Combat installation of the Germans tog 2. Heavy tank TOG. TOG II gun

british heavy TOG tank
After numerous discussions that took place in the British Ministry of Supply after Hitler's attack on Poland (September 1939) regarding a future tank war, it was decided to entrust the development of the newest heavy tank to William Tritton. Tritton had extensive experience in creating tanks in the First world war(1916-1918). Later, the General Staff released its requirements for a new vehicle: a tank with hull-wide tracks to overcome cratered terrain, armored to protect against fire from 37mm and 45mm anti-tank guns and 105mm howitzers at a range of 100 yards. The tank was supposed to be armed with a 40-mm cannon and Beza machine guns with circular fire. The range of the tank should be up to 50 miles and average speed 5 mph. The crew consisted of 8 people. And without fail, the tank had to be transported along railway.
By the end of 1939, when war was already raging in Europe, a preliminary design of the Foster company was ready. But by that time there were a lot of difficulties with spare parts for the engine of the new tank. The name of the new tank was given "TOG" (the old gang - the old team). Due to the high weight of the TOG tank, it was proposed to install an electric transmission on it. The first TOG tank appeared in October 1940. The tank turned out to be very heavy - 50 tons of weight and its average speed was 8.5 miles / hour. From all appearances, the tank resembled the tanks of the First World War.

During the development of the TOG tank, the project was changed and a 2-pounder gun was installed in its turret and a 75-mm howitzer was installed in the front plate of the tank hull. Chassis The tank had a rigid suspension without shock absorbers and, in its layout, resembled the suspension that was used on the tanks of the First World War.
The first tests showed that the electric suspension could not withstand the load of the tank and the propulsion system was overheated and broken. The fact is that on the TOG 1 tank, the diesel engine itself did not rotate the tracks, it rotated the electric generator that powered the two onboard engines that rotated the tracks. This innovative idea turned out to be too complicated for the British designers and led to the deformation of the tracks and wheels. Later, a hydraulic transmission was installed on the TOG1 tank, which also turned out to be unreliable.

During the construction of the TOG 1 tank, a modified model was created with a lowering of the upper branches of the caterpillars to reduce the height of the tank's silhouette. The TOG 2 tank was created in March 1941 in a single copy and a 57-mm cannon was installed in its turret, although it did not reach beyond the model with a wooden turret and a cannon.
A little later, the TOG 2 R tank appeared - a modified version of the tank with a torsion bar suspension of the road wheels. While the TOG2 tank was undergoing field trials, the . And interest in the TOG tank disappeared, but in January 1942, a 76-mm cannon was installed on this tank for testing. It was the first British tank with a 76mm gun. After some modifications, the tank turret and the Metadyne electric turn drive created for it were installed on the tank.

Tactical and technical characteristics:
Designation ……………….. British heavy tank TOG;
Tank crew………………….. 6-8 people (tank commander, driver, gunner, two loaders, assistant driver);
Tank weight……………………………. 179,200-142,320 pounds;
Length………………………. 33 feet;
Height………………….. 10 feet;
Width………………… 10 feet 3 inches;
Tank armament………………… one 17-pounder gun (76 mm gun for TOG2*), one 6-pounder gun (57 mm gun for TOG2)
Range………………………… 50 miles;
The depth of the ford to be overcome………………….
Maximum speed……………………….. 8.5 mph;
Suspension type………………….. hard;
Propulsion system……………………… diesel "Puckerman-Ricardo" .;
Reservation……………… 50 mm + 25 mm pads.

Tog 2 is probably one of the most non-standard premium (and not only) tanks that players have ever seen. Why? A level 6 tank has 1400(!) HP. I already had a chance to meet him on his own tank cardboard, but if he is on line 1 in general list opposing team, it will be quite difficult (although highly dependent on the team).

In the full record you will find the history of the creation of the tank, performance characteristics and screenshots.

