A hundred years ago british army was the first to use tanks in warfare, but the strength of its current armored forces has been greatly weakened and changed. What are their current state and plans for the future? Since the end of the Cold War, the British Ministry of Defense has been one of many that have taken it upon themselves to declare that there will be little need for main battle tanks (MBTs) in the modern operational environment.

This government position prompted a dramatic reduction in the number of tanks in the British Army and the crews on which they could serve, from 14 regiments (the British equivalent of a battalion) to total number tanks from approximately 1000 tanks in the late 80s to three regiments in accordance with the current army modernization program Army 2020.

Today, these regiments have sufficient tanks and trained crews to ensure that each of them can deploy a squadron (the British equivalent of a company) - approximately 18 tanks - in support of the leading LATF (Lead Armored Task Force) armored task force. This group, after receiving the order, must move out within 30 days.

Once the current cycle of transformation is completed, the time frame for fielding a full brigade, including 56 tanks, will generally be 90 days.

At the Castlemartin training ground in Wales, the British Army's Challenger 2 tank fires a short-range armor-piercing sub-caliber practical projectile. Live firing remains the key to maintaining a high level of combat training and crew coherence

Over the past 25 years, British armored forces have demonstrated their capabilities twice. The first demonstration took place in 1990-1991, when the reckless decision was made to send two armored brigades (including three Type 57 tank regiments with 171 Challenger 1 tanks) to liberate Kuwait as part of Operation Granby.

Later in 2003, two regiments of Challenger 2 tanks (and some elements of a third regiment) were to be hastily deployed to Iraq in Operation Telic 1. Their number was later reduced to one squadron, which remained in this theater of operations until the end of Operation Telic 13 in 2009.

Despite a request made in 2006, the British Army did not deploy to Afghanistan in Operation Herrick. However, since 2007, British forces in Helmand have often called upon the support of their allies' tanks: a platoon of three Danish Leopard 2A5DK tanks; corps tank companies Marine Corps US M1A1 Abrams; and between 2006 and 2011, a reinforced squadron of Leopard 2A6CAN and Leopard C2 tanks from the neighboring province of Kandahar.

Ultimately, the representation of heavy British armored vehicles Since 2010, Afghanistan has been limited to three Trojan clearance vehicles (an engineering version of the Challenger 2 tank) and two Challenger CRARRV armored recovery vehicles stationed in Helmand province.

Since the middle of the last decade, the British Army has been largely focused on peacekeeping operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has led to a corresponding reduction in combat training (in the form of tactical exercises and armored maneuvers) of the remaining combined arms formations in the UK and Germany.

However, the capabilities of the armored forces were supported by the participation of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in basic training for hybrid warfare (the concept of the “war of three quarters”, the essence of which is that in a relatively small urban area one unit will be forced to conduct both combat operations and a peace enforcement operation and a peacekeeping operation), which all combat units have already undergone.

A New Look

According to the five-year review strategic defense and Security, published in 2010, and the final structure of the British Army 2020 program, each of the three remaining tank regiments (equivalent to battalions) was assigned to one of the three motorized infantry brigades rapid response, part of the 3rd division. (The army includes eight more combat brigades: the 16th air assault brigade and seven infantry brigades subordinate to the 1st Division, none of which have attached armored units.)

Each tank regiment has its own name: the King's Royal Hussars (KRH), the Queen's Royal Hussars (QRH) and the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR). In addition, the expanded order of battle includes one reserve regiment, the so-called Royal Wessex Yeomanry, which provides all three regular tank regiments with spare tank crews, but does not have a single tank of its own.

All three regiments are armed with , which was originally developed in the late 80s by Vickers Defense Systems (currently BAE Systems). BAE Systems supplied in 1994-2002 total 386 production vehicles; current plans It is envisaged that some of them will remain in operation until 2035.

An upgraded weapon system based on the Rheinmetall 120 mm smoothbore gun and a number of improvements to the chassis and fire control system were approved early last decade for the Challenger 2 tank as part of a proposed capability extension program, but due to funding problems it was withdrawn in 2008 stopped. In 2012, a capability extension program was included in the Challenger 2 tank life extension program, which will upgrade or replace various subsystems of the tank. In accordance with the service life extension program, 227 Challenger 2 tanks will undergo modernization.

A separate financing scheme adopted for the improvement and maintenance of standard ammunition, today allows for only such minimally costly restoration and modernization measures as are necessary to extend the shelf life of existing stocks. The depots stock ammunition that is at least 25 years old and is not currently manufactured in the UK. No type of standard ammunition is compatible with modern standards for insensitive (inert) ammunition.

Renaissance

The first tangible change in the fortunes of British armored forces came in 2012, when the troop drawdown of Operation Herrick, publicly announced before the British withdrawal in December 2014, allowed these units to avoid returning to Afghanistan and focus on their combat training for future missions.

