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Tankette Praga as This Year’s NATO Days Unique

Besides currently most modern military devices and planes, the visitors of this year’s NATO Days in Ostrava & Czech Air Force Days will also have an opportunity to travel into interwar period with tankette Praga AH-IV-Sv thanks to the Prague’s Military History Institute (VHÚ).

VHÚ will therefore continue in its exhibitions of original Czechoslovakian interwar military production from previous years. Moreover it will support the presentation of this year special partner – Sweden. These tankettes were exported right before the Second World War to Sweden and one of them has returned to the VHÚ collection.

„The Military History Institute will complete already wide representation of this NATO’s special partner. Visitors interested in older military equipment will have a chance to take a closer look at part of the Czechoslovakian export which has been well known all over the world,” stated Zbyněk Pavlačík from Jagello 2000. “Furthermore this tankette represents good relations between Czechoslovakia and Sweden in the field of defence industry and even nowadays we can witness continuation of cooperation thanks to JAS-39 Gripen hire.”

Read also: Sweden’s Special Partnership to lift NATO Days to a new dimension

Nevertheless the story how unusual Czechoslovakian tankette made it to Swedish royal army is very gripping. Three years before the Second World War started, Sweden had been searching the options how to reinforce its tank battalions’ equipment, however due to the financial cuts the officers chose the alternative to the classical tanks: tankette Praga AH-IV-Sv. Czechoslovakia especially succeeded with driving demonstration directly in the Giant Mountains by which the Swedish delegation was deeply impressed. The tankettes were able to cope with snowy terrain and even fearlessly dig a tunnel through the snow bank. Therefore the quick decision to start the construction of 48 vehicles was made in June 1937. The tankettes operated in the local army until 1953.

Besides Sweden, the tanketts AH-IV-Sv were also used by Romania, which deployed them during the Second World War, Iran, or Ethiopia. The last used them in 1980’s in the battles against Somalia.

See you at
15^th NATO Days in Ostrava & 6^th Czech Air Force Days!

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