Tank history

The TOG 2 infantry tank prototype made its first factory runs on March 16, 1941. Further tests did not reveal any special remarks, but time was hopelessly lost. The tank possessed maximum speed 14 km / h and a range of up to 112 km. Thanks to its undercarriage, TOG 2 could overcome vertical walls up to 2.1 m high and ditches up to 6.4 m wide, which was certainly an impressive result. Six months later, it was decided to make new changes to the design of the tank, in connection with which its name was changed to TOG 2 *

The most important improvement was the use of a torsion bar suspension, which provided better driving performance. In addition to this, a new turret and a 76.2 mm gun were finally installed on the tank.
Trials beginning in April 1943 confirmed that the TOG 2* was the heaviest (over 81 tons) and most powerful British tank, but the concept it was built on was long outdated. Even despite the strong armor, the TOG was inferior in terms of dynamic qualities and armament not only to the German "Tiger", but even to the weaker Pz.Kpfw.IV with a long-barreled 75-mm cannon. Maneuvering warfare for such machines was disastrous.
However, in 1942, work began on the design of the TOG 2R modification (R - revised, corrected), on which they intended to reduce the length of the undercarriage due to the final rejection of the sponsons, while maintaining the torsion bar suspension, 76.2-mm turret gun and turret with electric drive. Further development heavy infantry tank led to the emergence of the TOG 3 project. However, none of them was ever implemented.

Unlike TOG 1A, the fate of TOG 2* turned out to be happier. After the war, the tank was sent to a warehouse, from where it was soon removed, repaired and transferred to the tank museum in Bovington. By the way, the Paxman engine remained “native” on it, although the tank is now not running.

Specifications

Crew

Commander
mechanic
radio operator
gunner
Charger x2
Speed 14 forward, 7 back
turn rate 22, turn on the spot

Hull armor

Forehead 76.2
sides 76.2
feed 50.8

Tower armor

Lob 114.3
Boards 76.2
ass 53.3
Review 360m

gun

Cannon OQF_17pdr_Gun_Mk_VII_A
BC size 70 shells
Spread 0.4
Recharge 4.5
Mixing 2.3
Penetration 171/227/38

Paxman Ricardo engine, 600 hp
Walkie-talkie British Wireless set N19, 570m

Tog 2 will appear in game world Of Tanks in

Screenshots

Official designation: TOG \ TOG 2
Alternate designation: "The Old Gang"
Start of design: 1939
Date of construction of the first prototype: 1940
Completion stage: two prototypes built

The long period of absence in the Royal Tank Corps (Royal Tank Corps - RTC) of heavy tanks, caused by an acute financial crisis, ended only in the late 1930s. The presence of such vehicles equipped with thick armor and powerful weapons, capable of literally breaking through the enemy’s defenses, was caused by new fears of the “trench war”, the specter of which excited the minds of British staff officers for more than 20 years. Given these features, it is not difficult to guess what officials from the military department demanded from the designers.

Even before the start of World War II, it became clear that the multi-tower scheme had lost its former relevance. Tanks like A1E1 or T-35, with a huge number of barrels, had thin armor, and therefore they were completely unsuitable for the role of “infantry”. I did not want to spend effort and money on the development of fundamentally new machines. From this it was concluded that the RTC is absolutely necessary analogue of the ancient Mk.VIII "Liberty", but made at a qualitatively new level. The discussion of the requirements for tanks for combat operations in Europe took place in July 1939. It is noteworthy that the British Minister of Supply and Sir Albert Stern, who headed the Tank Supply Department during the First World War, participated in the discussion. Evidently, both honorable gentlemen believed that the Germans would certainly strike at the Maginot Line, the fortifications of which made it possible to withstand a long siege. And here you can not do without the experience of senior comrades. The result was quite natural - on September 5, Sir Albert Stern received an offer to form a committee and work with tank specialists to develop requirements for a heavy tank. The committee also included Sir Y. Tennyson D'Encourt, General Swinton, Mr. Ricardo, and Major Walter Wilson. In addition, Stern invited Sir William Triton of Foster to assist in the development of a new machine. All these people in 1914-1918. took a direct part in the design and construction of the famous "diamonds", the undercarriage of which was the best suited to overcome field obstacles.

