LT-38 Light Tank
| LT-38 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Light Tank |
| Place of origin | Hiluxia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1938–1946 |
| Used by | Hiluxia |
| Wars | Defense of Niekas |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Yasmin Design Board |
| Designed | 1937 |
| Manufacturer | Hiluxia Motor Company |
| Produced | 1938-1943 |
| Specifications | |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armor | 10–30mm (Mod. 38) 10-50mm (Mod. 40) |
Main armament | 3.7cm TkB AT Cannon |
Secondary armament | 2 x 7mm LS34 Machine Guns |
| Engine | 1 x 6-Cylinder Gasoline Engine 120 hp |
| Transmission | 5-1 |
| Suspension | Leaf Spring |
Operational range | 250 Kilometers |
| Speed | 42 km/h on-road 15 km/h off-road |
The LT-389 is a Hiluxian light tank. An major improvement over the infantry's prior design, the design would rapidly become obsolete after the first year of the Defense of Niekas.
Development History
The Hiluxian manufacturing industries had become powerful come the 20th century, many factories employing thousands of workers producing various objects of note. Automobile manufacturing in particular had nearly exploded, as more and more Hiluxians and foreigners sought the cheap and reliable designs brought forth by competing manfuacturers and design companies. Hiluxia Motor Company in particular stood as a behemoth among beasts, its assembly lines and overall focus on reliability and ease of maintenance earning them a dependable reputation
At the same time, by the 1920s the Hiluxian Military and its various commission boards had grown infatuated with the concept of armored vehicles. Already having begun wielding metal and machine guns to trucks themselves, they sought more armored vehicles with which to bolster their newly growing fleet against the ever turmulous Niekasi Insurgency, turning abroad for any particularly promising designs. At the same time, they had begun looking towards the manufactuers, their initial response being small batches of armored up versions of various trucks and cars, but no serious commitments were made to the military yet due to a lack of experience in building proper weapons of war by most manufacturers.
HMC owner Shula Alket, while a pacifist at heart, knew she could not miss out on the profits to be made from building vehicles directly for military use. Deciding to take the initiative, HMC began work on multiple projects for armored fighting vehicles, all in an effort to gain an edge over foreign competitors. Alket, deciding that she needed something with which "...to make the thugs of the military pay attention right away to our efforts", requested one of the 50 6-Ton tanks that the Hiluxian military had acquired, and had thoroughly reverse engineered a proper, working copy by 1930. Upon seeing the first batch, the Hiluxian Infantry Commission Board immediately ordered 300 of these ersatz 6-Ton tanks, immediately christening them 'Light tank Model 30 of the Infantry. The Hiluxian Cavalry Commission Board however, declined, preferring to look in Basra Automata's direction.
While in service during the insurgency, the LT-30 was noted to have several deficiencies, but otherwise served admirably against the Niekasi insurgents, proving effective against poorly trained, unorganized Christian militias who had little initial counter against the tanks. By 1936 however, the Infantry Commission Board had already published requirements for a new light tank, soon afterwards testing dozens of designs, domestic and foreign alike.
In the end, HMC would once more win out however, producing a tank with multiple similarities to a foreign design, often said to be the end result of industrial espionage. Regardless, the cheap price and domestic manufacturing meant that it would ultimately be adopted by the Infantry Commission Board as the 'Light Tank Model 38 of the Infantry'.
Design
Overview
Designed with a basic but reliable leaf spring suspension, the LT-38 was an ultimately conservative but effective enough package, comparing easily with foreign designs of its time. Armed with a 37mm gun and riveted armor, it was designed primarily to support infantry, but could just as easily commit to destroying any other light tank of its time. Designed with 4 crewmembers in mind, it possessed a loader, commander, radio operator, and driver. The tank commander would ultimately suffer greatly from this arrangement, as he or she would be placed in charge of not only commanding the tank, but aiming the gun and firing at targets, leaving them saddled with various responsibilities at any given time.
Armament
The 37mm TkB is derived directly from the then common infantry anti tank gun, and was designed to fire the same armament. Initially equipped with a APCBC and APCR round for anti tank use, the latter was generally not preferred for its poor post penetration performance, but would become far more common after 1939. Aside from that, it would carry a standard high explosive round, and a far more exotic canister shell much like its predecessor, often used and preferred in urban combat situations.
The performance of the 37mm was adequate for the initial stages of the war, though it would gain a minor reputation of inconsistency against Box Tanks. Crewmen would often report varying results from direct hits, anything from immediate and violent detonations totaling the Box Tank entirely, to rare examples of certain tanks bouncing multiple shells or continuing to fight after various penetrations. Post war examination and testing concluded that these inconsistencies were due to both the wildly varying armor quality present in Box Tanks, as well as potential modifications and additions of additional riveted armor by Turtleshroomers to increase protection.
Regardless, by 1941 this gun was considered outdated against the far more modern Secerian tanks, and the Infantry Commission Board, hoping to continue to earn mileage out of the design, requested an upgunning of any form. The quickest and for most of the war ultimate solution would be discovered by the Artillery Commission Board, replacing the turret entirely with a modern 75mm anti tank gun in an open mount protected by a gun shield. Infantry Commission Board would immediately take credit for the design and ordered all remaining batches of LT-38s to be converted to this newly christened TD-38, as well as converting as many older batches as possible.