PIBWL presents:

Polish armoured car wz. 34

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	© Michal Derela, 1998	Last updated: 19. 06. 2002 - improved and modernized.

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History Combat use Versions and armament Construction Painting Data Models - additional: Photo gallery I Photo gallery II

In 1924, the Polish Army bought in France over 135 half-tracked chassises Citroën-Kegresse B2 10CV, fitted with tracked mechanism Kegresse P4T. It was decided to build armoured cars using 90 of them. The armoured bodies were designed and manufactured in Poland - the main designer was Eng. R. Gabeau, the shape was similar to French prototypes of half-tracked armoured cars. Two prototypes of Polish half-tracked armoured cars were built in 1925, and given a designation: wzór 28 (wz. 28) - 1928 Pattern. The vehicles were completed in CWS (Central Car Workshops). The first serial cars were built in 1927, and until 1930 there were manufactured all 90 cars wz.28, with two versions of armoured bodies.

When the cars came into service it showed, that the half-track drive did not fulfil the expectations. The maximum speed was low - no more, than 30 km/h (18.5 mph), while the off-road capabilities were not outstanding at all. The half-track drive needed much maintenance, and the durability of rubber tracks was low. Because of these facts, in 1933 it was decided to convert the armoured cars into all-wheeled vehicles, using the components of trucks.

The conversion project was developed by the Armoured Weapons' Technical Research Bureau (BBT BP). The first converted car was tested between April and July 1934, and the tests came out well. The car did off-road a little worse, than car wz.28, but it rode much better on roads. Just in July it was decided to convert further cars, standardized with an Army designation: wzór 34 (wz. 34) - 1934 Pattern.

Until 1938, most probably 87 cars wz.28 were successively converted to the standard of wz.34 . This was made in the individual units' workshops, using the documentation by the BBT BP. The cars wz.34 appeared in a few differing versions:

Finally, the cars differed in armament. Just like cars wz.28, 1/3 (about 30) armoured cars wz.34 were armed with one 37mm SA-18 Puteaux L/21 gun with 96 -100 rounds. The rest was armed with one 7.92mm Hotchkiss wz.25 MG with 2000 rounds. Each weapon could have a mounting of two types: older, rectangular or newer, round (newer ones were more common). 37mm gun SA-18 was a WWI-vintage weapon, meant for destroying MG-nests mainly. Because of a low velocity and poor penetration, it was not suited to fighting armoured vehicles best. Usually the cars with guns were squadron and troop leaders.

The light armoured car wz.34 was the main armoured car type in the Polish units. Before the war, they were used for training in the following armoured battalions: the 1st armoured battalion in Poznań (9 cars wz.34), the 4th in Brest-Litovsk (9), the 5th in Cracov (9), the 6th in Lviv (17), the 7th in Grodno (25), the 8th in Bydgoszcz (9) and the 12th in Luck (Lutsk, 9 cars). Three vehicles in the 11th battalion in CWBrPanc - Armoured Weapons Training Centre in Modlin, were probably still original cars wz.28.
Those battalions were big, peacetime units and must not be mistaken with later mobilised wartime armoured battalions of Cavalry (below). The latter ones were called: "dywizjon" in Polish, which is a Cavalry name of battalion.

In 1939, during mobilisation, those peacetime armoured battalions formed ten armoured cars squadrons for 10 new armoured battalions, assigned to Cavalry Brigades (BK). Each squadron had seven cars, and also the battalion's commander had an armoured car. The numbers of wz.34-equipped battalions were: 21, 31, 32, 33, 51, 61, 62, 71, 81 and 91 (the 11th battalion had armoured cars wz.29). Their structure and allocation are on the formations page. Deployment - on the map.

In 1939 these cars were obsolete and worn-out in training. Polish armoured cars were intended for recconaissance and guarding - poor armament and armour excluded support tasks. In fact, due to general lack of armoured vehicles, they were used for delaying the enemy and supporting attacks as well, suffering heavy losses. The cars were rather addicted to the roads, and could not ford deeper rivers (after the battle of the Bzura, the cars form the 62nd and 71st battalions had to be destroyed on 16 September 1939, because they could not be withdrawn across the Bzura). The other thing is, that all Polish armoured units had problems with finding fuel.

Their combat track was not as spectacular, as of bigger cars wz.29 - but cars wz.34 were real work horses of the Polish armoured car squadrons. They did their best, showing the crews' bravery, and in many cases biting the enemy. The gun cars even destroyed a few enemy armoured vehicles.

