43M Turán III

The 43M Turán III or 44M Turán III was a Hungarian medium tank of World War II. It was based on the 41M Turán II medium tank but was equipped with a significantly larger turret and a much more powerful long-barreled 75 mm gun.^[3]

Though the Turán I and II had not yet seen combat,^[4] in February 1943 the General Staff of the Honvédség decided it was necessary to begin a modernisation program to improve the tanks.^[5] In April 1943 the Hungarian General Staff debated whether to build the Turán III or to obtain the license to produce the long barrelled Panzer IV. Major General Zoltan Harmos asserted that the Panzer IV was not superior enough to the planned Turán III to be worth the price the Germans would ask for the production license.^[6]

In August 1943 the first prototype of the Turán III was built on the chassis of a Turán I (registration H-830). This first prototype had a new turret and additional 25mm of armor added to the front and rear of the tank. A second prototype was planned for December 1943, but was not completed until June 1944.^[7] The second prototype had around 75-95mm of armor on the front of the turret and the hull, which further increased the weight and slowed the vehicle down compared to the earlier Turán variants.^[3][8][9]

Two Turán III vehicles were produced, a prototype and a fully functioning vehicle for the trials. The Turán III with the actual turret was finished in February 1944. Mobility and firing tests were then carried out. However, no more 43M Turáns (Turán III or Turán 75 long) were constructed because of a lack of materials and the fact that after the Occupation of Hungary in March 1944, Germany did not allow further tank and gun production, and restricted Hungarian industry to only spare part manufacturing level. However, this was most likely circumvented in the case of the 44M Tas' development..^[10]

The Hungarian tank driver József Czimmermann stated that there were several Turan III in the 2nd Armoured Division during the fighting near the Ipoly in late 1944. He claimed that the damaged Turán IIIs were captured by the Soviet Union.^[5]

Related development

• 40/41M Turán I/II – Hungarian medium tanks from which the Turán III was developed
• 44M Zrínyi I – Hungarian tank destroyer with the same gun and hull

Tanks of comparable role, performance, and era

• 44M Tas – Hungarian medium/heavy tank
• A27M Cromwell – British medium/cruiser tank
• Carro Armato P.43 – Italian medium/heavy tank proposal
• M4 Sherman – American medium tank
• Panzer IV – German medium tank
• T-34-85 – Soviet medium tank

• Bernad, Dénes & Kliment, Charles K. (2015). Magyar Warriors: The History of the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces, 1919–1945. Vol. 1. Solihull, UK: Helion. ISBN 978-1-906033-88-0.
• Csaba, Becze (2007). Magyar Steel: Hungarian Armour in WWII. Sandomierz, Poland: STRATUS for Mushroom Model Publications. ISBN 978-83-89450-29-6.
• Mujzer, Péter (2018). Operational History of the Hungarian Armoured Troops in World War II. Lublin, Poland: Kagero Publications. ISBN 978-83-66148-07-9.
• Mujzer, Peter (2022). Hungarian Arms and Armour of World War Two. Stamford, England: Key Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1913870645.
• Niehorster, Leo W.G. (1998). The Royal Hungarian Army 1920 – 1945 Volume 1: Organisation and History (PDF).