The committee soon requested General base british army to give them demands for a heavy tank, for which an offer was received to visit France and get acquainted with the design of the Allied tanks. At the same time, it was supposed to get the opinion of the officers of the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force. Obviously, the desire of the military did not differ much from the opinion of the committee about what a heavy tank should be. As an example, the French tank B1bis “loomed”, possessing all necessary qualities, but not possessing strong enough weapons. However, the layout of this machine repeated technical solutions late “diamonds”, in which it was once planned to install a gun in the front of the hull. So it is not surprising that the orthodox tank builders decided to combine the old and the new, ahead of their allies.

In October 1939, the committee, which was given the official name "Committee for the development of a special machine of the Ministry of Supply", finally received a full-fledged technical task. The design of the tank provided for an elongated hull and a caterpillar mover, completely covering it in height and length. The hull armor had to reliably protect against 37-mm shells. anti-tank guns and 105 mm field howitzers at a range of 100 yards (91 meters). The tank's own armament could be conditionally divided into two types: a cannon in the frontal hull plate was intended to destroy field fortifications, and two 40-mm cannons and two 7.92-mm BESA machine guns in the side sponsons were supposed to be used to “clean up” enemy trenches. The speed was limited to 5 miles / h (8 km / h), and the cruising range did not exceed 50 miles (82 km). Such low driving performance was the result of the concept of an “infantry tank” - it was believed that vehicles of this type should not have “run away” from the infantry. To the front edge of the front, the tank would be delivered by rail.

The military department, apparently wanting to play it safe, issued TTZ to two firms at once - Foster and Harland & Wollf. On the side of the first, the same Committee worked, which, in relation to itself, used the abbreviation TOG, which meant "The Old Gang"(old band). The same name was also applied to the tank, although the designation TOG 1 (TOG #1). In addition, the terms of reference provided for the installation of a diesel engine.

Thus, the preliminary design of TOG, presented in December 1939, was a combination of advanced technical ideas and obvious anachronisms. The “old gang” did not deny themselves the pleasure of developing a multi-roller undercarriage with a rigid suspension without elastic elements. This greatly simplified the design and reduced its weight. However, the design weight of the tank was estimated at 50 tons without sponsons, weapons and ammunition, and a powerful diesel engine has not yet appeared. Instead, it was proposed to use a V-shaped 12-cylinder Pacsman-Ricardo diesel engine with a power of 450 hp, which was planned to be boosted to 600 hp. The crew of the tank consisted of 8 people: a commander, a driver, an artilleryman of the front gun, a loader and four tankers in sponsors.

Already at this stage of design, two miscalculations became immediately apparent. First of all, the armament scheme clearly did not correspond to the realities modern war. The onboard sponsons had to be removed, and a tower with circular rotation was now supposed to be installed on the roof of the hull. The second major problem was the transmission. Given the mass of the tank, the scheme with a planetary mechanism, proposed at first by W. Wilson, was unacceptable and then the English Electric Company had to be involved in the work, which was engaged in the development of an electric transmission of the original scheme, which was as follows. On the TOG tank, the engine turned an electric generator that powered two onboard engines that turned the tracks. The steering wheel was connected to a potentiometer that changed the voltage on the onboard electric motors and the difference in the speed of rotation of the tracks led to the rotation of the machine.

In a modified form, the project was accepted for implementation in February 1940, and in October Foster completed the assembly of the first prototype. The developers managed to keep within 50 “dry” tons, but the hull still retained cutouts for sponsons, and a turret from the Matilda II infantry tank was installed on the roof. All TOG armament consisted of a 75 mm frontal hull plate and a twin 40 mm cannon and one 7.92 mm machine gun in the turret. To compensate for the increased load on the ground, wide tracked tracks also had to be introduced.

