British light tanks. British tanks. British heavy tanks

The pioneers in world tank building are the British, for this we must thank W. Churchill. As you know, it quickly developed into a positional war. To give it at least some dynamics, in October 1914, the secretary of the defense committee, Colonel E. Swinton, proposed creating an armored tracked vehicle that could break through defense lines: cross trenches, trenches and barbed wire. The Minister of War did not react to the idea in any way, but the First Lord of the Admiralty (Naval Minister) W. Churchill supported the idea, and some time later the Land Ships Committee was created under the Naval Department.

The history of the development of British tanks by models

The commander of the British troops in France, General J. French, impressed by the unfolding battles, formulated the basic requirements for the "land dreadnought":

• Relatively small dimensions.
• Bulletproof armor.
• Caterpillar mover.
• Ability to overcome funnels up to 4 m and wire fences.
• Speed ​​not less than 4 km/h.
• The presence of a cannon and two machine guns.

In fact, these were the world's first requirements for the characteristics of tanks. And in January 1916, the committee presented the world's first tank capable of taking part in battles. So, with the light hand of Churchill, tank building began in Britain, and a few years later all over the world.

The first tanks were created exclusively to break through the defense and suppress enemy machine guns, which was facilitated by the special shape of the hull. It was a parallelogram with tracks along the outer contour to overcome vertical obstacles. It was like that.

Even after tangible successes from tanks in battle, the English military leadership considered their use to be of little promise, and only thanks to the real successes of the high-speed French Renault, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bmass production of tanks captured the minds of military leaders. J. Fuller, later a well-known tank theorist, for example, advocated the mass creation of high-speed tanks.

English tanks of the First World War

There were several tank qualifications in the British forces of that time.

The first is weight: up to 10 tons - light, from 10-20 tons medium and about 30 tons heavy. As you know, preference was given mainly to heavy tanks.

The second qualification concerns weapons: tanks with exclusively machine-gun armament were called "females", with guns - "males". After the first oncoming battles with German tanks, which showed the failure of machine-gun models, a combined type appeared with cannons and machine guns, such tanks were called "hermaphrodites".

As for the doctrine of the use of tanks in battle, then the opinions of the military were divided into two halves. One half wanted to create and use purely "infantry" tanks, the second "cruising".

Infantry type - used for close 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 the infantry, lightly armored. On their shoulders, together with the cavalry, fell the task of quickly breaking through the defense, girths and raids on the rear of the enemy. The armament of both types was the same, mostly machine guns.

This concept of using tanks from the British survived until the start of World War II. If you delve deeper into it, you can see that tanks play an auxiliary role, the main tasks are solved by cavalry and infantry.

Until the end of World War I 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 C.

Of course, the quality of the first production tanks was pretty low.

In the diaries of German soldiers and in official reports, there are many interesting facts. For example, due to the gas content inside the tanks, there were frequent cases of strangulation of the entire crew. Through the primitiveness of the suspension, the tanks created such a rumble that, in order to mask the movement of tank units, the British accompanied them with artillery cannonade. Because of the narrow tracks, there were cases when the tanks got 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 remained at the cannon abandoned by the servants, he, slowly, loading and shooting himself, destroyed 16 English tanks in order.

It seemed that even then it was necessary to think about strengthening the reservation, but not one of the tank manufacturers did this until the conflict in Spain.

Be that as it may, the British with their tanks gave a new round of warfare, they transferred them to other speeds. Until the end of the war, they were the first in the world to create amphibious tanks and communication tanks.

Tanks between the great wars

the first World England finished as a leader in tank building, but very soon all the advantages came to naught.

Firstly, due to the fact that the types of tanks and their use were strictly separated: 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, rather than the land army.

The implementation of one of the tactical ideas of J. Fuller, by the way, almost all countries “got sick” with it, was the creation of mechanized infantry. For these purposes, the Cardin-Lloyd MkVI tankette was ideal. She, in her mass, according to the plan of the strategist, was supposed to play the role of an "armored skirmisher". Despite the fact that the tankette did not receive recognition in its homeland, although 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 compatriots was the Vickers - 6 tons. In world tank building, he played no less a role than Renault FT at one time. Lightweight 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 in the late 20s and early 30s were:

• medium Mk I "Vickers-12 tons",
• heavy A1E1 "Independent",
• various modifications of the Vickers-Karden-Loyd Mk VII and Mk VIII.

In anticipation of a big war, headquarters ground forces back in the late 20s, insisted on the creation and production of infantry tanks, but due to the economic crisis in the country, funding was not allocated.
After the conflict in Spain and the Italian attack on Ethiopia, the British leadership, anticipating the approach of the "big conflict" and understanding the inconsistencies in 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 of the American inventor Christie, but using one propulsion unit.

