Tanks of the Second World War, Great Britain. "Cromwell": British Army tank from World War II
In 1940, in France and North Africa, the actions of the British tank troops showed that the armies in service cruiser tanks Covenanter and Crusader are slowly becoming obsolete. Their negative sides steel weak armor, unreliable engine and insufficient weapons. Standard 40 mm weapons were inferior German guns 50 and 75 mm on German medium tanks.
By the end of 1942, British designers developed a new cruising vehicle, the Cromwell, a tank with high speed and maneuverability.
New engine
The Cromwell was developed according to the classic British tank design scheme: the engine, fuel tanks, and cooling systems were installed in the engine compartment, extending to the rear of the hull. Armor and fighting compartment — middle part hulls and towers. The transmission and control compartment are the front part of the tank.
The Rolls-Royce Meteor V-engine with 12 cylinders and a maximum power of 600 horsepower is a Cromwell. The tank easily reached speeds on the highway up to 64 km/h. The transmission of the new medium tank included:
- gearbox with synchronizers;
- friction clutch - part of the flywheel of an engine operating on the principle of dry friction;
- extended driveshaft with multi-stage system;
- rotating mechanism with double differentials.
Hull and turret armor
The body was made of rolled armor plates. The sheets were secured to each other and to the frame with rivets. The thickness of the hull plates reached 64 mm, the stern and sides - 32 mm. The bottom and roof of the tank were produced without a constant armor thickness, the value ranged from 6 to 14 mm.
The armor sheets that formed the tower almost square shape, secured without inclined angles with rivet and bolted connections. The thickness of the plates of the front part of the tower is 76 mm, the sides and rear are 51 mm. The new Cromwell (tank) was more armored than previous models of British medium combat vehicles.
Modernization
Since the end of 1943, the cruising tank has been modernized. Only a few models remained in the original version by the end of the war. The cars were modernized as overhaul, and new combat structures with low mileage. In the process of improving the tank from 1943 to 1945, variants of the Cromwell appeared:
- Cromwell I.
- Cromwell II is a test vehicle with a track width of 15.5 inches versus 14.
- Cromwell III - military weapon at 75 mm.
- Cromwell IV and IVw.
- Cromwell VIII is a late model with a 95mm howitzer.
During the modification process, the cruising "Cromwell" (tank) received reinforced armor and an improved gun.
Strengthened armor and improved weapons appeared during the modification process, but at a slower rate. Other versions of the machines were also designed.
Armament
The main armament of the cruising tank is a 57 mm cannon, the barrel length is 50 calibers. Various modifications The Cromwells were equipped with a 95 mm howitzer.
The gun was mounted on the front of the turret in a square mantlet with an additional armor plate. The tank was also equipped with auxiliary weapons: 27.7 mm machine guns - British modifications of Czechoslovak guns. One machine gun was attached as a coaxial one to the main gun, the second - to the left side of the hull in front. The set of charges included 3000 rounds.
Exploitation
The Cromwell cruiser tank, the photo of which is presented above, took part in battles during the Second World War in Western Europe and North Africa. In practice, the machine revealed shortcomings: weak firepower and armor.
The tank could withstand the German Panther, but was powerless against the heavy Tiger. During the battle near French city Villers-Bocage in 1944, a British column of Cromwell medium tanks suffered a crushing defeat from the Germans armed with Tiger tanks. At the same time, the number of German combat vehicles was three times less.
World of Tanks
The game is popular among many people in the world. A custom online arcade allows you to plunge into the times of World War II and learn about the combat vehicles in service with several nations.
The Cromwell tank in World of Tanks is a sixth-tier medium combat vehicle. The game uses the mobility and agility of a cruising tank to achieve better results. It is more advantageous to approach the enemy from the flank or rear. The machine's rate of fire will allow you to incapacitate your opponent faster.
The tank has good speed: due to this, it can illuminate anti-tank equipment and heavy vehicles.
The main enemies of "Cromwell" in the game:
- PT (anti-tank vehicles) levels 5-6.
