This compact tank, despite its early issues, was a sound and competent vehicle for its role and its availability meant that the Romanians could continue to make good use of it with some thought. Another key element in the Romanian inventory was the Soviet 76.2mm ZiS-3 AT gun system which saw widespread use and high production totals (about 103,000 being made) from 1941 on. The weapon was a true armor-defeating piece and a central component to the thinking that the R-2 could be modified to serve as an effective tank destroyer.
The R-2 began its conversion process by having its whole turret structure removed. The Soviet M1936 AT gun was then fitted atop an all-new mount and a basic three-sided, open-air fighting compartment was built atop the revised hull structure. Drive power remained a Skoda 4-cylinder, water-cooled T11/0 engine of 125 horsepower which allowed for road speeds of up to 20 miles per hour and operational ranges out to 100 miles to be reached.
The R-2 origin was clear throughout the appearance of the running gear arrangement and hull lines with the sole design exception being the new fixed superstructure for the gun and crew. The crew numbered three and armor protection reached up to 25mm thick. A 7.92mm ZB-53 machine gun could be mounted for local defense. From the design phase of 1943, which produced a pilot vehicle for testing, the tank entered manufacturing in 1944 and twenty examples followed (despite the forty originally envisioned, new Soviet armor ending the new vehicle's expected reach). Before the vehicles made to the front they were up-gunned to carry the more potent ZiS-3 series AT gun, another Soviet-originated 76.2mm weapon system available to the Romanians.
In August of 1944, the Romanians switched allegiance to the Allies and it was only then that these new tank destroyers saw their baptism of fire when they engaged German and Hungarian forces. The types were in local Army service until Romania was declared clear of the Axis presence by late October. Nearly all of the TACAM R-2 Tank Destroyers - save for one becoming a museum showpiece - were lost or scrapped before the end of the war in Europe in May of 1945.
The twenty production examples and the sole pilot vehicle were all that were realized of this Romanian tank initiative.
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