Tank Destroyer Tacam R-2
Encyclopedia
The TACAM R-2 was a Romanian tank destroyer
used during World War II
. It was built by removing the turret of the R-2 light tank and building a pedestal to mount an ex-Soviet 76.2 mm (3 in) ZiS-3
field gun in its place. A three-sided fighting compartment was built to protect the gun and its crew. Twenty were built in 1944, but only one is known to exist today. It participated in the Budapest Offensive
and the Prague Offensive
.
and Romania's own TACAM T-60
, still in development. The turret was removed from one R-2 to serve as the prototype over the summer of 1943 to test the concept. A captured Soviet 76.2 millimetres (3 in) M-1936 F-22 field gun was removed from its carriage and a new mount was fabricated to fit the gun to the turretless R-2. A fighting compartment was built using armor salvaged from captured Soviet tanks. New Romanian and German gun sights were fitted to suit the new Romanian ammunition. Testing in late 1943 proved that the gun didn't overpower the chassis, but the gun was only effective against T-34s up to ranges of 500–600 m (546.8–656.2 yd). Forty were planned to be converted by Leonida in Bucharest
, but the process couldn't begin immediately because Germany hadn't yet delivered the tanks that were to replace the R-2 which allowed the F-22 gun to be exchanged for the more powerful ZiS-3
gun on the production models.
Proposals were made to rearm them to better counter the new heavily-armored Soviet Iosif Stalin tank
s. Proposals were made to up-gun the vehicle with either the Romanian-built 75 mm (3 in) Reşiţa Model 1943
anti-tank gun or the German 88 mm (3.5 in) gun, but nothing was done before Romania changed sides in August 1944.
gun mounted on a R-2 light tank chassis from which the turret had been removed. The gun was protected by a three-sided, fixed, partially-roofed gun shield
with sides 10–17 mm (0.393700787401575–0.669291338582677 in) thick. The armor plate for the gun shield was salvaged from captured Soviet BT-7
and T-26
tanks. The gun could traverse 30°, elevate 15° and depress 5°. A total of thirty rounds were carried for the main gun, twenty-one HE
and nine AP
. The chassis was little changed from that of the R-2 and retained its hull-mounted 7.92 millimetre (0.311811023622047 in) ZB-53
machine gun. The armor of the hull ranged from 8 to 25 mm (0.31496062992126 to 0.984251968503937 in) thick. It could cross a ditch 2 metres (6.6 ft) wide, climb an obstacle 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) high and ford a stream 0.8 metres (2.6 ft) deep.
. A company of twelve was assigned to the Niculescu Detachment when it was rushed north at the beginning of September to defend the Transylvania
n frontier against the Axis counterattack from Hungary. Four more were added when the Niculescu Detachment was absorbed into the ad-hoc Armored Group on 29 September in preparation for attacks intended to clear Northern Translyvania. This was successful and the Armored Group was disbanded when the last Axis units were forced from Romanian territory on 25 October 1944.
Twelve were assigned to the 2nd Armored Regiment when it was sent to the front Czechoslovakia in February 1945. The Soviets immediately seized most of the TACAM R-2s in exchange for a few captured German tanks, but two were reported as operational on 31 March and two were still on hand on 24 April. One of these was destroyed before 30 April and the other was damaged mopping up German units near Brno
in May. None were reported with the remnants of the Regiment when it returned to Bucharest on 14 May 1945.
One survives today in the Romanian National Military Museum
in Bucharest.
Tank destroyer
A tank destroyer is a type of armored fighting vehicle armed with a gun or missile launcher, and is designed specifically to engage enemy armored vehicles...
used 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...
. It was built by removing the turret of the R-2 light tank and building a pedestal to mount an ex-Soviet 76.2 mm (3 in) ZiS-3
ZiS-3
The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun used during World War II. ZiS was a factory designation and stood for Zavod imeni Stalina , the honorific title of Artillery Factory No...
field gun in its place. A three-sided fighting compartment was built to protect the gun and its crew. Twenty were built in 1944, but only one is known to exist today. It participated in the Budapest Offensive
Budapest Offensive
The Budapest Offensive was the general attack by Soviet forces against Germany and their allies from the territory of Hungary. The offensive lasted from 29 October 1944 until the fall of Budapest on 13 February 1945.-Prelude:...
and the Prague Offensive
Prague Offensive
The Prague Offensive was the last major Soviet operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive, and the battle for Prague, was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. This battle for the city is particularly noteworthy in that it ended after the Third Reich capitulated on 8 May...
.
Development
By December 1942 it was blatantly obvious that Romania's R-2 light tanks were no longer capable of standing up to Soviet medium tanks, but something had to be done to extend their service. It was decided to convert them to tank destroyers on the model of the German Marder IIMarder II
The Marder II was a German tank destroyer of World War II based on the Panzer II chassis.-History:During the very first days of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Germans were shocked to encounter Soviet T-34 medium tanks and KV heavy tanks...
and Romania's own TACAM T-60
TACAM T-60
The TACAM T-60 was a Romanian tank destroyer used during World War II. It was built by removing the turret of captured T-60 light tanks and building a pedestal to mount an ex-Soviet M-1936 F-22 field gun in its place. A three-sided fighting compartment was built to protect the gun and its crew...
