14TP

Before World War II, when Poland was working hard on the development of modern tanks, the 14TP project was also created. Development was almost concurrent with the 10TP, with which it shared the same type of Christie chassis. However, unlike the 10TP, the 14TP type lacked the ability to move on wheels, and the type was to move only on tracks. The wheel-and-waist idea was abandoned due to complexity and cost. The weight saved was to be used to employ thicker armour. The original intention was to use armour 10-35mm thick. Its thickness was to reach up to 50mm according to later plans. Due to the increased weight, Polish engineers were developing a new 300-400hp engine, but due to the time-consuming nature of the development, it was decided to obtain such a powerful engine abroad. Negotiations were made to purchase German Maybach HL 108 engines (also considered for the 10TP) and semi-automatic gearboxes, but the negotiations failed to be completed by the time of the occupation of Poland. The absence of a suitable engine was the death knell for this interesting project. If all went according to plan, the prototype would have been completed in the spring of 1939. Unfortunately, only an unfinished prototype was produced, which was in the parent factory of PZInz Ursus at the time of the invasion of Poland. There are only conjectures about the fate of the machine. It is possible that it was destroyed by the employees themselves before the Germans occupied the factory. A photograph of the machine has probably not survived; according to the initial drawings, the 14TP did not differ significantly from the 10TP. The biggest change was to be to the front of the hull. Parts of the wheeled part of the chassis were eliminated. The front armour was probably to be made up of a single armour plate inclined at an acute angle. The original wz.30 machine guns, which were water-cooled and not very suitable for mounting in armoured vehicles, were to be replaced by air-cooled machine guns. A sketch of a Polish tank designated "Polnische Kampfpanzer 39TP" was found in the Abwehr archives, which for a time was taken as a possible form of the 14TP. Either the sketch is based on Polish documentation, or it is a poor quality sketch of the 10TP or a deliberate misinformation created by the Polish side before the war.
The 10TP/14TP designs and subsequent design considerations are compared to the development path of the Soviet medium tank T-34, which also sprang from the same "Christie" base and was based on the BT series of tanks.
The fate of the unfinished prototype is unclear. It is quite possible that it was at the Warsztat Doswiaczalny BBT Br. Panc. (PZInż) located in the Ursus district of Warsaw. It was probably destroyed before the occupation of the factory.

Janusz Magnuski, Andrzej Kiński - Czołg pościgowy 10TP i czołg szturmowy 14TP, Poligon No. 1/2009, pp. 4-27, 2009, Warszawa, Magnum-X Sp. z o.o., ISSN 1895-3344
Ivo Pejčoch, Oldřich Pejs - Obrněná technika 5, Central Europe 1919-1945 Part I, ARES Publishing House, Prague 2004, ISBN 80-86158-32-2
www.wojsko18-39.internetdsl.pl
www.wpk.p.lodz.pl
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