allied combat tanks.pdf

7/22/2019 Allied Combat Tanks.pdf

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WORLD WAR 2 FACT FILES

AlliedCombat TankPETER CH MBERL IN NDJOHN MILSOMPub li hed 1978 by Arco Publi ru ng Compa ny , Inc .2 19 Pa rk Avenue Sout h. New York, N .Y. 10003

opy righl 97 l by Pe ter Cha mberlain and John MilsomAII rights re ervedPrinted in Grea t Britai nLibrury of Congress Ca taloging In Publication DataChu mberlain. Peter.Al ed co mbat tanks .

Wor ld War 2 fac t i les)I Tanks Mili ta ry science) 2 Wor ld War. 1939- 1945--Ta nk

warfar . J. Milsom, John, joint author . II . Title .UG446 5 C4 358 18 77- 17948ISBN 0-668-04373-3

Arco Publishing Company, Inc.New York4.95
http:///reader/full/UG446.5.C4http:///reader/full/UG446.5.C4


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METROPOLITAN LIBRARY SYSTE

FRANCEIntroductionThe tanks employed by France during World War II were greatly influenced bythe rigid tactical doctrine that was biased towards infantry support. As the result,the vehicles developed and adopted were generally low-speed and complete lyunsuited to fast mobile armoured operations. Furthermore, the crews wergenerally too small in number-thereby requiring of the commanders too manyfunctions under combat situations. Despi te these operational misconceptions , theactual engineering and technological design of French tanks was, in general,excellent and represented the very foremost in contemporary research anddevelopment. The French armoured forces at the beginning of the war were madeup of 2,285 tanks (excluding obsolete models and those de ployed in the colonies),comprising 6 basic models: Renault R-35, Hotchkiss H-35, and FCM-36 lighttanks (and their derivatives) , the Char D, SO MUA 35, and the Char B. Therewere also a large number of so-called AMR s a nd AMes. which were in effecttracked armoured cars, The dis tribution of th-ese tanks throughout the FrenchArmy in June 1940 was as follows: 3 armoured di isiom, totallin g 468 tanks (CharsB I . B I bis . and H-39); 3 light mechanised di visions to ta lling 582 tank (C hars S 35, S-40. H-35, and H-39/40); 5 light cavalry di vi ions t (ailing 110 tan ks (Ch arsH-35 and H-39/40) ; and 25 separate non-d ivi siona l tank battalions tota lli ng 1, 125tanks (C h.1r' R-35 , H-35, FCM-36, an d D2 , ,

LIGHT T AN KSJ ATA Char Leger R enault FT (Light Tank Renault FT)CREW 2 T hi s light tank. which was famou, for its explo il during World War J, s ti llWEIGHT 6,700kg 6.6 to 'sHEIGHT 2.14m 7f. remained in service with French armo ured units when World War II broke ou t. ItLENGTH 4. IOm IH.51in a l o formed a major part of the lank strengths of several other nations who hadWIDTH 1. 74m tS 1in adopted it during the early 193 0s, T he Renault FT light tank was conceived byENG1NE Renault 4-cyl. water-cooled pdrol General Estienne as a light infantry-accompanying tank, and was designed by

developing 5 hp Renault et Serre in 1916, 3.177 vehicles llf thi s type had been produced by the tillleSPEED Road IOkmh 6.2mph of the Armistice in 1918. Between the wars the tank was extensively modified, andross-country 7 kmh 4.4 mph during 1931 existing vehicles were re-armed with the 7,5-mm ChatelleraultROAD RADIUS 60 km }7 miles machine-gun in place of the original 8-mm Hotchkiss type. Several variatillrlsARMAMENT Either one 37-mm Sa gun or one utilising Kegresse rubber tracks and different forms of armament were developed.7.5 mm Chatdlerault MG 500 Renault FTs were employed during the initial stages of World War n by theROUNDS CARRIED 240x 37 mm

4,800x7 .5 mm F rench, and then later by the Germans. One of the most prominent of theARMOUR THICKNESS Max 22 mm 0.87 in modifications was the Char Renault BS, mounting a 75-mm gun, a few of which

Min 6 mm 0.24 in were encountered by the Allies during the invasion of France in June 1944.

ClllIr Leger R enault FT , armed with a37- 11 , a g ll ll crew memher is using a FlIsilMilru illeur Mle 97 /19 s all anti-aircra ft1I l /JP OIi

Char Leger Renault FT arm ed with a7.5mm ma chine-g/III being covered with acamouflage letting 011 a lighttallktrallsporter


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DATACREW 2WEIGHT 5.500kg 5.4 ton 'HEIGHT 1.73 m 5 ft 81 inLENGTH 3.5 m II ft 5l inWlorn 1.64 m -' f inENGINE Rcnaull 8-cyl. water-Ct)(lled perrot

developi ng H hpSPEED ROod 54 kmh 33.6 mph

Cross-country 30kmh 18 .6 mphROADRADIUS 10Clkm 124.3 milesARMAMENT One 7.5-mm machine-gunROUNDSCARRIED 2.250ARMOURTHI CKNESS Max13 mm .51 in

Min s mm .20 in

AMR Rel lIlllt Modele 9 3 VM

DATACREW 2WEIGHT h,50C1kg 6.4 tonsHEIGHT 1.88 In 6 ft 2 inLENGTH 3.S4m l2ft7 inWIDTH 1.76 m 5 ft 91 inENGlNE Renaull4-cyl.wa(er-cooled petrol

developing82 hpSPEllD Road hlJ kmh 37 mph

Cross-country30 kmh 18 .6 mphROADRADIUS 20C1km 124 .3 milesARMAMENT Vari " l (see text)ROUNDSCARRIED 2 .250(7 . I-mm mgversion);

1.220 ( 1J .2-mm version) ;I ,XX) 25-mm version)

ARMOURll-IICKNESS Maxl3mm .51inMin 5 mOl .20 in

AMR Renault Modele 1933 VM (Armoured ReconnaissancVehicle Renault Model 1933 VM)As part of the 1931 re-equipment programme. the specifications for a ligarmoured reconnai sance vehicle (AMR) were laid down on 16 January 19Renaultproduced a vehicleto this specificationandaftertes ts with 5 prototypover the period 1932 to 1933, the FrenchArmyadopted the vehicle as the AMRenaultModele 1933 VM. The vehicle wa s acceptedofficially on6 Ju ne 1933 .total of 123 were built.

AMR Renault Modele 1935 ZT (Armoured ReconnaissanVehicle Renault Model 1935 ZT)TheAMR 1933 VM vehicle did not quite comeup to requirements, and in 19Renaultdevelopeda new version.Themostfundamentalalterationwasto locthe engine at the rear (the AMR 1933 VM had been front-engined) to provbette r vision for the driver. The running gear was also lengthened to allowsmoother ride across country_ Due to the international situation 100 of thevehicleswereorde red , and therewere4 versionsadoptedwhich differed in tharmament.Thefirst hada turretsimilar to thatof the AMR 1933 VM armedwit7.5-mm machine-gun . Thesecondversionhad a 13.2-mm Hotchkissmachine-gin a largerturret.Thethird version hadthickerarmouranda 25-mm gun anda 7mm machine-gun in the turret.Thefourth versionhad a fixed superstructurewthe same armament as the third version. Altogether 200 AMR 1935s weproduced in three separate batchesof Ino 30 and 70 respectively .

AMR 35. armed with 25 mm glll


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MRRenault Modele 935ZT 2nd rsion.armed with 1J.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun

FUllrth rsion of the MR 35 with fixedsuperstructure and armed with a 25 mm g l l

MC enault lUodele 1934 Y Armoured Combat VehicleRenauJt Model 934 YR)

DAT As a result of the 19


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D TCREW 3WEIGHT 14,500 kg 14 .3 IOnsHEIGHT 2.51 m 8 ft 3 inLENGTH 4.78 m 15 ft 8 inW10TH 2.27 m 7ft 5l inENGINE Renault 4-cyl. water-cooled petrol

d c y l i n d ~ r

waler-cooled petrol developing 75 / I: O hpSP [;E D Road28 / 36kmh 17.4/ 22.4 mph

Cross-country 12/17 kmh 7.5/ 1O .I>mphROAD RADIUS 150 km 100 milesARMAME NT One 37-mm Sal8 gun and one 7.5-mm

MG 31ROUNDS CARRIED 58x37 mm 2,400x7.5 mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 34 mm 1.34 in

Min 12 mm .47 in

AMC Renault Modele 1935 (Armoured Combat VehicleRenault Model 1935)In 1935 the French cavalry adopted a new, improved model of the AMC, alsoproduced by Renault. It was almost identical to the original model but had a newlarger turret (APX 2) . Basically the same armament was retained as in the originalthe vehicle being referred to as the ACG I . There was a variant, however, thamounted a 25-mm Hotchkiss gun in place of the 47-mm gun, and this becameknown as the ACG 2. The AMC 1935 suffered from extreme teething troubleswhich delayed its entry into service. 100 vehicles were built altogether, lateproduction being taken over by AMX.

Auto mitrailJeuse du Corps e CavalerieIn 1937 twelve ACGI chassis were purchased by the Belgian Ministry of DefenceThese vehicles were equipped with Belgian-designed turrets, which had beemodified by moving the left-side episcope to the rear and closing up the originaopening. They were armed with the FRC 47-mm anti-tank gun and a co-axial 13.2mm Hotchkiss machine-b'Un. From September 1939 eight of these vehicles werbattleworthy and they were used in action during the J940 campaign.

Auto mitraille use du Corps de Capalerie

Char Leger Hotchkiss Modele 1935 (Li ght Tank HotchkissModel H-35)As mentioned under the R-35. the H-35 was a competitor light infantry tank. Thfirs t prototype was released on II January 1935. The commission testing the twtanks found the H-35 to be better in several res pects, but the early productiove rsion was grossly underpowered and had a poor cross-country performanceThe cavalry accepted the H-35 as their , tandard light tank in October 1936, anaf ter mod ificat ion the H-35 Modele 38 was accepted by the infantry to supplementhe R-35 . By Jun e 1940 791 H-35s and their de rivatives we re deployed in Frenctank units. Later models of the H-35 received the APX-R turret as use d on the R35. Lmp rovements were carried out to the H-35 in F b ruary 1939; the 75-hp enginhHd bee n considered inadequate and so a more powerfu l J20- hp engine wautilized. Th is adaption necessitated modification to the rear hull armour. At firsth e new ta nk was designated the H-35 Modele 38 , but later became referred to athe H-35 Modele 39, and finally just H-39.

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Char Leger Hotchkiss Modide 1939 J;.

Char Leger Hotchkiss Modele 1935

DATACREW 2WEIGHT 10,600 kg 10.4 toosHEIGHT 2. 1 m 6 f 10\ inLENGTH 4.0m 13f.l l inWIDTH 1.85 m 6 f OJ inENGINE .Renault 4-cyl. water-cooled perrol

developing 82 hpSPEED Road 19 kmh 11.8 mph

Cross-country 12 kmh 7.5 mphROAD RADlUS l4Gkm 87 mile;ARMAMENT One 37-mm gun (sec text) and one

7 ..I-mm MG31ROUNDS CARRIED 58x37 mm 2,5X.Jx 7 .5 mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 45 mm 1.77 in

Min 4 mm .55 in

Char Leger Hotchkiss Modele H J9/40 Light Tank HotchkissModel H-39/40)A proportion of H-39s were equipped ~ i t h new arma ment, the :n-mm SalS gunbeing replaced by the Sa3S with longer barrel. Tria l with this model began in July1938 and quantity production began in October of the same year. The maximumarmour was increased to 40 mm. making the overall weight 12 tons. Theammunition stowage was increased to 100 rounds of 37 mm. In other respects thetank was identical to the H-39.Kllocked out Hotchkiss Modell 39 40Frall ce 194

Char Leger Renault Modele R J5 Light Tank Renault ModelR-35)On 2 August 1933 the French High Command announced a new programme for alight tank, to be armoured i n s t all light anti-tank weapons and capable ofsupporting the infantry. Sev ra. firms submitted proposals, and one of thoseaccepted was that b_ the Renault firm. This led to the construction of a prototypeZM light tank. Follo wing compari so n trials with the Hotchkiss entry (later H-35),which pro v d un sa tisfactory. the Renault design was accepted as the standardlight infantr tan k on 9 pril 1935 and an initial order for 200 was given. TheRenault ZM re cived the designation Char Leger 1935R, though it was usuallyreferred to a. the R- 35 . _arty production vehicles were fitted with the L.713(APX-R ) rurrer mounting th 37-mm Sa IS gun. This was superseded by the L.739turret with the improved r n m Sal8 gun M37. Finally , a small number of R-35swere fitl ed with the L. 767 turret armed with the long-barrelled 37-mm Sa38 gun.

h r Leger Renault Modele R 39 Light Tank Renault ModelR-39)[11 1938 several R-35 light tanks were fitted with trench-cross ing tails. TIlese havebeen referred to as R-39s, although no official reco rd s have been found to confirmthis.