In 1939, the production of the first (!) tank with anti-cannon armor began - the infantry A11 Mk I Matilda, later another tank would be called by this name. The speed of 13 km / h and machine gun armament made him a laughingstock. In general, during the period between the "great" wars, the designers of England created more than 50 real models of tanks, 10 of which were put into service.

British tanks of World War II

At the time of the start, the armored vehicles of England were noticeably outdated. Neither in quality nor quantity could it equal the technology of the USSR and Germany. The total number of all tanks in the British army was about 1000 pieces, in greater mass lungs. The lion's share of which was lost in the battles for France.

During the war, British 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 rather mediocre, it was one step behind the German and Russian.

Mostly cruising and infantry tanks were produced, and a small number of light airborne ones.

After the famous post-war phrase of Churchill, the tanks of the whole world joined the arms race, and their development, in general, is similar to each other. Conqueror is being created to counter our IS. After the adoption in the world of the concept of the main battle tank released "Chieften". The third generation tank in England is the Challenger.

In addition to the main ones, after a long break, in 1972 they began to produce light tanks "Scorpion".

Tanks of England

The development of British armored vehicles in the prewar years was affected by the struggle 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 should end quickly, with a single strategic strike, which within a few days and even hours will decide the outcome of the battles and force the enemy to surrender, insisted on the creation of "cruising" tanks - lightly armored, with increased movement speeds and with 40 mm caliber guns. To test their views on a future war, they achieved the creation in the British armed forces in 1927 of the first experimental mechanized unit.

There was also a group of influential military men who relied on the headquarters ground forces England, who believed that the main destiny of tanks was the direct support of the advancing infantry. For this, low-speed, heavily armored tanks with 40-75 mm caliber guns - the so-called "infantry" tanks - serve. As a compromise, it was decided to have both cruising and infantry tanks in service. TO infantry tanks tanks such as "Matilda", "Valentine" and "Churchill" belonged, cruising - "Crusider", "Cromwell", "Comet". Thus, the inseparable fighting qualities of the tank - armor protection and mobility were artificially divided between the two types of machines. The fallacy of this concept was revealed in the course of hostilities quite quickly, but during the war the British designers failed to create a single tank capable of performing the tasks of direct infantry support and operating as part of armored formations. That's why best tank English army became the American M4 Sherman.

Created in England before the war, light tanks quickly disappeared from the battlefield, as their armor and weapons were unsatisfactory. Therefore, the American light tanks M3 and M5 were widely used in the British army. In 1943, the production of our own light tank"Tetrarch", however combat characteristics were below specifications. 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, issued by the industry of England, was small and amounted to approximately 800 cars.

The characteristic features of British armored vehicles were:

• large overall dimensions and weight, low firepower and mobility of tanks;
• creation of field, anti-tank and anti-aircraft self-propelled installations based on tanks and vehicles;
• widespread use of the chassis of obsolete light tanks to create armored personnel carriers;
• the creation and widespread use of armored vehicles;
• use of outdated design solutions and technological methods: vertical arrangement armor plates, the frame structure of tanks, the connection of armor plates with bolts and rivets, the use of mainly carburetor engines, etc.

In total, during the Second World War, 25116 tanks were produced in England, another 23246 tanks and self-propelled guns came from the USA and Canada. The formation of armored formations in England was rather slow. 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-rifle battalions, an artillery and a mixed anti-aircraft and anti-tank regiment. The division had about 300 tanks, but there was practically no motorized infantry. In addition, the structure of the division turned out to be cumbersome and did not allow for the operational management of units during the battle. Therefore, at the end of 1942, the divisions were reorganized. Of these, one armored brigade was excluded, but a brigade of motorized infantry was introduced, there were two artillery regiments, a regiment was introduced anti-tank artillery. The 1942 model division consisted of 18,000 personnel, 344 tanks, and more than 150 guns.

For joint action with infantry divisions separate armored brigades were formed as part 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, however, at different stages of the war, army corps participated, which included 2-3 armored divisions each.

British Tanks Challenger 1 Challenger belongs to the third post-war generation. He is further development and has been in development since the mid-1970s. Technical management military vehicles and equipment and firms oh Vickers. The prototype for it was the export Shir2, the design of which was finalized, thereby creating the Challenger I. From 1983 to 1989, 420 of these machines were manufactured for british army. They were removed from service at the end of 2000, but since 1999 these tanks have been supplied to Jordan under the name ALHussein. A total of 303 units were sent.

