<P> Before the end of production in 1942, 136 more LT - 35 and a total of 1414 LT - 38 were produced for the Wehrmacht at Škoda Works; these tanks saw operational use in the Polish campaign, the Battle of France and on the Soviet front . By 1942, Czech - built tanks became progressively vulnerable to Soviet T - 34 medium tanks and new anti-tank guns and the LT - 35 and LT - 38 proved unsuitable for harsh winter conditions in Russia, so they were withdrawn from front line service in 1942; the remaining units were either redeployed in a light reconnaissance role or converted to Hetzer tank destroyers and artillery tractors . </P> <P> Poland was the first to suffer the German Blitzkrieg, but it had some very good tanks in its armored forces . The most important was the 7TP (siedmiotonowy polski - "7 - tonne Polish") light tank, which was better armed than its most common opponents, the German Panzer I and Panzer II . </P> <P> Like the similar Soviet T - 26, the 7TP was a development of the British Vickers 6 - ton (Mk. E) which the Poles purchased and licensed for local production . The main new features of 7TP were: a better, more reliable and powerful diesel engine (which made the 7TP world's first diesel tank), 37 mm anti-tank gun, and slightly thicker armor (17 mm in front instead of 13 mm). Only about 132 tanks were produced between 1935 and the outbreak of the war . The weight increased after the initial 7 - tonne prototype was made and the actual serial tanks weighed 9.9 tonnes . </P> <P> Like its British predecessor, the 7TP was initially produced in two variants: the twin turret version armed with 2 Ckm wz. 30 machine guns, and a single turret version, armed with a 37 mm (1.5 in) Bofors wz. 37 gun . After initial tests, it became clear that the twin - turret variant was obsolete and lacked firepower, so it was abandoned in favor of the more - modern, single - turret design . </P>

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