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Rel/allit Modele R J5

Char Leger Renault Modele R40 Light Tank Renault ModR-40nAT T his light tank, which was adopte d in 1940, was an improved model of the R-CREW wit h a new suspension system, AMX was sub-cont racted to provide a neWEIGffr 10,400 kg 10 .24 ' ' 'ns sus pen sion sys tem that would give a better perform ance cross-country. TwHEIGHT 2.35 m 7 t in ba ttalions of R-40 saw ac tion in 1940, s me armed with the 37-mm Sa38 gun aLENGTH 4.58 m 15 t some fitted with the trench-crossing tail. Later production models of the R-3WIDTH 2.02m 6ft71i n eq ui pped wi th thi s gun, were


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DATACREW2WEIGHT 12.000kg I 1.8 IonsH EIGH T 2.0 m 6 fl6JinLE NGTH 4.35 m 14 II 31 inWlDTII 2.10 m 6 fl I )l inENGINE Bertiet 4-cylin der l e d d i e s e


Cross country 2 ktnh 7.5 mphROAD RADIUS 225 km 140 milesARMA ME NT One .15-mm Sa gun and one 7.5- mm

MG:\1.ARMOUR THICKNESS Ma.s40mm 1.57 in

Min 13 mm 5 1 in

F MModele f936 heing unloaded from tUllktrallsporter

DATACREW 3W F IGH T 14 ,OOOkg 13.810nsHEIGHT 2.40 m 7 fl 10J io (wi lh oerial)LE NGTH 5 76/4 81 m 18 fl II in / 15 fl91 in (wi lh

w o tail)WIDTH 2.lfim 7111ioENGINE Renau" 4-cyl. waler-cooled pelTol

developing 74 hpSP E [) Road 18 kmh 11.2 mph

Cross-couolry IOkmh 6.2 mphROAD RADIUS 90 km 56 milesARM AM ENT One 47-mm Sa34 gun and Iwo

Char Leger Rn ult Modele D Light Tank Renault ModelDlDu ri ng the 1920 's Renault had developed .1 priva te venture in the for m of the NClight tank . whi ch was expor ted abroad in two basic variants (NC I, NC 2) .Fo llowing the light tank speci ficat ion laid down in 1926. the NC tank was modifiedas the NC3 . At the end of 1929 the French Army o rdered 10 vehicles which werede livered and tested in 193 1. Ado pted as the ha r Le er 01 , this tank beca me thefir st A FV to be standardi ed hy th French Arm y aft r World Wa r l B y 1932 ato tal of 160 Cha r 0 Is had been deli vered as li ght in fan tr y-accompanying tanks .The tank wa . used operat iona lly b. F rench troop. during the figh ti ng in France in1940 an d also later in No rth frica .

7.5 -mm mgsRO NO CARRIED 112 x47mm 5,OOOx7 .5 mmAR MOU RTHICl


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DATACREW 3WEIGHT 19.750kg 19 4 ton sHEIGHT 2.67m 8ft9inLENGTH 5.46m 17ft II in (w/o tail)WLDTII 2.22 m 7 ft 1l inENGINE Renault /rey!. water-cooled petrol

del/eloping ISO hpSPEED Road 23 kmh 14 .3 mphCross-country 16kmh 9.9mphROAD RADIUS lOOkm 62 milesARMAM ENT One 47-rnm Sa34 or Sa35 gun and two

7 5-mmmgsROUNDS CARRIED 120 (47-mm SaJ4) , 108 (47-mm

SaJ5), 5,OOOx7.5 mrnARMOUR THICKNESS Max 40 mm 157 in

Min 20 mm .78 in

Char D2 The playing card insignia identifiedsub-units

Char Leger Renault Modele D2 (Light Tank Renault MoD2)In 1930 the French infantry requested a vehicle with better armour than the CD 1. This led to the development of the Char 02, which was also built by RenThe prototype was presented in April 1932 under the designation UZ. Aftertests, thwarted with breakdowns, the French Army eventually adopted the t50 being ordered on 19 January 1934. In May 1937 the Conseil ConsultatI 'Armement ordered a further 50, which were delivered just before hostilit

M EDIUM TAN K SChar Moyens de BataiOe B (Medium Battle Tank B seriOn 12 August 1924 the Director of Infantry requested the provision of 60 tanbattalions of 3 companies each) of a new type of battle tank. On 20 Ma rchGeneral Es tienne gathered together a team of tank designers who were givenspecification s for the new tanlc On 10 February 1926 the characteristics ofnew tank were stated explicitly, it now being called Char de Bataille (Char Bcontract was placed in March 1927 wi th the firms of Renault, F .C M.,F.A.M.H. (St. Chamond) for the production of three prototypes of the ChaParent firm was selected as Atelier de Construction de Rueil (ARL) . The tprototypes tested between 1929 and 1931 had different armour thicknessesother design changes. Following trials, productio n of the new tank began aend of 1934 under the designation Char B I. After the delivery of 35 vehicleorder was placed for the armour to be increased from 40 mm to 60 mm, resuin the Char BI-bis. To compensate for the extra weight, the engine was up-rto 307 hp (formerly 250 hp) _ In 1939 AR L led the design of the fina l modelB I-ter. This had two diesel engines totall ing 350 hp, armour increased to 75and other improvements_ Only 5 vehicles of this latter type were completed_May 1940 a total of 387 Chars B (all types) were in service wilh the French Arm::: BI Model BI- bis Model BJ-fer

REW 4 CREW 4 CR EW 5rW EIGHTHE IG I 30.000 kl< 29.5 1


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Char Moyens de Bataille B B I-bis)

DATACREW 3WEIGHT 19 .500 kg 19.2 tonsHEIGHT 2.6J m 8 ft 7J inLENGTH 5.38 m 17ft X nWIDTH 2. 12m Ilft Il l inENGI NE SOM UA 8-cyl. water-cooled petrol


Cro ss-country 23 kmh 14 .3 mphROAD RADfUS 250 km 155.4 milesARMA MBNT One 47-mm S. 35 gun and two 7.S-mm

mgsROUNDS CARRIED 118 x 47 mm 1.250 x 7.5 mOl

. ARMOUR THICKNESS Max40mm 1..I7 inMn 2mm .79 n


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AI.Char de Cavalerie SOMUA 1935S. Tunisia947

Char Lourdes FCM 2C (Heavy Tank FCM 2C series)General Estienne foresaw the need for a number of ultra-heavy tanks, andwere ordered from F .C.M. Work on this tank, designated 2e was started buord er was reduced to 60 in May 191 7. T he construction of 10 vehicles underway when the Armis tice was igned , and fu rthe r orders were dropped .10 vehicles were continued wi th , howe ver. and by 1923 the y a ll had bcompleted . Du ring 926 one of these vehicles was re-worked as the Char 2C(often erroneousl y called Char 3C), and was re-armed wi th a short IS5-howitze r. The tank had two turrets, the rear one mounting a machine-gun.C har 2C bis had new en gines and he lvier armour . Eig ht of these machi ne. wread y for ac tion in 194 0 beh jnd the defen . ive li nes. but were des troyed onspeci al railway fla ts by German d ive-bombers before the y cou ld be depl yeaction.

DATA ------------------------------------------------------------CborlC C1wr 2C blICREW 12 CREW 13WEIGHT 68. 000 kg 66.9 Ions WEIG HT 75 OOOkg 73.8 10nsHEIGHT 4.15 m IHI 7] in HEIGHT 4.04 n1 13 fr 3 inLENGTIl 10.37 m 34 ft LE NGTH 1O.27m 3H1 8 inWIDTH 2.97 m 9 fl 81 in WIDTH 2.97 m 9 t Sl inENG INB 2 x Daimler6-cy l. water-cooled petrol ENGINE 2 x Sauller-Harle 6-cyl. waler-cooled

developing 180 hp (each); laler replaced petrol developing 25 hp (each)by 2 Maybach 250-hp engine, SPE ED Road 13 kmh S mph

SP ED Road 13 kmh 8 mph Cross-country 8 kmh 5 mphCro s-counlry 8 kmh 5 mph ROADRADTUS 150km 93.2miles

ROAD RADIUS 150km 93.2 miles ARMAMENT One 155-mm howilzerand fourARMAMENT One 75-mm gun and four 7.5-mm

7.5mm mgs ROUNDS CARRIED 124 x 55mm IO,OOOx7.SROUNDS CA RRI ED 150 x 75 mm IO,OO ) x 7.5 mm ARMO RTHIC KN ESS Max50mm 1.97 inARMOUR THI CK NESS Max 45 mm I n in Min 12 rum .47 in

Min 10 mm .39 in

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FCM 2C knocked out on its railway flat cary German air attacks n 940

POL NDntroduction

At the begin ning f Wo rld II the Po lis h Army was no t ve ry hi ghlym chanis ed and posses Ied onl y a small ta nk fo r ce comp ris ed mai nly of tank ettesand ligh t A rie:) oi ta nkettes was de ve loped on the ba is o f the Br itishCmden - a d Mk V mac hi ne-gun ca rrier , coll ec tive l y designa ted TK , mou n tingligh t m a ch ine-gun . Th ese were c m p lemen t d by two model of a ligh t mediumta nk b.heU n t he Vic kers 6-t on de s ign and de signated 7TP 7- t n Po lsk i ). Theorigin a l ITP mudel was twi n- tur ret ed a nd mo un ted on ly ma chine -gu n ar m am nLbu t later a s ingle turreted version a ppeared equipped wi th a Bofors anti-tank gun .These vehj cle s formed the brunt of the Polish armoured for ces al t ho ugh severalpr \ ll yp vehicles were under development at the time of the Germa n at tack. Thehick of tan ks and the very bleak international situation compelled the P olis hGene ral laff to seek the pu rchase of foreibl1 tanks. Du ring 1938 contac t werem ade with zechoslovakia wh ic h , however. refused to sell Pr aga and Skoda tanksto Poland . In April 1939 the Po lish G enera l S taff finally o btained perm ission topu rchase 100 Renault R-35 tank s from F rance. T he firs t batch comprisin g 49 R-35sand 4 H -39s equivalent to one tank battalion) arrived in Poland by sea in May1939. O ther tanks, in the process of being ferried by land, arrived in Rumaniawhere they remained due to the outbreak of war.

Polish t anb in service at the outbreak of war were as follows: TK.3 300), TKS390), and L igh l Tanks 7TP 170).


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D TCREWWEIGHT 2400 kg 2.4 IOnsHEIGHT 1.32 m 4 ft 4 inLENGTH 2.54 m 8 ft 5J inWI.DTH 1.78 m 51t 10 inENGINE Ford Model A developing 40 hpSPEED 8 kmh 30 mphROAD RADfUS 200km 124.3 milesARMAMENT One 7.92-mm Hotchkiss z 25 mgROUNDS CARRIED 1.800x 7.92 mmAR.lI.fOUR THICKNESS Max 8 mm .31 in

Min J mm 11 in

Small reconnaissance tank TK.3

DATACREW 2WEIGHT 2600 kg 2.6 tonsHEIGHT 1.33 m 4 ft 4. inLEN G m 2.53 m 8 ft 5 inWIDTH 1.77 m 5 ft 9l inENGINE PolslU Fiat developing 42 hpSPEED 40 kmh 25 mphROAD RADIUS 180 km 2 milesARMAMENT One 7.92-mm Hotchkiss wz 25 mgROUNDS CARRIED 2, ) Xl x 7.92-mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max JOmm .39in

Min mrn l in

Maly czotg rozpoznawczy TK Small reconnaissance tank TKThis was an improved version of the T K .1 a nd TK.2 vehicles that had originabeen developed from the Vickers-Cardeo-L oyd Mk VI machine-gun carrier. TTK .3 was designed with heavier armour and an enclosed superstructure andinto production; 300 machines were built from 1931-32 onwards. This was the farmoured track-laying machine to be built in quantity in Poland.

