Covenanter tank
Covenanter cruiser tank | |
---|---|
flat-12 340 hp (250 kW) | |
Power/weight | 18.6 hp (13.9 kW) / tonne |
Transmission | Meadows gearbox with Wilson epicyclic steering |
Suspension | Christie |
Fuel capacity | 92 imperial gallons (420 L)[2] |
Operational range | 100 mi (160 km)[1] |
Maximum speed | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
The Cruiser tank Mk V or A13 Mk III Covenanter was a British cruiser tank of the Second World War. The Covenanter was the first cruiser tank design to be given a name. Designed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway as a better-armoured replacement for the Cruiser Mark IV, it was ordered into production in 1939 before pilot models were built. Problems with the design became apparent only after production was under way.
The tank equipped various British armoured divisions for home defence and training. It never left the UK as poor engine cooling caused the Mk I to Mk III to be declared unfit for overseas service especially in hot climates. This was rectified in the Mk IV after many corrective actions were undertaken but, by February 1944, it was declared obsolete. More than 1,700 of the type were built. It was named after the
Development
In 1938, the War Office had issued a requirement for a new, better armoured "heavy" cruiser tank to replace the
The initial specification required a
From these, a design using many sloped surfaces was chosen to keep the weight low. To keep the silhouette low, the suspension used cranked arms and a low profile engine was envisaged. The engine, which was to be specifically designed for it, was to deliver at least 300 horsepower (220 kW). The Wilson transmission and steering of the A16 would be used.[6]
Design work was by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company (LMS), who had no prior experience in the design and production of fighting vehicles and had been invited to participate under a Government policy that British companies should develop skills in expectation of war.[7][note 1] The design assumed a welded hull rather than the usual riveting. The turret was designed by Nuffield, with Henry Meadows designing a new low profile engine for it. On 17 April 1939, before a prototype was produced, the first 100 vehicles were ordered from the LMS. Additional orders soon followed, with English Electric and Leyland Motors joining the production effort, for a final production total of 1,771 Covenanters.[8][9] Nuffield was also approached but preferred to design its own offspring of the A13 line, which became the Cruiser Mk.VI Crusader.[10]
Due to the expectation of war, the design was ordered "off the drawing board". The expectation was that two pilot models would serve for testing and results applied to the production lines.[11]
To meet the engine requirement, a horizontally opposed 12-cylinder design was used. Although flat, it was wide and left no room for
LMS advised a return to riveted construction due to doubts about the strength of the welds and rather than risk delays due to a lack of welders, this was accepted. The welded design used two layers of armour plate, the inner being of steel that would weld readily without losing its properties. This two-plate system was retained when the design reverted to riveted construction. The use of rivets, steel wheels instead of aluminium and an increase in armour specification to 40 millimetres (1.6 in) at the front of hull and turret increased the weight to a level where the tank suspension was at maximum load, leaving no room for later development of the design.[6][note 2] Rather than risk the availability of the combined Wilson transmission and steering, affecting production, the A13 "crash" gear box was used with epicyclic steering units. This necessitated a reduced size of cooling fan for the transmission compartment.[13]
Contracts were placed with the manufacturers in 1939. The pilot model (with welded hull) was tested with a favourable outcome in 1940; though the second pilot suffered from overheating. The first deliveries of production vehicles were not until after the battle of Dunkirk. Production of turrets lagged behind that of hulls. Although the Covenanter was needed, production continued even when newer, better tank designs were waiting for space on production lines.[14]
By late 1943, the Covenanter was considered too weakly armed and armoured to deal with new German tanks. It was decided that neither problem could be addressed without significant changes in the design, so the tank was declared obsolete and all vehicles except the bridge-layer variant were to be scrapped.[8][15]
Service
Except for a few trial vehicles, Covenanters were never deployed outside the UK. The Covenanter was used to re-equip the
Eventually, a handful of vehicles were sent to the desert for service trials and were allocated to the
Covenanters were also used to equip the
Observation Post tanks were issued to artillery units to carry Forward Observation Officers for Royal Artillery batteries. In an armoured division, there were two OP tanks for each RHA or field battery. Medium gun batteries had just one. Command tanks were similar to OP tanks, but had only two No. 19 sets; one on the regiment radio net and the other on the brigade net.[17]
Covenanter bridgelayers were used by the
Variants
- Covenanter Mk I (Cruiser Mk V) – Original production model.[17]
- Covenanter Mk I Close Support – Armed with 3-inch howitzer.[17]
- Covenanter Mk I Close Support – Armed with
- Covenanter Mk II (Cruiser Mk V*) – Mark I production modified by addition of radiator-mounted oil cooler.[17]
- Covenanter Mk II CS – Armed with 3-inch howitzer.[17]
- Observation Post version existed with dummy gun, two No. 19 radios and a No. 18 radio;[note 3] issued to artillery units.[17]
- Command version existed with dummy gun and two No. 19 radios.
