Light Tank V4

V4
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Kingdom of Hungary
Service history
In service	1937
Used by	Kingdom of Hungary
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Nicholas Straussler
Designed	1937
Produced	1937
No. built	Prototype only
Specifications
Weight	9 t (8.9 long tons)
Length	3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
Width	2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)
Height	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Crew	4
Armor	23/13/9 mm
Main armament	37M 40 mm gun
Secondary armament	34/37M 8 mm twin machine gun
Engine	Weiss-Mannfréd V-OHC petrol 133 kW
Suspension	leaf spring
Speed	45 km/h on wheels 32 km/h on tracks

The Light Tank V4 was a Hungarian tank design of the interwar period. One of Nicholas Straussler's earlier armoured vehicle projects it never progressed beyond prototype. The V4 had a cross-articulated three-point suspension with leaf springs and rubber bogie rollers. The V4 was actually used experimentally to develop pontoon devices for ferrying purposes.

The V-4 was the upgraded version of the V-3, and the first Hungarian made tank that come into service. The V-3 had a problem with the suspension, which was resolved for the V-4. The newer model has also a more powerful engine that allowed it a greater speed. The new model tower has been stretched for the twin machine gun, also got a 40 mm cannon, and was able to carry a 4 crewmen.

By the time that it entered service in the end of 1937, work on the 38M Toldi and the Turán medium tank were already ongoing, and the V-4 was considered out-of-date.

References

Further reading

• J C M Probst. "Hungarian armour during WW2". Airfix Magazine (September 1976).