- ST (medium vehicles) level 6-7 with a top gun.
- TT ( heavy tanks) over long distances, in close combat there are still chances of survival.
The cruising British tank "Cromwell" (reviews from users of the online game confirm this) penetrates the stern and sides well. Players note the advantages of the vehicle: high speed, turret mobility at good level, profitability.
Of the minuses:
- almost complete absence of armor;
- the gun has low accuracy;
- long aiming of the gun.
Also in the game, “Cromwell” often finds himself on the battlefield with tanks of the eighth level, where most of the vehicles are heavy equipment.
It is advisable for the car not to stand still in the game, but to constantly move in order to complicate the enemy’s task. The aircraft engine installed on the vehicle allows the medium tank to successfully bypass clusters of enemy combat vehicles and strike where opponents do not expect it.
Tanks of England
The development of British armored vehicles in the pre-war years was reflected in the conflict of opinions regarding the nature of the future war. Supporters of the creation of mechanized armies, who believed that the second World War with their participation must end quickly, united strategic strike, which within a few days and even hours would decide the outcome of the battles and force the enemy to surrender, insisted on the creation of “cruising” tanks - lightly armored, with increased speeds and with 40 mm caliber guns. To test your views on future war they achieved the creation of the first experimental mechanized unit in the British armed forces in 1927.
There was also a group of influential military men who relied on the headquarters ground forces England, who believed that the main purpose of tanks was direct support for advancing infantry. For this purpose, low-speed, heavily armored tanks with 40-75 mm caliber guns are used - the so-called “infantry” tanks. As a compromise, it was decided to have both cruiser and infantry tanks in service. Infantry tanks included tanks such as "Matilda", "Valentine" and "Churchill", and cruiser tanks - "Crusider", "Cromwell", "Comet". Thus, the inseparable combat qualities of a tank are armor protection and mobility were artificially divided between two types of machines. The fallacy of this concept was revealed quite quickly during combat operations, but to create a single tank during the war capable of performing missions direct support infantry and operate as part of armored formations, the British designers failed. That's why best tank English army became the American M4 Sherman.
Light tanks created in England before the war quickly disappeared from the battlefields, as their armor and weapons turned out to be unsatisfactory. Therefore, the English army widely used American lungs tanks M3 and M5. In 1943, production of its own light tank"Tetrarch", however, his combat characteristics were lower than the characteristics of German tanks. Self-propelled artillery, as in the US Army, was divided into field, anti-tank and anti-aircraft. However, the quantity self-propelled units, produced by the English industry, was small and amounted to approximately 800 machines.
The characteristic features of British armored vehicles were:
- big dimensions and weight, low firepower and mobility of tanks;
- creation of field, anti-tank and anti-aircraft self-propelled units based on tanks and cars;
- wide use chassis of obsolete light tanks for the creation of armored personnel carriers;
- the creation and widespread use of armored vehicles;
- the use of outdated design solutions and technological methods: vertical arrangement of armor plates, frame construction of tanks, connecting armor plates with bolts and rivets, the use of mainly carburetor engines, etc.
In total, during the Second World War, 25,116 tanks were produced in England, another 23,246 tanks and self-propelled guns came from the USA and Canada. The formation of armored formations in England occurred rather slowly. By the end of the second year of the war, five armored divisions and five separate brigades.
The armored division consisted of two armored brigades, each of which had three tank regiments, as well as two motorcycle and rifle battalions, an artillery and a mixed anti-aircraft and anti-tank regiment. The division had about 300 tanks, but practically no motorized infantry. In addition, the division structure turned out to be cumbersome and did not allow for prompt command of units during the battle. Therefore, at the end of 1942, the divisions were reorganized. One armored brigade was excluded from them, but a motorized infantry brigade was introduced, there were two artillery regiments, a regiment was introduced anti-tank artillery. The 1942 model division consisted of 18 thousand people personnel, 344 tanks and more than 150 guns.