Testing of the TOG tank prototype was long and difficult. The tank entered the sea trials on September 27, and on November 6 it was shown to representatives of the army and the Ministry of Supply (MoF). The mass of the tank with the turret from "Matilda II" and without sponsons was 64555 kg. During the testing process, the power plant was constantly plagued by overheating problems, which could not be eliminated. Not surprisingly, the engine and transmission were eventually disabled. Another problem was the low adaptability of the transmission design for installation on a tank, the operation of which led to deformation of the tracks and idlers.

At the same time, in terms of basic driving performance, TOG was quite satisfied with the ministry. The main test cycle was completed in June 1941, but the MoF insisted on continuing work on TOG. To correct the identified shortcomings, a hydraulic type transmission was installed on the prototype, after which the tank received the designation TOG 1A. This option also turned out to be unsuccessful due to the large inertia of the hydraulic pairs, which made the control unreliable. Nevertheless, tests with hydraulic drive began in May of 1943, and a month later the tank was returned to the factory for further modifications. The latest data on the TOG 1A are from April-May 1944, when the modernized prototype passed an additional series of tests. After that, the tank was sent to Chobham, where its traces are lost.

Despite the fact that the positional war on the Western Front ended long ago with the capitulation of France and the need for such a tank disappeared by itself, under the influence of Sir W. Churchill and some other officials who were burning with the desire to put a new “rhombus” into action, work on TOG continued. Order for a modified prototype TOG 2 (TOG #2) was received on May 6, 1940. To improve technical performance, more radical measures were required, primarily aimed at reducing weight. As a result, the updated model received a lower height undercarriage, and the sponsons were left, but the gun in the front hull was still dismantled. Now the main armament, which consisted of a 57-mm gun, was to be placed in a new design turret. The cannons and machine guns in the sponsons were preserved, but the sponsons themselves were never installed. However, it was also not possible to immediately obtain a new turret, so instead of it a wooden model of a simpler form with a dummy gun was temporarily installed. The diesel-electric transmission was retained despite the overheating problems that constantly plagued TOG 1. The changes were as follows.

The driving engine of the two main generators was a diesel engine, which was mechanically connected to the generators. The generators fed the electric motors of each side with current. The change in the speed of the movement of the machine was carried out by the fuel supply pedal of the diesel engine. A manual lever for changing the resistance of the current supplying the electric motor and generator provided additional adjustment of the speed of the machine. By turning the steering wheel connected to the potentiometer, the current resistance in the excitation windings of the two generators changed. As a result of turning the rudder in one direction or another, the output power of the electric motor of the opposite side (opposite turn of the rudder) increased due to an increase in voltage in its windings. Another electric motor, powered by its generator, transmitted power to the drive wheel of the other side, helping to turn. This was one of the ways to independently reverse one of the electric motors and turn the tank on the spot (turn around its axis). To make a turn with a radius equal to the width of the tank, one of the tracks was braked using pneumatic brakes.

The TOG 2 infantry tank prototype made its first factory runs on March 16, 1941. Further tests did not reveal any special remarks, but time was hopelessly lost. The tank had a maximum speed of 14 km/h and a cruising range of up to 112 km. Thanks to its undercarriage, TOG 2 could overcome vertical walls up to 2.1 m high and ditches up to 6.4 m wide, which was certainly an impressive result.

Six months later, it was decided to make new changes to the design of the tank, in connection with which its name was changed to TOG 2* The most important improvement was the use of a torsion bar suspension, which provided better driving performance. In addition to this, a new turret and a 76.2 mm gun were finally installed on the tank. Trials beginning in April 1943 confirmed that the TOG 2* was the heaviest (over 81 tons) and most powerful British tank, but the concept it was built on was long outdated. Even despite the strong armor, the TOG was inferior in terms of dynamic qualities and armament not only to the German "Tiger", but even to the weaker Pz.Kpfw.IV with a long-barreled 75-mm cannon. Maneuvering warfare for such machines was disastrous.

