Cruiser tank
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| Cruiser tank | |
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Second World War |
The cruiser tank (sometimes called cavalry tank or fast tank) was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry, as distinguished from infantry tanks. Cruiser tanks were developed after medium tank designs of the 1930s failed to satisfy the Royal Armoured Corps. The cruiser tank concept was conceived by Giffard Le Quesne Martel, who preferred many small light tanks to swarm an opponent, instead of a few expensive and unsatisfactory medium tanks. "Light" cruiser tanks (for example the Cruiser Mk I) carried less armour and were correspondingly faster, whilst "heavy" cruiser tanks (such as the Cruiser Mk II) had more armour and were slightly slower.
The British cruiser tank series started in 1938 with the A9 and A10 cruiser tanks, followed by the A13, A13 Mark II, the
Background
Dissatisfaction with experimental
Giffard Le Quesne Martel originated the cruiser concept while Assistant Director and then Deputy Director of Mechanisation at the War Office in the 1930s. Martel considered that medium tanks were too complicated and expensive for infantry support, where they would be too vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and rejected claims that they could fire accurately when moving, so would gain no benefit from their speed. Martel preferred a large number of smaller and simpler tanks to swamp an opponent, instead of a few comparatively expensive medium tanks. Work should continue on a universal tank in the long term but from 1936 to 1939, Martel gave much thought to the infantry tank; he did not want medium tank development to be split but saw the logic of it, given the constraints on tank development. Tanks were necessary for mobile operations in armoured divisions and for infantry support in attacks on fortified defensive positions; a vehicle satisfactory for both tasks appeared to be impossible to attain. Two types of vehicle led to two theories and procedures, infantry tank thinking coming from the experience of tank operations from 1916 to 1918, when British tanks had been used for infantry support. Armoured division theory emphasised the speed of cruiser tanks and independent action to protect flanks, attack the opponent's flanks and rear, to counter-attack and conduct pursuit operations.
Development
Like naval
The emphasis on speed unbalanced[citation needed] the British designs; on limited engine power, the speed was possible only by sacrificing armour protection (by comparison infantry tanks operating at soldiers' pace could carry far more armour). The idea that "speed is armour" was considered most important in the Royal Tank Corps. It was not realised[citation needed] that the principle of mobility was a liability against the German policy of accepting lower speeds for superior armour and armament[clarification needed], ensuring that even one round from a German medium tank could easily destroy a cruiser.[clarification needed]
An even bigger problem for most cruiser tanks was the small calibre of their main gun. The first cruisers were armed with the
As the Cromwell could not be fitted with the HV 75 mm, work was undertaken to produce a tank for the powerful 17-pounder anti-tank gun, able to take on the most powerfully-armed German vehicles. The Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger was developed, mounting a 17-pounder gun on a lengthened Cromwell hull in a new turret. The Challenger was an unhappy compromise, though it was popular with its crews. The cut in armour protection to allow the mounting of the larger gun meant it was not well suited to closer range engagements and it threw its tracks more often than the Cromwell. As the UK had large numbers of US M4 Sherman tanks, an extemporaneous conversion of the Sherman to take a 17-pounder (as the Sherman Firefly) proved effective in providing more 17-pounder-gun tanks. The Firefly accompanied Churchills, Shermans and Cromwells generally at a ratio of 1:4. The production of Fireflies greatly outpaced that of the Challenger but in Cromwell-equipped units, the Challenger was generally preferred as the Sherman had a slower road speed and inferior cross-country mobility.
