40M Nimrod
| 40M Nimród | |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | 23x15px Kingdom of Hungary, Ganz, Budapest |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 10.5 tonnes |
| Length | 5.32 m |
| Width | 2.31 m |
| Height | 2.8 m |
| Crew | 6 |
| | |
| Armor | 6–13 mm on the hull, 28 mm on the turret |
| Main armament |
40 mm Bofors/60 AA-gun |
| Engine | VIII EST 107, 8-cylinder, gasoline, water-cooled 150 hp (110 kW) |
| Operational range |
300 km (180 mi) |
| Speed | 50 km/h |
The 40M Nimród was a World War II Hungarian anti-aircraft tank based on a license built copy of the Swedish Luftvärnskanonvagn L-62 Anti II tank. Originally, it was intended to be used as an anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapon, but it proved to be ineffective against Soviet T-34 tanks. Therefore, it was primarily utilized against lightly armored vehicles and for air defense.
A total of 135 Nimrods were built, most of which were deployed by the 51st and 52nd Armoured Autocannon Battalions of the 1st and 2nd Hungarian Armoured Division, respectively. Nimrod batteries attached to armoured and motorized battalions were allocated six vehicles each. A platoon contained 2 vehicles.
The vehicles' only armament was a 36M 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun also made in Hungary under license. The gun fired the usual anti-aircraft ammunition as well as a Hungarian anti-tank round. It had a rate of fire of 120 rounds per minute and a penetration of 46 mm at 100 m, 30 mm at 1000 m. The Nimrod carried 160 rounds.
Late in the war, the vehicle was issued with the 42M "Kerngranate". This was a rocket grenade fitted over the muzzle in the fashion of a rifle grenade.
The vehicle had a crew of 6 men: the Commander, driver, 2 loaders and 2 operating the gun.
References
- The Royal Hungarian Army, 1920-1945, Volume II, Hungarian Mobile Forces, by Dr. Peter Mujzer
- A Magyar Királyi Honvédség Fegyverzete, by Attila Bonhardt, Gyula Sárhidai and László Winkler
- Hungarian WWII AFVs
- Pictures from Zrinyi Miklos National Defence University
