2 Cover illusfrot ion .- Drawn by George Bradford. Di eppe , August 19, 1942, sow the ill fated action of the 'Churchi ll' tank. Twenty-eight 'Churchi...
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Cove r illusfrot ion .- Drawn by George Bradford. Di eppe , August 19, 1942, sow the ill fated action of the 'Churchi ll' tank. Twenty -e ight 'Churchills' of the 14th Canadi an Army Armoured regiment (Ca lgary regiment) managed to land from th e ten tank landi ng craft of the orig ina l twenty four sent on the raid. 0 t th e tanks landed only six managed to get off th e beach and over th e sec-wal!. Two of these were forced to return to the beach late r as all their ammunition was spent ,.but by the end of the day all the tanks were knocked out. Despit e t he socrific ies of their crews th ey go ined very little respite for the troops pinned down by heavy Ger ma n tire. One of th e unfortunate side effects of thi s ra id was that the Germans were able to recover and fully test seve ral vehicles incl ud ing a Mk III with the new six pounder gun.
ABOVE: A Churchill Mk 1 land ing from a tank landing craft during exercises prior to the Dieppe raid . position. (Imperial War Museum Photo)
BELLONA PRINTS
Note the 3 inch Howitzer in the hu ll
SERIES 19,No.73 (UK)
INFANTRY TANK Mk. IV (A.22) CHURCH ILL Mk .1 & Mk .1. CS, Mk." & MU I. CS - 1940/42 The Autumn of 1939 sow the authorit ies preoccupied with the probl e m of providing a su itabl e tank to overcom e the maj or obs tacles on the Wes tern Front. In Sept. the A. 20 was designed as 0 'shelled area tonk'. Two alternatives were considered , the A. 20 design e nvisag ed the re-design of th e Infantry Tonk Mk.1 (A.II) (Bell ona Prints Series 16.No.64 UK) ma k ing it longer, to improve it's trench crossing capability a nd to allow the mounting of 0 6 -pdr. (Th e second alternative led to the TOG tank , designed by the Special Vehicle Deve lopment Commitee) . In November the chi ef Superintendent of Design at Woolwich invi ted Ha rl and and Wolff, to produce designs to the A.20 spec ification. 1940 four p ilots were o"rdered and the fo ll owing month o n init io l production orde r for 100 veh ic les was placed.
In February,
Two pilots were produced , the firs t in hull fo rm on ly being ready in June 1940. Th e des igned we igh t of 37.5 tons had increas ed to 43 tons and as the new 6-pdr. was for from reody, the 2-pdr hod to be mounted. Maximum armour was 80 mm. The d es ign' never got very for for the alternative engines that we re considered, Harland & Wolff!s 300 hp diesel, leyland! s 340 hp flat 12 super charged diesel and Meadows' DAV fl a t 12 goso line engine commisioned by the Mechanisation Board early in 7939, were all found to be unsuitab le, mainl y through lock of development , so Va uxhall '5 bedford 'Twin- Six ' was used. Th e first p i lot, A 20. E 1 was sent to Vauxha ll Motors so that they might assess the vehicle as the basis of a new design, the A. 22. projected development of the A. 20)
(A.21 was a
After Dunki rk wit h possibi lity of invasio n, the Tonk Boord a pproved th e new sp-ecif ica ti o n A.22 and produc tion was required wi thin a yeor.
Vauxhall's di d on o utstanding job a nd hod the pil ot model running on 12th Dec. 1940. The first 14 produc tion veh icl es were de li vered by th e end
of J une and 0 fur ther 400 were availoble by the Autumn . At this ti me, however, the Batt le of Britain was over and Hitler hod attocked Russia so
the threat of invasion had receded for the time at any rote. The 'Churchill' as it was now officia ll y known (Formerly designoted Infontry Tank Mk.IV)
was now considered For possible use in on oversea s offensi v e role a nd modificat ions were introduced to make it suitable for such operations. In th e
winter of 1941 a re-work programme began on some of the model s.
The Churchill was shorter than th e A.20 and had only 11 bogi e whee ls each side instead of 14, and was built on a 3J in . (89 mm) armour basi s. The vehicle was powered by a Bedfo rd !Twin- Six ! engine giving a top speed of 17 mph. This was the fi rst prod uction tank to be fitted with the new Merritt-Brown gearbox which had been tried experi mentall y on the A.16 and A. 20 pi lots. Dr. H. E. Merri tt, a bri Il iont engineer, und ertook an investigation into the design of tank tra nsmissions for the Dept. of Tonk Design at Woo lwich in 1937. Mo j. W.G.Wi lsan, well known for his suc.c.e:.sfu l work on ep icyclic cl utch ond brake transmi ss io n o f the 19 18 Mark IV Tonk and th e geared s te ering For th e Mark V III , continued with his deve lopment and produced. transmissions for the A.6, A.I I ond A. 14 exper imenta l pi lots. Whi le very success fu l , Wilson's tended to be cumbersome and difficult to mass produce. With War imminent, it became imperative to produce 0 transmission which cou ld be manufactured cheaply and quickly. Dr.Merritt therefore set a bout designing a transmission that would meet thes e requirements and revived Wilson's double differential principl es. One transmission of this type was tried on the A.16 experi men tal Heavy Cruiser. From this evolved the Merritt-Brown tripl e differential transmi ssion, which was first tested on the A.20 and put int o production for the Churchill . The Merritt-Brown sys tem of controlled differential steering, has a cha nge speed mechani sm and two epicycli c steering unit s and a differential incorporated in one gearbox. Thi s simplified form of controlled differential works'on the pr inciple of app ly ing a light brake, absorb ing little e nergy, which diverts the powe r from the e ngi ne into one or o ther of t he tracks, thereby steeri ng it . Dovid Brown & Sons were responsib le fo r th e bui Id ing at the test equipme nt , deve lopment, gearboxes, and fina ll y manufacture. At fir st the re were numerous fau lt s a nd brea kdow ns, especia ll y wit h the ea rli e r Churchill's a s wos to be expected from a necessaril y hurried design . 80 th the vehic le and the transmission eventuall y proved to be very reliabl e, the latter becoming the stondard transmission in all subsequen tl y desi gned tanks.
