the survivors were withdrawn back to Slovakia on 12 January 1943. Once the Panzerkampfwagen IIs that the Ministry of Defense had ordered to replace them arrived in January 1944 they were put into storage although they were still carried on the books. They saw some use by the insurgents when the Slovak National Uprising
began in September 1944, but little is known of their activities.
's bodyguard unit (Batalionul de gardă al mareşalului Antonescu or Regimentul de gardă al Conducătorului Statului). Supposedly three were destroyed during American bombing of Ploieşti
in the summer of 1944 while being serviced at the depot there.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
-designed armored car used by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Slovakia, Romania
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania was the Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
and Hungary during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Fifty-one were built, of which the Germans seized twenty-four when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions, known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this effort was the alleged privations suffered by...
in March 1939 and the Slovaks captured eighteen when they declared independence from Czechoslovakia at the same time. Romania acquired nine when Czech troops sought refuge in Romania after the Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine
Carpatho-Ukraine
Carpatho-Ukraine was an autonomous region within Czechoslovakia from late 1938 to March 15, 1939. It declared itself an independent republic on March 15, 1939, but was occupied by Hungary between March 15 and March 18, 1939, remaining under Hungarian control until the Nazi occupation of Hungary in...
that same month. Slovak vehicles saw combat in the Slovak-Hungarian War
Slovak-Hungarian War
The Slovak–Hungarian War or Little War , was a war fought from March 23 to March 31/April 4, 1939 between the First Slovak Republic and Hungary in eastern Slovakia.-Prelude:...
, the invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
, the opening months of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
and the Slovak National Uprising
Slovak National Uprising
The Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso...
.
Description
The OA vz. 30's armored body was mounted on a Tatra 6 x 4 T-72 truck chassis. The chassis design was unusual as it was a central tube design with independently sprung rear half-axles which gave good cross-country performance. The driver sat on the right side using an observation port protected by an armored shutter with a vision slit. The assistant driver sat on the left and had a small vision port for his ZB vz. 26 machine gun. It was mounted in a firing slit directly to his front. There were similar vision ports on both sides. The crew accessed the fighting compartment from a door in the rear of the vehicle. The gunner sat in a small, cylindrical turret with 360° of traverse. It had an observation port in the front and vision slits on both sides and the rear. The turret had another ZB vz. 26 light machine gun in a ball mount. Another machine gun was carried inside the vehicle. 3000 rounds were stored for the machine guns. The armor ranged between 3 to 6 mm (0.118110236220472 to 0.236220472440945 in) thick; this was deemed enough to deflect ordinary bullets fired from over 100 metres (109.4 yd) distance.The 1.91 litres (116.5 cu in), air-cooled, 32 hp, 4-cylinder boxer
Flat engine
A flat engine is an internal combustion engine with multiple pistons that move in a horizontal plane. Typically, the layout has cylinders arranged in two banks on either side of a single crankshaft and is sometimes known as the boxer, or horizontally opposed engine. The concept was patented in 1896...
Tatra 71 engine was mounted in the front. It gave a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37.3 mph). It could cross a ditch 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) wide, climb an obstacle 0.28 metre (0.918635170603675 ft) high and ford a stream 0.3 metre (0.984251968503937 ft) deep.
Development
The development history for the OA vz. 30 is difficult to sort out, but the Czech Army had been evaluating various Tatra truck chassis for use as armored cars since 1926 with a number of prototypes built over the years with both wooden and metal bodies to test vehicle layouts. An order was finally placed on 6 March 1933 for fifty-one for delivery in December. Tatra was late and only delivered the first six on 29 January 1934 followed by sixteen more in February and the rest in July because their garages in MiloviceMilovice
Milovice may refer to several Czech villages:* Milovice * Milovice u Hořic* Milovice * Milovice...
were not yet complete.
Czechoslovakia
In service they proved to have some serious shortcomings. The engines were weak and did not allow the vehicle to fully exploit the abilities of the chassis, not even being able to cross the ditches at the sides of roads. The armor was thin and could be penetrated at close range by rifles and the ZB vz. 26 machine guns were not capable of sustained fire.The Army decided to organize them in three-vehicle platoons assigned to the reconnaissance companies of the four Mobile (Rychlá) Divisions and assigned the extra platoons to support the border areas. These platoons were heavily used suppressing the protests and violence instigated by Konrad Henlein
Konrad Henlein
Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein was a leading pro-Nazi ethnic German politician in Czechoslovakia and leader of Sudeten German separatists...