The first tank regiment to return from its last Afghan tour in October 2012 was KRH, which operated there as the lead unit for the Lashkar Gah battle group. Having no tanks in this theater of operations, it mainly performed dismounted infantry tasks using mine-protected Mastiff 6x6 vehicles and Warthog all-terrain tracked transporters.

Battlegroup level Prairie Storm combined arms training exercises, held at British Base BATUS in Canada, allow British tank crews and infantry units to practice working with their support teams, including an engineering squadron dedicated to clearing minefields. In the photo, an extended Python mine clearance charge, fired from a Trojan engineering tank, detonates, thereby allowing the passage of Battle Group 1 Yorks

After the necessary recovery and combat training, two KRH tank squadrons ("C" and "A") were successfully assigned to support the intermediate armored group, the lead armored battle group LABG (lead armored battlegroup) and later the lead armored task force LATF deployed by its the head 12th armored brigade. Since late 2013, this brigade has been responsible for special missions (which theoretically include combat operations). It was decided that it would be replaced by the 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade in January 2016, which in turn would be replaced by the 20th Motorized Infantry Brigade in January 2017.

Currently, the British army is in an intermediate state, more precisely in the process of transitioning from old structures to new ones, changing areas of responsibility, changing the location of its bases and auditing military equipment. That is why the 12th Motorized Infantry Brigade was not relieved on time, and its combat duty was extended by 18 months. However, as soon as the “perestroika” turbulence calmed down, it became possible to establish a standard duration of readiness (12 months for a brigade and 6 months for a combat group), considered optimal for maintaining “correct performance of duty” in accordance with the revised adaptive mechanism for the operational readiness of combat units within Army 2020 (A-FORM) program, introduced in 2015.

The 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade entered its "training" year in early 2015, and its established RTR tank regiment, which provides armored capabilities for the brigade, began joint combat training in the UK and Canada (level of joint combat training Level 4/CT4).

The 20th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which will be the last to leave Afghanistan, is currently undergoing rehabilitation and reorganization at its bases in Germany and the UK and will begin combat duty in 2017. By 2020, the last unit of this brigade, including the QRH, should finally (after almost 70 years) leave Germany and return to its home base in the UK along with other units of the 3rd (British) Division stationed in the Bulford/Tidworth area.

Feels like home at the training ground

In May-June 2015, live firing of Tank Squadron "C" KRH took place at the Castlemartin Artillery Range and platoon level tactical exercises (CT1) at the Salisbury Plain training area.

At basic levels, the essence of joint combat training (the ranges and target mix of British artillery ranges have not changed significantly in the past 40 years) remains traditional, although some changes may be worth making.

Since the end of the Second World War, British tank regiments have typically had three tanks per platoon, but the Army 2020 program adopted a four tanks per platoon structure. This provides greater organizational flexibility and combat redundancy, allowing each platoon to potentially perform more missions when divided into pairs, as well as being closer to the combat training of American and German tank platoons.

There are four training grounds in the UK where fire training with live firing is possible. These are Castlemartin, Kirkcudbright, Lulworth and Salisbury Plain, but none of them yet follow the completely new platoon structure.

The Castlemartin range has enough directrixes for the simultaneous operation of four Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, but the limitations of the firing sectors along the length make it difficult to conduct live firing at the platoon level of four Challenger 2 tanks. Due to the future installation of a new 40 mm gun on the upgraded Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, motorized infantry units and new Scout vehicles from reconnaissance units will also require improvements to these shooting ranges. This is the concern of the army headquarters, which keeps this issue under control.

While in the past there were many complaints regarding limitations on kilometers traveled, practical ammunition or fuel reserves, this is now not much of an issue for a tank squadron. This may be due to the fact that the existing stocks of spare parts and ammunition were at one time intended to provide significantly more more Challenger 2 tanks than the British Army currently needs for deployment.

The recent increase in politico-military activity in the Baltics brings with it the need to demonstrate the competence of the British Armored Expeditionary Capability and this will no doubt also be useful in resolving any such problems that impede the planning and execution process.

The 12th LABG's first expeditionary test was Exercise Black Eagle, held in Poland in October 2014. In the background is a Challenger 2 tank, crewed by KRH "C" Squadron, working in tandem with a Polish Army Leopard 2A4 tank. During the exercises, a methodology for the early reactivation of tanks in long-term storage was developed and consolidated. Interestingly, the British tank does not have the usual camouflage cape.

In order to complete the so-called annual crew test (ACT), the crew of the Challenger 2 tank can count on firing 83 rounds of ammunition from the main armament of the tank, as well as 2,940 rounds of ammunition from the 7.62 mm machine gun. IN academic year(every three years) crews also conduct platoon-level live fire assessments, during which an additional 42 cannon rounds and 1,200 7.62mm machine gun rounds can be fired.