Mafy czolg rozpoznawczy T Small reconnaissance tank TDeveloped in 1933 this was an up-armoured version of TK.3 with thicker armoa Polish-built Fiat engine wider tracks and a strengthened suspension . The glaplate was designed to incorporate a single ball-mounted machine-gun; new visiand sighting devices were abo installed. Quantity production of 390 vehiccommenced in February 1934.

Line up of T S tanks

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TK/TKS z karabinem maszynowym kal 20 mm KFrom 1936 experiments were made to modify and up-gun the TK and TKS series.These improvements included a redesigned front superstructure and the fitting ofa 20-mm FK cannon for an anti-tank role . Twenty of these converted vehicleswere in service by August 1939,

Modified TK 3 with 20 mm FK cannon

; ; 1 A 7TP jwCREW 3WEIGHT 9,510kg 9.36 tonsHEIGHT 2.30 m 7 ft Ii inLENGTH 4.88 m Iii ftWIDTH 2.42 m 7ft I I HnENGINE Saurer VBLD diesel developing I O hpSPEED Road 32 kmh 21 mphROAD RADIUS 160km 99 milesARMAMENT 37-mm Bofors wz 37 gun and one

7.92mm z 30 Browning mgROUNDS CARRIED SOx 37 mm

3,960x 7.92 mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 17 mm .67 in

Min 5 20in

Rear iew of Polish twilltarret lighttallb .The frollt alld rear vehicles are Vickers 6 tontanks rewurked to 7 TP stalldards; the centrevehicle is a 7 TPdw twintllrrettype7 TP jll . single turret

Czolg lekki TT 7-ton Polish ght tank)At the same time as the Carden-Loyd tankettes were purchased in 1929, Po landalso obtained from Vickers-Carden-Loyd 36 6-Ton Light Tanks of the type 'E 'with the production rights . In 193 1 it was decided 10 design a Polish version usingVickers components and a new engine, the Saurer 6-cylinder diesel of 92 hp .Accepted and put into limited production as the VAU-33 (Vickers-ArmstrongU rsus-33) there were two versions, the V A U ~ 3 jednowiewwy (single turret) andthe VAU-33 dwuwiezowy (twi n turret) . Some of the original Vickers 'E' typetanks were also converted to VAU-) standards. During 1934, trials were carriedout to improve the V A U-33 before the machine went into full production andsubsequently a new design was proposed with a modified rear superstructure tohouse a Saurer VBLD die sel engine of 110 hp , a stronger suspension, increase infrontal armour and various other modifications.

This new machine was designated Czoig lekki 7TPand put into production in1935. The firs t of the 7TP eries to be built were of the twin-turret type (7TP dw);twenty-two of these were ordered and delivered by March 1936. While theproduction of the twin-turret model was proceeding, it was decided to introduce asingle-turret ver sio n carrying it 37-mm Bofors tank gu n (7TP jw) but due toproduction difficulties the first batch of turrets had to be obtained from Bofors;these arrived between February 1936 and January 1937. The firs t prototype wascompleted by November 1936 and underwent trials in February 1937. Productioncommen ced in mid 1 938 with one major change incorporated: the turret rear wasextended to accommodate a nldio set.


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GREAT BRIT AI NIntroductionAlthough Great Britain achieved a lead in tank design during the 1920s and earl.305, this was soon lost to other nations which allocated sufficient budget rallowances to tank development. such as France and the Soviet Union. De sp itemultitude of extremely advanced models , produced up until 1936-37, Ihmainstays of the British tan.k force were made up of the light tank Mk VI seri eand the Vickers medium series-both of which were completely obsolete by thotime. With the need to carry out rapid rearmament following the Ge rmarannexation of Austria and the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the new serie .Briti sh tank s had many shortcomings. The British tank situation deteriorated slifurther following Dunkirk, where a very large proportion of all British Ar mmechanised equipment was abandoned in the wake of the advancing Wehrmach lBasically, for the duration of World War II the British tank force was made up 0three types of tank-Light, Cruiser and Infantry . The light tank did not play.very important role, but the cruiser C (compatible with medium) was evolved fothe mobile battle and the infantry T (compatible with heavy) for direct infantr;support. Despite the poor start , by the end of the war some fairly good design'had evolved. The cruise r series progressed from the AI3 through the Crus ade rCavalier, Centaur, C romwe ll and Comet, the infantry through the A.9, A. I OValentine. Matilda and Churchill. In general, British tanks of World War n werwell-designed and well-armoured and possessed excellent road and c r o s s c o u n t r ~performance . T heir weakness. however, by in their poor firepower and it was nuntil the introduction of the 17-p ounder gun towards the end of the war thaBritish tanks ac hieved any kind of armament equality with their Germancounterparts. Of particular interest was the multitude of specialised tankdeveloped by the British, particularly for the Normandy invas ion (D-Day). Thitremendous and difficult task required a whole range of specialised tanks fodearing obstacles , crossing gaps, wading, flame-throwing . anti-aircraft defenceetc. Most of these were converted from conventional gun-tanks then in use withthe British Army. including those obtained through Lend-Lease from the USAand Canada.

DATA Light Tank Mk VIRCREW 3WEIGHT 5.2RO kg 5.2wnsHEIGHT 2.22 m 7 ft :H nLENGTH 3.95 m 12 ft \ inWIDTH 2.06 m 6 ft 9 inENG INE Meadows d e , ~ l o p i n g X8 hpSPEED Road 6 kmh 35 mph

Cross-country 40 kmh 25 mphROAD RADI US 209 km 130 mile,ARMAMENT One . 50-cal (12. 7 mm) and ono .30]

O .7-mm mg .!Mk VIC) One 15-mm Bc ,, a (clOd one

7.92-mm Bcsa mg .;ROUNDS CARRIED 175x I mm 2.700 :< 7.92 menARMOUR TH IrKN ESS Max 14 mm .5. in

Min 4mm . l6i n

Ligh I


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with the South Africans in the Abyssinian campaign and the Australians duringthe Syrian campaign of 1941.

Light Tank Mk VIA in the Western DesertAuto-Blindee MitrailJeuse TISThi s was one of a series of Vickers tanks that were huilt for export. The chassiswas similar in design to the British light tank , but this version was equipped witha high conical turret. Known as the M 1934.42 vehicles were deli vered to Belgiumduring 1935 where they were armed with the D.2-mm Ho tchkiss machine-gun.Some of these saw limited action against the German Army during the 1940campaign .

Belgium light tank T 15Light Tank Mk VII TetrarchDesigned as a private venture hy Vickers in 1937, this vehicle featured severalinnovations th.lt included a heavier main armament than the previous light tanksand a new type of suspensi on incorporating four large road wheels with the driveto the rear pair. Steering w a ~ effected by warping the tracks .It was offered to and accepted by the War Office in 1938 and put into productionin 1940, thou gh orders were cut back when light tanks were dropped from Britisharm oured d i v i he first employment of the Light Tank Mk VII in offensiveope rat ion . \V:I.' in Ironclad , the invasion of Madagascar on the 5 May 1942.In the pring f 1942 a batch of Tetrarch tanks were sent to the Soviet Unionwi th a c l m e n t of British tanks which also included Matildas and Valentines.The Telr.Jrch was suhsequently adopted as a glider air-landing tank . the Hamilcarglider ing s i ~ , l 1 e d specifically to carry it. This was the first ta nk to go intoac tion hy ..ir. being us ed in th is role a t the Normandy landings by the 6th Airbo rneDi\;sion. A few were later used with the American M22 Lo cust tanks in the air

Tl f ra r ch ligir l il irhome {u llk Ileillg l JadedinfO llli lcargli er

) ~ a u l (he Rhine on 24 March 1945 ..\ limited number of Te tra r h tan k ' were armed with the 3-inch howitzer inplac\:: l1f rhe 2-pd r and the e vehicles were de signated Tetrarch ICS (lnfan try( ' l l ) ~ e Support).1)\ 1. \CREWWE IGHT 7.620 kg 7.5 IOns ARMAM ENT One 2.pdr(40-mm) gun and on.

H I ; ; I G ~ r r 2.1 2 ", 6 flil l in 7.91-mm H sa rngLENGTH 4. 11 m IHI 6in ICS One 3-inch howillc r and roeWIIlTH 1 J I OJ 7 fl 7 in 7.92-rnm Besa mgENGINE Me ad w.MAT developio8 165 hp RO N S CARR rED 50 x 40mrnSPEI D Mlml h 40 mph 2,025 x 7.92mm

( 'ross-country 4 j kmh 28 mph ARMOUR THICKNESS Max 14 mm 0. 55 inROAD RAIliUS 125 km 0,,,,le, Min 54 mOl 0.16 in


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Cruiser Tank k / ill the Western Desert

Cruiser Tank Mk IJ

Cruiser Tank Mk I (A.9)This vehicle was intended as a replacement for the obsolete medium tanks service. The design of the A.9 was undertaken by Sir John Carden of Vic1934, the prototype being completed by April 1936. After a period of fdevelopment production commenced in 1937.

Though the A.9 had originally been rated as a medium tank , under thservice concept of Infantry and Cruiser tanks, it was now classed as CruiseMark I.

The armament consisted of a main turret with a 2-pdr gun and a co-axia lmachine-gun and two auxiliary machine-gun turrets on either side of the dposition. This was the fir s t British tank to be equipped with a hydraulic-potraverse system for turret rotation.A number of Cruiser Mk Is were fitted with the 3.7-in howitzer to enablein a clo se-support role, to fire high explosive or smoke; these vehicledesignated Mk ICS.

Cruiser Tank Mk I saw ac tion in France 1939-40 and in the Western1939-41.DATACR EW 6WEIGHT 12. 190 kg 12 IOnsHEIGHT 2. n5 m 8 f 8 inLENGTH .I.79m 19ftWIDTH 2.50 m 8 ft 21 inENGINE AECTypeA I?9de veloping 150hp

. SPEED Road 40 kmh 25 mph

Cro ss-country 24 kmh 15 mphROADRADruS 241 km 150 milesARMAMENT One 2pdr (4().mm) gun and thre

(7.7-mm) Vickers mgsROUNDS CARRIED IOO x 40mm

3, OOO x7.7 mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 14 mm in

Min 6 mm .24 in

Cruiser Tank Mk n and Mk IIA (A. to)This vehicle was de signed and developed by Sir John Ca rden at the requestWar Office in Ma y 1934 for an Infantry tank u ing the A.9 machine as a bT he A. 10 had the same hull , suspen sion and power-operated turret as thbut the two auxiliary machi ne-gun turrets were discarded. To achieincreased thickness of armour required for this vehicle in its infantry suppoextra armour plates were bolted to the original hull, this being the first octhat composite armour was employed.