For joint action with infantry divisions Separate armored brigades were formed consisting of three regiments. Each brigade had 260 tanks. In total, during the Second World War, 11 armored divisions and 30 armored brigades were formed in Great Britain. Tank corps and armies were not created, but on different stages The war involved army corps, which included 2-3 armored divisions.
The British are the pioneers in world tank building, for which we must thank W. Churchill. As you know, it quickly grew into trench warfare. To give it at least some dynamics, in October 1914, the Secretary of the Defense Committee, Colonel E. Swinton, made a proposal to create armored car on crawler, which could break through defense lines: cross trenches, trenches and wire fences. The Minister of War did not react to the idea, but the First Lord of the Admiralty (Naval Minister) W. Churchill supported the idea, and after some time the Land Ships Committee was created under the Navy Department.
History of the development of British tanks by model
The commander of the British troops in France, General J. French, impressed by the ensuing battles, formulated the basic requirements for the “land dreadnought”:
- Relatively small dimensions.
- Bulletproof armor.
- Crawler mover.
- Ability to overcome craters up to 4 m and wire fences.
- Speed not lower than 4 km/h.
- The presence of a cannon and two machine guns.
In fact, these were the world's first requirements for tank performance. And in January 1916, the committee presented the world's first tank capable of taking part in battles. So with light hand Churchill began tank building in Britain, and a few years later all over the world.
The first tanks were created exclusively to break through defenses and suppress enemy machine guns, which was facilitated by special shape housings. It was a parallelogram with tracks along the outer contour for overcoming vertical obstacles. That's how he was.
Even after tangible successes from tanks in battle, the British military leadership considered their use to be of little promise, and only thanks to real success fast French Renault, idea mass production tanks captured the minds of military leaders. J. Fuller, a later famous tank theorist, for example, advocated mass creation high-speed tanks.
British tanks of the First World War
There were several tank qualifications in the British forces at the time.
The first is weight: up to 10 tons - light, from 10-20 tons medium and about 30 tons heavy. As is known, preference was given mainly to heavy tanks.
The second qualification concerns weapons: tanks with exclusively machine gun armament were called “females”, those with cannons were called “males”. After the first oncoming battles with German tanks, which showed the inadequacy of machine gun models, a combined type with cannons and machine guns, such tanks were called “hermaphrodites”.
As for the doctrine of using tanks in battle, military opinions are divided into two halves. One half wanted to create and use purely “infantry” tanks, the other “cruising” ones.
Infantry type - used for direct support of infantry, had low mobility and was well armored.
The cruising type is a kind of “armored cavalry”, quite fast, and in comparison with infantry, lightly armored. On their shoulders, together with the cavalry, fell the tasks of quickly breaking through the defense, enveloping and raiding the enemy’s rear. The armament of both types was the same, mainly machine guns.
The British retained this concept of using tanks until the beginning of World War II. If you delve deeper into it, you will see that tanks play a supporting role, the main tasks are carried out by cavalry and infantry.
Before the end of the First World War in England, after the heavy MK-I, its modifications were produced up to Mk VI and Mk IX and medium ones: Mk A (unofficially “Whippet”), Mk B and Mk S.
Of course, the quality of the first serial tanks it was quite low.
In the diaries German soldiers and in official reports there are many interesting facts. For example, due to gas pollution inside the tanks, there were frequent cases of suffocation of the entire crew. Due to the primitiveness of the suspension, the tanks created such a roar that in order to camouflage movement tank units The British accompanied them with artillery cannonade. Due to the narrow tracks, there were cases when tanks became muddy in the ground right in front of the enemy trenches.
One case speaks about security.
In November 1917, in the battles near Cambrai, on the outskirts of the village of Flesquières, one German officer was left with a cannon abandoned by servants; he, slowly, loading himself, pointing and shooting, destroyed 16 British tanks in order.
It seemed that even then it was necessary to think about strengthening the armor, but not one of the tank manufacturers did this until the conflict in Spain.