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Drawn by A. J.GOOCH
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CHURCHILL Mk I
INFANTRY Mk IV (A 22)
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Armament is the mai n difference betwee n the Marks I and /I and can be identified os fo ll ows:
Mk. 1 Turre t: 2-Pdr.gun/co-ax. Sese ... Hull: 3 in. How.
Mk. ICS Turret: 3 in.How/co-ax. Besa ... Hull: 3 in, How.
Mk. 11 Turret: 2-pd r.gun/ca-ox.Beso .. Hull : Be ~a MG
Mk.11 CS Turr e t: 3 in. How/ca- ax .Besa.Hull: 2-pdr.gun
The Churchill was first used in action in the raid on Dieppe in August 1942 by the 14th Canadian Army Tonk Regiment (Colgary Regiment) and it is
fitting, thot wha t is probably the only surviving Mk.1 Churchill tank, should b e on display in Canada, at the Wo rthington Pork Tonk Museum,
Camp Borden , Ontario .
Th e drawing illustrates the earl iest type of church ill 's most of wh ich were la ter re-warked and fitted with trockguards, new air inlet louvres
and variati ons in stowa ge.
The early vehicl es wer e fitted (as shown) with Heavy Cast Steel tra ck having a pitch of 8.5/16 in. and 70 shoes . With thi s track the idler whee ls
were fitted with rubber tyres. Loter vehicles hod a light Cast Stee l track, of different paHern and 7 . 96 in. pitc h , with 72 shoes. later sti ll, an
almost identical pattern Manganese Stee l Track, was introduced, and continued through the who le seri es of Churchill tanks.
Th e A.20.E I pilot bui lt by Harland & Wo lff , delivered to Vauxha ll Motors in Apr i l 1941 eventually reoched the Mec hanization Experimental
Establishment cnd given the MEE number 1754.
Pilots of the Chu rch ill were built in mi ld steel, presumably as production excersises, as fo ll ows:
T 15129 Mk.11 Pilot built by Vauxhall Motors. T 15130 Mk II Pilot bui lt by Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage Wogo n Co.
T 15 13 1 Mk. 1I Pilot built by Birmingham Ra il way Carri oge &. Wagon Co. T 152 14 Mk I Pil ot built by Harland &. Wo lff.
Production of th e Churchill was carried out by a group of e leven firms of which Vauxhall Motors wer e the Production 'Parents' and the quantities
of Mk. I and Mk.1I vehicles built by the groups firm s are listed below.
Vauxhall Motors (VM) Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. (BRCW) Beyer, Peacoc k Broom & Wade Dennis Bros. Gloucester Rai Iway Ca rriage &. \l10gon Co . Har land & Wolff Leyland Motors Me tropo lito n- Comme ll Carr ioge &. Wagon Co. (Metro-Commell) N ew ton Chambers Charles Roberls
Mk
Mk.1I
79 38
191 90
8
106 130
41 28 30 8 54 12
81 81 66 117 128 125 12
5
1127
303
The first produ c ti on veh ic le T 30971 was built of mild steel and was delivered to the MEE and given their number 1793. Techni ca l Specification for Infa ntry Tonk Mk./V (A.22), Chu rc hi ll Mk. I, ICS/ II , II .CS Crew: 5.
Weight, Combat Loaded: 862400 Ibs. 38.5 Long tons, 43.12 Short tons , 37.88 Tonnes.
A,momen t - ':,e'n,
Performance
Trave~se:
Speed, "'lox. Road, Ford;ng dept h ,
17 m.p.h(27.2 Km.p.h.)
3' 0 " (9 1. 44 e m)
Trenc h crossing:
12' 0" {36S.76 cm}
Step,
4' 0" (121.92 em)
Min. Turning circl e. Skid.
Ground pressure: 13.06 Ibs/sq . ins (.9 18 Kg/sq.cm) Range (inte rnal fuel) Road: 127 Miles (203.2 Km) Power to weight ra ti o: Gross 8.45 HP/ ton. Dimen!.ions Leng th avera II: Width ov erall:
24' 5" (744.2 em) 10' 8" (325.12 em)
Elevotion:
1 x OQF 2-Pd, Mk IX-XA (40 mm) 1/50
. x OQF 3 in. Howitzer Mk ! (76.2 mm) l/26 (Hu ll mounted)
360 deg rees . Operation: Electric.
p lus 20 d egrees, minus 15 degrees (2 pdr)
Secondary a rmament: Co - Ax 7.92 mm BES A MG (s ee text)
1 .303 8,en MG (M)
J 2 in. Bomb thrower.
Stowage Ammu nit ion, main armament: 2 pd:' . 150 rds. 3 in. How. 58 rds.
Ammuniti on , secondary ormament: 4950 rds.
Internal Fuel copoc; ty:
150 Imp.gals. 187.5 U.S.gals . 681.89 Utrcs.
Aux. Fuel capa city:
32} Imp.gols.