Before the start of live firing, personnel undergo intensive simulator training (including 20 exercises for gunner operators and 4 or 5 exercises for the crew as a whole, including annual comprehensive testing) in their unit. The targeting procedure is performed at the crew level (in simulators and on the range) and then at the platoon level as part of joint combat training.

The distance to targets fired from tank guns (mostly static tank hulls) at the Castlemartin training ground is 3 km or less, while for secondary weapons the maximum distance is about 1100 meters (tracer burn-up time). The gunner's and commander's gun hit percentage during the annual ACT must be at least 75%; the same standard applies when firing from a coaxial machine gun (7.62 mm L94A1 Chain Gun), but in the latter case the standard exercise consists of firing three bursts of five rounds (one sighting and two “kill”) on one target. Shooting from a coaxial machine gun is considered more difficult from a technical point of view, although even if you take a separate L94A1 machine gun, its dispersion characteristics are considered by some to be “too insufficient” for suppressive fire.

One of the “legacies” of Afghanistan was the assignment of one forward aircraft gunner to each company (in the 80s there were only three gunners per brigade). As a result, squadrons of Challenger 2 tanks are now accompanied by a modified version of the Warrior artillery observation vehicle, which houses the fire support team commander along with a forward observer and a forward air gunner, coordinating with jets or attack helicopters

Original Challenger weapons 2 and fire control system requirements previously specified that the crew must be able to fire the L30A1 rifled 120mm cannon with separate ammunition at a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. However, the need for this kind of long-term firing will not arise very often: in a series of standard tests, one tank, as a rule, will need to fire within 55 seconds at five targets (including one for a machine gun), placed at random azimuths and distances in the sector more than 120°.

According to one of the squadron officers, creating the right “atmosphere” and crew interaction in the turret is the key to success in combat.

Upon graduation from Armored Forces Center, a crew member typically starts as a driver, then is promoted to gunner and loader operator, and eventually to vehicle commander with the award of a multi-specialty training certificate.

In addition to his main function of providing the main and auxiliary weapons with ammunition, the loader also serves as a radio operator and fires from a 7.62 mm universal machine gun mounted next to the hatch; it also makes a significant contribution to target acquisition for the gunner operator and commander. The driver also contributes to short-range targeting by taking advantage of his day and night vision devices with a wider forward field of view; it can also help the loader by counting the number of shots remaining in the magazine, thereby ensuring that when firing at a target the shells will not run out at the most crucial moment.

Commanders tank crews are either in the rank of corporal (junior sergeant), sergeant (at the age of 22-25 occupying the place of loader, or older in the case of a platoon sergeant), or officer (platoon commander, deputy squadron commander, squadron commander and in an armored combat group, unit commander) . Having completed 44 weeks of general officer training at the Royal Military College ground forces at Sandhurst, armored officers attend a six-month crew chief course at the Armor Center at Bovington, where they are trained in driving, gunnery, communications and tactics. Platoon corporals who have passed through the ranks of non-commissioned officers attend the same courses.

After completing the mandatory educational training required to qualify for the ACT, new officers initially assume the position of platoon leader under the supervision of their more experienced drill sergeant. After the new platoon commander has undergone joint training in tactics and combined arms combat at the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) training base in Canada, his dependence on the supervising drill sergeant may be noticeably reduced (depending on the qualities of the newly minted officer).

As a result, a candidate for the position of officer can already command soldiers just two years after entering military service. (For example, in the German Army, a newly appointed tank officer can take up a position in his battalion no earlier than 79 months after the start of his military career.)

Decisive test

Achievements in the field simulation modeling allow significant savings, including on ammunition consumption. At the same time, live firing still remains the most important part of the educational process; they confirm practical skills in materiel and gunnery and allow for system performance checks and annual testing of the ACT crew.

The ACT score is determined to a greater or lesser extent by to a lesser extent operational parameters of the tank systems and, as it ages, the degree of their “looseness” in the turret, especially the control system. As the crews undergo their tests, they begin to understand that much depends on the efficiency and coordinated operation of all the systems of a particular tank and that their readiness and the readiness of their commanders to carry out combat missions depends on this.

By the end of the training, all 18 Tank Squadron "C" crews passed their ACT tests. The squadron commander, Major Peter Pirone, said that "C Squadron now has confidence in each of its 18 tanks." This is a significant improvement compared to 2014, when the squadron had only 14 tanks at its disposal, and the crews of only three tanks showed sufficient combat training and met ACT standards.

