One of the components of the assault vehicles in 1939 were also armored trains, which proved their worth during the battles for the Polish border in 1918-1921. Their considerable firepower and mobility made them suitable for fire support of infantry and cavalry units as well as for independent combat (reconnaissance). The limitation, however, was the link to the railway line. The armoured trains did not operate in tactical units but were individually assigned to a tactical-operational bundle.
In the early 1930s, the Assault Vehicle Command conducted an analysis of the combat value of the assets in use to date and decided to retain the 10 most valuable in the two existing armored train detachments. This status was maintained until mobilization in 1939.
The armoured trains hitherto in existence were divided into two types according to the type of gun carriages:
1) heavy armoured train (2 howitzers 100 mm + 2 guns 75 mm)
2) light armoured train (2-4 75 mm guns)
Mobilized armored trains No. | Type of armored combat train | Number of armored locomotive | Type of artillery car | Type of armored train set | 11 "Danuta" | heavy | Ti3-12 | II | 2x TK-R-TK | |||||||||||||||
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12 "Poznanczyk" | heavy | Ti3-3/5/8/16 ? | II | 2x TK-R-TK | ||||||||||||||||||||
13 "General Sosnkowski" | light | Ti3-3/5/8/16 ? | I | 2x R + 2x Tatra T-18 | 14 "Paderewski" | heavy | Ti3-3/5/8/16 ? | II | 2x TK-R-TK | 15 "Śmierć" | light | Ti3-3/5/8/16 ? | modernized Austro-Hungarian | 2x Tatra T-18 | 51 "Pierwszy Marszałek" | light | Ti3-2 | Soviet type "Krasnoye Sormovo" | 2x TK-R-TK | 52 "Piłsudczyk" | heavy | Ti3-13 | II | 2x TK-R-TK |
53 "Bold" | heavy | Ti3-9 | II | 2x TK-R-TK | ||||||||||||||||||||
54 "Groźny" | light | Ti3-4 | unknown type of Soviet origin | 2x TK-R-TK | 55 "Bartosz Glowacki" | light | Ti3-14 | I | 2x TK-R-TK |
Note: The train name after the number was unofficial.
Part of the armored train were:
1) Armored Fighting Vehicle
2) Unarmoured escort train
Ad 1) The armoured fighting train was intended for immediate combat. The standard set included:
Armoured Train Composition from Front | Armoured Train Composition from Front |
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Preliminary Car 1 | Flatcar 1 |
Artillery Wagon 1 | Artillery Wagon 1 |
Machine Gun Wagon 1 | Assault Wagon |
Armoured Locomotive | Armoured Locomotive |
Artillery Wagon 2 | Artillery Wagon 2 |
Preliminary Wagon 2 | Flatcar 2 |
Armored Dray 2 | Armoured Scout Rail Vehicles |
Notes: Note: | 1 The Kulometny wagon is named in Polish terminology as a strike wagon (wagon szturmowy) and therefore this English translation is used. 2 Armoured carriages moved a certain distance ahead or behind the train, depending on the task and the train's activity. |
The advance carriage was placed at the head and end of the train in the direction of travel and its main task was to protect the entire train from the effect of mine blasts and damage to the railway line. They were Pdkz type VIIIC two-axle wagons with a length of 13 m, a weight of 10,000 kg and a load capacity of 17,500 kg.
It also protected the armoured train from derailment if the tracks were broken more than 60 cm. It carried materials for track repairs, small bridges, explosives and incendiaries.
The artillery car was a four-axle armored freight car armed with 1-2 guns mounted in special revolving turrets, 2-4 machine guns in the side turrets, 2-4 machine guns in the front turrets, and an anti-aircraft machine gun in the turret in the center of the car. The walls were lined with 12-25 mm thick double armour plate, the floor 5-8 mm thick and were resistant to artillery shell splinters and small arms fire. The cars for the heavy type of armoured trains were built in 1921-1922 at the Poznań mechanical works of Henryk Cegielski (Type II). The cars for the light type of armoured trains were also built in 1920 in the Poznań mechanical works of Henryk Cegielski (Type I) or were captured in 1918-1920 during the construction of the Polish Army (Austro-Hungarian OV Panzerzug V) and in the battles against Bolshevik Russia. In the heavy-type OVs the artillery turrets were rotated 360°, in the light-type OVs 240-270°.
