Most succesful british tank.

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#21

It was amazing how slow the British were to fully develop the 17pdr as a main gun for armour. Obviously the demand as an AA weapon was a number one priority.

The Australian Cruiser tank (AC1) was a medium tank of sound design which entered production in 1942. Originally armed with a 2pdr, then 6pdr gun which were deemed ineffective by Australian experiences with German armour. the 17pdr gun was mounted. When built this version the AC3 was the most powerful battle tank in the armoury of the Western Allies. The entire project fell aprt due to political interference, military inefficiency and some technical problems.

When designer A. R. Code and Colonel Watson approached the relevent British authorities with their experiences with the AC1 and AC3 developments. From the Australian success of fitting the 17pdr with a suitable recoil system the British were convinced to adapt the 17pdr to their own Shermans. The rest is history.

Source: Armed And Ready-The Industrial development and Defence Of Australia 1900-1945 by A.T. Ross ISBN 0 908031 63 7

Regards Digger.

#22

I think that there were just 3 types of british tanks with that high velocity 76,2mm gun, The challenger, the Black Prince ,and the Firefly.

[FONT=Verdana]The Challenger is a 1942 design in reply to the call for a tank with a gun that could take on any German tank. The chosen gun was the excellent 17pdr. Attempts to use the A27 design showed that it was too small and light to accept the new gun and so a complete tank was designed around it. This tank only saw limited service owing to the numbers of available Sherman Firefly available.[/FONT]

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/GreatBritain/BritishCruiserTanks.html

Yes, but I don’t think it was a very big drop off…

about 15-20 % less, the energy was very similar to the german 75 mm KwK 40 of the Panzer IV G,H

#23

The Crusader was a very good tank. So it has my vote.

#24

For me the most succesful british tank is the Churchil because of his strong gun and armor.I dislike the Matilda mk 2 tank because it was very slow with a relativly weak gun.And a litlle iff toipic models of british tanks and wehicles are SF to find and build which i find rather dissapointing!

#25

A collection of the british tanks used in Afrika in 1940-41, relatively succesful but only agaisnt the unimpressive italian vehicles. The A9 and A10 were weakly armored with only 14-22 mm plates.

#26

The crusader was a good tank. So was the Sherman but my vote goes to the Crusader.

#27

Two images of the Infantry Valentine Mk.II tank. Only 3 man crew.

The tank commander was also the loader of the O.Q.F 40 mm gun.

The armor was aceptable with 40-65mm. The compact design result in a relative small weight of 17 tons. It was equipped with a 135 hp engine and it can reach 25 km/h.

#28

01
Australian AC1 Sentinel Cruiser Tank


British and American Tanks of World War II, by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, Arco Publishing Company, 1975, p 179


British and American Tanks of World War II, by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, Arco Publishing Company, 1975, p 180


British and American Tanks of World War II, by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, Arco Publishing Company, 1975, p 181


British and American Tanks of World War II, by Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, Arco Publishing Company, 1975, p 182

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#29

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02


World War Two Tanks, George Forty, Osprey, 1995, p 59


World War Two Tanks, George Forty, Osprey, 1995, p 60 -61


World War Two Tanks, George Forty, Osprey, 1995, p 62


World War Two Tanks, George Forty, Osprey, 1995, p 63

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#30

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03
Australian AC1 Sentinel Cruiser Tank


Tanks of World War II, Chris Ellis, Chancellor Press, 1997, p 141


Sources:
AC1 Sentinel
http://www.clubi.ie/exalted/ac1.htm
http://www.matadormodels.co.uk/76au/lists.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sentinel_(AWM_101156).jpg
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-armour/allied/museum.htm

SEE ALSO:

Sentinel tank
http://www.answers.com/topic/sentinel-tank
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank

The AC 1 Sentinel Cruiser Tank
http://books.lulu.com/content/163762
http://books.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=163762
http://www.awm.gov.au/underattack/enlarge.asp?image=3/5/1/6

#31

Interesting desing, it seesm a mix of Crusader turret, valentine chassis and Sherman shock absorbers. Thanks for your info george.

#32

Thanks Panzerknacker,

It was an amazing accomplishment for a small country with no prior experience building tanks. A lot of castings were used such as on the hull and turret. Originally, vertical volute bogies of M3 type suspension were planned, but changed to HVSS horizontal volute pattern of the French Hotchkiss type (according to the articles).

#33

Challenger vs Tiger comparison, note that despite the german tank used a larger ammo and heavier gun the turret profile is much lower.

#34

That’s funny photo
Well i have to conclude the british tank - most ridiculous tanks in the WW2 :wink:
The best british tank was Centurion.

Cheers.

#35

Well, I dont know if ridiculos is the word, but still sems too truoble for a gun of a caliber relatively small as 76mm, just imagine what turret they would use for a 122 mm like the Iosif Stalin tank.

#36

all british tanks sucked except for the Sherman Firefly which technically wasnt theirs. should of stole some of the ideas of the sherman and made thier own.

#37

The british toy Mk VII

That’s uber-tank could move with speed of 64 km/h !!! - the one of the most speedest tank of WW2.

#38

:mrgreen: That is a pocket sized tank

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[FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]The Mark VII was a radical and new light tank design by Vickers intended for private sales in 1938. An interesting innovation was Christie road wheel concept and suspension. The British army was quick to see the important improvements in this model and procured the plans. Delays occured in production due to the poor showing of light tanks in the Spanish Civil War. The tank went into production (July 1940) too late to affect the Battle of France but at a time when any tank was considered a plus considering the huge material loss by the British. A large order was initially placed with Vickers, but, the events that occured in 1940 during the Battle of France that showed that light tank was a concept that needed to be rethought and that order was recinded. Light tanks in general, and all tanks armed only with machine guns fared so poorly in France that this model was very nearly scrapped out of hand.

The Mark VII was a simply a case of a good design that appeared at the wrong time. If this model, and not the Mark VIB had been available in France, and in numbers, some different results from encounters would have occured when the Germans met the British. The Battle of France (1940) convinced nations to move away or redesign the light tank concept. Indeed, many light tank designs that survived the first years of WW2, and continued production until 1945, would actually become more powerful and better protected than most pre war heavy tanks! This tank saw limited action during the Madagascar campaign. Around this time, the tank was (again) almost religated to the scrap pile when a new need arrose. Airborne forces were being developed during the war years and consideration was given to providing armor support.

The Mark VII now had a new role and a new name - “Tetrarch”. The tank was used on a limited basis with airborne troops during the D Day invasion (1944) and the Rhine crossings (1945). Some of the tanks were refitted as a close support version (Tetrach 1CS) by mounting a 3" howitzer in place of the 40mm gun. An experiment was tried in 1941 (pre Valentine DD) to use the Straussler system to make the tank a DD (duplex drive) for river crossings. One squadron of these tanks remained in service until 1950 - by then gliders had been dropped from military use. The USSR employed this vehicle through “lend lease”.

[/SIZE][/FONT][/LEFT]

I guess that the paratroopers prefer to have a Tetrarch that to have not armor at all.

#39

most people i know would say the sherman , probably because they were mass produced and used on most if not all britsh fronts after 1941-42 but my personal choise would be the cromwell , nice heavyweight tank good al round performance , only down side being the main gun being to small a caliber , altho i found that a common problem on most british war tanks.

#40

but my personal choise would be the cromwell

At last somebody take the risk to choose a british, I mean real british tank design, I made a mistake, I shouldnt includ the Sherman in this poll.