Here are some of more interesting episodes of wz.34 armoured cars' service (note, that the tankettes mentioned below were only MG-armed ones):

• On 1 September 1939 during the battle of Mokra village, the armoured cars and tankettes of the 21st armoured battalion, supported the counter-attack of the 2nd mounted rifle rgt (2.psk) against German tanks, breaking through the Polish lines and threatening the Polish artillery battalion (2.dak) deployed on Mokra forrest clearing. The Polish vehicles, emerging out of the forrest, caused much confusion among German tankers, some even started to fire at friendly tanks. Polish unit lost 3 armoured cars and 1 damaged, but the German attack was rejected.
• On 1-2 September, the 71st armoured battalion of the Wielkopolska BK, was fighting with attacking units of Grenzwacht (German border guards) and local nazi saboteurs ("the 5th column") in Leszno town area. On 2 September, the 2nd platoon of armoured cars, along with a company of III/55 infantry battalion, chasing the enemy, crossed the German border, and destroyed a few military cars in a village Koenigsdorf (Zalecze).
• On 3 September, in the evening, the armoured car squadron of the 51st armoured battalion, was sent to seek the German armoured car platoon, which haunted Polish infantry at Slupia village. The Polish squadron encountered the Germans after dark, and blinded them with headlights. After a short fight, the German crews abandoned all three vehicles.
• On 5 September, the armoured car platoon of the same 51st battalion, was operating to the south of Kielce. In the afternoon, it surprisingly attacked from the flank some German armoured vehicles that were approaching to Kielce, immobilizing 2 of them. In the evening, and on the next two days, the unit was delaying the advance of the elements of the 2nd Leichte Division to the north of Kielce.
• The rest of the 51st battalion's vehicles were destroyed in combat in the area of Ilza, on 8 - 9 September. The battalion was boldly supporting Polish infantry there. Among others, on 8 September in the afternoon, Polish armoured cars and tankettes, turning into the village of Blaziny Gorne, took by surprise German motorized infantry column of the 3rd LeDiv, lashing crowded motorcycles and cars with a gun- and MG-fire, which caused much confusion.
• On 7 September the squadron of the 61st battalion, protecting the flank of Kresowa BK, was delaying the advance of the German 24th Infantry Division. On a sortie, an armoured car platoon entered the village of Panaszew (west of Lodz), where it encountered the German Division HQ. Despite the initial surprise, the Poles lost 2 cars of AT-gun-fire. On 13 September, the last two cars of this battalion were included into the 11th battalion, in which they took part in an attack on Seroczyn small town (more on wz.29 car page).
• On 8 September the 33rd armoured battalion, pressed by the units of the 3rd LeDiv, was withdrawing from Radom to Pulawy. The battalion's rearguard - 2 tankettes, 2 armoured cars, and motorcyclists, were struggling with the enemy. They destroyed the German armoured car behind Zwolen small town, and 3 more armoured vehicles in the foreground of Pulawy. The Polish vehicles sustained some damage. The battalion was attacked by planes all day, without any effect. The last armoured cars and tankettes of the 33rd battalion were destroyed in breakthrough attempts in Tomaszow Lubelski, on 18-19 September.
• The last unit to keep its armoured cars was the squadron of Cpt. J. Neyman, of the 91st armoured battalion of Maj. A. Sliwinski, assigned to Nowogrodzka BK. On 23 September, the few last (3?) armoured cars and some captured trucks were formed into an "armoured-mechanized group". During the next days, the Brigade carried out a march towards the Hugarian border. To the north of Sambor, the Brigade HQ was surprised by the invading Soviet units, and only the intervention of armoured cars prevented it from being captured. The last cars had to be destroyed on 27 September, when the field and forrest roads turned into clay puddles due to pouring rains, and the cars definitely stuck in a boggy forrest gorge. It was the last Polish armoured unit in the field. Most of the battalion troops were taken prisoners by the Soviets, then all the officers were murdered in 1940 by NKVD.

A destroyed armoured car wz.34 (newer hull). Photo source - [1]

Few armoured cars wz.34 which were not mobilized, were moved to Armoured Reserve Centres (OZ). Some of them were used in action with improvized units.

According to the statistisc of armoured car losses (including 8 cars wz.29): 55% were combat losses, 35% were losses of technical reasons (probably the impossibility of withdrawal is also counted here), and 10% were caused by the lack of fuel.

All armoured cars wz.34 were captured by the Germans, most of them destroyed or damaged. Some of them were repaired and probably used by the German police in an occupied Poland. Some 18 captured cars wz.34 were most probably given to Croatian militia in 1941, and used for anti-partisan duties. None of armoured cars wz.34 survived until now.

See also miscellaneous pictures of armoured car wz.34 in the gallery part I and part II

You can see Pancerka Hartmanna - a modern replica of wz.34 armoured car!

Chassis - rectangular frame, suspension on semi-elliptic springs (rear) and springs (front). Tyres: 30x5" (diameter: 815 mm, more common) or 600-18 (diameter: 775 mm). The double wheels at the rear. Special bar chains could be fixed on the rear wheels to improve adhesivness in sand or snow. Otherwise they were carried upon the rear fenders.