8' 2" (248.92 em)
Armour
Ground c learance:
l ' 8" ( 50.8 cm )
Type:
Fi,e he;ght of gun,
6 ' 2" (187.96 em)
Hu" , Nose uppec:
3.492 " ( 89 mm)
Tu rret ring dio: 4 ' l ol" (i47. 96 em) Road wheel dia (Running) 10"( 25.4 cm)
- - Glacis plate: Drivers plate:
1.488" (38 mm) at 70 degrees.
3.972" (101 mm) a t 0 degre es.
Trockwo rk
S;des ,
2.988" ( 76 mm) at 0 deg,ees.
He;ght,
Rea r, upper:
Centres: Leng th o n ground:
W;d th,
7'2 :~ " (219.71 em)
12' 6" (38 1.0 cm)
1'10"( 55.88 em)
Type:
Spudded, Double Rai I Section.
Mechanical Detai Is Engin e: Bedford 'Twin-Six' 12 cyli nder Horizontally opposed, side
va lve, normally aspirated gasoline, spark ignition, li quid coo led
compression ratio 5.5:1 350 bhp deve loped 012200 rpm.
Bore 127 mm x 139.7 mm stroke 5" x 5~" - 21,237 cc(1529 cu in)
Transmission: 18" SPD Clutch, Merritt- Brown "H4 Gear steering box
4F&lR ' peed . Steering: Suspension:
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Rive ted ro ll ed st eel pl a tes.
Controlled Differential. 11 independently sprung bogies eac h side.
Deek;ng, Be lly, Turret. --Front: Sides:
2.508" ( 64 mm) at 0 degre es.
0.588-0.744"(15- 19 mm) at 90 deg,ees.
0.744" (19 mm) a t 90 deg,e.,.
Co~t
Armour.
3.492" (89 mm) at 0 deg,eos. 3 .492" (89 mm) a t 0 deg,ees.
NOTE: British Standard Angles:
0 degrees 90 degrees
Vertical Horizo ntal
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VICKERS MAIN BATTLE TANK SCALE
1 ,
VIJAYANTA
1:;6 (4 mm to Hoot) Drawn by A. J. GOO(H
SERIES 19. No. 74 (UK)
BELLONA PRINTS VICKERS MAIN BATTLE TAN K 'VIJAYANTA' - 1963
With Vickers ' post record of successfu l commercia l to nk bvildin!:J il is rittin~ thot their lo tesi· pri vate venture, the Vickers Moin Battle Tonk. should hove evolved fro m on enqu iry from one of their previous customers, the Government of Indio, who wonted a medium baltle tonk in the 35-40 ton closs. In 1960 Indio asked for a tonk with good mobility, firepower, and performance, as they wished to replace the 20-pdr. gun armed Centurions ~n their armoured units. ment.
For Indi o to be able to und er tak e manufacture of th ~ ve hicles themselv es, was a significant port of the require
To fulfil this specification, Vickers engineers selected the main assemblies from those teadily available ortd we ll proven.
The Bri~ish 105 mm High Ve locity gun was the obvious choice ~ o ensure good firepower . Thi s g un was a lready in use in the loter Marks of
Centurion as we ll as ot her N ATO countries' Bottle Tanks and uses s tandardized ammuni t io n . A ranging machine-gun fire control system is used,
simi lor to that tried on later Marks of Centurion, ond incorporated as standard equipment on Chieftan .
Good mobility and performance was ensured by the adoption of the some engi ne, gearbox, steer ing system and brakes as the Chiefton.
The suspension system was developed from the FV .300 series of vehic les which comprised 0 75 mm gun ormed light cruiser tonk and a 25 pdr. S. P.
gun on a 25 mm armour bosis. These vehicles were designed around 1950, weighed about 26 tons and were powered with a Meteorite engine and
TN.IO self-c hanging gearbox. The requirement was superseded and the project dropped. A tew pilot models only wer e produced, and triols
were ca rried out mainly for the torsion bar suspension, which proved very sut:cessfu l. Vickers then adopted this suspension and added another
stati o n 10 allow for the additional weight.
Th e fank has swim capabi li ty, wi th the erection of a reinforced nylon flotation screen carried permanently on the veh icle. Swingfire onti-tank
missiles con be fitted.
The con tract was placed in August 1961 and the pilot model first ran in February 1963. Th e second pilot carri ed out acceptance trial s in September.,
by th e Government of Indi a Acceptance Team.
Botch production started in the U.K. in 1964 and the Avadi factory wos set up in Indio fa r large scale preduction. lock of heavy foundry facilities
in Indio precluded the choice of a cost turret. In the Summer of 1965 th e Ind ian Government announced that production of these vehic les would
sta rt by t he e nd of thot year. At first 40% 01 the components would be imported from the U . K. so tha t work cou ld be started, la ter they wou ld
gradually be able to undertake manufacture of all componen ts .
The Vickers Battle Tank is fa become the Indian Army's standard Batlle Tonk a nd as such has been named 'Vijoyonta' (Freedom).
A sample of the Vickers tank has been used for trio Is at the FVDRE and was on static display at ~he FVRDE Open Day in October 1966. T h~ lorward comportment is divided to torm the Drivers compartment on the right, and stowage of moin armament ammunition to the left. The r€Or at the Drivers comportment opens in to the Fi g ht ing Comportment in the centre at the vehic le wh ich accornodates the Commander, Gunner and loa der. The rea r Compartment houses the eng ine power pock, auxiliary engine, fue l tanks and transmiss io n . Th e'engi ne is a Ley land 1.60 Mk 48 six cy linder opposed piston type mounted lon gitudinall y in the Rear Compartmenl. Power from the engine is transmitted through a clutch to the TN. 12 gearbox which incorporates two steering units of the MeriH¥controlled differenti a l type. From each steering unit the drive passes to the double reduction gear final drive and through 013 tooth twin ring driving sprocket to th e tra c k.