UK Challenger tanks

"Challenger 1" - a tank of the classic layout. Combat weight 62 tons. The hull and turret are welded, made of Chobhem combined armor. The bottom of the hull has a V-shape to reduce the impact of anti-tank mines. In front of the machine is the control compartment. The fighting compartment and the tower occupy the middle part. Engine compartment in the aft. The turret has a 120mm L11A5 rifled gun. Pointing angles of the gun in the vertical plane from -10 to +20 degrees.

L11A5 120mm rifled gun, other tanks in the world use smoothbore guns

The ammunition load of 64 rounds of separate loading is located in the control compartment and in fighting compartment. To the right of the gun is a 7.62 mm machine gun coaxial with a cannon. Anti-aircraft machine gun located above the hatch of the commander's cupola. The machine used an automated fire control system, consisting of a laser rangefinder sight and an electronic ballistic computer. If necessary, it is possible to fire from the commander's seat. There is also a laser irradiation indicator with a signal to the crew.
The motor-transmission unit weighing 5.49 tons is located in the stern. Typically field replacement only takes 45 minutes. The main engine is a 12-cylinder V-shaped Condor turbocharged diesel engine with a power of 1200 hp. There is also an auxiliary diesel engine with a capacity of 37 hp, which serves to drive the electric generator, start the main engine and recharge the batteries.

Tank Challenger 1 performed in leading role from Britain in the war Persian Gulf for Operation Granby

On "Challenger 1" for the first time, an automatic hydromechanical transmission with hydrostatic transmission was used in the drive of the turning mechanism. It allows you to smoothly turn the machine, which improves handling.

• Speed ​​- 56 km / h.
• Power reserve - 400 km.
• Tank suspension - unregulated hydropneumatic piston.

On each side, six double supporting and four double supporting rubberized rollers are installed. Caterpillar with metal and hinges and removable rubber pads.
The Challenger 1 has three modifications: Mk 1, Mk 2 and Mk 3. The Mk l tanks were equipped with a 120 mm L30 cannon, which included depleted uranium shells. On Mk 2 in the aft part there are two additional 200-liter external fuel tanks, on MkZ - an additional active and passive protection front and sides.

The Challenger 2 is the last of Britain's main battle tanks. Weighs 63 tons

Tank UK Challenger 2 developed by Vickers in 1988. It is a modernized Challenger 1, which has changed the design of the turret, gun and weapon control system. Serial production began in 1994. Now 386 tanks are in service with the British army, 38 are in service with the army of Oman.

Challenger 2 will remain in the British Army until 2035

Royal Scottish Dragoons guards regiment. Germany. 1998 color of the combat vehicle

The hull and turret of the Challenger 2 are made of second-generation Chobham combined armor. The turret was designed based on experience in the creation of the Mk7 and . Combat weight 62.5 tons.
The ammunition load of the L30A1 rifled gun includes armor-piercing sub-caliber shells with a depleted uranium core. Ammunition - 52 shells of separate loading.

Photo shot from CHALLENGER 2

Fire control system - upgraded computer american tankМ1А1 Abrams ("Abrams"), the commander's stabilized day sight is similar to that installed on French tank Leclerk, the gunner's main sight is also French with a laser rangefinder and a thermal imaging unit.

A thermal imager is located above the Challenger 2 barrel, it can be clearly seen in the photo. This allows the crew to see thermal images of any hotspots, vehicles, soldiers, etc.

Transmission is new, hydropneumatic suspension and chassis modernized. Two external fuel tanks are located on the body. The engine is the same - Condor.

The 1200 horsepower Condor engine allows the tank to develop top speed 37 miles

A filter-ventilation unit and automatic fire fighting equipment have been installed. There are variants of command tanks.
Challenger 2, modified for hot climates, were delivered to Oman.

Challenger 2 on the background of burning oil wells Persian Gulf

The developer has created an export modification of the Challenger 2E, which is considered as an option for upgrading tanks in service with the British army.

For a long time, the opinion prevailed among the British military that reconnaissance should be carried out by wheeled armored vehicles (BRM - "combat reconnaissance vehicle", eng. Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance). However, in the mid-60s, when armor based on aluminum alloys appeared, it became possible to create a light airborne tracked vehicle using automotive components and assemblies, which significantly reduced the cost and accelerated production. In 1964, the Elvis company took up the creation of such a tank.

In 1968, the first samples were successfully tested, and in 1972 it was put into service under the name "Scorpion" FV-101. The car uses a commercial 6-cylinder liquid-cooled gasoline engine "Jaguar" with a capacity of 195 hp. With. The transmission is mechanical, planetary with a differential rotation mechanism. The gearbox provides 7 forward and reverse gears. The structure of the transmission is similar to the transmission "Chieftain", but much smaller in size and weight. Suspension individual torsion bar with hydraulic shock absorbers on the front and rear nodes.