The engines: (the data are from different sources)
- wz.34: Citroën B-14 - 20 HP per 2100 rpm; 1477 ccm (or 1452 ccm?)
- wz.34-I: FIAT-108 - 20 HP per 3000 rpm; 995 ccm (or 23 HP per 3600 rpm?)
- wz.34-II: FIAT-108-III (PZInż.117) - 24 HP (or 25 HP?) per 3600 rpm; 995 ccm - both engines are from compact car Polski FIAT-508.
All engines were fuel, 4-cyllinder, 4 stroke, water-cooled.
Transmission: dry single-disc main clutch. Gearbox: 3 gears forward /1 reverse (with a reducer, which was giving 6/2 gears - wz.34); or 4/1 gears (without reducer - wz.34-I, II). Rear axle driven only. Brakes on the rear wheels: mechanical (wz.34) or hydraulic (wz.34-II), auxiliary mechanical brake on the main shaft. Electric installation - single-wire 6 V (wz.34) or 12 V (wz.34-II)

 The body was made of armoured plates, riveted and screwed. It had a door on the left side, opening backwards (no door on the right side), and a big door in the rear plate, opening to the left side. Before the driver there was one window (or two - in an older hull), and two smaller windows were in the left door and right side. All windows were protected with hatches with simple vision slots. The radiator was protected with a two-leaf door, opening from the driver's place. The engine hood was openable.
The turret was octagonal. On the roof there was a small, hexagonal, opening, two-part ventilation cupola. In the sides there were two small windows with hatches, and some vision slots.
A single headlight was on the left side, before the driver's window.

The crew consisted of two: driver and commander-gunner. In march, the commander was sitting on a small bench on the left side of the crew compartment, in combat he was in a turret, sitting on a fabric belt, fixed to the walls of the crew compartment (the same belt was used as a driver's backrest).
The car was not equipped with a radio. The commanding was carried out by the coloured flags.

Armour:
Riveted, of rolled armoured steel plates 6 - 8 mm thick (vertical plates - 8 mm, sloped and upper plates - 6 mm). The bottom was not armoured - made of wooden planks.

Painting:

In 1936-1937 there was a standard camouflage scheme introduced. It consisted of irregular patches of greyish sand and dark brown (sepia) over the base color of brown-green. The patches were airbrushed, with soft transitions, the shapes were horizontal mainly. There was not any standard pattern of patches.

		Armoured car wz.34 in a standard 1937-39 camouflage (the bar chains are on the fenders).  Below: armoured car wz.34 in so-called the "Japanese" camouflage - used until 1936. Drawings: J. Magnuski, source [4] (modified by PIBWL).
	Between 1932 and 1936 there was an older camouflage scheme used, also called the "Japanese" camouflage. The patches were in bright yellowish sand, dark green and dark brown, separated with thin black stripes. See miscellaneous pictures of armoured cars wz.34 in the gallery part I and part II.

In 1939, the cars wore no insignia at all. Before the war, the cars carried tactical marks for training purposes - they were attached disc (the 1st platoon), triangles (the 2nd) or squares (the 3rd), their color was light blue-gray. The numbers were painted on the front, only until 1937. Later, the cars carried registration plates inside.
The interior was in sand, chassis - in olive-green (or black).

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• Wild Hogs' Models (WH 72002) "Wz.34-II" - quite good new (2010) Polish resin + metal model of the car with late (narrow) hull, gun or MG-armed, average quality
• Wild Hogs' Models (WH 72004) "Wz.34-I" - new (2010) Polish resin + metal model of the car with narrow hull and vertical rear plate (I haven't find a confirmation about such variant), gun or MG-armed, average quality
• Wild Hogs' Models (WH 72005) "Wz.34" - quite good new (2010) Polish resin + metal model of the car with early (wide) hull, gun or MG-armed, average quality
• Hobby G (P.03) - resin, Polish producer (quite obscure one - it seems their only model). It seems to be a mediocre model of a late armoured car wz.34 (MG). See a preview On The Way.
• FSF (WZ05) "Polish Armoured Car WZ.34". Very poor and crude resin model of late wz.34 car (gun armed).
• [1/76] SHQ (PT6) - "WZ-34" - leaden crude wargamer model

• AGA 3501 (the only kit of this Polish producer, formerly released by Certi, also boxed by US manufacturer Encore). An old mediocre plastic kit, with no interior (you can see it here).
  
• Fun-Model - vacuform model from the early 90's (later with resin and metal additions) - impossible to obtain now, I guess.

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See also miscellaneous pictures of armoured car wz.34 in the gallery part I and part II

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