Samochod pancerny wz. 34 II

Armoured cars appeared before first tanks did, and played significant role during several conflicts. In Poland, they were seen as an inexpensive alternative to tanks. Having recently regained independence, Poland of 1910s and 1920s had several vehicles of this type, mostly remnants of partition of Poland (that is, of German, Austro-Hungarian or Russian origin). However many were in bad shape or became obsolete soon after WWI. Polish-bolshevik war further weakened Polish armoured car's condition.

In 1928 works begun on samochód pancerny wz. 28 (Armoured Car Mk. 28), a halftrack vehicle based on succesful French experiments with such weapons. However wz. 28 was a disappointing failure - the tracks were overcomplicated, and off-road capabilities - poor. Thus in 1933 engineers started to rebuild them into fully-wheeled vehicles. The result was samochód pancerny wz. 34 (Armoured Car Mk. 34; the number indicates the year it entered service). Wz. 34 formed a backbone of Polish armoured car forces of the 1930s.

Wz. 34 was armed with either machine gun or 37 mm Puteaux gun, installed in the turret. It was traversed by hand, and the gun was stabilised by pressing it against commander's shoulder, just like machine gun. It had crew of two, commander and gunner. Such designed proved inferior to 3 or 4-men crews, since commander was overwhelmed by its tasks (he had to load and aim the gun, give commands to the driver, be aware of enemy's movements and, if he was unit's leader, give orders to the rest of the machines). Off-road capabilites were still poor, wz. 34 only had two-wheels drive, and being rather narrow it had high ground pressure. Good off-road capabilities were crucial in Poland, where paved roads were still rarity in the 1930s.

Because of its weak armour and armament, in September 1939 wz. 34 cars were only used for reconaissance, though they did support infantry on few occasions and managed to destroy several light or unarmoured vehicles. After the war they were all scrapped, having no value to either of the invaders.

Two replicas were built: one based on GAZ 69 car, and one built from scratch. The proportions of the latter are closer to the original than the former.