"The first type left the production lines in spring 1944. Further documentation of what happened to the prototype is still not to be found. According to reminiscences, all the necessary tests were made in the Hungarian Institute of Military Technology. The frontal hull armour was thickened to 80 mm and spaced armour was added for more protection. This idea came from the technicians of Weiss Manfréd. 5-8 mm thick armour plates were made in the factory at Diósgyőr.
Each side's armour was made from 3-4 plates and hung from hooks, which were welded to the fenders. These were not stiff, but stable enough to stay in place on bunkers. Just like the PzKpfw IVH/J, the turret had it's own spaced armour, which covered the whole turret, even the commander's cupola, excluding the front. The distance from the main armour was 250 mm, the spaced armour could be mounted even in the troop's workshops. The troops received 300 sets of spaced armour from Weiss Manfréd and most of them were mounted on Turán tanks. In order to reduce weight, the side armour's plates were punched from steel, but despite the efforts, they still added 1 tonne to the 43M Turán's weight.
The effectiveness of the main armament and the increase of protection went hand in hand with the decrease of mobility, as the efficiency of the tank remained the same, while it's weight grew to 21 tons. The conversion of Turáns to Turán III couldn't be made, because of the continuous air raids in July and August 1944…."
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Armand
looks at how these pre-painted buildings are packaged.