The main armament was a 2-pdr gun with a Vickers co-axial machinAlongside the driver was an aperture for an additional machine-gun, but thblanked off and the space used f r the stowage of ammunition. The Mmounted a 2-pdr gun and a co-axial 7.92-mm Besa machine-gun, with a Besa machine-gun in the mounting alongside the driver. The close sversion, Mk ICS, was armed with the 3 .7 -in howitzer and two Besa machine

The A. 10 saw action in France 1939-40 and in the Western Desert 193DATACREW 5WEIGHT 13 .970 kg 13. 75 onsHEIGHT 2.65 m 8 ft 8) inLENGTH 5.59 m 18 ft 4 inWIDTH 2.53 m 8 ft 3 inENGINE AECTypeA . 179 developingl50hpS PEED Road 26 kmh 16 mph

Cross-wuntry 12.9 kmh 8 mphROADRADruS 161 km 100 miles

Cruiser Tank Mk m (A.B)

ARMAMENT One 2pdr (4().mm) gun and one7 .7 mm ) Vi ckers mg(Mk IIA) One 2-p


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DATACR EW 4WEIGHT 14.220 kg 14 IonsH EIGHT 2.59 m 8 ft 6 inLENGTH 6.02m 19ft9inWIDTH 2.54 m 8 fl 4 inENGIN E Nuffield Liberty v-12 developing 340 hpSPEED Road 48 kmh 30 mph

Cross-counlry 38 kmh 24 mphROAD RADIUS 145 km 90 mil esARMAMENT One 2-pdr (40-mm);,'Un a nd one .303

(7 .7mmJ Vickers mgROUNDS CARRIED 87 x 40 mm

3,750x7.7 mmARMO UR THICKNESS Max 14 mm . 5 in

Min 6 mm .24 in

Cruiser a llk Mk [J

DATCREW 4WE IG HT 15,04O kg 14.8 IonsHEIGHT 2.59 m 8 ft 6 inLENGTH 6.02 m 19 ft 9 inWIDTH 254 m 8fl4inENGINE Nuffield Liberl y V-12 developing 340 hp

PEED Road 48 kmh 30 mphCross -counlry 22.5 kmh 14 mph

ROAD RADI US 145km 90 mile.,ARMAMENT One 2-pdr (40-mmJ gu n and one .303

7.7-mm) Vickers or 7.Q2 mm BesamgROUNDS CARRIED 87x 4O mm

3.750x 7 .7 or 7.92 mmARMOUR THICKNESS M.x 30 mm 1. 18 in

Min 6 mm .24 in

A C hristie tank was purchased by the British at the end of 1936 from which twoprototype A. 13 mac hi nes were developed.After various trials and modifications , in which the pitch of the tra ck wasshortened and shock absorbers were incorporated in the suspension, the A. 13went into production in 1938, deliveries commencing early in 1939. The powerd ri ven turret was rectangular in shape with sloping f ront and side plates . The 2pdr gun and co-axia l Vi ke rs .303 machine-gun were carried in a mantle!supported by tru nnions in the fron t turr t pla te, an arrangement common to mostother contemporary tanks.

Used operationally in France 1940 and Libya 1940--41.

Cruiser Tank Mk IV and IV (A.I3 Mk II)The Cruiser Mk IV was basicafly an up-armou red ver ion of the Mk i l l , and did infact have the ordnance de 'ignation A.I Mk n. T his v er i n Hppeared followingthe decision in 1939 to in rea e the arm ur a is of Cr ui er tanks to 30 mm.

The extra armour pl ating lias m inly on th nose, glacis iUl d turret front;another feature wa the addition of V- "ection armour pla ting on the turr t si des.This resu lted in the characteri Uc undercut ides . the feature by which the Mk IVcould be distinguished from the fk lJ1 . 13 Mk n The Mk IV A de igna ti on wasgiven to late produc ti n ehlcle \\ hi h had the Vi cker co-axial machi ne-gunreplaced by the 7 .9:!-m m Be a. The Mk (VA was also available in li mited numberas a close suppor t ve hicle \I ith lh gun replaced by a 3-inch howitze r. Someof theA. 13 Mk I machine" were l' ter reworked with extra armour plates up to theMk IV standards; e ~ t were e xternally similar to the Mk IV and could only bedislin/, Ji. hed the ~ a r l y type of gun mantlet as originally fitted to the Cruisertan k Mk i l l

Cruiser Ta nk Mk IV ill tio ll ill theWe stem es rt

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Cruiser Tank Mk VI Crusader Mks I-III A. IS)

Crusader IT advancing in Tripolitania ...

Crusader I 011 patml in tile de. erl

The Crusader tank was designed between 1938 and 1940 and was the lastCruiser series to be developed without consideration of practical experiemodern warfare.

Marks I and Il were equipped with a 2-pdr gun and a co-axial 7.92-mmmachine-gun in the main turret, with an additional 7.92-mm Besa machimounted in the front auxiliary turret on the left of the driver. This auxiliarwas later removed on many of these vehicles and the additional space usedstowage of ammunition.T he C rusader was fir st used in action in the Western Desert in June 1941wa soon apparent that the vehi cle was unde r-gunned an d too thinly armIncreased thickness of armou r and the 6-pdr gun was fi t d to the Mk HIand many of the Mks I and JIs were later sim ilarly modified . The C rremained the s tandard equipme nt of the 7th Armoured Divi sion unt il the BAla me in in which some hundr eds of Crusaders took par t , many of hicequipped with the 6- pdr blln . Close-support tan ks Mk IC and Mk IICarmed with the 3-inch howitzer .DATAC'REW 5 (Mk . I) 3 (Mk Ul)WE IG HT (Mk I) 19.300 kg 19 Ions

(Mk lIl) 20. 070 kg 19.75 tons (Mk Ill) One 6--pdr 57-rom) gunHEIGHT 2.23 m 7 ft 4 in Wo 7.92-mm Bcsa mgsLENGTH 5.99 m 19 ft 8 in RO UND S CARRIED (Mk l I !Ox 40 mmWIDTH 2.64m Sh 8in 5.000:


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Centaur V of the Royal Marine ArmouredSupport Group

DATA Cromwell rvCREW 5WIDGHT 27 .940 kg 27.5 IonsH EIGHT 2.51m 8 ft J inLENGTH 6.35 In 10 ft 10 inWIDTH 3.0 m 10f iE NG INE Rolls-Royce Meleor V-I 2devcl ping

6 hpPEE D Road 51.S kmh 32mph

Cross-country 29 kmh I mphROAD RADrUS 278 km 173 mjl ,ARMA MENT Q 75-m m Mk v or VA -.un ;lOu two

7.92- rnm ew mgsRO NDS CARRJEn 64x7 5 10 m

I .9'Ox7 .92mmARMOUR THI KN S MIl> n .,1101 m m i l ~

, p p J i q u ~ rm Ur3 in J 48 intMin Rmi Illm rT t Iwdd t'd van .lnt .1.31 in( . W:n)

Cromwel l V moping through a French lOwduring t e Normandy campaign

made parent company of its production group. However, due to the shortage ofMerlin engines needed for aircraft production, an interim version of the A.27 wasproposed. retaining the Liberty engine of the Crusader, but otherwise identical tothe Meteorengine design. Designed by English Electric, this version wasdesigna ted A.27L and became known as the Centaur tank. These went intoproduction by the end of 1942. About 950 Centaur tanks were built, with seriesfrom I to IV ; of these 80 were armed wi th the 95mm howitzer for the role of closesupport. These were used by the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group on theO-Day landings. The A.27M (now known as Cromwell) production started inJa nuary 1943, by which time Leyla nd had become the design and productionparents for the entire A.27 series . The Centaur and Cromwell series werestructurally similar, wi th a hu ll and turre t of simple box shape and compositeconstruction-an inner skin wi th an outer lay er of armour bolted on . Driver andcodriver/hull machine-gunner sat in the fo rward compartment , and the turretcrew consi sted of the commander , gunner and loader who was also the radiooperator. Nu merous deta il mod ifica tions were inc rporated during the Cromwell' s production run, which ende d in 1945. M st important innovation was theintroduction of allwelded construction in p lace of riveti ng on later models , thusfurther simplifying mass-production. The romwe ll was numerically the mostimportant Br itish-built c ruiser tank of Wo rld War U tog e ther with the Americanbuilt M4 Sherman , forming the main equipment of British armou red divisions in194445.CromwelllOriginal production model with /'pdr gun and L\.\I Be. a maCh ine-gun s . imilar inexternal appearance to Ce ntaur I.CromwelJ nCromwell I modified by rcm(l\'al of hull machincgun and fitting of wider

r a c k s 1 5 in in place of 14 in.Cromwell mCentaur I reengi ned with Meteor 10 hring it to A .27M standards, fi tted to ca rr yauxiliary fuel tanks at Ihe rear . riginally d e s i ~ m l t Cromwe ll X.Cromwell IVCen taur III re-en gined \\ ith tete( r. armed with 75-mm gun and two Besamachine -Q lIO .

Cromwe VAs C romwe ll rv but with all-welded hull.

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Cromwell VI

DATACREW -WEIGHT J2,OOO kg 3 S ton sHEIGHT 2.7901 9ft 11 inLENGTH R 5 m 21i ft 81 inWIDTH 2.9101 9ftli' inENGINE RolI


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DATACR W 2WEIGHT 11,180 kg II tonsHEIGHT 1.87 m 6 ft I i inLENGTH 4.85 m 15 ft II inWIDTH 2.29 m 7 ft 6 inF.NGINE Ford V-8 developing 70 hpSPEED Road 12.9 kmh 8 mph

Cro s--country 9 kmh 5 .6 mphROADRADruS 129km 80 mile ,ARMAM E NT One .30J-cal (7 .7-mm) mgROUN DS CARRIED 4,OOO x 7.7 mmARMOUR THlCKNESS Max 60 rom 2.36 in

Mi n 10 mm .39 in

Infantry Tank Mk I Matilda I (A .ll)Thi s class of tank stemmed from a General Staff requirement for a tank to supportthe inf antry in the attack .Specifications requeste d a heavily armoured ve hicle tha t would be immune to37-mm anti -tank guns travel at infantry pace and be armed with a machine-gun toengage enemy tro ops.

Th fi rs t pi lot model de igned by Sir John Ca rden and built by Vicker sArmstrong was delivered fo r trial in Septem ber 1936 under the code nameMat ilda for secur ity purposes .

The vehicle had a ve ry ma ll plai n hull .with exposed tracks and a small cas tturre t armed wi th a .303-cal machine-gun .

The suspension consi ted of six rubber-tyred and two double steel-tyr ed roadwheels (per side ) in two bogie fr ames supported by se mi-elliptic laminatedspring . By the out break of war ome 90 had been built. Th e 4th Bn RTC wereequi pped wi th the Mk I tanks in F rom ce from September 1939 un til Dunkirk , butno ne of these machines we re saved . Due to the lack of an anti -tank weapon foru e against ho sti le tanks, some Mark L were fitted with the .50 Vi ckers Olac hinegun during the ir peri od in France. Production of the Infantry Ta nk Mk ( ceased inAugus t 1940 after 139 had been built.

Infantry Tank Mk n Ma ti lda n (A.12)The need to prov ide an improved \er.ion of the mall Infantry Tank Mk t, withroom for an ex tra crew m e m ~ r :.t 2-pdr gun and a bette r (of up to 15 mph)led to the deve lo pment fa et1n iderabl . larg r ehi cl e . This Cam abou t since itwas impossi ble to fil a turreT abl to moun t a 2-pdr gun on the ext remely sma lldime nsions of Inf an t _ Tank \1.k I Th u> the Mechan isa tion B oard drew up acompletely ne w de ign . Infanfr) Tank Mk /I wit h ex tremely heavy armou r on a60 mOl basi . Box bQgie! u..,pen ..ion as used to u p p o r the hea vy weight of thenew des ign. nd ann. und ide i r t ~ with prominent mud chutes were adi tinctive feature . ,\ readily a ail able A C co mmercial type of diesel engine wasu ti lis d due III the urgenc y f the desi!,'Il , though in a later versio n (Mk ll A *) aLeyland die. eI .... a used . he ac tua l layou t closely fo llowed tha t of the MediumTank A .7 .... hich had been built as a proto type in 1929-32 but not prod uced, Thfi rst pi lot motlcl W;JS rea tly for trials by April 1938 and produc tion began in thefo il wing ~ c a r -\nned with a 2-pdr gun and a co-axia l ,303 Vickers machine-gunin a c . . r rhre -man turre t. the Mk n Infantry Tank was the mos t powerful tank in,er.ice at that period. The Mk was sometimes know n a, the Matild a senior, but\\ hen the: fk I was wi thdrawn from service afte r Du nkirk the name Ma tild a wasntllci.IJI} .ldop ted.

