Book Review of
History of the 40/43M Hungarian
Zrinyi Assault Howitzer Tank
Author: Peter Mujzer
Kagero Publishers
In Combat no. 88008
ISBN: 978-83-66673-37-3
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $26.95
In Combat no. 88008
ISBN: 978-83-66673-37-3
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $26.95
HISTORY:
Zrínyi was a Hungarian assault gun of the World War II period. While the Turan in itself wasn't particularly successful, it did give birth to a rather good self-propelled-gun, with the Zrinyi II.
The Zriniy's development process started in 1942; after witnessing the success of the StuG III F armed with longer 75mm anti-tank guns on the Eastern Front, Hungary attempted to negotiate with Germany to try and acquire some, however Hungary only could receive only a fraction of what they needed, and started to design a similar vehicle of their own.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Assault gun
Place of origin: Kingdom of Hungary
Used by: Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Romania
Wars: World War II
Manufacturer: Manfred Weiss
Produced: 1943–1944
No. built: 1 x 44M Zrínyi (prototype), 66-72 43M Zrínyi
Variants: 43M Zrínyi, 44M Zrínyi
Specifications (Zrínyi II):
Mass: 21.6 t
Length: 5.68 m (18 ft. 8 in)
Width: 2.99 m (9 ft. 10 in)
Height: 2.33 m (7 ft.8 in)
Crew: 4
Armor: 13–75 mm (0.51–2.95 in)
Main armament: 105 mm MÁVAG 40/43M L20.5 howitzer with 42 rounds
Engine: Manfred Weiss V8 cylinder of 260 hp.
Operational range: 220 km (140 mi) (road)
Maximum speed: 43 km/h (27 mph) (road)
THE BOOK:
Kagero Publihing is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 64 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a color illustration of a Zrinyi on a grassy field. It is in a camouflage of sand, red-brown and green, with white 2 cross 2 on its sides. It belonged to the 2nd Battery 1, Assault Artillery Battalion, summer of 1944, Galicia .
The first white letter identified the Battery, the second white letter is the number of the vehicle within the unit.
The book contains 88 black and white wartime photos, showing Zrinyi, 23 photos also include officers and crews and also a woman sitting atop a Zrinyi. A photo of a 40/54M assault gun atop a wheeled carriage.
There are 8 color side-view illustrations. Two of them on the back cover. 21 color photos.
Line-drawing of Zrinyi include:
2 side-views, four 2-views, one 4-view.
Eight cut-away type line-drawings.
Six line-drawings of tools, three of the interior, two of the gun barrel and one of ammo.
There is a page showing a Order of Battle diagram.
This is a neat book on the 40/43M Zrinyi.
I found that there are model kits available by several companies of the Zrinyi.
There are 2 kits in 1/72nd scale by IBG Models, kit no. 72051 and 72052.
A 1/35th scale kit no. 1, by CZ Kolinec Model Co.
A 1/35th scale kit no. CB35036 by Bronco Models.
Several after-market assessor sets by different companies.
This book will be of great interest to modelers planning to build a Zrinyi or to military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero Books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web-site at:
Zrínyi was a Hungarian assault gun of the World War II period. While the Turan in itself wasn't particularly successful, it did give birth to a rather good self-propelled-gun, with the Zrinyi II.
The Zriniy's development process started in 1942; after witnessing the success of the StuG III F armed with longer 75mm anti-tank guns on the Eastern Front, Hungary attempted to negotiate with Germany to try and acquire some, however Hungary only could receive only a fraction of what they needed, and started to design a similar vehicle of their own.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Assault gun
Place of origin: Kingdom of Hungary
Used by: Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Romania
Wars: World War II
Manufacturer: Manfred Weiss
Produced: 1943–1944
No. built: 1 x 44M Zrínyi (prototype), 66-72 43M Zrínyi
Variants: 43M Zrínyi, 44M Zrínyi
Specifications (Zrínyi II):
Mass: 21.6 t
Length: 5.68 m (18 ft. 8 in)
Width: 2.99 m (9 ft. 10 in)
Height: 2.33 m (7 ft.8 in)
Crew: 4
Armor: 13–75 mm (0.51–2.95 in)
Main armament: 105 mm MÁVAG 40/43M L20.5 howitzer with 42 rounds
Engine: Manfred Weiss V8 cylinder of 260 hp.
Operational range: 220 km (140 mi) (road)
Maximum speed: 43 km/h (27 mph) (road)
THE BOOK:
Kagero Publihing is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 64 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a color illustration of a Zrinyi on a grassy field. It is in a camouflage of sand, red-brown and green, with white 2 cross 2 on its sides. It belonged to the 2nd Battery 1, Assault Artillery Battalion, summer of 1944, Galicia .
The first white letter identified the Battery, the second white letter is the number of the vehicle within the unit.
The book contains 88 black and white wartime photos, showing Zrinyi, 23 photos also include officers and crews and also a woman sitting atop a Zrinyi. A photo of a 40/54M assault gun atop a wheeled carriage.
There are 8 color side-view illustrations. Two of them on the back cover. 21 color photos.
Line-drawing of Zrinyi include:
2 side-views, four 2-views, one 4-view.
Eight cut-away type line-drawings.
Six line-drawings of tools, three of the interior, two of the gun barrel and one of ammo.
There is a page showing a Order of Battle diagram.
This is a neat book on the 40/43M Zrinyi.
I found that there are model kits available by several companies of the Zrinyi.
There are 2 kits in 1/72nd scale by IBG Models, kit no. 72051 and 72052.
A 1/35th scale kit no. 1, by CZ Kolinec Model Co.
A 1/35th scale kit no. CB35036 by Bronco Models.
Several after-market assessor sets by different companies.
This book will be of great interest to modelers planning to build a Zrinyi or to military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero Books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web-site at:
Highly recommended.