The vehicle has a single skin oil-we lded hull divided inte three moin comportments by transverse bulkheads.
The hull is supported on twelve suspension units, six ooc h side of the vehicle. Each axle arm is independently pivoted to a steel torsion bar and carries a double 30 inch diameter pressed steel rubber tyred rood wheel on a stub axle. Secondary torsion bars and hydraulic double-acting telescopic shock absorbers ore mounted at stations I . 2 and 6. The e lectric power operated turret contains the main armament and auxilliory weapons. Elevotion by power opera ted rock and pinion is stabilised and the turret in azimu th by meons of a gyro metodyne. Th e Commander is provided with a v ision cupola, in the turret root ,which can be traversed by gear or hand. A single circulor door is provided tor ocess. The vision cupolo contains six episcopes , one periscopic binocular, and one peri scopic Sigh t for all-round vision. The Gunner is provided wiTh a periscop ic sight and the lc~der with a per iscope. Technical Specification for Vickers Main Battle Tonk 'Vijayanta' Transm ission TN. 12 combined Wi Ison epieyc lic gear change and Crew : and Steer ; :~J Merritt con trolled Differential ste ering 6 F and Weight, Combat looded: 89285 lbs. 39.85 long tons. 2 R speeds . 44.64 Shor t tons. 40.5 Tonn~s. SI,; ~ pens i o n : Six units per side each con trolled by a trailing arm and Performanc e torsio n ba r , \'li th seconda ry torsion bars and hydraulic te les cop ic doub le-acting shock absorbers on stations Speed, Mox. Rood, 30 m.p.h. (4S.2S Km.p.h.) 1,2 and6 . Max.Gradi ent: 30 degr ees. Armament Unprepar ed Fording depth: 3' 9" (114.3 cm)
Trench crossing: 8' 0" (243,8 cm) Step, 3' 0" ( 91.4 em) Ground pressure: 13 .54 Lhs/sq.ins (0 . 95 Kg/sq.cm) Range{internal fue l) Rood: 220 M il es (354 Km) Power to weight ratio: 13.42 HP/lon
Dimensi ons Length overall: gun forward, Length, vehicle. Width overall: Height: turret roof plate. Ground clearonce: Fire height of gun: Turret ring 'dia: Road wheel dia (overall) Trackwork
Main: I x 105 mm l/7 A. I
Ca libre, and le ngth in ca libres: 105 mm (4.128 ins) V51.
Troverse: 360 degrees . Operotion: Elec tri c
Elevation: plus 20 degrees, minus 7 degrees
Seconda ry armament; .30" Browning GPMG 2 - 6 barrel smoke 8 "enode dischorgers.
32' l~" (978.5 cm) 24' 9Z " (756.3 em) 10'4~ " (316.8 cm) 8' 0" (243 .8 em) l' 4" ( 40.63 e m) 6' 5" (195.6 cm) 6' 7~" (201.9 cm) 2' 6" ( 76.2 cm)
Centres: 8' 3l·" Length on ground: 13'4~ " W;dth, I'S}" P;teh , 6" Number of links per track: 96. Type: Manganese steel, webbed Dry pin. Mechanical De tails
Ammunition: main armoment: 44 rds . Ammunition, Secondary armament: 3000 rds . 600 rds. Ammunition, RMG Int ernal Fuel copaci ty:
(253.4 cm) (40a.3 cm) (52.0em) ( 15.2 em) and spudded, removable rubber pads,
Leyl and L60 Mk.4 B Scovenge Blown, Six cylinder vert ical in-line, opposed pis ton, Direct injection, two s troke compression ignition, multifue l operation. Bore x stroke: 4.625 in x 5.75 in -· 11 60c u.in . (117.48mmx 146.1 mm;.... 19000 ee) 16.0:1 compression ratio, 535 BHP @.: 2375rpm.
6
NOTE: British Standor d Angles:
o d egrees 90 degrees
220 Imp. ga l,. 264. U.S. gols.
999.5 litres. Armour
~.
