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Cruiser Tank Mk I (A9)

1938 WORLD WAR 2

History of Cruiser Tank Mk I (A9)

Tank, Cruiser, Mk I (A9) is the first in a series of "cruiser" tanks of the British Army and Commonwealth Army, by "marking". The cruiser tank originated from a British interwar doctrine that required two types of tanks - cruiser tanks and infantry tanks - to work together to produce a "one-two" combat shock. Infantry tanks were designed to be heavier, able to break through enemy lines and support infantry operations. Cruiser tanks would then be sent to exploit the resulting gap and attack enemy positions from the more vulnerable flanks or rear.

During World War II, Britain built a series of "cruiser" tanks, as well as a steady stream of infantry tanks - the Churchill Heavy Tank is probably the most famous of the latter.

The British company Vickers-Armstrong, led by Sir John Carden, began work on a new medium-range main battle tank, model "A9". This was the traditional approach to tank design standards at the time, with a thin track system, rear-mounted engines (based on the car variety), cannon armament further supported by a defensive machine gun and a mobile turret. A key feature of the layout was the use of two smaller turrets to house the machine gunsa multi-turret design approach that proved popular with other designs between the two world wars, but ultimately proved to be of questionable tactical value in the field. Much was learned during the development of previous British tank trials, and these qualities were collected and implemented throughout the Vickers proposal.

As the situation in Europe deteriorated, the firepower of the British army was now greatly valued.

The A9 - officially known as "Cruiser Tank Mk I" - was the first British designed tank with its main armament displayed in a centrally positioned movable turret. This allows tanker crews to unhindered fire arcs from vehicles without having to point the entire tank at the enemy.

The armament used the then effective British QF 2-pdr main gun, which was capable of defeating most of the armour available at the time. The A9 was ultimately a promising proposition, but its design contained important inherent limitations that would prevent it from succeeding on the battlefield later on.

The 12-ton Mark tank is equipped with a conventional track system with six wheels on one track. Notably, the first and last wheels are larger in diameter than the four inner pairs. The drive sprocket is mounted on the rear of the design and the chain idler is mounted on the front.

Three track return rollers are mounted on top of the track span for easy movement. Suspension is achieved with a triple-spring bogie for reasonable off-road maneuverability. The slope of the glacis board is good, although it is flat during implementation.

The driver sits at the very forward part of the hull, visible through a rotatable slotted panel that protrudes from a protruding position. Two small turrets spanned this position and mounted a single machine gun. Behind the tower was a short hull superstructure that formed the fighting compartment. The turret is attached to the roof of the superstructure, which houses the main armament and another machine gun for anti-infantry purposes. The storage box is mounted on the side of the vehicle.

The engine was installed in a compartment in the stern. The standard operator of the Mark I consists of a driver seated in the front center hull, the tank commander, the gunner, an ammunition handler and two machine gunners - these two sit on either side of the driver, Commonly participate in the compartments of a single combat hull.

Armor protection is only 6mm to 14mm thick on various panels of the vehicle.

The car was armed with a 40mm gun (QF 2-pdr) - although sufficient for combat in the early 1930s - it was completely surpassed by the middle of the war - especially considering the number of German armor of this period increase. Nonetheless, the cannon was mounted on a movable turret and operated by a dedicated gunner. 100 projectiles with 40mm ammunition can be transported on board. Coaxial installation.

A 303 caliber Vickers machine gun was added next to the main gun, also operated by the gunner. Unique to the design of the Mark I tank is the use of two add-ons. 303 Vickers Machine Gun Mounts - These are mounted on the driver's position on either side of the forward fuselage - albeit smaller - turret turrets.

Since these positions are standard equipment for the Mark I design, the tank requires two dedicated machine gunners as part of the standard operator (compared to 3 to 5 on other standard wartime main battle tanks). About 3000 rounds.

303 rounds of ammunition were carried to cover the supply of all three machine guns.

The Mark I tank is powered by a 150 hp AEC 179 series 6-cylinder petrol engine. The engine was originally based on an off-the-shelf Rolls-Royce engine variety, although this proved to be lacking in the weight and expected capabilities of the design. The AEC is another commercial engine, albeit from a more powerful source, and is used to power UK buses on the civilian market. Its rear position also puts it in the more vulnerable rear of the tank, although it is farther away from the front of the vehicle, an area expected to be hit by enemy fire.

Top road speeds in ideal conditions are up to 25 mph and range is about 150 miles.

Production of the Mark I cruiser tank began in 1936 and continued until 1941, with only 125 eventually produced - all built by Vickers. At this point, the British Expeditionary Force engaged in an all-out war against the might of the German army in the European Union of Allied Powers. The design of the Mark 1 has evolved into the Mark I CS - a close-range auxiliary tracked vehicle fitted with a large caliber 94mm L15 howitzer, while retaining the original chassis, engine and airframe.

Both Mark I models were used in early combat operations until advances in German armor inevitably rendered them obsolete on the battlefield.

Like most reckless tracked armoured vehicles deployed early in the war, the Mark I was initially successful, proving to be agile and relatively fast, while its main gun armament was effective against German and Italian armoured products. The Mark 1 saw vital combat action on the French and Greek fronts as the Allies tried to stop the Axis advance. Extended combat operations also included appearances in the North African desert campaign, where it proved effective against the early light Panzer II and medium Panzer III and Panzer IV under the command of the legendary German General Irving Rommel and his Afrika Korps.

These actions also demonstrate the value and excellent design of the British 40mm QF-2 pdr gun as an anti-tank/anti-tank weapon.

However, things changed as better armored Panzer IVs began to debut, so Mark I's days were officially numbered. The Mark I itself lacked much in the inherent armor protection of German artillery, and its many vertical fairings did little to deflect incoming projectiles.

It lacked light armor against large-caliber ammunition, and the vertical panels of the main turret, cab and machine gun turret acted as "shooting traps" for direct hits by incoming enemy projectiles.

The British tried to solve some of the problems with their Mk Is by developing the "Cruiser Tank Mk II". This type increases the tank's survivability by bolting panels over the Mk I's existing armor panels, allowing for heavier armor protection. The new tank retains the turret 40mm main gun armament, but does away with the twin turrets in the front hull. In its place a single .303 Vickers/BESA machine gun has been moved to the right. Drive is again provided by an AEC 6-cylinder petrol engine.

However, the extra armor significantly reduced road performance - from the original 25 mph to 16 mph. Needless to say, at this point in the war, the Mark II wasn't particularly good in combat.

The Mark I itself was withdrawn from front-line service by the British Army as early as 1941. However, some of their base parts were still in use in the upcoming Valentine Infantry Tank, which entered service in 1940, so it wasn't lost.