However, in 1942, work began on the design of a modification TOG 2R (R- revised, corrected), on which they intended to reduce the length of the undercarriage due to the final rejection of the sponsons, while maintaining the torsion bar suspension, 76.2-mm turret gun and electric turret. Further development of the heavy infantry tank led to the project TOG 3. However, none of them was ever implemented.

Unlike TOG 1A, the fate of TOG 2* turned out to be happier. After the war, the tank was sent to a warehouse, from where it was soon removed, repaired and transferred to the tank museum in Bovington. By the way, the Paxman engine remained “native” on it, although the tank is now not running.

Sources:
P. Chamberlain and K. Alice "British and american tanks Second World War". Moscow. AST \ Astrel 2003-04-03
P. Chamberlain and C. Ellis "British and American Tanks of World War Two, The Complete Illustrated History of British, American, and Commonwealth Tanks 1933-1945", 1969
David Fletcher The Great Tank Scandal - British Armor in the Second World War, Part 1, HMSO 1989

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF HEAVY INFANTRY TANK

TOG and TOG 2* model 1941

Year of development: 1939
Production year: 1941
Combat weight: 81.2 tons
Length: 10075 mm
Width: 3100 mm
Height: 3050 mm
Speed: 12 km/h
Power reserve: 75 km
Radio: no data
Armor
a. Forehead: 25 – 50 mm mm
b. Board:: 25 – 50 mm mm
c. Stern: 25 – 50 mm mm
d. Cabin: 25 – 50 mm mm
e. Body: (top) 25 – 50 mm mm
f. Body: (bottom) 25 – 50 mm mm
g. Roof/Bottom: 25 – 50 mm mm
Crew: 6-8 people
Armament: 76 mm gun
Manufacturers: England

In July 1939, a discussion took place between the British Minister of Supply, who was responsible for the production of armaments, and Sir Albert Stern, who headed the Tank Supply Department during the First World War, about the requirements for tanks for combat operations in Europe. As a result, on September 5, 1939, Sir Albert was offered to work with specialists in developing requirements for the tank. In addition to him, Sir Y. Tennyson D "Encourt, General Swinton, Mr. Ricardo and Major Wilson were invited to the committee - they all played an outstanding role in the creation and production of tanks in the First World War. The committee decided to ask the General Staff to issue TTT for a heavy tank, and Stern suggested Sir William Tritton of Foster's firm in Lincoln (the main tank manufacturer in 1916-18) to cooperate with the committee in these studies.

The General Staff invited the members of the committee to visit France to get acquainted with the new French tanks, as well as to meet with the officers of the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force. In the meantime, tactical and technical requirements were issued, and in October 1939 the committee received the official name "Committee for the Development of a Special Vehicle of the Ministry of Supply." The requirements were similar to those issued to Harland & Wollf on infantry tank A20. They envisioned a hull-covered tracked vehicle to overcome cratered terrain, armored to protect against fire from 47mm and 37mm anti-tank guns and 105mm howitzers at a range of 100 yards. It had to carry a field gun in the frontal hull plate to destroy fortifications, it was required to install 40 mm cannons, 7.7 mm BESA machine guns with all-round fire in the sponsons, have a cruising range of up to 50 miles, a speed of 5 mph and a diesel engine. The crew was supposed to be 8 people. The tank was to be transported by rail.