Vertical Horiz-ontal
Type: Welded roll ed stee l plates. Hull, Nose lower: 3.144" (80 mm) ot 35 degrees. - Glacis plate: 2.352" (60 mm) 0158:1, degrees. Drivers plate: 0.984" (25 mm) at 90 degrees. S;de" 1 . 176" (30 mm) o t 0 degree,. Rear, 0.780" (20 mm) ot 5 degree,. Decking: 0.984" (25 mm) at 90 degrees. Engine covers: Belly, 0.660" (17 mm) o t 90 degrees. Turret. 3.144" (SO mm) ot 16 degrees. Front: 2.352" (60 mm) at 15 degree,. Sides: Front: 1. 572" (40 mm) ot 15 degrees. Mid: Rear: 1.572" (40 mm) ot 15 degrees. Reor, 1.572" (40 mm) at 11 degrees. 0.984" (25 mm) ot 76 degrees. Roof,
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BELLONA PRINTS
HEAVY TANK Mh - 1940/41
SERIES 19 , No.75 (US)
With the outbreak of hosti liti es in Europ e in September 1939 engineering st udies ot tonks capabl e of withs tanding pro jectiles from current anti-lank guns, were commenced in Amer ica. Prior to this, tonk development hod been bosed on the prin cip le of giving protection against hand carried weapons onl y. As it hod been established, that fon ks , impervious 10 sma ll arms fir e, travelling rapid ly, and used in quontily, stood the best chance of a successful attack. It was already fully realised that 3" (76 mm) armour basis would be necessary as protec tion against anti-tonk guns, the we igh t of such heav il y ormoured veh icl es being previously inadmissable. On ma in trunk roads in America, bridges were only designed to safely carry 23 short tons , as were the Engineers heavy pontoon bridges, ond ,' he Medium M2 {Bellona Print Series 17, No.67 (US) wos already near this limit. In May 1940 the Chief of In fantry recommended that a requiremen~, for a heavy tonk, be established. Two closses of vehicles were suggested. The first of thes e was to have the dimensions of the Medium W, but with a 3" armour basis and '.".'eighing 50 short tons. This wos to have a hul! mounted 75 mm gun and a turret mounted 37/5('1 mm connon. With th inner armour thi s recommendat ion become the basis for the Medium M3 (Be llona Prints Series 15, No.57 (US). Th e second clo ss was to weigh not more than 80 short tons c nd to be similarly armed bu t wi th the addition of eight m.g's. The recommendations were approved in July 1940 and called for a Tonk weighing 50 Short tons. with armour of 3 11 , 2 ~ J' and 1" thick, and it was to altain a speed of 20/25 mph. Armament was to consist of two 75 mm gun~ in twin turrets with two secondary turrets, one mou nti ng a 37 mm gun and co-axial .30 cal mg, and the oth er a 20 mm gun ond co-axial .30 cal. All turrets were to have power traverse and for bo ll moun ted .30 co l m.g.s were to be provided, one at each corner of the hull. This vehicle was to be designated Heavy Tank Tl. A design and deve lopmen t contract
was placed with the Boldwin Locomotive Works.
By October 1940 the design hod been simplified. Only one tu rret '....os to be incorpora ted, mounting a modified 3" anti aircraft gun T9, together
with a 37 mm gun M5 E J, these guns being stabi li sed in e levation. The turret was to have power traverse with 0 cupo la mounting a . 30 co l.m.g.
A.50 cal m.g. was to be mounted in a rotor on top of th e t urret fo r anti aircraf t use. Two .50 cal m. g .s were to be fitt ed in a dual rotor bow
mount and there were to be two Fixed forwoard fi ring .30 col m. g.s
To give the required performance a 1000 HP engine wa s ad op ted. The pil ot was to ha ve utilised hydro-mati c transmission, which wos preferred,
but in view of the problems invo.1ved in transmit ting such h igh power from the engi ne, var ious other types of transmission were developed concurr
ently. It was contemplated that the alt ernativ e transmissions could be insta lled in th e Tl hull with minor modifications.
k:. development p rogressed it wos decided that o nl y one pilot would delay development, so it '....os agreed to have a separate pilot for electric drive and this wos desig nat ed the TI E 1. The Torgue Converter drive was comp let ed firs! and wh en fitted 10 the original pilot t(lis wa s re-desi gnated T 1 E2. The Hydro-motic transmission was comp leted soon after, but in view of the successfu l resu lts obta ined with the Torque Conve rto r it was never install ed. The T 1 project was can ce lled in June 1942. Heavy Tonk T I E2 was officially presented to the Ordnance Deportment the day after -he Japanese, Pearl Harbour arrack on the 7th December 194 1 Du e to lock of experience wi th the multitude of engineering problems involved in producing such Q heavy veh icle, a large number of faults qui ckly become appa rent. These hod to be rectifi ed, necessitating a number of c hanges. By Apr il 1942 it wa~ felt that enough of these problems hod been sol ved to recommend sta ndardisation as the Heavy Tonk M6, which Vias approved. A 'Simi lor vehicle, but with a weld€ d , instead of cast hull, had been considered in February and designated TIE 3, this wos standardised as the M6 A I at the some time. Appropriations for a total of 1084 Heavy Tonks had been provided, but in view of the successfu l development of the Medium M4, with comparab le armour protection, this wos cut to 115. The controct with Baldwin Locomotive Works covered produc tion of 50 vehicles which hod become the M6, so th e balance of 65 vehicles were ordered as M6 A I, The total quantity of Heavy Tonks ollowed Was doubled 10 230 in June 1942 to allow for J 15 vehicles for Britoin. The pilot TIE 1, with electrical transmission, ran for th e first lime on 1st April 1942, and all tests thereafter, showed electric drive to be superior for thi s c loss o f vehic le. It was therefore decided that the balance of 115 vehicles be produced a t TIE 1 for the U. S. Army. Recommendations thot th ese vehicles be standardi sed as the M6A2 were never ap prov ed . Early in December 1942 the commanding General Armoured Fo rce stated that 'Due to it's tremendous weight and limited tactjcal use there is no requirement for the heavy tonk' and it was agreed to terminate product jon at 40 vehic les not including the pilot T' E2 consisting of 8 M6, 12 M6 A I,
ond20TIEI. Th e production vehic les M6 embodied 0 number of changes to the p i lot, the most noticeable bei ng the redesigned turret with no cupola and no .50 cal rotor mount. Extensive tests were carried out on a number of the heavy tanks produced, proving thot th ey wou ld not have been satisfactory fighting vehicles. Mechanical principles learned in the development and testing of thes e tanks, however, were applied to OTher vehicles, re'Sulting in improvements in bo th li gh t and med iu m tanks and lead ir.g to the development of the T20 series. Heavy tonk M6 series were classified as obso lete in Dec ember 1944, Technical Specification for Heavy Tonk M 6 6. Crew: Weight/ Combot loaded:
Engine:
126,500 lbs. 56.5 long tons. 63.25 Short tons. 57.38 Tonn es .