, still in development. The turret was removed from one R-2 to serve as the prototype over the summer of 1943 to test the concept. A captured Soviet 76.2 millimetres (3 in) M-1936 F-22 field gun was removed from its carriage and a new mount was fabricated to fit the gun to the turretless R-2. A fighting compartment was built using armor salvaged from captured Soviet tanks. New Romanian and German gun sights were fitted to suit the new Romanian ammunition. Testing in late 1943 proved that the gun didn't overpower the chassis, but the gun was only effective against T-34s up to ranges of 500–600 m (546.8–656.2 yd). Forty were planned to be converted by Leonida in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, but the process couldn't begin immediately because Germany hadn't yet delivered the tanks that were to replace the R-2 which allowed the F-22 gun to be exchanged for the more powerful ZiS-3
ZiS-3
The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun used during World War II. ZiS was a factory designation and stood for Zavod imeni Stalina , the honorific title of Artillery Factory No...
gun on the production models.
Proposals were made to rearm them to better counter the new heavily-armored Soviet Iosif Stalin tank
Iosif Stalin tank
The Iosif Stalin tank , was a heavy tank developed by the Soviet Union during World War II and first used in the Kursk area in September 1943...
s. Proposals were made to up-gun the vehicle with either the Romanian-built 75 mm (3 in) Reşiţa Model 1943
75 mm Reşiţa Model 1943
The 75 mm Reşiţa Model 1943 was a anti-tank gun produced by Romania during World War II. It combined features from the Soviet ZiS-3 field\anti-tank gun, the German PaK 40 and the Romanian 75 mm Vickers/Reşiţa Model 1936 anti-aircraft gun...
anti-tank gun or the German 88 mm (3.5 in) gun, but nothing was done before Romania changed sides in August 1944.
Description
The TACAM R-2 had a 76.2 millimetres (3 in) ZiS-3ZiS-3
The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun used during World War II. ZiS was a factory designation and stood for Zavod imeni Stalina , the honorific title of Artillery Factory No...
gun mounted on a R-2 light tank chassis from which the turret had been removed. The gun was protected by a three-sided, fixed, partially-roofed gun shield
Gun shield
thumb|A [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] manning an [[M240 machine gun]] equipped with a gun shieldA gun shield is a flat piece or section of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun or artillery piece, or, more rarely, to be used with an assault rifle...
with sides 10–17 mm (0.393700787401575–0.669291338582677 in) thick. The armor plate for the gun shield was salvaged from captured Soviet BT-7
BT-7
The BT-7 was the last of the BT tank series of Soviet cavalry tanks that were produced in large numbers between 1935 and 1940. They were lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for their time, and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs...
and T-26
T-26
The T-26 tank was a Soviet light infantry tank used during many conflicts of the 1930s as well as during World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and is widely considered one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s....
tanks. The gun could traverse 30°, elevate 15° and depress 5°. A total of thirty rounds were carried for the main gun, twenty-one HE
He
He is a third-person, singular personal pronoun in Modern English, as well as being a personal pronoun in Middle English.-Animals:...
and nine AP
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
. The chassis was little changed from that of the R-2 and retained its hull-mounted 7.92 millimetre (0.311811023622047 in) ZB-53
Besa machine gun
The Besa Machine Gun was a British version of the Czechoslovak ZB-53 air-cooled, belt-fed machine-gun, which in the Czechoslovak army was marked as the TK vz. 37...
machine gun. The armor of the hull ranged from 8 to 25 mm (0.31496062992126 to 0.984251968503937 in) thick. It could cross a ditch 2 metres (6.6 ft) wide, climb an obstacle 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) high and ford a stream 0.8 metres (2.6 ft) deep.
Operational history
Leonida began work in late February 1944 and the first batch of twenty conversions was complete by the end of June. Production was halted then because the gun was thought inadequate to face the new heavily-armored IS-2 tanks being fielded by the Soviets. Ten vehicles were organized into the 63rd TACAM Company in July 1944 and assigned to the 1st Armored Training Division. They didn't see combat until after Romania's defection to the AlliesKing Michael's Coup
King Michael's Coup refers to the coup d'etat led by King Michael of Romania in 1944 against the pro-Nazi Romanian faction of Ion Antonescu, after the Axis front in Northeastern Romania collapsed under the Soviet offensive.-The coup:...
. A company of twelve was assigned to the Niculescu Detachment when it was rushed north at the beginning of September to defend the Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
n frontier against the Axis counterattack from Hungary. Four more were added when the Niculescu Detachment was absorbed into the ad-hoc Armored Group on 29 September in preparation for attacks intended to clear Northern Translyvania. This was successful and the Armored Group was disbanded when the last Axis units were forced from Romanian territory on 25 October 1944.
Twelve were assigned to the 2nd Armored Regiment when it was sent to the front Czechoslovakia in February 1945. The Soviets immediately seized most of the TACAM R-2s in exchange for a few captured German tanks, but two were reported as operational on 31 March and two were still on hand on 24 April. One of these was destroyed before 30 April and the other was damaged mopping up German units near Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
in May. None were reported with the remnants of the Regiment when it returned to Bucharest on 14 May 1945.
One survives today in the Romanian National Military Museum
National Military Museum (Romania)
The National Military Museum , located at 125-127 Mircea Vulcănescu St., Bucharest, Romania, was established in 1923 by King Ferdinand. It has been at its present site since 1988, in a building finished in 1898.- External links :...
in Bucharest.