Be that as it may, the British attacked with their tanks new round waging wars, they transferred them to other speeds. Before the end of the war, they managed to be the first in the world to create amphibious tanks and communication tanks.
Tanks between the great wars
First world England ended up as a leader in tank building, but very soon all the advantages disappeared.
Firstly, due to the fact that they strictly separated the types of tanks and their use: the British continued to build “infantry” and “cruising” types.
Secondly, due to its geographical location, the command gave priority to the development of the fleet over the ground army.
The implementation of one of the tactical ideas of J. Fuller, by the way, almost all countries “fell ill” with it, was the creation of mechanized infantry. The Carden-Lloyd MkVI wedge was ideal for these purposes. In its entirety, according to the strategist’s plan, it was supposed to play the role of an “armored skirmisher.” Despite the fact that the wedge did not receive recognition at home, although they were built on its basis reconnaissance tanks and tractors, it was purchased by 16 countries, and Poland, Italy, France, Czechoslovakia and Japan acquired licenses for their production. In the USSR it was produced as the T-27.
Another tank that was not appreciated by its compatriots was the Vickers 6 tons. In the world tank building it played no less a role than the Renault FT in its time. Light and cheap to manufacture, with a machine gun in one turret and a cannon in the other, it was the embodiment of the idea of World War I tanks: machine gun tanks act against manpower, while cannon tanks support them.
Among the tanks put into service at the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s were:
- medium Mk I "Vickers-12 tons",
- heavy A1E1 “Independent”,
- various modifications of the Vickers-Carden-Loyd Mk VII and Mk VIII.
In anticipation great war, headquarters ground forces back in the late 20s, insisted on creating and releasing infantry tanks, but because economic crisis in the country, no funding has been allocated.
After the conflict in Spain and Italy’s attack on Ethiopia, the British leadership, anticipating the approach of a “big conflict” and understanding the inconsistencies of the time of the equipment they had previously created, urgently financed the creation and production of new tanks.
Appear: “cruising Mk I (A9), Mk II (A10), Mk III, Mk IV and Mk VI “Crusader” (A15).
Mk IV and Mk VI implemented on the well-known wheeled-tracked base American inventor Christie, but using one propulsion device.
In 1939, production of the first (!) tank with anti-ballistic armor began - the infantry A11 Mk I "Matilda", later another tank would be named by this name. Speed 13 km/h and machine gun armament made him a laughing stock. In general, during the period between the “great” wars, British designers created more than 50 real models of tanks, 10 of which were put into service.
British tanks of World War II
At the start armored vehicles England is noticeably outdated. Neither in quality nor in quantity could it compare with the equipment of the USSR and Germany. The total number of all tanks in the British army was about 1000, in larger mass lungs. The lion's share of which was lost in the battles for France.
During the war, English manufacturers were never able to satisfy the demands of the army; during the period 1939-1945, only 25 thousand units of armored vehicles were produced, the same number came from the USA and Canada.
All new technology was quite mediocre, it was one step behind the German and Russian ones.
Mostly cruiser and infantry tanks were produced, and light airborne tanks were produced in small quantities.
After Churchill’s famous post-war phrase, tanks all over the world joined the arms race, and their development, in general, is similar to each other. To counter our IP, Conqueror is being created. After the concept of the main battle tank was accepted in the world, the Chieftain was released. The third generation tank in England is the Challenger.
In addition to the main ones, after a long break, light Scorpion tanks began to be produced in 1972.
Initially, the British military wanted to have armored vehicles at their disposal to transport soldiers. But very quickly the implementation of this idea turned out to be impossible. The tightness of the Mark I tank and especially the highlight carbon dioxide and cordite vapors threatened the lives of the soldiers on board. Often crew members became victims of intoxication and were carried out of their cars in an unconscious state. Every new soldier, who got into the tank, only worsened the situation. Although the infantrymen could approach the enemy unharmed, when leaving the tank they were completely unfit for combat for several minutes. The Mark V Star tank, which entered service in 1918, is a Mark V tank lengthened to carry personnel. In 1917, Lieutenant G. R. Rackham was appointed to develop an armored vehicle for transporting infantrymen. But the British military did not have enough experience to determine technical requirements To like a machine and, as a result, it was decided to develop a vehicle equipped with a gun.
