Bakground

In 1937 Sweden bought 48 top modern tankettes, Swedish designation model 37, from CKD in Prague. Instead of assembling the vehicles in Prague, CKD chose to assemble them in Sweden, using the facilities of the Jungner factory in Oskarshamn, which was already a business partner.
Some Swedish suppliers were picked to supply parts or material to the production, such as Volvo, Avesta Jernverk and others.
The CKD designation for the tankette was AH-IV, and in Sweden it became Stridsvagn m/37 (translates as "tank model 37").

Of the total number of 48 vehicles, until recently, there were 8 known individuals remaining in Sweden; two in Boden, two in Visby, two in Strangnas and two at the Swedish Tank Museum in Axvall.

Two Swedish vehicles bought by The Institute of Military History in Prague

During the autumn of 2004, two forgotten wrecks of m/37 were salvaged from a disused shooting range outside Gavle. The Institute of Military History have not had this model in their collection, and showed an interest in one of the two vehicles. During the spring of 2005 it came to our knowledge that there was a complete vehicle for sale on Gotland. The owner was contacted and this vehicle was bought by the Institute. In the deal, one of the wrecks was also included.
During the following year, necessary permits were acquired and the tankette with the Swedish Army registration number 157 is now delivered to the museum in Lesany, approximately 20 miles south of Prague. Their aim is to restore the tankette to a running original condition.

During the spring of 2006 it was decided that both tankettes would be delivered to Prague in conjunctin with their yearly Tank Day, in the end of August.
The museum in Prague also sent a request to the Swedish Defence Forces Headquarters in Stockholm for the running model 37 in Strangnas to take part in the Tank Day festivities.

The three tankettes were transported via Trelleborg-Rostock to the Czech border where personnel from the Institute of Military History received us. Escorted by Czech Military Police the tankettes were taken to central Prague where Czech national television did a piece of the tankette and the deal. (Sweden was at that point in the news in the Czech Republic because of the deal with the fighter Gripen from BAe-Saab taking place.)
After that, the tankettes were brought to the museum in Lesany where they were unloaded.

Saturday was the day of the yearly Tank Day and the tankettes were displayed together with their Czech "cousines" - the LT-38 and the Hetzer - before nearly 30.000 visitors. All in all more than a dozen vehicles were taken through their paces on the more than 2 acre arena.

The deal and the delivery has been done on a non-profit basis by the Sodermanland Regimental Museum Association.

The delivery to Prague could be carried out thanks to support from:

• TT-Line
• Swedish Volkswagen
• Milmac AB
• Ottossons heavy- and special transport AB
• The Swedish Defence Forces
• The National Swedish Museums of Military History
• The magazine abc Prag
• CZ-Hermex
• The Swedish embassy in Prag
• The Swedish embassy in Berlin

Czech Republic Institute of Military History

The Institute of Military History is a part of the Defence Forces of the Czech Republic, and its counterpart in Sweden would be The National Swedish Museums of Military History (SFHM).
The Institute runs three different museums; an Army Museum in central Prague, an Air Force Museum in the east part of Prague and the Museum of Military Technology located in Lesany (NW of Benesov) approximately 20 miles south of Prague.
The museum in Lesany contains a unique collection of guns and wheeled as well as tracked vehicles of all kinds.

Open Wednesday through Sunday, 0900 - 1700, during June through September.