The artillery armament consisted of 100 mm howitzers vz. 14/19P and 75 mm cannons vz. 02/26.
Machine gun armament consisted of 7.92 mm Maxim vz. 08.
The machine gun carriage was used to carry a strike platoon, which was tasked with protecting the train from attack by the enemy at the stand or to attack the enemy directly at the train commander's discretion. The car was fully armored as was the artillery car and four 7.92 mm machine guns Maxim vz. 08. In one part of it was a RKB/C radio cab stripped for communication with the dragoons.
The armoured locomotive of the Ti3 type was armoured with 8-20 mm thick sheet metal to protect it from small arms fire and artillery shell splinters. The armour protected the steam boiler, engine and undercarriage, the operator's station, the trainmaster's tower and the Type 12C1 tender. On the tender, the armoured trainmaster's station was located behind the trainmaster's station and was linked by the internal and external communication system of the combat train. The tender was armored from the sides and rear. The following were used for internal communications:
1) electric light communication with a bell to transmit traffic instructions to the driver.
2) a field telephone designed to talk to the radio cab in the assault car
3) a short-wave radio station RKB/C intended for communication with a group of armoured carriages
The locomotives were built in 1903-1906 in Prussia under the designation KPEV G53 and 16 were delivered to Poland as part of war reparations, where their designation was changed to Ti3. 12 of them were armoured and modernised in 1927-1932.
The water supply was sufficient to cover 70-100 km. A coal supply was enough to drive 300 km.
TTD armored locomotives Ti3 (with type 12C1 tender) | |
---|---|
length | 16,17 m |
height | 4,7 m |
width | 3,15 m |
wheel diameter | 1.3 m |
empty weight | 80 t |
weight with coal and water supply | 103 t |
water supply | 12 000 l |
coal reserve | 8 000 kg |
max. speed of the locomotive itself | 65 km/h |
max. speed with attached train | 45 km/h |
The armoured train's combat set-up also included two sets of armoured dredges, which carried out track reconnaissance during the movement and ensured the train's safety in the field during stops. The standard TK-R-TK sets were:
R - 1 tank Renault FT 17 mounted on a railway chassis
two TK trainsets - 2 tanks TK or TKS mounted on rail guides placed before and after the R trainset.
Propulsion of the entire train was provided by the Renault tank engine, which was connected by a gear train to the rear axle of its railway chassis. The rig could reach speeds of up to 45 km/h on the railway and could move in both directions. With the help of hydraulic lifting devices, the tank could be lowered from the railway track into the field and reloaded in 1-3 minutes.
Another type of armoured tank was the Czechoslovak-made Tatra T-18.
Ad 2) The escort train provided logistical and social support to the armoured train combat team and was an integral part of it. It did not take part in direct combat tasks, but accompanied the battle group in operational activities and was to maintain communication with it. The set included about 30 rail cars (Dy and Kd type covered wagons, an open coal truck, a tanker, PP type flat cars) and was equipped with two vz. 34 semi-axle trucks, one Polski Fiat 618 light truck and four CWS M-111 motorcycles with trailers. The vz. 34 trucks were adapted to run on rails. The total length of the set - about 250 m. The functionality of the set was ensured by the technical and economic platoon.
Sources:
https://www.derela.republika.pl/pociagi.htm
Jurga, Tadeusz: Wojsko Polskie. A short historical informer about the Polish Army in the years of World War II. Cz 7 - Regular units of the Polish Army in 1939, MON, Warsaw 1975
Magnuski, Janusz: Pociąg Pancerny "Śmiały″ w trzech wojnach, Wydawnictwo Pelta, Warsaw 1996
Ostrówka, Adam Jacek: Pociągi pancerne Wojska Polskiego 1918-1939, Adam Marszałek Publishing House, Toruń 2007
Szubański, Rajmund: Polska broń pancerna w 1939 roku, Bellona, Warsaw 2004
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