British Tanks The Second World War (Images of War).pdf

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First published in Great Britain in 2011 by
PEN & SWORD MILITARY
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd,
47 Church Street,
Barnsley,
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Text copyright © Pen & Sword Books, 2011
Photographs copyright © as credited, 2011
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 84884 500 8
eISBN 978 1 78303 837 4
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter One
The Development of the Tank
Chapter Two
Light Tanks
Chapter Three
Cruiser Tanks
Chapter Four
Infantry Tanks
Chapter Five
Heavy Tanks
Chapter Six
American Tanks in British Service
Chapter Seven
Specials, Engineers’ Tanks and ‘Funnies’
Introduction
The tank made its first appearance on the Western Front in 1916, but it was to be another two
decades before the strategies of tank warfare reached some sort of maturity. By 1939/40, German
Blitzkrieg tactics showed what tanks and infantry could achieve in the hands of well-trained
commanders who understood their strengths and weaknesses. Although the
Wehrmacht
were
generally the masters of tank warfare, it is interesting to consider how each of the major
combatants approached the question of tank design during this period.
As you might imagine, the
Wehrmacht
took a rational and organised approach. Between 1939 and
1945, disregarding captured enemy tanks, Germany deployed just six major types of tank, designated
Panzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) I
to
VI,
with logical modifications and improvements bringing changes
in firepower and protection. For example,
PzKpfw I
was a light tank armed with two 7.92mm
machine guns, whilst the
PzKpfw II
was equipped with a 20mm gun. The medium
PzKpfw III
of 1937
was the primary weapon of the German Panzer divisions and was armed with a 37mm, and then a
50mm, gun. It remained in production until 1943. The medium-weight
PzKpfw IV
and the
heavy/medium
PzKpfw V
Panther, were both armed with a 75mm gun, as was the first variant of the
PzKpfw VI
Tiger. The second iteration of the
PzKpfw VI,
the
Königstiger,
was equipped with the
fearsome 88mm gun.
The US Army was possibly even slower off the mark in developing modern tanks than Britain,
and in 1939/40, the standard US tanks were the light M1 and M2, and the medium M2. However, for
most of the war, production was concentrated on the M3/M5 Stuart light tank and the M4 Sherman
medium and, as the war progressed, the US Army preferred to continue to produce large numbers of
what were, generally, compromised designs rather than disrupt production in search of perfection.
Although some M2 light tanks came to Britain for training, the type never saw combat and was
superseded by the M3/M5 Stuart, armed with a 37mm gun, even before the USA was involved in the
conflict. By 1943, the M3/M5 was obsolete and was superseded, in turn, by the M24 Chaffee, which
mounted a 75mm gun. The medium M2, also armed with a 37mm gun, quickly gave way to the curious
M3 Lee/Grant with both 75mm and 37mm guns, but best known in this class, and the second most
numerous tank of the conflict, was the M4 Sherman. Early Shermans mounted a 75mm gun, but this
was subsequently replaced by a 76mm weapon; the British also mounted a 17-pounder (76.2mm) gun
on the Sherman in a new turret. US heavy tanks included the M6, armed with both 3in and 37mm main
guns, but built in very small numbers, and the M26 Pershing, with a 90mm gun, but which came too
late in the war to see any action in Europe.
The Soviet Union was similarly slow to respond to the challenges of designing modern tanks
and, although the Red Army received Lend-Lease supplies of both British and American tanks, with
one notable exception, the Soviet-designed tanks of the period were essentially pre-war designs. The
BT series were fast medium tanks based on the designs of the American J. Walter Christie, and was
armed with a 37mm, and then a 45mm, main gun; the design dated back to 1935, but the BT-7
remained in production throughout the war. The T-28B medium tank was inspired by British multi-
turret machines of the 1930s and was armed with a 76.2mm main gun, but was inadequately
armoured. The T-32 and T-35 were heavy tanks, with a 76.2mm main gun, but were unsuccessful due
to their sheer size.

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