page_title: Tanks of the Polish Armoured Forces
section_title: Inter War
hierarchical_section_title: Tanks of the Polish Armoured Forces / Inter War
caption_attribution_description: Gundlach Periscope used to look forward (upper panel) and backwards (lower panel).
context_section_description: After World War I the Polish Armed Forces received the Renault FT light tank, with 174 FTs being used by its forces. In 1918 the newly organized Polish 1st Tank Regiment (1 Pułk Czołgów) had been equipped with 120 of the small but relatively fast Renault FT tanks. The 1st Tank Regiment consisted of four tank companies organised into two Battalions and saw fighting during the Polish–Ukrainian War after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in a Polish offensive in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia carried out by units of the Polish Army aided by the newly arrived Blue Army of General Józef Haller de Hallenburg. This army, composed of Polish forces which had fought for the Entente on the Western front, numbering 60,000 troops, came with tanks supplied by the Western allies and partially staffed with experienced French officers. The unit was based on equipment and part of personnel of former French 505th Tank Regiment, and was equipped with the most modern tanks of the time, the Renault FT. After the war the 1st Tank Regiment, along with Gen. Haller's Army, returned to Poland, with all equipment. Thanks to this, Poland became the fourth biggest armoured power in the world at that time.
  They also participated in the Polish-Soviet War, which by 1920 most of the French personnel had departed back to France. In July 1920, FTs tanks were used in the Defense of Grodno and defense of Lida, and Rowne as well as the Battle of Daugavpils. Then, they took part in the great Warsaw Battle in August 1920 and some damaged tanks were put on railway flatcars and used as parts of armoured trains.
  In 1924, 6 Renault TSF radio command tanks were bought in France. They were based upon the FT hull, fitted with a radio in a big superstructure in a place of a turret. They were not armed. Also, in 1929-1930, some of newer Renault tank designs were bought. They were 5 Renault M26/27 tanks and 1 Renault NC-27 tank. The M26/27 was a development of the FT, with the same hull and armament, fitted with a new track mechanism and with Kegresse rubber tracks. The Renault NC-27 was a further development of the FT, with a redesigned hull and new chassis, but a turret with gun or MG armament remained similar (they were proposed to the French Army under the designation NC-1; its further development led to the French D1 tank).
  The Polish Armed Forces looked at the Carden-Loyd Mk.VI tankette and it met with an interest in Poland as it did in many other countries. As soon as in 1929 one tankette was bought and evaluated in Poland and it was decided to buy 10 tankettes Mk.VI and 5 tracked trailers. They were delivered in August 1929 and after divisional manoeuvres in September 1929, it was evaluated, that the tankettes fulfilled the needs of a reconnaissance vehicle for both infantry and cavalry. The TK (also known as the TK-3) tankette was a Polish design produced from 1931 that was based upon an improved chassis of the British Carden Loyd tankette. The TKS was an improved model with a new hull and a more powerful engine. The armour of the TK was up to 8 mm thick (10 mm on the TKS). In 1939, re-arming of the tankettes with 38FK 20 mm machine guns began, but only about 24 were completed before the outbreak of World War II.
  Their advantages were: mobility, good obstacle crossing and small dimensions, making them difficult to spot. It was estimated, that they fit better as cavalry reconnaissance vehicles, than newly acquired wz.28 halftrack armoured cars. As a result, the Polish authorities decided to buy a licence for manufacturing Carden-Loyd Mk.VI.However, instead of producing Carden-Loyd Mk.VI, the Polish authorities decided to work an own, improved model, only generally basing on Carden-Loyd's composition which came to be known as the light reconnaissance tank TK-3 (also known simply as the TK) and a total of 300 TK-3 tankettes were built.
  At the end of the 1920s, the Polish Armed Forces felt that they also needed a new tank model. The Military Institute of Engineering Research (Wojskowy Instytut Badań Inżynierii, WIBI) sent Captain Ruciński to the United States to lega
caption: Gundlach periscope
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