Performance
Speed, Max. Rood, Max.Gradient:
22 m.p.h. (35.4 Km.p.h.) 31 degrees . (60 %)
Focd;ng depth,
4 ' 0 " (122 em)
5' 9" (17S em) l' 6" (45.7 em)
Cen'c." 5' 9 " (175 em) Length on ground: 15' 8" (477 em) W;dth, 2' 11" (65.4 em) P;teh , 6" (15. 2 em) Number of links per track: 99. Type: Steel Shoe, Rubber top, Rubber bushed, Double pin.
u. S.
Standard Angles:
0 degrees 90 degrees
Wright G.200 9 cylinder radial air cooled pehol 825 nett h.p. at 2,300 rpm. Twin Disk Torque Converter. Control led differential. Horizo nta l Vo lute spring,
Transmission; St eer ing : Suspension: Armament
Trench cro~~:'l9: 11 IOU (335 c mi Step: 3' 0" (9 1. 4 C ll '} Min. Turning c ircle: 74' 0 " 122.55 -:;e:res ' Ground pressure: 12.3 Ibs / sq, ·r1E 8 . 865 K;. '5-: Range(internal fue lLRood: 100 /....\· Ie-s i c i K Dimensions Length overal l: 27' 8" (843 e;n 24 ' 9" (754 em ) Length: Width overall: 10 ' 3 " (312 em) Heigh t: 10' 7" (322 e m) (to? " "- . " . I' 8} " ( 52 em ) Ground clearance: Turret ring dio: Rood wheel d;o (ovecol l) Trockwork
Mechanical Deto ils
Verti ca l. Horizontal.
Ma in: Cc li bre ,
3 " G un M 7 '- :=
a~c l e~~ ' -
Tj c .e ~ e:
26:
':"e;:; / : . _
:e-;-~~ . :":~.:.
: -:-::-:.:-.
.
--- : .'
:
~ . .; : co l Bow f ixed. 1 x .30 col A/A.
-: '-p
__
75 rds. ::;:.ma men t: 202 rds.
:--:-~- ' :
:~: : - ::-;
:".-- .' . ':-
. S: 5 , 200 rounds. Cal .30 7,500 rounds.
.. '
.6Imp.gals. 334 U.S.gals.
1264 lires.
.;..-: .. F'o ni \,, ?per ; ;\. os e lower : S'=e£, upp er : lower : skirt ing: Rear I Dec king: Engi ne covers: Be lly,
3:;:~" (82 mm) at 29 degrees. 2~" - 4" (70 - 101 mm) rounded. 2" - 2;~" (51 - 63 mm) at 0 + 20 degrees. 211 (5 1 mm) at 0 degrees. I II (25.4 mm) at 0 degree'S. 2" (51 mm) at 16 + rounded degrees. I" (25.4 mm) 1" (25.4 mm) at 83 degrees. I" (25.4 mm) at 90 degrees.
Turret
3!"
Front: Sides: Rear: Roof:
(82 mm) at
71 degrees .
3~" (82 mm ) at 0 degrees.
3!-" (82 mm) at 0 + rounded degrees. 1" (25.4 mm) at 86 +- 90 degrees.
A.M.D. PANHARD et LEVASSOR type 178 Turret APX 1935
t=J I
Turret F.L. 1 1947
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scale 'l : 76 (4mm to 1 foot) drawn by C . H. TAVARD ag
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3 ""ES
BELLONA PRINTS
SERIES 19,No.76(FR)
L' AU TOMITRA ILLEUSE PAN HARD et LEVASSO R type 178 - 1933/ 1945
As tar bock as 1899, the PANHARD and lEVASSOR company of Pa ri s appea r to hove produced a machine gun corrier. To the best of our knowledge no documentation still exists, but it is possible thot this vehic le wou ld ha ve been a standard motor cor armed w ith 0 mac hine gun on 0 suppor t Thi s was done in 1906 with a 24 HP "Torpedo", one of the vehicles bought in 1904 by the French Army on 0 gTont from the Chamber of Depu ties. Thes e machine gun corriers were still ve ry far removed from the armoured cor we now know as an Automihoij\ euse (machine gun carriers)
At the ti me of the First World War, France was equipped from 1914 onwards wi th powerful armed and armoured tour ing vehicles, of Re nau lt and Peugeot make. Atter 1915, the White vehicl e was const ructed under licence by Renault. It wos not unti l 192 1 tha t a new progra mme of st udi es for the Automitrailleuse wes launched. Subsequent ly in 1926 Panhord brought out the proto type known as the Automitroill euse o r AMD 165/ 175. II was equ ipped w ith a 20 HP mo tor wh ich deve loped 86 bhp givi ng it 0 speed of 65 KMPH (40 MPH ). It resemb led the Whi te Auto mitrailleuse and corried a turret swing ing through 360 degrees w ith two opposed mach ine guns. It was from this prototype that th ere was first derived the T. O. E- M-32 intended for Foreign operation (ie: the co lonies and overseas French territ ories of the time). Thi s vehicle had a weight of 7 tons and was driven by a water- cooled four cylind er eng ine givi ng 86 bhp. On a good rood ir wou ld go up to 92 km.p.h. (50 mph) and would reach 46 km p.h. (25 mph) in reverse. In fact, li ke the White, these machine gun carriers, had two dri vi ng positions, tront and bock permitting the ve hi c le to travel in reverse rap idly. The armament of the TOE-M-32 consisted of a 37 mm connon and a machine gun mounted in an eight sided turr et. The armauri ng varied from
12.5 mm (0.5 1") to 10 mm and 18 mm (0 . 71 "). The crew for this machine consisted of four me n . The TO E-M-32 hod a radius 01 a c ti on a t 388 ~ il ome t res. Certain mode ls were provi ded with rodio and in suc h cases h'/O most supports with hori z.onto l an tenna stretching be tween them were carr ied on the out er left side. Thi s ar rangement wa s repea ted in th e P 178. Un like the P 178 the TOE-M- 32 stiJ\ had it's motor at th e front with the radiator protected by a louvre type shield. In hei ght it \'/05 2.46 m (8 ' 8 11 ) as compared to 2.31m(7' 7 )1) of the P178. Subsequ ent to the re-armament programme of 193 1 the Panhord and Levossor Study Bureau produced, in 1933, the proto type of th e P 178, and testing began in 1934. After tho t, on order for some doz.ens VIas given by the CO'la lry who were to use it as a reconnai s:.ance Automit rai lleuse . In th e P 178, the engine was p laced a t the boc k and to th e ri ght of th e vehic le just in front of the mcin dri'l ~. The rad iator was ceM ra lly above the moi n ax le whilst the petro l to nk was a lso su spended at the bock. The gea r box V/O S p lac ed in th e centr e of the ve hicle in the ax is of the turre t from where the tra nsmission shafts extended to the d ifferenti al s of th e front and rea r a x le , g iving th e P 178 four whee l dri ve. The drive shafts were 11 cm lower tha n the act ual wheel axles to per mit ma xi mum height reduc t io n . The mov emen t transmission ·... 