A draft design was prepared by Foster in December 1939. However, by that time there was still no suitable diesel engine, so they intended to use a Pacsman-Ricardo V-shaped 12-cylinder diesel engine with a capacity of 450 hp, which was planned to be boosted to 600 hp. Taking into account the mass of the machine, an electric transmission was provided, the development of which was proposed by the English Electric Company. The machine is known as TOG I ("The Old Gang" - "old team"), and its development began in February 1940. It appeared in October 1940. It had a speed of 8.5 mph and weighed about 50 tons without weapons or sponsors. By this time, the project had been changed, the sponsors had been eliminated, but a turret for a 2-pounder gun from the A12 Matilda tank had been introduced. A 75-mm howitzer was installed in the front hull plate in the same way as in French tank Char B-1. The undercarriage had a rigid suspension with no elastic elements and was generally reminiscent of that used on late British tanks of the First World War. Tests showed that the electric transmission did not live up to the hopes of the designers, and the engine was burned during the tests. On TOG 1, the engine turned an electric generator that powered two onboard engines that turned the tracks. The steering wheel was connected to a potentiometer that changed the voltage on the onboard electric motors and the difference in the speed of rotation of the tracks led to the rotation of the machine. This well-conceived system turned out to be too complicated and led to deformations of the tracks and drive wheels. Therefore, TOG 1 was modified, a hydraulic transmission was installed, which also turned out to be unsuccessful due to the large inertia of the hydraulic pairs, which made control unreliable. In this new variant, the tank was designated TOG I A.

During the construction of TOG 1, an improved model was developed with a lowering of the upper branches of the caterpillars to reduce the height of the hull. Tank TOG 2, built in a single copy in March 1941, was intended to install an enlarged turret with a 57-mm gun and sponsons, as originally designed. However, the sponsors never installed it, and the turret installed for the first tests was a wooden mock-up with a dummy gun and was larger than the one provided for by the project. The real turret appeared for installation on the TOG 2R (Revised - "corrected") - the result of further development, which was 6 feet shorter than its predecessor due to the elimination of side sponsons and had a torsion bar suspension of the road wheels. The TOG 2R was never built and the turret provided for it was made to replace the wooden model with the TOG 2. The mechanical units and assemblies of this tank were similar to the TOG 1.

While the TOG 2 was being tested, the A22 "Churchill" heavy infantry tank was accepted into service and put into production. Interest in the TOG faded, but in early 1942 a new turret with a 76 mm cannon was installed for testing purposes. TOG 2, now designated TOG 2*, was thus the first British tank with a 76 mm gun. After some changes, the turret and the Metadyne electric turn drive created for it were installed on the A30 "Challenger" tank.

TOG 1 maneuvers in the yard of Foster's Lincoln plant. An inclinometer is installed on board, which determines the angle of inclination.

In September 1939, the British General Staff initiated the development of a promising new A20 tank. This event did not pass by Sir Albert Stern - a legendary man in British tank building. Previously, he was secretary of the World's First Committee of Land Ships, and largely thanks to his foresight and will, Britain began the world's first mass production of tanks in 1916. The authority of Sir Albert was extremely great, but, unfortunately, his conceit was even greater. He believed that he and only he knew what a successful new tank should be like. 6 weeks after the start of work on the A20, Albert Stern took the initiative to lead the creation of his own, the only correct project. To this end, he gathered around him his eminent like-minded people who participated with him in the creation of the first tank, which became his and their triumph. They were VGs. Wilson, Sir William Tritton, Harry Ricardo, Sir Ernest Swinton, Sir Eustace Tennyson D'Eincourt and others. Using his influence, he managed to enlist the support of the Cabinet of Ministers and formed the Special Vehicle Development Committee (SVDC). Given the illustrious composition of tank building veterans, this committee received the informal nickname of the Old Gang (The Old Gang).

It was said that the General Staff was not enthusiastic about Sir Arthur's creative impulse, and therefore some people had to be pressured to join the newly created Committee. Most of the participants, by that time, were already in old age, and retired. However, Ricardo and Wilson still continued their engineering research.

The old Gang, drawing on the experience of the First World War, was firmly convinced that the new tanks would eventually have to operate in the conditions of an advanced enemy trench system. In their opinion, the world tank building has clearly gone the wrong way, so their tank will return the lost to the true path. Naturally, the order was given to William Foster and Co., in Lincoln, which produced the first tanks in 1916. The business was owned by Old Gang member William Tritton.

In December 1939, Fostrea's engineers prepared a sketch of the future tank.

