TACAM R-2
The TACAM R-2 tank destroyer in the courtyard of the National Military Museum in Bucharest. Note the T-34 beside it, which was in use with the People's Army
TACAM R-2 tank-destroyer at National Military Museum in Bucharest.
The stringent need for modernising the Romanian armoured force made the specialists of the Ministry of Army Endowment and War Production to study the possibility of upgrading the R-2 tank in early 1943. As the conclusions for supplementing the armour and changing the main gun were not favourable, it was accepted to convert the vehicle into a self-propelled gun by using the captured 76.2mm artillery pieces and armour plates of the captured T-26 and T-60 tanks. In spring 1943 the War Minister, General Constantin Pantazi, ordered the production of a prototype designated Tun Anticar pe Afet Mobil R-2 or TACAM R-2. The project was entrusted to a team led by Lieutenant-Colonel Constantin Ghiulai, the same that conceived the TACAM T-60. The prototype of TACAM R-2 was built at Leonida Works in Bucharest between July and September 1943. Following the trials that took place at Suditi, the testing committee concluded that even if the new vehicle had the drawback of a very high profile, it was more valuable than the R-2 tank. On 12 February 1944 the military officials decided that forty R-2 tanks to be converted in TACAMs. The only modification made to the prototype's blueprint was the mounting of the Soviet 76.2mm ZIS-3 gun model 1942 instead of the F-22 gun. Twenty R-2 tanks were withdrawn from service and were modified at Leonida Works between February and June 1944. In July, a number of 7 TACAMs were tested at Dadilov. Firing tests against a captured T-34 revealed a gun effectiveness within 500 meters using Costinescu armour-piercing rounds. However, the gun handling was difficult and the optics were inadecvate. On July 22nd 1944 the High Command of Motomechanized Troops suspended the production of the other twenty TACAMs, resulting a total of twenty-one produced together with the prototype. In July 1944, the TACAM R-2s were distributed to the 1st Tank Regiment were they formed the 63th Tank-destroyer Company. They were used in the liberation of Romanian territory, by September 1944 only six serviceable TACAM R-2s remaining. After the 1st Tank Regiment was disbanded at Soviet order, the six TACAMs entered the composition of the 2nd Tank Regiment and took part in the operations in Austria and Moravia, at the end of the war only one surviving.

Specifications
Armament
Cross-country range130km
Road range160km
Gradient45°
Fording depth0.8m
Trench crossing2m
Vertical obstacle0.5m
Max cross-country speed15km/h
Max road speed30km/h
Performance
Mileage81 litres/100km
Fuel/Capacitypetrol, 153 litres
Power125hp/1800rpm
Cylinders6L
Displacement8500cc
TypeSkoda T11, water cooled
Engine
Clearance0.35m
Height2.32m
Chassis length5m
Width2.064m
Dimensions
Weight12t (fully loaded)
Crew3
Main1 x 76.2mm ZIS-3 L/42 gun
Elevation-5° to +15°
Traverse30°
Ammunition21 HE rounds, 9 AP rounds
Secondary1 x 7.92mm ZB-53 mg
Armour
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User Comments Add Comment
Cazackiu Anton  (10 July 2009)
Fotografia alb-negru este facuta in vechiul local al M.M.C. din str.Izvor,nr.137(vechiul local al Scolii militare de ofiteri nr.1 Bucuresti)demolat in 1985.
Richard Foster  (6 July 2009)
hi, first post, 2 questions:

1) was the Secondary 1 x 7.92mm ZB-53 mg located in the Hull?

2) was there a top cover over the gun super-structure and only open at the back, or was the top also open? ive seen a few pictures of the TACAM R-2 and its not very clear.

Thanks,

Richard