7TP The 7TP ( " siedmiotonowy polski " - 7 - ton Polish ) was the Polish light tank of the Second World War . A development of the British Vickers 6 - ton , it was significantly better armed than its most common opponents , the German Panzer I and Panzer II . A standard tank of the Polish Army during the Polish Defensive War of 1939 , its production never exceeded 140 vehicles . Its chassis was used as the base for C7P artillery tractor . History . Development . The 7TP was the Polish development of the British Vickers 6 - ton ( Mk . E ) tank licence . The main new features of 7TP were : a better , more reliable and powerful diesel engine , 37 mm anti - tank gun and a bit thicker armour ( in front , 17 mm instead of 13 mm ) , together with many minor modifications and additions ( like the " Gundlach tank periscope " ( pictured ) , different air conditioning system and a radio ) . Only about 132 tanks were produced between 1935 and the outbreak of the war ( plus four iron prototypes ) . The designation 7TP meant : 7 - Ton , Polish ( in fact its weight increased after the initial prototype was made and the actual serial tanks weighted approximately 9 tonnes ) . Like its British predecessor , the 7TP was initially produced in two variants : twin turret version armed with 2 Ckm wz . 30 machine gun s , and a single turret version , armed with 37 mm Bofors wz . 37 gun . After initial tests , it became clear that the twin - turret variant was obsolete and lacked firepower , so it was abandoned in favour of the more modern single turret design . Prior to the outbreak of World War II most of the twin turret tanks were converted to single turret versions and only 24 twin - turret types remained in Polish service ( as opposed to roughly 108 of the other type ) . It is to be noted that twin and single turret variants had no specific designations . In some modern books they are designated with abbreviations : " 7TP dw . " and " 7TP jw . " ( Polish abbreviation for " jednowieżowy " - single turreted , and " dwuwieżowy " - dual turreted ) . However , these were not the official names of the variants and are used for simplicity ' s sake only . Combat use . All 7TP tanks took part in combat in the Polish Defensive War of 1939 . Most of them were attached to two light tank battalions ( the 1st and the 2nd ) . The remaining tanks , that is the ones used for training as well as tanks that were finished after the outbreak of the war , were used in an improvised tank unit fighting in the defence of Warsaw . Although technically superior to any of the German light tanks of the era , the 7TP was too scarce to change the outcome of the war . The 1st Light Tank Battalion ( 49 single turret tanks ) fought in the ranks of the Prusy Army as part of the strategic reserve force of the Polish Army . It entered combat on September 4 , 1939 and fought with distinction in a variety of roles , mostly as a mobile reserve and for covering the withdrawal . It fought in a number of battles , most notably in the battles of Przedbórz , Sulejów , Inowłódz , Odrzywół and Drzewica . On September 8 it managed to stop the German advance on the centre of the Polish forces , but the following day it got separated from the main force and had to be withdrawn to the rear . Part of the battalion was destroyed in the Battle of Głowaczów , while the remainder on September 13 managed to break through to the other side of the Vistula , where it joined the Lublin Army and Col . Stefan Rowecki ' s Warsaw Armoured Motorised Brigade . As part of that unit , the battalion took part in the Battle of Józefów and formed part of the spearhead of the Polish units trying to break through to Lwów and the Romanian Bridgehead . After the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski , on September 21 , 1939 , the remaining tanks were destroyed by their crews and the unit surrendered to the Germans . The 2nd Light Tank Battalion ( 49 single turret tanks ) was attached to the Piotrków Operational Group of the Łódź Army . It entered combat on September 4 near the river of Prudka , Bełchatów . The following day it was ordered to lead the Polish counter - assault on Piotrków , but the attack failed and the unit suffered heavy losses . The battalion was then rallied and withdrawn to Warsaw and then to Brześć , where it shielded the mobilization of the Polish 60th Infantry Division . On September 15 it took part in a two - days long Battle of Włodawa , but suffered heavy losses due to air bombardment and was withdrawn southwards . The remaining tanks had to be destroyed by the crews due to lack of oil and on September 17 , after the Soviet Union joined Germany in her war against Poland , the crews and the staff of the unit crossed the border with Romania . The remaining tanks found in Warsaw were formed into 1st and 2nd Company of Light Tanks by the Command of the Defence of Warsaw . The 1st company had 11 twin - turreted tanks , previously used for training . In the opening stages of the Siege of Warsaw the unit took part in heavy fights for the Warsaw ' s suburb of Okęcie and the major airport located there . Due to lack of anti - tank armament , the tanks of the 1st company suffered losses and were withdrawn to the rear on September 12 , where the unit was joined with the 2nd company . The 2nd company had 11 single - turret tanks , as well as an unknown number of other armoured vehicles . It took part in successful defence of the borough of Wola against German infantry and armoured units . It was also used for tactical counter attacks , among others for the village of Wawrzyszew , where the company managed to disrupt enemy preparations for the assault . On September 15 the company was ordered to form a spearhead of the Polish attack aimed at linking up with the forces of the Poznań Army withdrawing after the Battle of Bzura through the Kampinos forest north of Warsaw . The attack ended up as a minor success , although the German aerial bombardment caused heavy losses both in personnel and in tanks . The remaining 7TP tanks were used on various sectors of the front until the end of the defence of Warsaw on September 27 , when they were destroyed by their crews . The combat experience proved that the Bofors wz . 37 anti - tank gun used in the 7TP was able to penetrate the armour of any of the German tanks of the time , including the modern Panzer IV . On the other hand , the tank was armoured too lightly , especially against aerial bombardment . Altogether , it is estimated that 20 tanks were captured by the Germans almost intact while one was captured by the Soviets . Additional 20 were successfully withdrawn to Romania and Hungary , while almost 40 had to be abandoned due to engine problems and lack of fuel . After the fall of Poland Germans included 20 captured 7TP to 203 . Panzerbataillon as Pzkpfw 731 ( p ) . 7TP tank was used by Wehrmacht operations in 1940 in Norway and France . Reconstruction . No complete 7TP tanks have survived to this day , although it is planned to build a copy of the tank for the Museum of the Polish Army in Warsaw . A 7TP is being reconstructed in Bielsko - Biała , its reconstruction will include many original parts recovered from various places in Poland . It now has an original gearbox and will be soon armed with an original 37mm Bofors gun . The tracks come from a T - 26 .