The vehicle carried 200 rounds for the main gun and 3,000 rounds for the machine guns, and was equipped with an R-4 radio and a handrail-type antenna attached to the hull. The turret likewise was formed with angled armour plates, and had 9mm armour. The Csaba’s angularly-shaped body with no vertical plates was designed to give extra protection to the crew and engine by deflecting projectiles and shrapnel. Through the rear hatch of the turret as an antiaircraft weapon, or be taken away and carried while performing reconnaissance missions on foot. Row of 39m Csabas in 1940 FORTEPAN / LUDOVIKA ‘The vehicles’ armament and armour were adequate only for reconnaissance duties 62 Also on board was a removable 8mm Solothurn 31M machine gun which could fire These features enabled the Csaba to escape quickly and avoid presenting itself as a more vulnerable target to an enemy as it would by turning around in order toĬannon and a coaxial 8mm Gebauer 34/37M machine gun. The Csaba had independent suspension, two and four-wheel drive, and four-wheel steering which could be set to front or rear two-wheel steer.
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Transylvania and they performed acceptably. RIGHT: Driver’s view inside 39M FORTEPAN / LUDOVIKA ABOVE: View inside 39 turret, 20mm 36M gun at right FORTEPAN / LUDOVIKA The Casba had a centrally-positioned turret which rotated 360°, fitted with a 36M 20mm Especially with four on board, the Csaba’s tight fighting compartment made for a rather cramped crew.
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It was manned by a crew of three or four comprising commander, gunner, driver, and sometimes second driver/radio operator in the rear position. With six gears available forward or reverse via a transfer case, the Csaba had driving positions in the front and rear so that the crew could operate the These attributes gave the Csaba excellent off-road capabilities, but required rather involved maintenance. In January 1940 these saw action in the annexation of Northern This first batch of eight Csabas was made of mild (low-carbon) steel. It was designated 39M Csaba, ‘Csaba’ being in legend the name of one of Attila the Hun’s offspring. In 1939, and it went into production that year. Note handrail-type antenna on this 39M in 1940 FORTEPAN / LUDOVIKA ‘The Csaba had driving positions in the front and rear so that the crew could operate the vehicle back-to-front’ The Royal Hungarian Army successfully tested the vehicle The Hungarian Military Technical Institute assisted the Weiss Manfred engineers in further developing and refining the design based on Straussler’s concept. The Hungarian Ministry of Defence requested an AC2-based armoured car from Weiss Manfred in the latter part of 1938. Alvis-Straussler also made a number of the vehicles for the Dutch, designated AC3D, which saw service in Java. The AC3 went into production for the RAF, which deployed 12 This vehicle used a Weiss Manfred chassis and an Alvis engine.
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(One of the two prototypes remained at the Weiss Manfred factory.) With the Alvis-Straussler Ltd partnership established in 1936, the team created the Alvis-Straussler AC3 armoured car prototype. The next evolution in the design, the AC2, came along in 1935, the prototypes also being produced in Hungary. The AC1 was a 4x4 with a rear-mounted engine and all-wheel steering. He had the AC1 prototype made by the Weiss Manfred Rt factory in Csepel, Hungary, and then delivered to England. In 1932 he developed the AC1, an experimental armoured car for the Air Ministry, and in 1933 established Straussler Mechanisation Ltd for designing and building his vehicles and inventions. Straussler travelled often between England and Hungary during 1928-33, and became a British citizen in 1933. Orn in Hungary, Nicholas Straussler (18911966) was an engineer and inventor who lived and studied in England in the interwar period. ATTILA Eric Bryan recounts the history of the Csaba armoured car