Thus, if the Mark VIII tank, which was still in development, failed to fulfill its purpose, the Mark IX could be converted into an armored personnel carrier, which became the first "tank" (from the English "tank" - "reservoir"). The military ultimately decided to abandon the “backup” tank, which was both a tank and a transporter, and development of the tank began
Mark IX. The tracks were supported by a lengthened, reinforced chassis and an extended body of the Mark V tank, thanks to the use of fans the ventilation system was improved... Everything unnecessary was removed inside, which made room for a maximum of 30 people. The Mark IX was equipped with two machine guns and eight vision slits that gave men the opportunity to shoot. The engine was moved forward, the gearbox was left behind, the space reserved for the soldiers was crossed by a long transmission shaft with a scale. The thickness of the armor did not exceed 10 mm, in stowed position weight reached 27 tons. The crew consisted of four people: a commander, a driver and two machine gunners. Due to the shape of the tracks and external resemblance the car was nicknamed “The Pig”.
The prototype was approved general staff, who handed over the order to representatives military industry for the production of 200 copies of an armored personnel carrier. By the time peace was signed on November 11, 1918, only 35 vehicles had been assembled. After the war, one of them began to be used by the medical service, and the second turned into an amphibious tank.
TANK VICKERS MARK E |
The conclusions from the lessons learned from the First World War were obvious: countries capable of creating decent armored forces, had to invest in research and development, as well as in creating an armored vehicle production system. But in 1920, tank production was very expensive. People survived four years bloody war, the period of disarmament has begun, the state of public finances in different countries was depressing. Military budgets were insignificant, and the need for weapons immediately fell into the zone special attention in case of order mass production. Defense industry was looking for ways to develop low-cost, but reliable weapon and equipment without attracting attention. The British company Vickers-Armstrong took a big risk when, on its own initiative, it decided to design new tank without any ministerial support and without advance payment for development costs. The development of the “six-ton tank” was undertaken by famous engineers and tank designers John Valentine Carden and Vivian Lloyd. An experimental model appeared in 1928 and was named “Mark E”. The vehicle seemed impressive: the thickness of the frontal armor was 25 mm, and on the turret, in the rear and on the sides - 19 mm; power gasoline engine 98 l. With.; excellent tracks on which the tank could travel up to 5000 km. Two versions of the Vickers Mark E tanks were produced: Model A with two turrets, each equipped with a Vickers machine gun, and Model B with one double turret equipped with a 47 mm cannon and one machine gun. But after various stages of testing, ultimately, the British army abandoned the tank due to insufficient reliability of the suspension. Although the hopes of the Vickers company were not justified, it did not abandon its project and tried its luck at international market. This decision paid off. In the late 1920s, the Vickers tank became the main weapon of many tank armies in Europe and around the world. These tanks were in service in the armies of Bolivia, Bulgaria, China, Greece, Finland, Portugal and Thailand. In addition, the light tank was quickly copied by foreign engineers. The characteristics of the tank made such a deep impression on the Soviet military that they bought a license from Vickers to produce their own version - the T-26 tank, which was slightly different in armament and armor shape. In the period from 1931 to 1941, from the assembly lines of Soviet factories At least 12 T-26 LLCs of all modifications were produced. |
Defeats in Europe and the disaster at Dunkirk
Before the start of the German offensive in the West, the British had 12 divisions and over 500 tanks in France, 9 of these 15 divisions were located in Belgium as part of the joint Anglo-French North-Eastern Front, which was supposed to cover this direction from a possible German attack. The British Expeditionary Force in France was armed with Matilda (Mark II), Cruiser (Mark IIA) and Cruiser (Mark IIIA) tanks, armed with 40mm guns, more than half of which had excellent armor for 1940 and were difficult to hit by German tank guns. In addition, do not forget that many German tanks in the French campaign were still armed only with a machine gun (Pz.I and Pz.II).The French also had an impressive tank fleet (more than 3,000 vehicles) - among which were the Somua medium and B1 heavy tanks. Their armor and armament were also not inferior to the German ones. The only thing in which the Anglo-French tanks were inferior to the German ones was speed. As for tactics, operational leadership, crew training and the will to win, in this the Germans clearly prevailed over the Allies. 10 May 1940 German troops began a rapid advance through Belgium. The attack of the German mobile formations was aimed at bypassing the French Maginot Line. The coordinated actions of German tanks, aviation, artillery and infantry led to the defeat and surrender of the Dutch army on May 14. After which the Germans quickly crossed the Meuse River and their tank groups rushed to the west. On May 21, they reached the English Channel and were surrounded by over 50 Anglo-French divisions in the Dunkirk area. The defeated Belgian army also surrendered on May 28. Having carried big losses and abandoning all remaining equipment to the enemy, the Anglo-French troops evacuated to England at the beginning of June.