Tho:: atilda II was first used in action at Arras, France , in May 1940 and proved\ e r lIccessful in combat. During the fighti ng in the Western Desert in 1940, it\ 1 the best-armed and -armoured of the tanks engage d and only the German 8.8

em Flak gun in mid-1941 was able to pe netra te the A. 12' s armour a t long range . As(he Ulrre r ring was too small to a llow a 6-pdr gun to be fi tted, thi s led to thee entua l wit hdrawal of Matildas [rom tank brigades ; Alamein wa the last maj orha ttie in which it was used . The Ma tilda a lso saw se rvice in the E ritrean ca mpa ign Crete and in the ut h We t Pacific area wi th the Aus tralian army . It wa s

i e d t the So vie t Union . A number of Matildas cap tured by the Ge rmans inthe fight ing in the We tern Desert were taken in to service and used by them.Matilda IT, Infantry Tank Mk llASimi lar to Matilda n but with Besa 7.92-mm machine-gun instead of Vicker s .

nfantry Tank Mk I Matilda / ill rallee1939 40

OATACRE W 4W rGHT 26.950 kg ~ - - rOil>HEIG HT 2.5 1m 8ft 3 inLENGTH 5./\ I m IH ft - inWIDTH 2 9 m 8ft6inENGINE Matilda I. II 2x EC, 8 hp each

Marilda Or. I 2x Lc yland . :J5 hpSPEED Road 24 kmh 15 mph

Cro sscountry 12.9krnh 8 mphROADRADlUS 257krn 16(Jmib

RMAMNT One 2-pdr (4a.mm ) gun and one7.9201 01 Be-sa mg

ROUNDS CARRlED 92 x 40 rnm2,925 x 7.92 nUTI

ARMOUR THICKNESS Mllx 78 111111 .1.07 inMin Umrn .Sl i n

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Infantry Tn Mk II Matilda II operatingn the To hruk area

Matilda III, Infantry Tank Mk IIA *As Matilda IT A hut with two Ley land diesel s of 95 hp eac h.Matilda l l CSMatilda l l with .I-in howitzer instead of 2-pdr gun.Matilda IV, Infantry Tan k Mk IIA**As Matilda [II hut with improved Leyland engines , and auxiliary fuel tankrea r.

Matilda IV CSMntilda IV armed with a 3-in howitzer.Matilda VAs Matilda I'll , but with improv ements to gea rhox and gear shift.

Infan try Tank Mk l l ValentinenATA Val ... l:llle I When Infantry Tank Mk II p roduc tio n commenc ed . Vicke rs were askedCREW the manufac turing group . Ins tead they chose to off er the War O ffice thWE IG HT 16,260 kg 10 ' on des ign of Infantry Ta nk tha t was based on e pe rience gained frH - G HT 2.28 m 7f < in de velopment and manufacture of the A.9 and A. IO Cru ise r Tanks .LENGTH


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Valentin e Is of the 6th A rmoured Division onmanoeuvres n England 1941

Vall ntin e Il l . 7ion' /I / Jeli/lu/ t l tll" , Ol/tex a crt w 11lelliher

manuaUy or by electrical power traverse controlled by the gunner. The driver wassituated in the central position at the front of the machine , being given maximumvision in the closed-down position by two Vickers periscopes fitted in addition tothe bullet-proof glass-protected s lit type forward look-out. The engine andtransmission compartment were at the rear end , isolated f rom the fightingcompa rtment by a fire-proof bulkhead. The fuel tanks were enclosed in aleakproof sub-compartment of the main engine room . In late 1940, Valentinesentered full service and some were used in th e cruiser tank role to help overcomeshortages. The Valentine first saw service in the Western Desert and was usedwith distinction throughout the campaign, proving to be a good reliable gunpl atform . Also used operationally in North Africa, Madagascar 1942, Pa cific areawith Ne w Zealand troops. Canadian-buil t Valentines VI and VII were supplied tothe Soviet U nion.By late 1942 the Valent ine was largely obso le te due to its low speed and smallturre t which restricted the fi tting of a la rger calibre gun. Va lentines m and V hadthe turret modi fied to accommodate three men (a loader in addition tocommander and gunne r), but the third tur re t mem be r wa dropped whe n the 6-pdrgun was fitted in later marks. The 6-pdr gun wa introduced into produ ctionValentines from March 1942. Orh r modifica tions included improved engineinsta llation (GMC diese l un its) and a change ver from all-riveted to all-weldedconstruction. The nal production version in the Valentin e series was theValentine Xl; this vehicle was ar med with the Bri tish 75 -mm gun in a speciall yadapted turret.nfantry Tank Mk m Valentine

As Valentine I, bu t with AE diesel engine (131 hpj rep la ing petro l en gi ne .Vehicles for desert service equipped wit h < imd . hield . and je ttisonable long-rangefuel t::lnks.V entine nAs Valentine II , but with tu rre t m dified to take a third crew member. New turretfront with improved man tle t; co mmander hatch set towa rd. rear of turret.

Valentine VV;dcntin e IJ but wi th GMC dies I engine (138 hp) replacing AEC unit.

Valentine VSirnil ;lr to Val en tine TIl hut motive power by GMC die. el engi ne.Valentine V

anadian-hui lt model, ex ternally similar to Valentin TV with GMC dieseL Inproduction la le 194 1. Nose pl ate cast instead of bol ed as on British v hid es .Drowning .30-cal m; ichine-gu n replaced 7.92-rnm Be a .

_.


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VaJentine ll

Valentine lX

Valentine X l ~ operating as a batterycommander Il lzicles wit S l7-pdr)Ilti-Tallk regiment

Improved Valen tine VI bui lt in Canada with different radio and detailed change .VaJentine VllAImproved Canadian-built Valentine VIT, with jet tisonable fuel tanks. stra ks and protecti ve cages over headlamps. The whole production of Cabuilt VaJentines , except for the first 30 that were held back for trai ninsupplied to the Soviet Union .

Valen tine vmValentine up-gunned with a 6-pdr replacing the 2-pdr and co-a>tial machin a redesigned two-man turret.Valentine IXValen tine V up-gunned with i 6-pdr replacing the 2-pdr and co-axial machin a resdesigned two-man turret.Valentine XAs Valentin s vm and X but with co-axial 7.92-mm Besa machine-gunrated GMC ujescl engine 1 65 hp). In production 1943 .Valentine XISimilar to Valentine X. but with Briti h 75-mm gun replacing6-pdr, and cas

Infantry Tank Mk IV hurchiD A.22)This vehicle was developed joi ntly by th Wa r Mechanisati n Boa rd and VMo t rs Ltd. In general shape, overall dimen. ion. and ITan mission del ilb ed on its predeces or , A .20 , a ve hic le that had be n projected in 19heavi ly arm oured lnfanlry Tank.

The first 14 PT duction mode ls were delivered in JUll 1941 from an ordhad been placed while the vehicle was still on the drawing board . The powwas de igned to be as compact as possible; the radiators an d petrol tankplaced aJongside the engine and protected by heavy armour plating again tThe transmission fea tured the Merritt-Brown four-speed gearbox which prconlrolJed differential steering; the Churchill being the fiTst production veuse this . Panniers were provided at each side of the hull, between the upI wer runs of track; these were used fo r the stowage of equipment.

The tank was car ried on bOgie ( J I each ide) , each independentlywith steel articulated link tracks that were pudded or webbed . Double dooinstaJled in the roof above the drive and front gunner as escape hatches

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Churchill / of Canadian A rmoured Regt 11huge scale offensiFe exercises n Englalld/94 1

square d or in each of the hull sides provided access to the driver s compartment.Pe riscopes were mounted in the hull roof for the driver and front gunner and infro nt of the turret.Arma ment for the Churchill I consisted of a 2-pdr (40-mm) QFSA gun and a7.92-mm Besa mac hi ne-gun co-axi ally mounted in the turret and a 3-inch QFSAhowi tzer in the front hull plate. A 2- inch moke mor tar was mounted on th turretroof . Due to the ru sheJ de velop ment programme of this vehicle there werenumerou s de fects in the design leading to freq u nt breakd own s with the earlymarks .

hurchillThis model had the 3-inch howi LZer removed fr o ll th e hul l fron l and rep aced by a7.92-mm Besa machine-gun . In1Il n of the C hur hill lf wa the cI . e-supportversion. Churchill rrcs whi 'h ,imp y chang d ove r the gu n di sposition of theChurchill I so tha t the -inch hoy, IIzer was carried in the turre t and t be 2-pdr gunin th hul . .

Churchill II . Compare l pdr ~ l n with s u oftallk

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IJA TA Churchill III and rvCREW 5WEIGHT 39,620kg 3910n5H E IGHT 2.97 m 9 f.9 inLENGTH 7.47m 24ft6inWIDTH 2.74 m 9 f.ENGINE Bedford Twin-Six developing 350 hpSPEED Rood 24.9 kmh 1:1 5 mph

Cross-coun.ry 12 .9 kmh 8 mphROAD RADI US 145 km 90rniksARMAMENT Oneb-pdr 57-mm) M5 gun and wo

7.92 mm esa mgsROUNDS CARRIED X x 57 mm

6,975 x 7.92mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 101 mm 3.98 in

Min J mOl .63 in

Churchill III with welded turret and armedwith 6-pdr gUll ill actioll in Tunisia

Chl/relli IV, IIM turret and 6-pdr gunnovillg through the ruills of a French tOW l

Churchill mT his ve rs ion appeared in 1942, armed with a i-pdr in a new type of welded tuIn addition this vehicle was fitted with full track covers new air intake louand other improvements. Used in action during the ra id on Dieppe )n 19 Au1942 when a small number of Ch urchill Is were also involved. In action duringTunisian Campaign 1942-43 and supplied to the Soviet Union in 1942.

ChurchiU IVAp peared concur re nt with the C hurchill II I . T hough armed wi th the 6-pdrgunCh urchill rv was fitted with a cast turret which offered armour protection sligsuperior to that o f th e welded type. T he gun was either the 6-pdr QF Mk 3 or5, the latter being distinguished by its noticea bly longer barrel and coun le r-weiUsed operationally in Tu nisia 1942-43.

Churchill IV Na.75)During Ja nuary 1943, th e work ho p of the armoured br ig


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wrecked Sherman tanks. This was to enable the tank to fire high-explosive shells:the British 2-pdr and 6-pdr guns fired only AP armour-piercing shot). These werethe first British tanks to take guns of this calibre into action where they were lIsedwith great success in the Sicily and Italian campaigns. The NA.75 North Africa)remained in service until 1945.

Churchill IV NA 75) firing on Gerll1 1lllinesill Italy

Churchill V 95-mm howitzer

Churchi l VThis was the sa me basic vehicle as the Chur hill IV. but fitted wit h a QF 95-mmtank howitzer Mk I for the close-support role . In operations in No rth Africa, Italyand North West Europe.

Churchill VIThi WU \ ~ m i l n 1 the C hurchill IV . bu t with a Bri ti. h 75-mm gun replacing the 6pdr gun. In Iwduction during 1943.

hurchill VII A.22F/A.42)Thi wa, t redesigned version of the C hurchill with thicker ar mo ur, a heavier,u n ~ i o n and improved gear box. T he square side escape ha tches were replacedh -ircuiar types that we re intended to reduce the armour weakness in these

and the drivers vi ion hatch in the vertical fron t plate was al >o r placed bya ci rcu lar hatch. The turret was a comple te redesign . havi ng ca st side. and aweideL roof. Improved vision was provided for the commander by the installati on\)f a rai . ed vision-block circular cu pola in place of the pre vious rotating . quarehatch. Th i. model entered production at the end of 1943 an d was the princi pa lBritish heavy tank to take par t in the invasion of Europe in June 1944, and insubsequen t 1944-45 campaigns. Designated A.22F , th is vehicle was redesignatedA.42 in 1945 .