The culmination of British efforts was the
History
Interwar
| Year | Light | I tank/ Cruiser |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 4th Qtr |
169 | 29 | 198 |
| 1939 | 734 | 235 | 969 |
| 1940 to June |
140 | 418 | 558 |
| Total | 1,043 | 682 | 1,725 |
In 1936, the War Office decided on a light tank for the cavalry, a cruiser tank, a medium tank and an infantry or assault tank. By 1938, the medium tank had stagnated as a research project, in favour of heavier cruiser and infantry tanks and after the outbreak of war, the move towards heavy infantry tanks capable of breaking through the Siegfried Line (Westwall) on the German border.[2]
In 1934,
The
In 1936, General
The tank A13 E1 was rudimentary and too small for British use but the Nuffield suspension was most effective and this became the basis of the Cruiser Mk III (A13). Following testing of two Nuffield-built prototypes (A13E2 and A13E3), the A13 was ordered into production and 65 were manufactured by mid-1939.[6] The Mk III weighed 31,400 pounds (14.2 t), had a crew of 4, a 340 hp engine which gave a top speed of 30 mph (48 km/h) and was armed with a 2-pounder (40 mm) gun and a machine gun. When it was introduced in 1937, the army still lacked a formal tank division.[7] The trackless element of the Christie suspension was discarded as adding little value for the extra complexity. The Cruiser Mk IV (A13 Mk II) had heavier armour than the Mk III and production started in 1938.[8]
Second World War
The Tank, Cruiser, Mk VI, (
During the war, the development of much more powerful engines and better suspension enabled cruiser tanks to increase in size, armour and firepower while retaining their speed and mobility. With "cruiser" tanks similarly armoured to heavier, slower, infantry tanks, the convergence of cruisers and infantry tank designs made the distinction obsolete. The
Cruiser tanks in other armies
In the 1930s, the Czechoslovak Army divided its tank into three categories, light tanks - cavalry, light tanks - infantry and medium tanks. The cavalry category was analogical to cruiser-tank concept. The cruiser-tank concept was also employed by Canada, and Soviet Union in the 1930s, as exemplified by the BT tank series (bystrokhodniy tank, [fast tank]).
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Postan 1952, p. 103.
- ^ Postan, Hay & Scott 1964, pp. 309–310.
- ^ Chamberlain & Ellis 1969, p. 30.
- ^ Chamberlain & Ellis 1969, p. 31.
- ^ Harris 1995, p. 278.
- ^ a b Chamberlain & Ellis 1969, p. 32.
- ^ Steele 2005, p. 14.
- ^ Chamberlain & Ellis 1969, p. 33.
Sources
- Chamberlain, Peter; Ellis, Chris (1969). British and American Tanks of World War II: The Complete Illustrated History of British, American and Commonwealth Tanks, Gun Motor Carriages and Special Purpose Vehicles, 1939–1945. New York, NY: Arco. ISBN 978-0-668-01867-8.
- Harris, J. P. (1995). Men, Ideas and Tanks: British Military Thought and Armoured Forces, 1903–1939. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-4814-2.
- Postan, M. M. (1952). British War Production. History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Civil Series. London: OCLC 459583161.
- ISBN 978-0-11630-089-8.
- Steele, Brett D. (2005). Military Re-engineering Between the World Wars. ISBN 978-0-8330-3721-3.
Further reading
Books
- Bingham, James. Crusader-Cruiser Mark VI. AFV Profiles. 1969/1971. Windsor: Profile. OCLC 54349416.
- ISBN 978-0-415-40773-1.
- French, David (2001) [2000]. Raising Churchill's Army: The British Army and the War Against Germany 1919–1945. Oxford: ISBN 978-0-19-924630-4.
- Milsom, J.; Sandars, J.; Scarborough, G. (1976). Crusader. Classic Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Their History and How to Model Them. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens for Airfix products. ISBN 978-0-85059-194-1.
- ISBN 978-0-521-63760-2.
- Ness, L. (2002). Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles: The Complete Guide (PDF) (online ed.). London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-711228-9. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- Place, T. H. (2000). Military Training in the British Army, 1940–1944: From Dunkirk to D-Day. Military History and Policy (pbk. ed.). London: Frank Cass. ISBN 978-0-7146-8091-0.
- Plant, J. (2014). Cruiser Tank Warfare. London: New Generation. ISBN 978-1-910394-17-5.
- Tucker, Spencer (2004). Tanks: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. Weapons and Warfare. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio Information Services. ISBN 978-1-57607-995-9.
Theses
- Armstrong, G. P. (1976). The Controversy over Tanks in the British Army 1919 to 1933 (PhD). King's College London (University of London). EThOS uk.bl.ethos.448107. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- Coombs, B. (2011). British Tank Production, 1934–1945 (PhD). University of Kent. )
- Forrester, C. J. (2010). Montgomery and his Legions: A Study of Operational Development, Innovation and Command in 21st Army Group, North-West Europe, 1944–45 (PhD). University of Leeds. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.540781. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- Salmon, R. E. (2013). The Management of Change: Mechanizing the British Regular and Household Cavalry Regiments 1918–1942 (PhD). University of Wolverhampton.
External links