How do the Czech's pronounce Skoda?

[Twin_Dad]

If the Czech tanks were better shouldn't that, in it's self, been enough to stop the Germans from getting them......

[brad]

maybe Czech tanks had more boot space too

More BOOM space I think.

[BluChris]

They didn't need the tanks to get the Germans. Transporter is right about the original VW design being stolen by Porsche, who was under pressure to design Hitler's People's Car. Hitler was familiar with Tatra and quite liked the design prinicples they used. Porsche took much of his design for the beetle from the Tatra V570/T97. Tatra successfully sued VW after the war.

But the main reason they didn't need the tanks? High ranking German officers also knew about Tatra, and were often found behind the wheel of the awesome T87 which had an alloy V8 engine that could hit 160 km/h. Great Autobahn cruiser but it was like a giant overpowered beetle - rear engine and swing axles and therefore deadly lift off oversteer, which by all accounts took out so many officers that Hitler banned them from driving it. Was known as the Czech secret weapon.

Check out the T87 clip at Jay Leno's garage. Fabulous pre-war luxury car with unique style.

[Dutch77]

The Skoda factories were used to produce tanks for Germany, originally using the Czech design but later swapped over to the German design - perhaps some technology was transferred?

The main reason for invasion was Hitler's desire to take back the region known as the Sudetenland, and to avoid war at that point the rest of Europe allowed it to happen. Hitler then decided he would take the rest anyway.

(yes I am a WW2 tragic)

[gldgti]

maybe Czech tanks had more boot space too

Quote of the day!

[Transporter]

If the Czech tanks were better shouldn't that, in it's self, been enough to stop the Germans from getting them......

IMO it would stop them, but for that my friend you need the government willing to fight and not to give up and escape to England. The army generals followed them as well, leaving the country defenceless, only a few shots were fired when the Germans were passing the boarder. Hitler himself said in the documentary movies that, it would be hard to pass the border fortifications should the Czech decided to fight. Certainly the Czech army was well equiped with the trucks and machine guns, not the horses and the rifles.
Sadly the Czechs follow the trend and gave up again to Komunists in 1948 and again allowed the country to be invaded by Russians in 1968 when the government was called to come to Moscow and held there untill they signed the pact with them, the Russian tanks rolled over the Czech boarders. The Russians made sure that they weren't met with the resistance and the tanks and fighter jets were disarmed and the fuel dumped. So, again no one was fiting for the democracy.

The 20,000 Russian trups stayed there to assure the peace
The Komunist government had the devastating affects on the industry in there (not just the automotive). The Czech car maker Skoda was limited by Russians and could not produce the engine with the greater CC capacity than 1.3L , with the exception of the Tatra603 and later Tatra613 which was made only for the government officials.

I guess, the last fighter there (who never lost the battle - only 6 of them in history) died in 1424 Jan . He might as well be the inventor of the tanks.

[Dutch77]

Sadly the Czechs follow the trend and gave up again to Komunists in 1948 and again allowed the country to be invaded by Russians in 1968

I can trace my current existence back to the events of 1968 so from my view it's not all bad.

[Transporter]

I can trace my current existence back to the events of 1968 so from my view it's not all bad.

Sure, it depends which side you were on.

[brad]

If the Czech tanks were better shouldn't that, in it's self, been enough to stop the Germans from getting them......

Nah, despite what is said, the German equipment at the beginning of the war wasn't that terrific. The German tactics otoh..... Nobody knew what to do about that.

[Rooboy]

Ahh the big Tatra T87 was almost the Czech's secret weapon against the Germans After invading Czechoslovakia they were popular with German officers because they were big, comfortable and powerful with their rear engined V8s but in the end they were banned from driving them because they were hard to control and too many lost their lives. Tatra also had a reputation for making very good trucks.

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