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The Armoured Train Web-museum |
For enthusiasts of all ages for Railway guns & Armoured trains of all sizes.
Please do not climb on the exhibits
Hungarian armoured trains
This information was contributed by Gabor Hopocky
The Armament Of The Royal Hungarian Army.
Armoured trains in the Hungarian Army (1919-1939).
The first practically used armoured aspect of Hungarian warfare was the armoured train. In septeember of 1914 Schoeber, captain of Austro-Hungarian monarchy, chief of the 15th railway building division built an armoured train in Galicia. He covered the engine with 8-12 mm thick boiler-plates and strenghten the open waggons with rails and thin iron plates. They placed machine-guns in the loop-holes. They didn't use guns at this time. Captain Kossowicz, chief of the 5th k.u. k. railway building division made a second armoured train at the Munkachevo-Stryj line. It consisted of two units, that could fight covering each other, with two 80mm cannons which fired headway. This train was fighting in september-october, and was so successful, that the HQ of the Monarchy (AOK) immediately ordered new trains, builded in factories. The order was placed to the MAV (Hungarian Railway Company), and they started to build in the MAVAG factory (Budapest), and in the Northern Factory 8 trains using engines of type 377. There were two kinds. The heavy type had a built-in gun, while the light one had only machine guns.
The train No I. arrived to Maramarossziget at 5th december 1914, and immediately started to fight. The others were put in service in 1915. The No. IX. which was built later, called "flat" one was put to service in 1916. It has a type 2001. engine, and it's gun-emplacement has an own motor, so it could be used alone. The two trains built by the start of the war got the X. and the XI. numbers. In 1918 there were 9 armoured trains (the two temporary has been broken), five were in continouos service, four were in store. By the withdraw in 1918. No. II. and No. VIII. has been captured by the Czechoslovak army, and were used by them. No. V. and No III. has given to the new Polish Army by the 2. army division, where they were used for a little more. No IV., VI., VII., and IX. came back to Hungary, while No. I and III (I think it is an error) was blown up by its/their crew. New researches show that the old k.u.k. train No. II. was owned by the Wehrmacht in 1939., and fought with German signs in WWII. In Yugoslavia in 1941, then on the Balkan, fate is unknown.
The k.u.k. No VIII. train had two parts. The first part was owned by Czechoslovakia, under the name of Orlik, but it wasn't in the inventory in 1939, possibly has broken. In november 1918. the (Hungarian) Karolyi-government recorded the trains in Hungary, the army used them after renumbering: I. (old IV.), II. (old VI.), III. (old VII.), IV. (old IX). The HQ ordered new armoured trains for the defense of the railways. Between december 1918. and januar 1919. four new trains was built (No. V., VI., VII., VIII.), built of type 375. and type 377. MAV engines and civil coaches. Because of the successful operation of armoured trains by the end of february 1919. six more trains was ordered from the MAV factories. No. IX. and X. completed on 9. april 1919., No. XI. and XII. completed on 28. April 1919. No. XIII. and XIV. hadn't completed. By the time of the Hungarian Soviet Union this 12 trains fought. The No. XII. train was completed under the HSU.
The HQ of the (Hungarian) Red Army ordered two trains (No. XIII., XIV.) for the red railway division and on june 19th ordered five more trains. The factory started to build the first two only, but they hadn't completed. In october-november 1919. the National Army distrained this 12 trains, but on the papers there are only ten of them. There is no data from the remaining two, possibly one of them has destroyed in the fights against the Roumaian and one against the Czechoslovak army.
On 12th june 1920. because of the orders and controls by the Antant the armoured trains renamed as "military guard trains" (MGT), and taken apart, and placed to several stations. The heavier type 375. engines of No. IV., VII., VIII., IX. trains had benn changed to lighter type 376.-s and placed into engine-houses. In february 1921. the name MGT has changed to "train accompanying compartment".
In 1929. the Ministry of Defense ordered to destroy the five unupgradable ones, that were converted civil coaches. The four best I., II., III., and V. that built as armoured trains still were in order. Their armour and their weapons were upgraded, because buying or building of armoured trains was impossible. From 1932. the nubering of trains became 1., 2., 3., 4. Their main weapons were 5/8 M and 18 M 80 mm L/30 barrel-length cannons, the speed of their bullet was 508 m/s, their range was 8400 m. The machine guns stood of type Swarzlose. The modernisation gave the trains new armaments, radios, inner message system. By 1938. the engines got a "smoke driving system", which blowed the smoke near the tracks, so it didn't disturbed firing. After the modification their armament has changed: a 80 mm 22M cannon in a rotating tower , and a 80 mm 18M cannon in a closed armoured waggon. To the aft of the train a 36 M 37 mm armour-piecing cannon was placed. Instead of the machine guns they placed into the rotating tower a 36 M 20 mm heavy rifle, and into the side loop-holes 31 M 8 mm machine guns.
Among the armament of the Hungarian Army between 1932-34. was a RABA armoured car, with railway wheels, called "light armoured train". After 1939. it was broken, only the four trains left. The new numbering was 101. for the high train, 102. for the flat train, 103. high train with a type 377. engine, and 104. train with a motorcar. From 1940. the armoured trains were ordered directly under the HQ. Their outfit, armament haven't changed until the end of the war. They consisted of an engine, two high and two flat coaches. Every armoured train had a service train with a more powerful engine, which carried the ammunition and other goods after the armoured train. In headways it pulled the armoured train too, to preserve its type 377. armoured engine. This engine was used only in battles, because the train that consisted of 3-5 coaches wasn't very heavy.
The armoured trains fought in 1939. in the recapturing of Slovakia, 1939. in the recapturing of Ruthenia, and in 1940. recapturing Transsyvania, in 1941. in Yugoslavia. They fought too in 1941 against the Soviet Union, while the normal gauge and the shape of the tracks made it possible. In 1944. all the four trains fought in Hungary. One was surrounded in Budapest and stood nearby the Eastern station. A report in 1945. Mention one armoured train on the northern side of the lake Balaton. The fate of this, and the other two is unknown.
Table on pg. 179:
Conditions on 29th. june 1920.
Pictures (left to right, up to down).
Drawings:
- Pg190:
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3 Nov 97 |
