Leichttraktor

Leichttraktor VK-31
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
In service	1930
Used by	Germany
Wars	Second World War
Production history
Designed	1929-1933
Manufacturer	Krupp, Rheinmetall
Produced	1930
No. built	4
Specifications
Mass	8.7 tonnes (9.6 short tons) (Krupp) 8.96 tonnes (9.88 short tons) (Rheinmetall)
Length	4.35 m (14.3 ft) (Krupp) 4.21 m (13.8 ft) (Rheinmetall)
Width	2.37 m (7.8 ft) (Krupp) 2.26 m (7.4 ft) (Rheinmetall)
Height	2.35 m (7.7 ft) (Krupp) 2.27 m (7.4 ft) (Rheinmetall)
Crew	4; Commander, Driver, Radio operator, and Loader
Armor	riveted and welded steel
Main armament	One 3.7 cm 37mm KwK L/45
Engine	Daimler-Benz M36 six cylinder liquid cooled gasoline engine. 100 hp
Suspension	coil-spring suspension (Krupp) leaf springs suspension (Rheinmetall)
Operational range	137 km (85 mi) on-road
Maximum speed	30 km/h (19 mph)

The Leichttraktor (VK-31) was a German experimental tank.

After the first world war, Germany was restricted in military development by the Versailles Treaty but a secret program under the name cover "Traktor" was developing armoured military vehicles and artillery.

The Germans tested the tank in the Soviet Union under the Rapallo treaty signed in 1922 under high secrecy and security. The testing facility used from 1926 to 1933 was called Panzertruppenschule Kama, and was located near Kazan in the Soviet Union. The location was a joint testing ground and tank training ground for the Red Army and Reichswehr. It was codenamed Kama from the two words Kazan and Malbrandt because the testing grounds were near Kazan and Oberstleutenant Malbrandt was assigned to select the location for testing. In the early years of World War II, it was used as a training tank.

References

• Peter Chamberlain & Hilary Doyle (1999). Sterling (ed.). Encyplopedia of German Tanks of World War Two. ISBN 1854095188. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |name= (help)

• The Book of the World (2012) Kingfisher published