Hungarian Medium Tank 41.M Turán II

Before World War II, the Hungarian Army's tank force consisted mainly of foreign tanks such as the small Italian CV-33 tank.
Hungary began developing its own foreign armored fighting vehicles in 1940.
The first was the Turán I, built by the Weiss & Cspel steelworks in Budapest.
It was a medium tank with a crew of five, based on the hull of the Czech Skoda design and similar to the German Panzer 38(t), powered by a 260 hp Hungarian-made engine.
A 40 mm contactor from Skoda-Werke could be installed in a converted tower.
By 1943, the Turán I was considered underpowered and undermanned, necessitating further development of the type.
This new tank was named Turán II. The designers mounted a new M41 75 mm short-barreled cannon in the tank and gave the tank an enlarged turret to accommodate the massive breech and a specially armored recoil piston, which was adapted to the weapon.
The tower's interior was still cramped and crowded, but to prevent this, designers added new ventilation openings.
The 41M Turán II first appeared in May 1943 and a total of 139 units were produced by 1944.
The Turán II's combat debut took place in Galicia in April 1944, they were used by the 1st and 2nd Hungarian Armored Divisions and the 1st Cavalry Division.
  On its first mission in Galicia in 1944, the Turan II was completely inferior to the Russian T-34s and IS-2s it faced.
Unfortunately, many of the division's forces were decimated in their missions to defend Budapest and those that were not destroyed or captured were often left on the battlefield

Plastic model kit

• Photo-etched parts

unbuilt / unpainted

Paint and glue not included