05 p,adu ced by a pinion terminoting each of th e shafts whic h engag ed on a cogged crown ...:hee l built into the wheel . Th e dr iver WQS position ed in th e centre-fran ; of The P 178 whereas the pe rson who c'·ove in reve rse so t with his bock to th e rood, to the left of th e motor. When in reverse, steering wes still through th e front wheels. Orig ina ll y the P 178 was equ ipped w ith an APX 3 ~ urre t fitted w ith a 25 mm an t i-tonk connon on the right and a 7.5 mm machin e gu n on the left. Vis io n wa s provided through two peri scopes o n the fron t or th e turret roof . To the right o f (he connon was an aiming sight. Some Qu thors thin k tha t origina ll y th is turret was armed w ith a short connon, it is poss ible tha t ei th er the re is some confus ion here wi th or th a t the turret of th e 10Her had been used to equip the early P 178's .
~ he
TOE··M- 32
O n th e other hand some models were armed with two mac hine guns, one of which replaced t he 25 mm ca nnon. The command vehicles were not always armed but were eq uipp ed with a radio, th e antenna being mount ed on th e right of the left mu dgua rd. The Panhard and levossor P 178's wh ich were also known as Panhard Mod e l 1935, wer e used to equip reconna issance groups of both Infantry and Cavalry. Atter ha ving token pari in the Phon ey War on th e Eastern French Fron t in 1939/40, they took on active port in the fighting during the German invasion in 1940. Atte r the defeat of the Frenc h Armies the Germans recovered many P 178's and finding them most satisfactory, pu t them into serv ic e in the ir own Army wi th or wit hou t modifica tion . They were thus to equip occupation unit s in France, whil e oth ers were se nt to Russia. About 40 were converted into railway protection veh icles by having th e ir tyres replaced with railway whee ls. These were equipped with the typical pa rasol radio antenna used by the Germans. (Be ll ona Prints, Series 12, No.45- GE) Th e Germans also mod ified the armament of th e tur ret, using cannons a nd ma chine guns of un:<; nown origin. Forty-F iv e Panhard 178's were hidd en by th e French Cavalry Corps at the time 01 the 1940 Arm istice. These unfortunate ly, were wit hout turret s. However, the underground Army decided to make turrets and so arm th e P 178's with a view to e ventually resu ming hostilities against the Germon occ upation f orces. Th e cons lruc ti on of th ese turrets wa s e ntrusted to Co lone l Mallard (now Genera l) . As he could not find a designer af Ca stres, where these turret s were to be constr uc ted, the eng ineer J. Restnay, former head of st aff , in charge of tanks, a t the Renault works, was g iven the task of designing and the n sup ervising t hei r ma nufacture. The first tu rret was fin ished at Saint Cypr ie n on the lst October 194 J and on ly one adiustm ent was necessa ry - the addition of a gun mantel. The armament WaS a 25 mm connon wi th out a flame mask, or 0 47 mm cannon. lat er th ese turrets were a lso fitt ed with a 7.5 mm ma chine gun. Th e turrets seem to have been distributed a t th e end of January 1942 and shored out among th e va ri ous units who hod th e unarmed P 178's. Unde r th e vety noses of the German members of th e AI'mistice Commission, they were token in to the Army Armistice garri ~ons at Auch, Clermont-Ferra nd, Costres, Chateo urou x L mages, Lyons Marsei ll es, Montauban, Issoise. Th ese Autom itra iil euse played little or no part in li bera ti on, since the Wehrmacht destroyed the Fr enc h Arm ist ice Forces in 1942 during the in vas ion of the terriloti es not a lready occupied. After the liberation ot Paris in August 1944, the monufacture of the Pa nha rd and le vassor 178 Automi troi rle use was resumed. The armament no longer corresponded with requirement s, and a new turret with 047 mm connon SA 35 and co - oxial 7.5 ~. r1 machin e gun hod to be designed. Contrary to th e forme r procedure, thes e turre ts ca lled the type Fl 1, we re rounded in shape, and were entir e ly in mou lded steel with a flat top apo rt from th e fr o nt part, which was sli ght ly inclined. The gun mante l was very prom in ent and there were six ep iscopes on the roof to give v ision. Two hatches in the roof allowe d entry and exit. The new Ponh ord a nd Le va ssor Au tomitrail leuse armed with thi s turret were henceforth call ed the type 178B. The new un its of Frenc h Cava lry the n opera ling o n foa t were equ ipped w ith these re juvenated P 178's. La ter severa l of the m parti c ipa ted in the War in Indo- Chino. G raduo ll y, they were rep laced by Amer ican Armaured Co rs, until the arr iva l of the new Pa nhord and Levossor EB R vehi cles (Armoured Reconnoissance Machine) and the AM L 245 (li ght Machine gun Car rie r) now found in service no t only in ' he Fre nch Army, but a lso in numerou s foreign armies including Ireland, a nd many Atricon Notions. The lo st P 178 went out of service in 1960.
