Type Tank destroyer Used by Kingdom of Hungary Designed 1944 | Place of origin Kingdom of Hungary Wars World War II | |
Designer Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works | ||
The 44M Tas Rohamlöveg ("44M Tas Assault Gun") was a Hungarian tank destroyer design of World War II, based on the chassis of the 44M Tas heavy tank. The design, conceived at Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works, never reached production because of Allied Bombing and the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The factory had managed to finish building a full prototype.
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Design
Development of this heavy tank destroyer started in 1944, influenced by the successes of similar vehicles in use by the German Army (STUG III) and the advantages associated with them: cheaper to build than a tank, lower profile, and more suitable for the defensive warfare that the Axis powers were now fighting.
The project was named Tas rohamlöveg, which can be translated from Hungarian as "Tas assault gun"; and it resembled the German Jagdpanther which itself derived from the Panther tank. The chassis from the 44M Tas tank had the body and turret replaced by a fixed casemate with sloped front and sides. Fontal armour was 120 mm, thicker that its German counterpart (80 mm).
Planned armament was a German 88 mm KwK 43 L/71 anti-tank gun (same as in the Jagdpanther) in a central mantlet which gave it a limited traverse to each side, plus two machine guns for self-defense.
As the Germans were unwilling to offer their Hungarian allies the powerful (700 hp) Maybach HL230 engine which powered the Jagdpanther, the 44M Tas Rohamlöveg tank destroyer was to be powered by two 260 hp gasoline-powered "Manfred Weiss-Z" engines, which were already in production for the 40M Turán I tank. This was the same power pack as in the 44M Tas tank.
Production
The 44M Tas Rohamlöveg was to be built by Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works; two prototypes were ordered, only one was built. The factory was bombed by Allied forces on June 27, 1944, and large parts of the factory with most of the materials related to the vehicle and the related 44M Tas tank were destroyed. The ensuing material and financial shortage meant the end of the project.