Romanian armored cars during World War II

During the Second World War, the Romanian Army possessed around 200 armored cars. These ranged from captured inoperable Soviet vehicles to modern German and Italian front line models, as well as internal security vehicles.

Conducător's security battalion At the start of World War II, Romania owned a total of 19 armored cars. All were used by the security battalion of Conducător Ion Antonescu. Six of these vehicles dated from World War I (two French Peugeot Armored Cars and four Russian Austin-Putilovs). The remaining thirteen were modern Czechoslovak vehicles which escaped from Ruthenia in early 1939, namely ten Tatra armored cars and three produced by Škoda.Ronald L. Tarnstrom, Balkan Battles, Trogen Books, 1998, p. 341

Marshal Antonescu himself used a bulletproof Mercedes-Benz 770 W150, a gift from Adolf Hitler.Samohýl Ladislav, Vacek Zdeněk, Fenomén Mercedes-Benz & Čechy, Morava a Slezsko, Grada Publishing, 2015, p. 34Corneliu Leu, The Novel of a Great Day, "Realitatea" Publishers Ltd, 2005, p. 130

Front line vehicles The first front line combat armored cars were acquired in late 1942-early 1943. They comprised 11 Leichter Panzerspähwagens (six Sd. Kfz. 222 and five Sd. Kfz. 223).Steven J. Zaloga, Tanks of Hitler’s Eastern Allies 1941–45, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013, p. 30 A much more significant delivery came in August 1943, when the Germans transferred 40 Sd. Kfz. 222 along with 8 Italian-built AB 41s.Ronald L. Tarnstrom, Balkan Battles, Trogen Books, 1998, p. 407 In 1941, Romania built one armored car prototype armed with one Czechoslovak-made 37 mm gun.Steven Zaloga, Romanian Armour in World War Two, Military Modelling, November 1987, ISSN 0026-4083

Captured vehicles By October 1941, 103 Soviet armored cars were captured by the Romanian Army. Most of these vehicles, however, were not serviceable.Ronald L. Tarnstrom, Balkan Battles, Trogen Books, 1998, p. 345 The captured Soviet armored cars (or at least the ones which could be made serviceable) were of the BA-10 type. More Soviet vehicles were captured later, as evidenced by the presence of the BA-64 within the Romanian Army's ranks (this model started production only in 1942).Manuel Granillo, Legiunea Romana: Romanian General's Handbook, Lulu Press, 2013

List

VehicleOriginNumberNotesFront line vehicles Sd. Kfz. 222 46 Most acquired in August 1943 Sd. Kfz. 223 35 Acquired in late 1942, early 1943 and 1944 AB-41 8 All acquired in August 1943Internal security vehicles Peugeot Armored Car 2 World War I model Austin-Putilov 4 World War I model OA vz. 30 10 Acquired in early 1939 OA vz. 27 3 Acquired in early 1939 Bulletproof Mercedes-Benz 770 W150 1 Marshal Antonescu's personal car, a gift from HitlerCaptured vehicles BA-10BA-64 103+ Most captured by October 1941Others AB md. 41 1 Made in 1941

References