Arthur Stern insisted that new car must have an electromechanical transmission. Back in 1916, he unsuccessfully tried to introduce this scheme on the first tanks, but only in 1940 did he have a chance for revenge. The prototype was equipped with a 450 hp Paxman 12-cylinder V-diesel, which was planned to be boosted to 600 hp. The mechanical energy of the diesel engine was transferred to an electric generator, which supplied current to two onboard electric motors that set the drive wheels and tracks in motion. There was no gearbox, but instead a rheostat changed the voltage on each electric motor, which made it possible to regulate the speed and direction of the tank.

The development of the electric drive was entrusted to another veteran Xi. H. Metz of Metz and MacLillan, although the English Electric Company was in charge of production.

By May 1940, the order was increased to two prototypes, which received the corresponding names TOG 1 and TOG 2. Recall that TOG is an abbreviation for The Old Gang - the Old Gang.

In February 1940, direct work began on the TOG tank - a wooden model was made and some components and assemblies were ordered. At first glance, the design was striking in its archaism. It was a narrow, tall and long, sluggish design that echoed the concept of the earliest tanks. Externally, the archaism was enhanced by the diamond-shaped hull, tracks made of nickel steel from the First World War and machine-gun sponsons on the sides. However, machine-gun sponsors did not switch to the prototype, but more modern tank did not become from it. A 75mm French howitzer was placed in the front sheet, and a turret from the Matilda tank was placed on top. The armor was supposed to withstand hits from 47mm armor-piercing shells, but subsequently its thickness was constantly revised. On the prototype, the side armor was 65mm thick.

After the first factory tests in the yard of the enterprise, the machine was sent for field tests, which took place on September 27, 1940.

Having determined the weight of the right half of the future tank - 36 tons 711.2 kg, the designers estimated that the total weight of the vehicle at this stage of development would be more than 73 tons. The figure turned out to be impressive, and this is considering that it was obtained by calculation, on a structure that has not yet been fully embodied in metal, without the actual weight of armor, without weapons, fuel, ammunition and crew. The speed reached 13.67 km / h.

On October 6, 1940, the first official demonstration of the project took place in front of the members of the Special Vehicle Creation Committee (SVDC). Willson did not come to the demonstration, because he and Stern had a very strained relationship on a professional level. The reason was that Stern had no technical education, but allowed himself categorical statements about the work of specialists.

After the lightning triumph of the German tank forces in France, the archaism and practical uselessness of the TOG tank became more than obvious. The era of highly maneuverable and mobile tanks has come, and TOG does not meet the new requirements of the time. Despite the fact that TOG was hopelessly outdated, even before it appeared, work on it continued. During the tests, it was revealed, although it was initially clear that the tank was completely unmaneuverable, due to the fact that the hull is narrow and the bearing surface of the tracks is long, but nothing could be done about this due to the very design of the vehicle. This was exacerbated by the fact that, like the first british tanks, TOG I did not have a spring-loaded suspension at all - small-diameter road wheels were simply rigidly attached to the hull. Electric motors constantly overheated. On tests until May 28, 1941, the car was constantly forced to stop so that the electric motors would not burn out and could cool down.

TOG 1 with turret from Matilda

After testing ended in June 1941, TOG underwent a number of changes. After a failure with an electromechanical transmission, it was replaced by a hydraulic one, work on which continued for two years. In May 1943, the machine, renamed TOG 1A, made its first exit. The new equipment was manufactured by Hydraulic Coupling and Engineering Company. After a month of intensive testing in the Lincoln area, the car returned to the factory for another revision. In July, orders were issued for new components and assemblies. Since that time, the TOG 1A tank remained at the enterprise, where in the spring of 1944 it was slightly modified. Once the modified TOG 1A was ready, it was sent to Chobham on a huge 100-ton Pickfords transporter. Nothing more was heard about him, but this miracle did not appear in the troops.