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Churchill V

DATA Churchi ll VlJ and VIUCREW 5WEIGHT 4 1.660 kg 41 tonsHEIG HT 3.45 m II rt 4 inLENGTH 7.44 m 24 rt 5 inWIDTH 2.74m 9 ftENGINE Bedford Twin-Six developing 350 hpSPEED Road 20 kmh 2 5 mph

Cross-country 12 .9k mh 8 mphROAD RADJUS 145 km 9() mile,ARM MENT Churchill V[[ One 7 mm gull and

two 79 mm m shurchill VTlI One 9S Olm howitzer

and two 7.92-mm 8esa mgsROUNDS CARRIED Churchill Vll 84 x 75 mm

6.525x7 .92mrnChurchill VlI! O 9 mm6.521 x 7.92 mm

ARMOUR THICKNE SS Max 152 oun 5. 98 inMin 21 mm .98 in hurchiU vm

Thi was the final mai n production ver ion of the Churchill as a com ba t tank, was identica l in all respec ts to the Churchi I VII except fo r the main armamen95-mm howitzer replacing the 75-mm gun .Re worked Churchill modelsWith the introduction of the Churchill VII in November 1943, work was s tartedconvert mode ls lll. IV. V and VI to Churchill VII tandards. Most ofconversion work was carried ut in REME work hops. Retrospecti e fittiincluded later mod Is of the 6-pdr or 75 -mm guns, Chu rchill VII type viscupolas and sights, and ap plique armour. These re-worked and updated Churchappeared from early 1945 onwards.Churchill IXChurchill IlJ and rv with heavier composite cast/welded VIlJ type turreinforced roof and re-armoured with applique armour consisting of thicker frpl ates and the addition of skirting plates to the hull. Ordnance QF 6 pdr MkMk 5 was fitted.Churchill X TAs for Churchi ll IX but retaining the original light turret.Churchill XThis was the Churchill VI re-worked with heavier c mposite turret , reinforro f and re-armoured with app lique side arm our. Also fitted wi th new visorgla 's plate , heavy suspension uni ts and H41 gearbox as in the Chu rchill VArmed with the QF 75-mm Mk 5 or Mk 5A gun.hurchill X LT

A. for Churchill X but retaining the origi nal light turret.Churchill XIRe-work d Chu rchl lt V tanks incorporating a heavie r co mposite tur ret , app liside arm ur, thicker f ront plates , a reinforced roof and the addition of skirtplat s to the hull . The QF 95-mm Rowitzer Mk 1 remai ned the main armamentthis versi n .SOVI ET UNIONIntroductionThe majority of the oviet tanks employed during the early operation ofGerman cam paign in the Soviet Union (summer 194 1) were types produced unthe Second Five-year Plan and were a lready outda ted by the beginning of Wo

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War II , Th ere were an estimated 21-24,000 tanks available to the Soviet Union inJune 1941 , of which the Germans destroyed over 17,500 within the first threemonths of operations,Despite the fact that most of the Soviet armour was old, the Russians were inthe proces of introducing new models (T-34, KV T-40 and T-60) at the time ofthe German attack, and these were excellent tanks all around , The T-34 and KVtanks remained vi rtually unchanged throughout the entire war and it took onlyminor modification to maintain their qua li tative superiority over the Germanmachi nes , When the war terminated the Sovie t Uni on had virtually discarded thelight tank altogether , but had retained their T- 34 meclium (now up-gunned to 85mm) and redesigne d their KV heavy model into the Io sef Stalin ' mounting a 122mm gun With the tremendous losses in tanks during the fir t p eriod of the wa r and thenecessi ty to evacuate almost thei r entire western tank industries to the e t, theSoviets were unable to reach nume ri cal pa rity with the Germans before 1943 . Forthis reason the Russian were forced to utili e thei r ar mour during this defens ivepe riod purely as infantry support . A Don as production pi cked up, however,they began to fo rm larger units- fi rstl y, [ank corp- , and la ter tank armies . Th equali ty of these large Sovie t tank formations had improved cons iderably by theend of the war , bu t the ir performance was rest ricted grea tly by the lack of milita rytransport.

DATi\CREW 3WEIGHT 8,QOO.9 ,500kg 7.9-9.35 tons

. (Jependingon mOdel)HE IGHT 2.08-2.33 m 6 ft 81 in-7ft n in

(depending on model)LENGTH 4.62-4.88m ISft 2 in-16 ft Oin

(depending on model)WIDTH 2.41-2.44 m 7 fl in-8 ft 0 in

(depending on model)ENGINE T-26 4-cyl. air-cooled petrol developing

91 hpSPEED Road 2&-32 kmh 17 .4-20 mph

(depending on model)Cro


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Light Tank T 26S

Lyokhy Pla vayushchy Tank T37 Ligh t Amphibious TanT-37 series)D T During 1930 some examples of the Ca rden-Loyd light amphibious tank A-4CREW were pur hased in E ngland. A group of engineers at Factory No. 37 in MemorWEIGHT 3.2ookg 3. 15 tons S . Ordzhoni kidze in Mo cow, di rected by N .A_ Astrov, developed a serieHEIGHT 1.82 m H t I in experimental vehi cles of thi s type. After unsuccessful tests with a num beLENGTH 3.75m 12ft3)in experimental models, on II August 933 the Red Arm y officially adop ted theWIDTH 2.00 m 6 ft 7 in light am phibious tank for use by reconnaissance sutruni ts. Production. begaENGINE GAZ-AA 4-cyl. wawr-cooled petrol Fa ctor y No _ 37. In the meantime, another group of engi nee rs under Ndeveloping 40 hp Kozi ryev carried out improve ments to the de ign , result ing in the vaSPEED Road35k ,h 21.Smph

Cross-country 25 kmh 15.5 mph designated T 37A_Since the original vehi cl e ne ver entered servi ce, howeverWater4krnh 2.5 mph suffix A was dropped and the variant became referred to purely as the T-37. M

ROAD RADIUS 18.5 km I 15 miles produ ction of the tan k began towards the end of 193 3 and continued unti l theWATER OPERATIO N I_ hours of 1936 when the improved T38 type appeared . Altoge ther about 1,200 vehiARMAM ENT One 762mm DT mg of the T 37 type wer e built in various models . Platoon and company co mmandROU DS CAR RiED 5 10 round . tanks , designated T-37U or T-37TU. were provided with radio equipment andARMO UR THICKNESS Max 9 mm .35 in ch racteristic hand-rail ae ri al around the hull.Min 4mm .16in

Light phibious Tank T 37TU

yokhy Plavayushchy Tank T 38 L ight Amphibious TanT-38 light tank, which was a successor to the earlier T-37 light amphibious twas accepted for adoption by the Red Army during 1936 _ t was designed

group of engineers at the Factory No. 37 in Moscow, under the direction o30


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D TCREW 2WEIGHT 3,280kg 3.23 tonsHEIGHT 1.74 m Sft 81 inLENGTH 4.05 m 13 ft 31 inWIDTH 2.5J m 8 ft 3 inENGINE GAZ-AA 4-cyl. water-cooled petrol

developing 40 hp (T-38-M2 had GAZ-M I4-cyl. water-cooled petrol developing50hp)

SPEED Road 45 kmh 28 mphCross-country 2. kmh 15 .5 mphWater 6 kmh 3.7 mph

ROAD RADIUS 250 km 155.7 milesWATER OPERAnON 12 hoursARMAMENT One 7.62. mm DT mgROUN DS CARRIED 1,5[2x7.62-mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 9.5 mm .37 in

Min 4.0 rom .16 i.n

Light Amphibious Tank T 38

D TCREW 2WEIG HT 5,590 kg 5.5 tonsHeIGHT 2.12m 6ft IllinLENGTH 4.43 m 14 (, 6 inWIDTH 2.51 m 8ft3inENGINE GAZ-202 6-cyl. wll ter-cooled pe trol

developing 8 hpSPEED Road 45 kmh 28 mph

Cross-counrry 30kmh 18 .6 mphWate r 10kmh 6.2 mph

ROAD RADIUS 350 km 217.5 milesARMAMIlNT Eithero ne [2. -mm OShK or20-mm

ShVAK20nnd ne 7.62-mm DTmgROIJNDSCARRJED 55Qx 11 .7/ 20mm

2.0 Iox 7.62 mmARMOUR THICKNESS Ilm m .51 in

Min 6mm .24m

Astrov. In essence the tank was a thoroughJy modernised T-37, being lower,faster and having an improved hull and re-Iocated turret (to the opposite side ofthe vehicle). From 1936 onwards the T-38 replaced the T-37 in production. During1938 a modified variant with a more powerful 50 hp engine and new transmissionwa s adopted as the T-38-M2 . Llke the T-37, from 1937 the T-38 formed the basicarmoured equipment of the reconnaissance sub-units in armoured, infantry andcavalry units . I t was also adopted by the Air-Landing Corps. Production of theve hi cle terminated in /939, although the vehicle continued in service until totalreplacement by the T-40 light amphibious tank.

yokhy Plavayushchy Tank T 40 (Light Amphibious TankT 40As th result of the 1939 40 tank programme . the Red Am lY rece ived a newamphibious ligh t tank to replace the obSO le te T-38 model. Th is wa de i, ,lla ted theT-40, and first issued to re nna i. sance and armou red liaison units at theheginning of 194 1. The tank wa' a c mplete departure fro m pre vious Sovie tpractice. in that it emplo yed fu lly independe nt to rsi n-bar su pension and weldedarmour. In order to maintain th amphibious capabili ty the tank was fai rly thinlyarmoured . The original -40 models were ar m d with a 12.7-m m heavy machinegun and a co-axial 7.6:!-mm DT machine-gun, but about the ti me of theintroduction of the T b light lank some T4 0s were re-armed with the 20-mmShYAK-20 cannon. n improved model, 'om eti mes refe rred to a the T-40A wasintroduced during. 194 1 and had certain minor modification . During 1942 the T 40S which had grea tl y iJlcreased armour was placed in li mited production . Due tothe Increased eight. however , the tank was no longer amphibious and consequen tly the water-propulsion and stee ri ng co mponents were omitted.

Light Amphibious Tank T 40

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TCREW 4WEIGHT 13.500kg 13 .3 IOnsHEIGHT 2.33 m 7 ft 7 inLENGTH 5.57 m 18 f[ 3 inwrOTH 2.66 m 8 ft inENGINE GAZ V-4 4-cyl. watercooled die,e1

developing 300 hpSPEED Road 53 kmh mph

Crosscountry 40 kmh 25 mphROAD RADIUS 350 km 217.5 milesARMAMENT One 45m m gun and one 7.62mm

DT mg.ROUNDS CARRIED 150 x 4 mm 4,OOO x7.62mmARMOUR TH ICKNESS Max 37 mm 1.46 in

Min 12 mm .47 in

ight Tallk T-5 )

D TCREWWEIGH T 5,750 kg 5.66 lOnsHE IGHT 1.8901 6 ft 2 inLENGTH 4.30 m 14 fl I inWIDTH 2.46m SftUlinENGINE GAZZoo &-Cl'l. walcr-coo led petrol

developing 711 hpSPEED Rood 44kmh 27 .3 mph

Cross-counlry 30kmh 18 .6 mphROAD RADIUS 614km J82milesARMAMENT One2().mmShVAK can non . .1one

7.62-mm DTmgROUNDS CARRIED 780x20 mm 945 x7 6 mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max20mm .79;n

Min 7 mm .28 in

Lyokhy Tank T 50 (Light Tank T-50)The T-50 ligh t ta nk was designed as a replacement for the T-26 and BT tanbeing int ended to support inf antry and to carry ou t reconnaissance missions. Lthe T-34 it was characterised by it greatly inclined armour, which was of eqthickness throughout. Due to its si mi larity in appearance and overall design toK Y heavy ta nk the T-50 was of ten referred to as the Ma li K lim (Little K limspecial di esel engine was deve loped for this vehicle , but since the tankcomplex and required a much producti n effort as the T34 med ium ildis continued af ter only 65 vehicles had been delivered to the Red Arm y.

yokhy Tank T 60 (Light Tank T -60)In 194 1 Ihe Red Army adop ted the T-60 light tank as a rep lacement for the Tlight ' mphibiou tank . n thi ase. however, the need for heavier armour resuin the tank bc ing non-am phibious . Difficulty was experi enced in the provisionmore powerful l rmament. Sovie t en gineers attempted to mount a 37- mm gun beven with red uced charge rounds, the turret ri ng was un able to absorb the ref thi s weapon. Due to the mili tary si tuation there was no time to evolve a lighta nk gun nnd the So viet armamen t de igner Shpitalny and Vlad imirov were githe ta k of adapting their high-veloci ty 20-mm ShYAK aircra ft cannon for th60. T his was accomplis he d in a very short time, and tests howed that armpie rcing incendillry rounds fired by the 20-mm ShYAK cannon could penetratesame armour as the original 37-mm gun. T he new T-60 was accepted in armamand ordered in production in November 194 1; over 6,000 were completed del ivered before replace ment by the T-70. The vehi cle was issued to reconnaance units and also to infantry formations for direct support in combat.improved mode l of the T-60 was produced in late 1941 , often referred to as T-6This vehicle had increased arm our, but the main difference was the substitutiooJid road wheels fo r the ellrlier spoked type.