- Covenanter Mk III (Cruiser Mk V**) – new production with twin oil coolers installed either side of the engine. Clutch linkage modified. Air cleaners added inboard at the rear. Exhaust silencers moved to the ends of the track guards.[17]
- Covenanter Mk III CS – Armed with 3-inch howitzer.[17]
- Covenanter Mk IV – New production as the Mk II with the clutch changes of the Mk III.[17]
- Covenanter Bridgelayer – Covenanter hull fitted with a vehicle-launched bridge ("30 ft No. 1"). This was 34 feet (10 m) long and 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) wide. It could span a 30-foot (9 m) gap and was capable of carrying 24 tons.[20] In 1944, an improved bridge was developed with a 30-ton capacity.
- Covenanter ARV Mk I – Armoured recovery vehicle based on turretless Covenanter hull. One prototype was built in 1942.[17]
Additional equipment:
- Anti-Mine Roller Attachment (AMRA) Mk IC – a mine clearing device consisting of four heavy rollers suspended from a frame. The weight of the rollers could be increased by filling them with water or sand.[17]
Surviving vehicles
A single Covenanter gun–tank is preserved at The Tank Museum, Bovington, in the United Kingdom. It is displayed in the markings it had during the War when it served with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, part of the 9th Armoured Division. For unknown reasons, it was buried after the war on a farm near Dorking. In 1977 it was discovered, recovered, restored and put on display at the Bovington museum in 1985.[21][2] The Tank Museum also has the turret from an early Covenanter pilot model.[22]
A second Covenanter tank was recovered in May 2017 from the same farm, now the site of Denbies vineyard.[23] The partially buried, wrecked hulls of two other tanks may be seen at Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk, UK.[24] Now a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve, the area was formerly a tank gunnery range and the Covenanters were likely used as targets.[25]
Two Covenanter Bridgelayers are preserved in Australia – one at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum,
Notes
- ^ LMS was also involved in production of the Cruiser Mark III
- ^ Aluminium had become a priority material that was allocated to aircraft production.
- ^ The No. 19 radio was the standard unit fitted in British tanks, the No. 18 radio was a manpack set intended for short–range telephony in forward areas.
References
- ^ a b c d e White p. 47.
- ^ a b Mike Garth. "Tank Cruiser Mark V** A13 (E1985.30)". Bovington Tank Museum. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- ^ Fletcher, Great Tank Scandal, p. 60.
- ^ Bingham, James, AFV Profile No. 8 Crusader-Cruiser Mark VI, Windsor: Profile Publishing
- ^ Fletcher 2012, p. 16
- ^ a b Fletcher and Sarson p4
- ^ White, B T p. 47
- ^ ISBN 0-7603-0936-1(p 51)
- ^ Bigham quotes 1,365 Covenanters
- ^ Fletcher (2012), p. 35.
- ^ Fletcher (2012), p.37.
- ^ Fletcher (2012), p. 4.
- ^ Fletcher 2000, p. 6
- ^ Fletcher, Great Tank Scandal, p. 62.
- ^ Fletcher, Great Tank Scandal, p. 43.
- ^ a b Fletcher (2012), pp. 21–23
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fletcher (2012), pp. 38–40.
- ^ Hyrman, Jan. "Czechoslovaks at Dunkirk 1944–45". Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
- ^ Covenanter Bridgelayer, Royal New South Wales Lancers Lancer Barracks and Museum, archived from the original on 11 March 2015 Retrieved August 2013
- ^ Crusader Cruiser Tank p. 36.
- ^ "The Denbies Home Guard - Ranmore War Memorial". ranmorewarmemorial.info. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ Braun, p40
- ^ "A WW2 tank was dug up in Dorking and Suggs from Madness helped". surreymirror.co.uk. 26 May 2017. Archived from the original on 26 May 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ Braun, p5
- ^ "Titchwell Marsh Before the RSPB". Briarfields Norfolk Hotel. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ Braun, p. 4.
Sources
- Barnes, B. S. (2008). The Sign of the Double 'T' (The 50th Northumbrian Division – July 1943 to December 1944) (2nd ed.). Market Weighton: Sentinel Press. ISBN 978-0-9534262-0-1.
- Braun, Pierre-Olivier (25 October 2011). "Surviving Cruiser Tanks" (PDF). Surviving Panzers website. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- OCLC 276814706.
- Fletcher, David (2000). Crusader Cruiser Tank 1939–1945. New Vanguard No. 14. illustrated by Peter Sarson. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-85532-512-8.
- Fletcher, David (2012). Crusader and Covenanter Cruiser Tanks 1939–45. New Vanguard. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-78096-738-7.
- ISBN 978-0-11-290460-1.
- ISBN 0-11-290534-X.
- White, B. T. (1963). British Tanks 1915–1945. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 799775831.
Further reading
- Knight, P. M. (2018). A13 Cruiser Mk. V Covenanter Tank: A Technical History. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu com. ISBN 978-0-244-96756-7.
External links