's Sudeten German Party (Sudetendeutsche Partei - SdP) and the Sudetendeutsche Freikorps (paramilitary groups trained in Germany by SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
-instructors) between May and October 1938. After the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
two companies of OA vz. 30s were sent to reinforce Slovakia and Ruthenia where they were used to repel Hungarian and Polish border-crossers, sometimes up to a battalion in strength. They helped to screen the infantry when they had to evacuate southern Slovakia after the First Vienna Award
First Vienna Award
The First Vienna Award was the result of the First Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace on November 2, 1938. The Arbitration and Award were direct consequences of the Munich Agreement...
on 2 November 1938. Ten armored cars, no longer needed once that the border areas had been annexed by Germany and Hungary, were sold to the Gendarmerie in February—March 1939. Two companies defended Carpatho-Ukraine in March 1939 from a Hungarian attack, but were forced to seek refuge in Slovakia and Romania. One OA vz. 30 was captured by the Hungarians during the fighting, but they made no known use of it.
Germany
The Germans captured one OA vz. 30 in October 1938 that was being repaired in the SudetenlandSudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
when they occupied that area. Another twenty-three were seized in March 1939 when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia. Seven were used by the propaganda companies as radio cars. Ten were taken over by the Uniformed Police (Ordnungspolizei)
Ordnungspolizei
The Ordnungspolizei or Orpo were the uniformed regular police force in Nazi Germany between 1936 and 1945. It was increasingly absorbed into the Nazi police system. Owing to their green uniforms, they were also referred to as Grüne Polizei...
and three equipped a platoon of the 14th Armored Police Company (Polizei-Panzer-Kompanie) in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
in January 1944.
Slovakia
Ten armored cars were seized by the Slovaks when they declared independence in March 1939, but eight additional OA vz. 30s fell into their hands when Czech troops were sought refuge in Slovakia after fighting the Hungarians in Carpatho-Ukraine. One was destroyed during the Slovak-Hungarian WarSlovak-Hungarian War
The Slovak–Hungarian War or Little War , was a war fought from March 23 to March 31/April 4, 1939 between the First Slovak Republic and Hungary in eastern Slovakia.-Prelude:...
that began a week later. The seventeen surviving OA vz. 30s formed one company in the Armored Battalion "Martin" formed by the Slovak Army in mid-1939, but that was reduced to a platoon by late 1939. Four armored cars reinforced the 2nd Infantry Division during the invasion of Poland and three others reinforced a cavalry reconnaissance unit in the vicinity of Sanok
Sanok
Sanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...
. A company of six OA vz. 30s was part of Mobile Group Kalinčiak that was formed on 5 September to work with the 2nd Infantry Division, but saw no combat before being withdrawn back to Slovakia on the 21st.
A platoon of three was assigned to the Mobile Group that joined the Germans in Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
on 24 June 1941. Two more were added when the Mobile Group was reinforced and redesignated as the Mobile Brigade on 8 July. The only serious combat encountered by the Slovak armor was at Lipovec in late July where they failed to dislodge the Soviet 44th Mountain Division from its positions. One OA vz. 30 was destroyed during this battle and two others were heavily damaged. All of the armored cars were withdrawn together with all the other armored vehicles and returned to Slovakia in early August. A company of six OA vz. 30s was sent to reinforce the Security Division on anti-partisan duties in Ukraine in August 1942. Two were destroyed in combat and there was only one running when the survivors were withdrawn back to Slovakia on 12 January 1943. Once the Panzerkampfwagen IIs that the Ministry of Defense had ordered to replace them arrived in January 1944 they were put into storage although they were still carried on the books. They saw some use by the insurgents when the Slovak National Uprising
Slovak National Uprising
The Slovak National Uprising or 1944 Uprising was an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso...
began in September 1944, but little is known of their activities.
Romania
Almost nothing is known about the career of the OA vz. 30 in Romania after one Czech company of nine sought refuge there in March 1939. One unconfirmed report says that some were on the strength of the Romanian dictator AntonescuIon Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
's bodyguard unit (Batalionul de gardă al mareşalului Antonescu or Regimentul de gardă al Conducătorului Statului). Supposedly three were destroyed during American bombing of Ploieşti
Ploiesti
Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....
in the summer of 1944 while being serviced at the depot there.