The order for the TOG 2 was issued on May 6, 1940. It is not known exactly why another TOG design was needed at an early stage of development, but it is most likely related to the armament. The mechanics of the TOG 2 was identical to the TOG 1, with the obvious difference being the tracks. The tracks of the First World War remained unchanged, the spring-loaded suspension also did not appear, but the hull was altered so that the upper branch of the caterpillar, passing the rear drive wheel, descended into the tunnel, through which it went forward and at the exit of the tunnel rose to get on the front sloth. It was necessary to lower the caterpillar into the tunnel in order to expand the hull for shoulder strap larger tower. On wooden layout fighting compartment there was a 3-inch howitzer in the front plate, to the right of the driver, and on the sides there were sponsons for a pair of Besa machine guns on each side. The box turret of the TOG 2 resembled an enlarged version of the turret from the Churchill Mark III tank. The armament of the turret consisted of a 3-inch howitzer and a 2-pounder anti-tank gun on the right and a Besa machine gun on the left. According to the surviving records, the armor was also impressive by those standards. 63mm cast-iron side sheets were placed on the layout.

When the tank made its first exit on March 16, 1941, it still had a howitzer in the hull, the side sponsons and the turret were made of wood, but even then the weight of the vehicle exceeded 48 tons. The usual minor problems quickly surfaced, but overheating of the electric motors was not noted, as on TOG 1. By the end of March, a cast-iron ballast was installed instead of a wooden turret, and the weight of the tank reached 62 tons. May 1941 wooden tower returned and sent TOG 2 for testing at Farnborough. When the car returned to Lincoln in June, new tracks were ordered for it. Now they had protrusions with a mesh pattern for better traction and were made of manganese steel. After that, the tank was photographed with a steel turret bigger size and 3 inch anti-aircraft gun(QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft). The car was painted in tricolor camouflage.

TOG 1*

In September 1941, the design of the tank was made significant changes and so the car was renamed TOG 2*. The guns in the frontal sheet and side sponosons have already been abandoned, and the booking has been revised. The main gear underwent further alterations, but most importantly, it was decided to put a torsion bar suspension on the tank, although this was not implemented until April 1943. Work on the TOG 2 * was clearly delayed, and the requirements of combat in the war were changing rapidly. Therefore, the designers decided to arm the tank with a 17-pounder gun in a turret designed by Messrs Stothert and Pit from Baes. In 1944, this tower was installed on the A30 Challenger tank.

A full-size model of the front of the TOG 2 tank. The front sheet has a 3-inch howitzer, a 3-inch howitzer and a 2-pounder in the turret. anti-tank gun, in the side sponsons, 2 Bes machine guns each.

In 1942, the designers suddenly decided to turn the tracks from back to front, like on the A20 tank, and now the protruding part on each link was at the back.

TOG 2 with 57mm gun

Finally, in May 1943, testing of the TOG 2* tank continued. There were no particular problems and it was decided that, in general, the car was ready, although its weight reached almost 80 tons. By 27 May 1943, the TOG 2* was already performing completely flawlessly in trials, however, the War Office was unwilling to order the tank. According to the rules, the car still had to pass official tests in Chobham, but it was already quite clear that TOG 2 * was very late with its appearance.

TOG 2 with 57mm gun

Trying to somehow adapt their archaic brainchild, the designers planned to make a version of the tank shortened by 1.82 cm, called the TOG 2R (Revised) and even discussed the idea of ​​the TOG 3. However, none of this was implemented. TOG was originally created for a war that ended over 20 years ago. The Old Gang, seeking to repeat their triumph in TOG, essentially created a tank for the First World War. The fact that the epic with Stern's anachronism dragged on right up to 1944 speaks not only of the personal collapse of Arthur Stern and his Old Gang, but also that instead of creating the tanks really needed for Britain, many of its engineers were engaged in the original nonsense. The TOG tank illustrates well why and how the British tank industry fell into disrepair during the war.

TOG 1 with turret from Matilda. An inclinometer is visible on the back of the board.

tank TOG 2* with 17-pounder gun

sources

David Fletcher- The Greate Tank Scandal-- HMSO, 1989

Peter Chamberlen and Chris Ellis -- British and American Tanks of World War Two-- Silverdale Books, 2004