10
~==========~~====~~~~~~------------------
ABOVE: A Commanders model of the 'Ponhard e t Levossor P 178', f itted v"it h a radio, and ant enna mounted on the mudguards. Thi s un-modified vehicle is in service with a German SS unit. Technical Specification for Panhard et Levossor - Type 178 - 1935. Crew: 4.
Weight: combat loaded, 18740 Ibs. 8.37 Long tons,
9.37 short tons, 8.5 Tonnes. Performance
Armament APX 3 turret. Moin: I x 25 mm Connon Calibre, and length in calibres. 25 mm (0.984 ins), Traverse: 360 degrees turref. El evati o n: plus 14 degrees, minus 12 degrees. Secondary armament: 1 x 7.5 mm MG Model 31. Elevafit.lO: plus 15 degrees, minus 12 degrees. Traverse: 15 degrees to left. Armament: AP X 3-B Turret. Main: 2 x MG 7.5 mm Modele 31. El e'lolion: plus 15 degrees minus 12 degrees.
Speed, Mox Rood, 44.74 m.p.h.(72 Km.p.h.)
Max. Gradi en': (40%)
Fording depth: l' 1 J ~ " (60 em)
Trench crossing: J! ll ~' " (60 cm )
Step: 11~ " (30 em)
Min. Turning circle. 52' 6" (16 metres)
Range {in~erno l fuel),Rood: 186.4 miles (300 Km)
Power to weight rotio: 12.3 HP/ton.
Dimensions
Le ngth overo II : Width ov era ll:
Height,
Stowage -
IS' S~" (479 em) 6'7~" (201 em)
Track: Whee l Bose: Wheel Si ze: Mechanical Details
Inf ernal Fuel capacity: 30.8/31.9 Imp. ga ls.
( 35 em)
Armour
Typ.,
5'S}" (174 cm)
Engine: 1 x Moleur I. S. K. 4F /I bis - 6.33 li tre 4-cylinder water cool ed petrol developing 105 bhp at 2000 rpm. Bore 120 mm x stroke 140 mm. Transmission: 4-speed gearbox. Forward speeds. Reverse speeds:
(13.8 (24.3 (40. I (72.6
Km.p.h ) 4.97 mph Km.p.h.) S.70 mph Km.p.h.)14.35 mph Km.p.h.)26.IOmph
36.9/38.3 U.S.gols.
140/145 lit.e,.
(193 em) (104 cm) (115 cm)
10' 2~" (312 em) 42 x 9
1st, 8.57 mph 2nd,15. IOmph 3.d, 24.92 mph 4th,45. II mph
APX 3 tu rret.
Ammunition, main armament: 150 rds. Amunition, secondary armament: 3750 rds.
7' 7" (231 em)
Ground clearance: I' 1~" 6' 4" Fire height of gun: Turret Ring dio: 3' 5" Rood whee l dia(overall)3'9:!."
l/73.
( S.O (14.0 (23.1 (42.0
Km.p.h.) Km.p.h.) Km.p.h.) Km.p.h. )
Decking:
Engi ne covers:
0. 780" 0.2SS " 0.2SS" 0.7S0" 0.5SS" 0.5SS" 0.264" 0.264"
Selly
0.264" ( 7 mm) 01
Hull, Nose upper:
--Nose lower: Glosis plate: Drivers plate: Sides
Reo.
Turre t. --Front: Sides: Roof:
(20 mm) ot 90 deg.ee•.
(7.5 mm) ot 50 deg.ee•.
(7.5 mm) ot 25 deg«e•.
(20 mm ) ot 67 dewees.
(15 mm) ot 90 deg.ee•.
(15 mm) ot SO deg.ees.
( 7 mm) 01 0 degrees.
( 7 mm )
0 degrees.
I .020" (26 mm) 01 64 deg.ee•. 0.5S8 " ( 15mm) at 64 deg.ees . 0.264" ( 7 mm)
Technical Specification - Variation for Panhard et Levassor - type 178-8-1945.
110 bhp ot 2000 .pm. F. L. 1. Turret.
Traverse: 360 degree tu rret. Elevation: plus 14 degrees, minus 12 degrees. Secondary armament: 1 x 7.5 mm MG Modele 31 .
NOTE, French Standard Angles:
0 degrees
90 degrees
Horizontal Ve rH cal
11
ABOVE: Vickers Main Battle Tank 'Vijayanta' in travelling order with l05mm in travel lock at rear. Note the flotation screen stowage which encloses the tonk. The exhaust silencers are armour plated to reduce heot radiation detection by infra red sensors. (Photograph courtesy of Vickers ltd) BELOW: The American heavy tank M 6 which never saw action due to delay in development and changing requirements. features developed for this vehicle were subsequently used for other armoured vehicles.
Published by BElLONA PUBLICATIONS LIMITED , Hawthorn Hill , Bcocknell, Be,kshi,., England. Copy'ight 1969.
12
However, many of the