See also:
British tanks in Africa
Initially in Africa the British were opposed by units Italian army, the technical equipment of which left much to be desired - all Italian combat vehicles inferior to English models. When the first offensive of British troops in Africa against the Italian aggressors began in December 1940, the superiority of the British in technology made itself felt - the Italians retreated until German command, which decided to help its ally, did not transfer a corps under the command of General Rommel to Africa. The counterattack of this corps, which has initial stage there were only 120 tanks, drove the British back to the Egyptian border and surrounded their base in Tobruk.In November 1941, the British launched a retaliatory offensive, the goal of which was nothing less than the defeat of Rommel's entire tank group and a decisive turning point in the African campaign. Having twice more tanks than the enemy, the British failed to carry out their grandiose plan. Rommel maneuvered his tank formations, regrouped the scattered units and threw them into battle again, preventing the British from achieving a decisive advantage. Nevertheless, the Italo-German troops had to retreat further and further. In May 1942, Rommel decided to launch a powerful counterattack with all available forces, despite the lack of fuel and ammunition. The British command had approximately 900 tanks, which meant an almost threefold superiority over Rommel's advancing troops. Nevertheless, success initially accompanied Germany. Only at El Alamein was the German offensive decisively stopped. The German losses were enormous, Rommel had only about 50 tanks left, but despite the critical supply situation, the Germans still resisted long time. The British force in Africa was constantly growing, while German reserves were drying up, there were no reinforcements, and supplies were terrible. The number of tanks the British had by the end of the African campaign, which ended with the surrender of the Italo-German troops in May 1943, had already exceeded a thousand, while Germany, shackled by the war against the USSR, could not help the African corps in any way.
Tank production in England during the war
The rate of tank production in the pre-war years in England was very low. In many sources, this is sometimes explained by the fact that in the British War Ministry there were many opponents of the development of tank forces. Some officials considered the development of tanks a waste of the budget. As a result, the British nevertheless came to the conclusion that it was necessary to produce tanks of two different options- infantry and cruising. By 1938, the British industry, according to the plan, was to produce over 600 cruiser and about 370 infantry tanks. However, it was actually possible to produce thirty cruisingand sixty infantry tanks, which was simply incredibly small considering the approaching war. A year later, the British replenished their tank fleet with just over 300 combat vehicles different types. And yet this was catastrophically not enough. Britain faced the war without even a thousand tanks. In addition, most of the available tanks were light. For almost the entire war, the British made tanks that were quite unsuccessful, both in terms of design and reliability. At the final stage of the war, the main enemy of the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition, Germany, already had such a serious superiority in tanks over Britain that it was not possible to name an English tank that could compare in combat value with the German Tigers or Panthers. During the war years, British industry produced 24 thousand tanks and approximately 4 thousand self-propelled guns. In the production of self-propelled guns and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, the chassis of outdated tanks was often used. Many British tanks