Light Tank T 60
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Light Tank T 60A

D TCREW 2WEIGHT 9.960 kg 9.8 tonsHEIGHT 2.22m ft ' inLE. GTH 5.00 m 16 ft 5 inWIDTH 2.52 m 8 ft 3, inENGIN E 2x ZI -202 6-cyl. water-cooled petrol

developing 70 hp (eal'h)SPEED Road 51 kmh 3 1.7 mph

Cross-country 30 kmh mphROA D RAOrUS 446 km 277 milesARMAMENT One 45-mm gun and one 7.62-mm

OTmgROUNDSCARRlll D 70x 45mm 945xH2mmARMO UR THICKNESS Max60mm 2.36 n

Min IOmm :Win

Light Tank T 70;\

yokhy Tank T 70 (Light Tank T-70)Duri ng Janua ry 1942 the T-70 light tank began to replace the earlier T-60 model.Despite the fact thal it had been . hown that the li ght tank was not an effectivco mbat vehicle, it was cheaper and ea_ic r to mass-produce , which mean t thatunits could receive tanks where they would therwi e have had none . The T-70light lank was mass-prod uced at the Gorki Automobi le Works, and had the 'amechassis as the T-60 (with th drive taken to rhe fro nt in lead of the rear) slightlyreinforced to take the extra weight. new turre t was fitted mounting a 45-mm gunand o-axial o2- mm DT machine-gun _ fhe hull rmour was al 'o modified to givea cleaner ou tline and better pro l eli n. and the dr iver was provided with anarmoured visor. Performance was improved through the lise of two ngi nes inpl ace of One_ During 1943 an improved mo d I omelimes referred to as T-70A,appeared which had in reased aTmour and slightly more powerfu l engines _Produ ction of T-70 tanks w s cet ed in autumn 1943 after completion of 8,226ve hicles .

ight Tank T 70A

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Lyokhy KoJesogusenichny istrokhodny TankWheel-track Fast Tank BT series)AI ngside the T-26 light tank , the BT fast tank was the most prolific armourfighting vehicle, and the most popUlar, in the Red Army during the 1930, . Tini tials BT were an acronym fo r ' Bis trokhodny Tank , or Fast Tank _It was knoa mong Soviet tankmen as the 'Betka ' (Beetle ) or as the Tri -Tankista ' (ThrTank-men) as the result of its 3-man crew. The BT tank was derived from IAmerican tank desib Tl by J. W . Ch i tie , an example of which was purchas dSoviet offic ia ls in the US during 1930 and shipped back to the Khar "Loc6motive Works . Afte r e xtensive developme nt work the Re volu ti n...Mi litary Cou ncil authorised the BT tank for adop tion by the Red Army on 23 M1931 . Produ ction work began a t the Komjntem Works during Augus t, and onSep tem ber the first two pro totype s, designa ted BT- 1. were del ivered to th RArmy for tri . Is. Th is fir st model waS provided wilh machine-gun armamen t onland i t was requested that the production mode l be armed with an artille ry weapIn the meantime, the BT-2 model , s ti ll wi th only machine-gun armament \\adop ted in limited quantities . Duri ng produc tion, succe ive BT-2 tanks weequipped wi th the 37-mm gun Model 1930. During 1932 the Red Army r ~ u ktha t the BT tank be ar med with the more powerful 45-mm gun, and after a n u m ~of experimen tal trials the BT-5 was adop ted wi th thi. gun mounted in a largturret. Comma nders vehicles (BT-5U , BT-5TU) were provided with two-wmdio equipmen t and had a frame aerial around the turret lOp . A spec ia l arti llesupport model was de veloped, designated BT-5A, mounti ng a short-barre ll76.2-mm gun . Result ing fr o m experience in combat (Spain and Man churia) tRed Army requested Ihat the BT be redesigned with loped, welded armour.the result the BT-7 model appeared . Co mmand an d artillery models wedeveloped , with the same suffic s as for Ihe BT-5 mode l. Duri ng 1938 a ne w dieengine had been developed for tank use, and this was ins talled in all suhsequeBT-7 tanks , n referred 10 a BT-7M (a lso a s BT-8) . The Red Army al 0 adopta mult iplicity of special purpose tanks based on these models (fl ame-throwerbridge-layers , chemical tanks, ere).DATAModel 111'-2 Model BT -5CREW CRE W )WEIG HT 10,200 kg 10 IOn S WEl GHT " ,500 kg 11.3 ton sHEIGHT 2.}Sm 7ft , in RllTGH T 2.38 m 7 ft 9 .nLENGTH .90 m 19 ft 4. in LENGTH 5.93 m f9 ft 5 inW IDTH 2.4001 7f t fOin WIDTH 240 m 7 ft IOJ inENGI NE Liberty ne ro Il-eyl. EN GINE M5 nero 12-cy l.

petrol devefo pin g 34} hp petrol de ve loping )50 hpSPEE D Road IIOkmh 08 .4onph SPE.ED RoruJ IIOkmh 68.4mph

Cross;counlry 50 km h :t I mph r O'i5- cQl Intry 50 kmh ) mphROA D RA Df U 3m km 186 .4 miles ROAD RA OJUS ,00km 186.4 milesARMAMENT Two 7.62-mm rn gs Of o n ~ ARMAMENT One 45-mm gun and one

37-0101 M19)0 ,, IJn 7.62mm I1IgRO NDSCARR IED 4,OOOx7 .62mm RO U NDS CARR IED 72-1 15x 45 mm

96 x 37 mm mmj\RMOlJRTIfICKNESS Mux 13mm .,\ 1 in ARMOUR THI KNESS Max /3 mm .51 nMin 6 mm .24 in Min 6 .24in

Mudd O'f -7 Model BT -7MCREW j CREW 3WE IGH T 13,800 kg /J. 6 Ions WEIC HT 14.4 IOnsH ' IGH T . 6 2 m Xn) n HE IGHT 246 m RIt OJ inLE 'GTH 1,. 11 rn 20 fl Qtin LHN GTH 6. II 01 20 (t 0 InWI OH 1 2.62 m 8 ft 7 in WI DTH 2.62 m 8 [[ 7 inE. GlNE M- In Il oyl. petrol IlN , INE V l /2. cy l. diesel

de veloping 450 hp dc velopi og 500 hpSP . - D Road 741un h 46 mph SPEFD Road 6 kmh 53.4 mph

C ru , -CO untry 50 km h 31mph Cross-coun try 50krnh 31 mphROAD RAOi 500 km 31 1mib ROAD RADIUS 700 krn 435 miles

One 45-mm gun and one AH M lENT One 76.2-m m gun and7.62-mm mg: two 7.62-m01 mgs

ROUN DS CARRIE D I 2- I8l< x 45 mm ROUNDS CARRIED 40x 76.2 mm1 .394 < 7. 62 rnm 2,)94 x 7.62 mm

j\RMOURTHICK JESS Max22mm .n in ARMOUR THIC K ESS Max 22 mm .87 inMin 6 mill .24 in Min 6 mm .24 in

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st Tank BT 2 with 37 mm gun Fast Tank BT 5


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Fast Tank BT5U Commanders model

Fast Tank BT-7

Sredny Tank T 28 (Medium Tank T -28)In 1932 the Leningrad Kirov Tank Plant built a new prototype medium tankon the general design of the British A-6EI 16-ton tank. The firstspecification for a multi-turreted 16-ton medium tank, intended for brethrough strongly-fortified defensive zones and for exploitation by mechunits, was issued to the Kirov plant in 1931. After trials with the prototype harmour and more powerful armament were requested , the original 45-mmbeing replaced by a 76_2-mm gun . A specification was then drafted for a medium tank , designated T 28 . The final model was accepted for adoptionRed Army on II August 1933. In later prod uction models a turret stabilisystem was utilised. During 1938 this tank was subjected to extensive motion, resulting in the T 28 Ob. 1938. The existing 16.5 calibre gun was replacthe L-IO gun of 26 calibres. During the Russo-Finnish War ( 1939-40)di scovered that the armour was inadequate and so the vehicle was up-armby the use of screened armour . The turret and hull front plates were incrfrom 50 to 80-mm, the sides and rear to 40-mm. The weight of the new tank r32 tons.D TCREW 6 Cross -country 20 kmh 11.4 mphWEIGHT 28.000kg 27.6 IOns ROAD RADIUS 220km 37 mile,HEIGHT 2.82 m 9 f 3 in ARMAMENT One 76. 2-mm gun and three 7.62-LENGTH 7.44 m 24 ft 5 in OTmgsWIDTH 2.81m h 2l in RO UNDS CARRIED 70>


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Medium Tank T-28

T-28 late productivn model

Sredny Tank T 34 Medium Tank T-34 series)At the beginni ng of 1937 the Kom intern Factory in Khar kov was assigned thetask f developing a new medium tank wi th shell-proof armour. Severalexp rimental vehicle were designed and built under the guidance of ChiefDesigner M.1. Kos hkin, whi ch were essentially outgrowths of the BT (Christie)\ heel/track series. The se culminated in a nal whee l/ track mod el designatedT -32. In the meant im e, Koshkin had proposed that a new med iu m tank bedev elop which ran on tracks only , and this was sanc ti ned . The two prototypes(the tracked variant being called T -34 were su bjec ted to rigorous trials, and the T34 mode l finally accepted as the tandard medium tank fo r the R d Army on 19December. 1939. Towards the end of 1940 the fi rst produ ction models of the T -34 .de. ignated T -34 Ob .1940 (often re ferred to as T-34A), were relea , ed from theKo min tern Factory , During 1940 115 T 34


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learned to treat this tank with the greatest respect. There were many de siproduction changes made to the T-34 during its production but there is obvinsufficient room here to go into detail. The first fundamental change wasarm the tank with the longer-barrelled Model 40 F-34 gun in place of the oL II gun) . Only modifica tion to the a rmour and automotive layout ensueautumn 943 . when the 85-mm gun was fitted in a new, enlarged turret. Thmodel was de signated T-34-85. Th e T-34-85 was approved for adoption by thArmy on December 15th 943 . Over 40,OOOT-34s were manufactured until tof the war.

Medium Tank T 34 194 model T 34 with cast turret that also appear194]T34 1941 del T ]4 194] del .


