R-1 tank
The R-1 was a Romanian-used tank that saw action during World War II within the mechanized Romanian cavalry. It was a modified version of the AH-IV, a Czechoslovak-designed export vehicle, which was used exclusively by Romanian forces during the war. A number of 36 were used, 35 of which were built in Czechoslovakia, while one modified example was built in Romania under license. The R-1 is classified as either a light tank or tankette.
In 1935, Romania sought to modernize its armored forces by acquiring tanks of different types. Multiple countries were contacted for this goal, among them being Romania's Little Entente allies of France and Czechoslovakia, as well as Poland. The R-1 ended up being one of the vehicles acquired from Czechoslovakia. The vehicles were delivered to Romania in 1938 and were assigned to cavalry brigades. Romania had planned to locally produce 382 vehicles itself at the Malaxa Works, but for a number of reasons, this had never happened, with only one example produced there.
When introduced in the 1930s, the R-1 was superior to other similar-class vehicles of its time, such as the German Panzer I. However, it became obsolete by the start of World War II. Romania had joined the war as an Axis power at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa. Like many other Axis light tanks, the R-1 proved to have a poor performance because of its weak armor and armament, as well as the lack of a radio, which had limited its effectiveness for the reconnaissance role. Soviet tanks, especially the new T-34 and KV-1, were invulnerable to the R-1's machine guns, while the R-1, on the other hand, was an easy prey for their 76 mm guns, being destructible even by Soviet 14.5 mm anti-tank rifles. Opinions on the vehicle's performance vary, as, despite these drawbacks, some historians actually describe the R-1's performance as successful.
By early 1943, the vehicles were withdrawn from the frontline as obsolete. A proposal existed to turn them into tank destroyers by mounting 45 mm 20-K guns on them, which was to make them more effective against enemy armor. However, even that proposal was regarded as being obsolete and was therefore cancelled. After King Michael's Coup on 23 August 1944, which had overthrown the pro-Axis Ion Antonescu and had put Romania on the Allied side, the R-1 saw service once again at the Soviets' will.
Despite some R-1s having survived the war, none are known to still exist. However, a 1:1 scale working replica has been built in the Czech Republic, being used at commemorative events.
Designation
Name
The vehicle's name in the Romanian army was R-1, less commonly spelled "R 1", also given as "R1" or "R.1" in some documents. The Czechoslovak factory designation, however, was AH-IV-R. The one vehicle that was built in Romania under license was designated R-1-a. Sometimes, the vehicle is referred to in Romanian as Carul de recunoaștere R-1.Classification
Different sources class the vehicle as either a light tank or tankette. There are also sources directly stating that the R-1 could be classed as either, having features of both types. Contemporary documents show that the Romanians considered the vehicle to be a tank. German historian Walter Spielberger calls it a light tank, while Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis simply refer to it as a "small tank".Background
Since 1919, the Renault FT had been the only tank of the Romanian armored forces. While glorious in its days during World War I, it became obsolete by the 1930s, which had led to Romania searching for ways to improve its tank force. A proposal existed in 1926 to build Vickers tanks under license at the Reșița Works, followed by a similar proposal in 1934. However, none of the proposals were materialized, the first having been rejected by the army because of the proposed tank being considered inadequate, while the second one was just an idea that isn't known to have been further discussed.In July 1935, the Romanians had decided that they needed two types of tanks for their army: a light one for reconnaissance purposes and a medium one for infantry support. Later that same year, they had decided to hold a contest, inviting different companies from Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, to see what tanks each country has to offer. It was then that they were first shown a description of the AH-IV by the ČKD company, which had first asked the Czechoslovak Ministry of Defense for approval to deliver tanks to Romania in 1933. Later, a third heavier tank category was added to the Romanians' acquisition plans, referred to as car de ansamblu.
The R-1 had ended up being acquired for the reconnaissance role, while the R-2 and R35 were purchased for infantry support. The "universal tank" role was to be destined to the ST vz. 39 and later the R-3, neither of which were acquired for different reasons.
