Cruiser Tank Mk. II
| Cruiser Tank Mk. II | |
|---|---|
Cruiser Tank Mk. II during World War II |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 5 (commander, driver, gunner, loader, machine gunner) |
| length | 5.59 m |
| width | 2.53 m |
| height | 2.64 m |
| Dimensions | 14.4 t |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | 8-30 mm |
| Main armament | 40mm Ordnance QF 2 pounder |
| Secondary armament | 1 × Vickers machine gun coaxial, 1 × Besa machine gun |
| agility | |
| drive |
AEC 6-cylinder in- line engine , displacement 9,600 cm³ 110.4 kW (150 PS) |
| Top speed | 26 km / h (road), 13 km / h (terrain) |
| Power / weight | 10.4 hp / t |
| Range | 240 km (road) |
The Panzer Cruiser, Mk II (A10) was a main battle tank developed in the 1930s for the British Army that was used in the early stages of World War II . It was developed parallel to the Cruiser Mk I (A9) and was supposed to be a heavier, infantry tank version of this type. In practice he was not suitable for this role. It was therefore classified as a "heavy cruiser tank ".
Development history
The A10 was developed by Sir John Carden of Vickers from 1934 onwards by adapting his A9 design. The A10 specification called for armor up to 1 inch (25 mm; the A9 had 14 mm armor (0.55 inches)), a speed of 10 mph (16 km / h) was acceptable. The two machine gun turrets from the A9 were omitted to save weight. The additional armor was on the front and sides of the pan riveted, as well as on all sides of the tower, which is about giving the tanks at these points the double armor of the A9. The A10 was two tons heavier than the A9, but the same 150 hp engine was used. This resulted in a reduction in the top speed from 25 miles per hour (40 km / h) to 16 miles per hour (26 km / h).
As with the A9, the main armament consisted of the QF-2 pounder tank cannon with a caliber of 40 mm. A Vickers 0.303 machine gun was carried in the turret as secondary armament . For the production version, a 7.92 mm BESA machine gun was also mounted in the fuselage to the right of the driver's seat. This gave the tank additional firepower, but at the expense of simplicity - the Vickers machine guns and the BESA used different ammunition. The tank was intended for a crew of five (commander, gunner, loader, driver and fuselage machine gunner), there was no separation between the driver's cab and the fighting compartment.
The prototype ("Tank, Experimental A10E1") was completed in 1936, a few months after the prototype of the A9. Carden had lost his life in a plane crash in 1935 and development had been slower than expected. In 1937 the planned use of the A10 as an infantry support tank was abandoned, but in 1938 it was decided to produce it as a "heavy cruiser".
The A10 was carried under the following names in the British Army - first "Tank, Cruiser, Heavy Mk I", then as "Tank, Cruiser A10 Mk I" and finally "Tank, Cruiser Mk II". The vehicles were ordered in July 1938. Total production was 175 vehicles, including the 30 CS versions ( Close Support , armed with a 94 mm howitzer). According to the initial order for 100 vehicles, 45 tanks were produced by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company , 45 by Metropolitan Cammell and 10 by Vickers.
At the end of 1939 another order was placed with the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company , this time for 75 vehicles. Commissioned in December 1939, these models were a bit of a curiosity - they were intended to be sacrificed speed for additional armor and used like infantry tanks. However, they still had relatively weak armor, which made them ineffective for the role.
Production ended in September 1940 after a decision had been made to only use the Christie drive for the cruiser tanks in future , for which a corresponding successor model was already available with the Cruiser Mk III (A13 Mk I) . The chassis of the Mk II was also used with reinforced armor in the infantry tank "Valentine" , which was produced until 1944.
Mission history
The Cruiser Mk II were used in France in 1940 and off Tobruk in 1941 . 60 tanks were used by the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment in Greece . The tanks held up well against the German models, but were prone to mechanical malfunctions, including chain loss, which was responsible for 90% of the failures.
variants
Tank, Cruiser, Mk II (A10 Mk I)
Classified as a heavy cruiser tank , 31 vehicles with the 1st Armored Division were sent to France, but did not prove themselves there. This type was also used in North Africa until the end of 1941 .
Tank, Cruiser, Mk IIA (A10 Mk IA)
The coaxial Vickers MG was replaced by a BESA MG .
Tank, Cruiser, Mk IIA CS (A10 Mk IA CS)
This version had a howitzer of the caliber 94 mm (3.7 inches) in the turret instead of the two-pounder cannon. The standard ammunition load consisted of 40 smoke grenades and a few explosive projectiles, as this variant was primarily intended to provide privacy protection through artificial fog for one's own infantry during attacks and retreats . The “CS” in the type designation stood for Close Support (Nahunterstützung). The weapon was derived from a field howitzer from World War I , the QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer .
literature
- Peter Beale: Death by Design: British Tank Development in the Second World War. The History Press, 2009.
- David Fletcher: British Battle Tanks: World War I to 1939. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
- JP Harris: Men, Ideas, and Tanks: British Military Thought and Armored Forces, 1903-1939. Manchester University Press, 1995.
Web links
- Tank Cruiser Mark IIA A10 detailed description on the Bovington Tank Museum website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexander Lüdeke: Waffentechnik im Second World War , Parragon Books, 2007, ISBN 978-1-4054-8584-5 , p. 105.