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T 34/85

DATAModel T-340b .l940CREWWEIGHT 26,300kg 25.910n5HEIGHT 2.45m 8 fI O inLENGTH 5.92m 19f1S,in

WIDTH 3.00m 9fllO inENGINE V-2-34 12-cy l.waler-cooleddieseldeveloping500hpSPEED Road 54 kmh 34 mph

Cross-counITy 40kmh 25mphROAD RADIUS 400km 248.6milesARMAMENT One 76.2-mmL-II gun andtwo7.62-mmDT mgsROUNDS CARRIED 77x76 2 mm

4,725x7.62mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max45 mm 1.77in

Min 16 mm .63in

Model T-34-850b.1943CREW 5WEIGHT 3I500kg 3IIOnsHEIGHT 2.56m 8fl5inLENGTH 8.07m 26 fl5i in (lncl.gun)

5.92m 19 fl5,in ness gun)WIDTH 3.21 m 10 fl6i inSPEED 50 kmh 31 mph

Cross-counlry 35 kmh 21.8mphROAD RADIUS 300km 186.4milesARMAMENT One 85-mmZIS S-53 gunand7.62-mrnDT mgsROUNDS CARRIED 55x85 mm

2,394x7.62mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max60mm 2.36

Minl8mm .7li

Sredny ank -43 Medium Tank T 43During 1943 a small number of T34 tank ' were produ ed wi th much thicarmour. These were des igna tedT 43 . Since theysti ll re tained the original 7mm gun, however , they were no t very successful and were soon replacedservice by theT 34 85 tank wi th the powerful 85-mm gun .DATACR EW 4WE IGHT 31,l)OO kg 30.5lon, ROAD RADIUS 4XI km 248.6milesIIEIGHT 2.79m 9fl 2in ARMAMeNT One76.2-mmgunand o 7.62-mm. >NGTH 7.38m 24fl2l in DT mg,WIDTH 3.21m IOf1 6ji"n ROLINDSCARRIED 77 x 76.2 mmENGLNE V-2-J4 I2-cYI. diese ldeveloping500hp 2.394 x 7.62 mmSPEED Road50 kmh JImph ARMOURTHICKNESS Max110 mm 4.33 in

Cros.-counlry 40kmh 25 mph Min 22 mm .87 in

40
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Medium Tank T43

DATACR EW 4WEIGHT 3l ,900kg 3 1.4 ton5HEIGHT 257 mLENGTH 8.23 m 27f tO i nWIDTH 3.34 m lOft II inENG fNE V2 -44 12-cyl. water-coo led di esel

de ve oping 5 2 hpSPEED Road 5kmh 32 mph

Cross-country 40 kmh 25 mphROAD RADIU S 300k m 186.4 mil esARM AMENT One 85-mm ZlS S-53 gun and three

7.62-m m DT mgsROU NDS CA RR IED 58 x 85 mm 1.890x 7.o2mmAR MO UR THIC KNESS Max 120 mOl 4 .72 in

in 15 mm .59in

Medium Tank

Sredny Tank T44 Medium Tank T-44)Du rin g 1944 a new medium tank was bui ll on the basis of the T 3 4 85, an ddesignated T 44. Due to the hurried de e lop menl work thi. eh icle was not verysuccessful. T he firs t produ ction mod I m un ted an 85-mm gun and saw limitedaction in early 1945. Technol gi cal ly. there v as subs tantial c hanges in co mpari-so n with the T 34 model , parti cularly the tra nsversely mounted engine and the useof torsion-bar suspension. .

Tyazho/y Tank T 35 Heavy Tank T-35 series)At the beginning of the the Red Army Staff envi aged vehicles of the heav y,mulli-wrreted typ e for opera ting as a shock-force when breaking through enemyuefensive positions. Based on the g neral philo ophy of the British A- rIndependent ' Tank (a spe cimen was never actually purchased). the 37 lOn

prototype of the T- 35 was built. The vehicle had five turre s--a main onemounting a 76.2-mm gu n two diagonally-placed ubsidiary turre t eac h mounti ngDe 37-mm gun (front a nd rear of the main turret), and two fur ther small turre tseach with one 7.fi2-mm machine-gun . Sub equent production vehicles dispen , edwith ~ ) m e of these turrets, and a few had 45-m m guns in place of the 37-mm typ .The final model had sloping welded arm ur. Even though the T- 35 was outmoded

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D TCREW II w hen all turrets fitted)WEIGHT 50.000kg 49.2 tonsHEIGHT 3.43 m II ft 3 inLENGTH 9.72m 31 ft lOinWIDTH 3.20 m 10 ft 6 inENGINE M-ITf 12cyl.water-cooledpetrol

devdoping 500 hpSPEED Road)O kmh 18 ,6 mph

Cross-country 20 kmh 12.4 mphROA D RADIUS 150km 9J .lmilesARMAMENT One 76,2-mm gun. two 45-mm guns.

six,DT machine-gun s, one P-40 AAmachin\ -gun (some later models hadS me of the subsidiary weaponsremoved

ROUNDS CARRIED mm 6x 5mm 10,OOOx7 .62mm

ARMOUR THICKNESS Max30 mm 1.18 inMin 10mm ,)9in

Hem ,\ Tallk T 35

Heat ,\ Tank T- .1_ Oll ihis l'ehid/ Iht rightauxilia ry fIIrret i am led wilh a 45 1/1/11 lln

K V ls fill e up in forest ready to advance ..

by the beginning of the Russo-German War , it was retained in service until its fiaction during the Battle for Moscow (December 194 I). The T-35 appearedseveral varian ts and abou t 60 were produced and iss ued to the tank brigades ofHigh Command Rese rve .

yazho y ank V (Heavy Tank 'KJim Voroshilov seriest th outbreak of Wor ld War II the So viet Ar my was prac tica lly the only armforce in the Wo rld t be equipped with production hea vy tanks . The fir t of thethe K V- 1 ( K lim V roshilov ) was des igned by the group of efll,>1nee rs at the KirFact ry in Leningrad, under the dir ction of Zh Ko tin. Work on the new tab gan in Februar 1939 and the Sta te Defence Co mmittee approved a mock-upApril. The completed lank was de monstrated to t he Red Army Staff in SeptembIt was accepted as sta ndard at the sa me time as the T-34 medium, on 19 Decemb1939. Produ ti n began in February 1940 and 243 vehicles were produced by

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DATAModel KV-IC REWWEIGHT 46,350kg 45 .6 tonsHEIGHT 2.87 m 9 ft 5HnLE NGTH 7.41 m 24 ft 3 inWIDTH 3.49m II ft 51 inENGINE V-2K 12-cyl. water-cooled

diesel developing 550 hpSPEED Road 35 kmh 21.8 mph

Cross-country 20 kmh 12.4 mphROAD RADIUS 225 km 140 milesARMAMENT One 76.2-mm M 1938/39 gunand three 7.62-mm mgsROUNDS CARRIED IIl x76.2 mm

3,024 x7.62 mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 106 mm 4.17 in

Min 30 mm 1.18in

DATAModel KV-IsCRE W 5WEIGHT 42,500kg 41.8 tonsHEI GHT 3.2 1m J O f t ~ i nLENGTH 7.25 m 23ft 9l inWIDTH J .51m l f t ~ENGINE V-2K-s 12-cyl. water-cooled

diesel developing 600 hpSPEED Road 40 kmh 25 mphCros,, country 25 kmh 15.5 mph

ROAD RADIUS 250 km 155.3 milesARMA MENT One 76.2-mm MI940gun

and t r 7.62mm mgsROUNDS CARlUED l02x76.2 mm

3,042x 7.62 mmARMOUR THICKNESS MDXRl mm J.23 in

Min 30mm 1.18 in

end of the year. A platoon of KY s wa s sent to Finland for combat tests , and inFebruary 1940 they took part in the break-through of the Finnish positions.Despite innumerable hits from Finnish anti-tank guns , not one of the vehicles wasput out of action. Subsequent production was undertaken at the ChelyabinskTractor Factory. By 22 June 1941 a total of 636 had been built, and by the time ofthe Battle for Moscow-I ,364. Throughout the war some 13 ,500 vehicles (tanksand self-propelled guns) were turned out on the KY chassis. Alongside the KY-I(76.2-mm gun) , a special artillery fire-support version was adopted mounting a152-mm howitzer in a rotating turret. This was designated KY-2, but due to poorperformance the vehicle was removed from production_ As in the case of the T34, several models of the KY were developed , but the two most significant werethe KY-Is and the KY-85 . The K Y- Is was a lightened version with lessarmour-enabling it to move faster. It was not long, however, before the Sovietsreturned to the up-armoured version. T owards the end of its life , in autumn 1943 ,work was being carried out on the new [S heav y tank and the origina lturret-mounting - an 85-mm gun-was retro fi tted to the KY chassis as anexpedient pending final introduction of the new tank . T his final KY model wasde signated KY -85.

Model KV-2 Model 85CREW 6 CRFW 4WEIGHT 53,000 kg 52 .2 tons WEI HT 46.00.1kg 45.3 tonsHEI GHT 3.93 m 12 fl II in HE lGHT .3. 1I m IOft2linLENGTH 7.31 m 23 f t i l l in LEN , 13 m 29flll inWIDTH 3.58 m II ft9 in .... lOTH . j{ m II ft 51inENG INE V-2K 12-cyl. water-cooled E GIN E V-lK s 12-cyl. walercooled

diesel de veloping 550 hp diesel de ve loping h hpSPEED Road 26 kmh 16 .2 mph , PEED Road 35 kmh mphCross-country 15 kmh 9.3 mph Cross cQun try 2 kmh 12.4 mph

ROAD RADIU S 160km 99.4 miles ROAD RADIUS 225 km 140 milesARMAMENT One 152 mmMI938/40 ARMAMENT One 85 -mm M1943 gun and

howilzerand two mgs three 7.62mm mgsROUNDS CARRIED 6x 152 mm ROUNDS CARRIED 71 x8 5 mm

3,078x7.62mm 3 276x7 62mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 110 mm 4. J in ARMOUR THICKNESS Max llOmm 4.33 in

Min 35 mm 1.38 in Min 30 mm 1.18 in
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K J showing rhe massile t et lI l ld15: 11 Ull

Hem Y Tank KV I


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View o V .? with gun pointing to the rear

KV 85

Tyazho y Tank IS (Heavy Tank Iosef Sta n series)In August 1942 the Soviet High Command requested the development of a newheavy tan k that would prove capable of defeating any future types likely to beintroduced by the enemy. Work on the new project was undertaken by a specialdesign group, called the IS Bureau , under the leadership of Zh. Kotin. Based onexperiments with prototype K V models (KV-3 and KV-I3) in 1943 the designbu reau investigated a new project designated IS ( Iosef Stalin ). Early in autumn1943 the first three prototypes f the IS-I (also called IS-85 due to its 85-mmarmament) were completed, tested and finally approved. Directions to beginmass-p roduction were issued in October 1943 . Soon after the start of production,the need arose for more powerful armament , and a few prototypes were testedwith a new IOO mm gun (IS-100) . A design group under Genera l Petrov, however ,conceived a scheme for mounting a 122-mm gun, which was accepted . On 3 Oc tobe r 1943 the new model, designated [S 2 (IS-122), was accepted as standard;by the end of the year the Kirov Fac tory had produced 102 of this new mode l. The1S tank was used for the first time during Febmary 1944 at Korsun Shevcherkov.After producing several more experimental vehicles of this type, wo rk on furtherimp rovement to the armour layout led to the IS-3 model towards the end of 1944.Wit h its greatly contoured armour this new heavy tank caused a sensationthroughout the world which lasted weI] into the 1950s.

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DATAModel IS-I Model IS-2 Model IS-3CREW 4 CREW 4 CREW 4WEIGHT 44 ,000 kg 43.3 tons WEIGHT 45.000 kg 44.3 ton> WEIGHT 45.800 kg 45 tonsHEIGHT 2.92 m 9ft63in HEIGHT 2.92 m 9 ft 63 in HEIGHT 2.92 m 9ft6linLENGlli 8.95m 29ft4in LENGTH JO.J3m 33ft IOjin LENGTH 10 .74 m 35ft 3 inWIDTH 3.36 m II ft WIDTH 3.36 m 11 ft WIDTH 3.44 m II ft 3\ inENGINE V-2-IS V-2K) 12-cyl. wa ter-cooled diesel developing 513 hpSPEED Road 37 kmh 23 mph SPEED Road 37 km/J 23 mph .SPEED Road 37 kmh 23 mph

Cross-country 24 kmh 1 5 mph Cross-country 24 kmh 15 mph Cross-country 24 kmh 15 mphROAD RADIUS 24Dkm 149 miles ROAD RADIUS 24Dkm 149 miles ROAD RADruS 208 km 129.3 milesARM AMENT One 85-mm M 194) ,'Un and ARMAMENT One I22-mm MI943gun, one 12 .7-mm ARMAMENT One 122-mm MI943 gun , one 12.7-mm

three 7.62mm mgs AA . and three 7.62 mm mgs AA, and one/two 7.62-mm mgsROUNDS CARRIED 71 mm ROUNDS CARRIED 8 122 mm ROUNDS CA RRIED 28x 122 mm

I 330x7 .62mm 2, 30x7 .62mm l,ooox7. 62mmARMOUR THICKNESS Max 120mm 4.72in ARMOUR THICKNESS /.fa., 120 mm 4.72 in ARMO UR THICKNESS M x 230 mm 9.06 in

MLn 5 mOl 98 in Min 5 mm .98 in Min 5 mm 98 in

IS 2c rrying inf lltrymell on the outskirtsBe rln

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