Development
Czechoslovakia had started developing the AH-IV in early 1935. Iran was the first country to buy such vehicles, with its version being designated AH-IV-P. Czechoslovakia's ally of Romania was the next customer, having ordered 35 tanks in 1936. The army had actually ordered a total of 417 R-1s; the remaining 382 were to be produced in Romania under license at the Malaxa Works. Another report, however, suggested that a smaller number of vehicles was needed, mentioning among others the need of "368 R-1s and R-2s".A Romanian commission was sent to the Renault and Vickers factories in November 1935 to inspect armored fighting vehicles, but eventually decided to purchase Czechoslovak tanks, visiting Czechoslovakia that same month. On 2 April 1936, a contract was signed with ČKD for the delivery of 36 AH-IVs and 100 P-II-a tanks. However, the contract was changed in May, when the Romanians had decided to buy S-II-a tanks as the R-2 instead, since said vehicle had already been introduced in the allied Czechoslovak army, leading to the Romanians' wish to use the same tank as their allies so their armies develop a similarity, being advantageous in case of a war. This led to a new contract being signed with ČKD on 14 August 1936, only including 35 AH-IVs, designated as R-1 by the Romanians.
The vehicles were supposed to be delivered to Romania in 1937, but their delivery had to be postponed out of multiple reasons. First of all, in October 1936, the Romanian Ministry of Defense had requested that a number of modifications get made to the vehicle. Thus, despite the R-1 being built on the basis of the already tested and produced Iranian AH-IV-P, due to the new Romanian requirements, the prototype's driving and technical tests could only begin by the end on the year. In the meantime, ČKD had begun production of the entire series; the modifications the company was asked for had to take place during the series' construction.
The situation was critical on 27 September 1937, when the Romanians had refused to take over the first ten production vehicles because they didn't meet the conditions that were agreed on. This had slowed down the whole process even further. According to a Romanian report from February 1938, the cause behind this was the overheating of the vehicles' radiators. The same report stated that "the R-1 and R-2 tanks, whose delivery was supposed to finish in the course of 1937, don't have their prototypes approved to this day".
The Romanian side had requested to borrow multiple R-1s for training exercises that were to take place in October 1937 on Romanian territory. Therefore, ČKD had sent ten vehicles by the end of September. The borrowed vehicles performed well and did not show any serious operational or technical shortcomings; the Romanians were satisfied with the trials' results. Part of this was due to the fact that ČKD had sent very experienced drivers to perform the trials. After testing, the vehicles were returned to Czechoslovakia on 22 October. Driving and technical trials continued in Czechoslovakia the next month, under supervision of a Romanian commission.
By late 1937, all 35 serial production vehicles had been completed. After tests, they were sent to Romania in the spring of 1938 after an acceptance protocol was signed in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu. The prototype, however, was kept at the ČKD works. The official takeover by the Romanian side was only signed on 19 August, since the vehicles had to perform further tests to demonstrate their ability during summer conditions. The R-1s were then assigned to the Cavalry Training Center in Sibiu.
Production in Romania
In May 1938, a Romanian delegation led by General Vasile Negrei was again sent to Czechoslovakia to negotiate the buying of a license for producing the R-1. The license was acquired for the production of 382 vehicles, based on earlier talks from 1936. The agreement was signed in September 1938, but was at first refused by ČKD because of Nicolae Malaxa making some changes to it. After long negotiations, a new agreement was signed on 22 February 1939, but was only approved by the Romanian Ministry of Defense 15 May, after the German occupation of Czech territory. The cost of the license was of 1,962,540 Protectorate korunas. The price included a complete prototype which was to be sent to Romania along with the R-1's blueprints. However, the prototype was not sent because of the Malaxa Works going bankrupt in the meantime.One vehicle is known to have been produced in Romania, designated R-1-a. However, the above-mentioned planned serial production never took place. According to Romanian historian Cornel Scafeș, this was because the Romanian Ministry of Defense had considered the vehicle obsolete by 1939. British author Mark Axworthy describes the production's cancellation as unfortunate for the Romanians, since the development of the R-1's hull could potentially have led to a faster production of the much more potent Mareșal tank destroyer.
According to Charles Kliment and Vladimír Francev, the vehicle that was built in Romania was the one with the number 301, which photographs show to be a modified R-1 version, having a commander's cupola on the turret and a slightly elevated right side of the hull. However, another source states that vehicle 301 was actually a Czechoslovak-produced one, part of the 35 serial production vehicles, which was modified as a commander's vehicle to include the aforementioned features. It was sent to Romania without any armament. Photographs show that its turret was later armed. Mark Axworthy specifically mentions that it is uncertain whether vehicle 301 was the Romanian-produced one or not.