British Tanks

A brief introduction to the history of British tanks:

British Naval tradition provided the platform for British tank design; in 1915, as the British “Landships Committee” combined armor, armament and motorized vehicle technology to create the “tank.” The September 15, 1916, “Battle of Fleurs-Courcelette” saw the first British “rhomboid” Mark I tank, designed for WWI trenches, in combat. British commanders were disappointed that only a few UK tanks advanced across “no-man’s-land;” and it did not lead to a general army breakthrough. The 28.4 tonnes Mark I tanks (88 mm armour) projected two naval 6-pounder guns out side sponsons and reached top speeds of 6 km/h. Pitfalls included inadequate ventilation (temperatures reached 50 Degrees Celsius), difficult steering and slow speeds.

The first “tank versus tank” battle raged on April 24, 1918, between three British Mark IVs and three German A7s at Villers-Bretonneux, France. The Germans took the village, but were repulsed by an Australian counter-attack. The UK WWI tank record was incomplete due to limited deployment, mechanical problems and lack of mobility.

Eventually, the UK grouped tanks into categories based on function: “Cruisers / Light Tanks (faster, less armour, less armament); Infantry Tanks (slower, heavier armour); Main Battle Tanks (medium armour, medium armament) and Heavy Tanks (heavy armour, heavy armament).

British Mark V and Whippet Tanks were used in the Russian Civil War - fascines were used to fill in trenches, allowing for a more upright construction design. The 5 tonnes British Mark II through V “light tanks” (1929 to 1936) had Vickers machine guns and reached top speeds of 50 km/h.

The WWII German “Blitzkrieg,” revolutionised tank warfare using massed tanks, leading infantry over vast swaths of territory. UK tank designers responded with mobile “cruiser tanks,” such as the Convenanter, Cromwell and Crusader; UK military tradition - hearkening back to the days of the Spanish Armada - favored mobility. The Convenanter had engine cooling problems. The Cromwell shed her track. The Crusader also had mechanical problems, but proved useful when the British Eighth Army used 1230 of her tanks, (top speeds of 43 km/h and an upgraded 6-pounder gun) with infantry at El Alamein, Egypt, to overwhelm 210 German-Italian tanks and infantry. WWII revealed tank superiority in wide open terrain.

The slow Matilda infantry tank could only reach top speeds of 24 km/h and had steering problems. She was replaced by the Valentine, which suffered from a cramped interior. The 38.5 tonnes Churchill had upgraded 6-pounder guns to better match German tank weaponry.

Then during the Cold War, the UK developed “main battle tanks,” - such as the 33 tonne Comet (77 mm High Velocity gun, 102 mm armour and top speeds of 50 km/h) and the Centurian, whose Czechoslovakian ZB-53 machine gun, was an example of shared technology - to combat Soviet aggression.

British tank designers had many failures, including the TOG prototype’s electro-mechanical problems. And although the 66 tonnes British Conqueror “heavy tank” had good handling and 178 mm armour - it was unreliable and never used in combat.

The Vickers Company (1828 to 2004) first demonstrated her skills in tank design with the Matilda and Valentine. After 1998, Vickers produced the Challenger 2 tanks with Chobham ceramic vehicle armour and top speeds of 59 km/h. Its inadequate air filter system allowed ingested sand and dust to damage the engine. Again, UK ingenuity was called upon to upgrade technology to solve mechanical problems.