Shelter

As part of the Army Fleet Management Programme, which has been gradually introduced by the British Ministry of Defense over the past ten years to all registered vehicles, Challenger tanks 2 of the three squadrons, as a rule, remain in long-term storage at the army equipment depots in Ashchurch. The storage conditions there allow the tanks to be kept in working order, but if contracts are awarded, the industry will be able to modernize them in accordance with the agreed plan and standards without negative influence for planned combat training of units.

Although this approach has not met with general approval, "collectivization" or pooling of this kind has its advantages in terms of significant savings, as well as the impact on the coordination of military actions. This gives regiment personnel who are unable to work with their tanks the “room for maneuver” necessary to improve their individual skills, that is, the opportunity to leave the unit, enroll in courses and improve their professional level. As one officer put it, “The regiment cannot go full throttle forever, otherwise it will not be able to do the extra work required of it while maintaining its entire fleet.”

The commander of the tank squadron currently serving as the armored component of the leading LABG armored battle group, Major Piroun noted that, unlike his colleagues in the other two tank squadrons ("A" and "B"), he "owned" only 18 tanks, which are held in position as part of the regiment's base unit. This basic unit typically consists of 20 tanks, with two additional tanks serving as spare vehicles in case of breakdown and also as reserve vehicles for training.

The Challenger 2 TES tank, designated Megatron, was created by the armored vehicle development and testing group for urban operations in Iraq. Note the system of suppressors for improvised explosive devices (similar to a bird feeder), the remote-controlled Enforcer combat module installed on the loader's hatch, as well as the electronic signature control systems installed in the front. A CoolCam plastic mesh placed over the top surfaces of the tank reduces heat from the sun's rays.

The KRH Hussars have half the vehicle spaces at their base at Tidworth, which has 'garage' capacity for 72 tanks, with the remaining 36 spaces allocated to the RTR. The latter is also tasked with providing a tank squadron for the LABG 1st Brigade Combat Team, that is, providing reinforcement to the base unit with additional tanks so that the second squadron can carry out required firing or tactical training or preparation for large exercises.

The Challenger 2 tank must be kept in a secure hangar (whether for long-term storage or military use) even if it is not equipped with electronics and additional armor in accordance with the Theater Entry Standard (TES) upgrade. In this regard, it is unique, but similar restrictions will apply to the promising Scout vehicle, which should replace the eight Scimitar vehicles in service with the reconnaissance group of each regiment.

Current plans provide for the redeployment of the third armored regiment QRH from its “home” base in Germany also to the base in Tidworth and in this case difficulties may arise when placed in existing hangars with a capacity of 72 tanks; Moreover, there will definitely be no additional places to accommodate the promising Scout vehicle. However, as one of the officers said, “new funding will make it possible to build appropriate hangars in Tidworth to accommodate base units all three armored regiments."

The operational readiness of base unit tanks is also increased due to the greater availability of squadron mechanics and mobile regimental repair shops. Tank crews also contribute, enthusiastically using unofficial means. Major Piroun cited as an example a simple vacuum cleaner (it is extremely popular among German tank crews and artillerymen), which “fastidious crews” can use in the field to keep the armored space and turret systems relatively clean, and, most importantly, allows you to get rid of annoying sand.

To be continued…

Traditionally, the new research tree does not appear in the game completely, but in small portions. First of all, the British will acquire the main branches of research: heavy tanks up to level ten and medium tanks up to level nine.

At the second level, the research tree suddenly diverges in as many as three directions - which is also unusual for a "release" option - two of which lead to light tanks. One of the “light” branches will eventually lead the player to a level nine medium tank, and the tanks of the second suddenly gain weight when moving from the fourth level (light Valentine) to the fifth - where the already heavy Churchill I tank is located.

Armament in English

This is the essence of British tank building: take one model and begin to consistently produce improvements and enhancements based on it, carefully labeling them “Mk I”, “Mk II”, etc. New gun - new "Mk". New engine - perhaps a new "Mk", or sometimes a completely different name.

The situation with armament for tanks is somewhat similar: the three-pound (light Tetrarch) and six-pound guns (Churchill and medium Ram II, M7) already present in the game, we suspect, will haunt the player for a long time. But then they will inevitably be replaced by something more lethal: for example, the famous 17-pounder, which was originally installed on tanks specifically to fight the German Tigers and Panthers.

Naturally, the UK tank research tree will not be limited to two and a half branches of technology. As expected, self-propelled gunners - both artillerymen and anti-tank self-propelled guns. How can one manage in a virtual war without such a recognizable T28 and T95 tank destroyer, similar to the American “sloths”, A39 Tortoise, or simply “Turtle”. The ranks of the Shermans will also be replenished; fortunately, the United States supplied Great Britain with a sufficient number of these tanks of various modifications during the war...

British tanks British tanks

We continue to introduce you to the whole variety of armored vehicles that can be found in Armored Warfare: Project Armata. Today we will talk about British tanks from the Cold War to the present day.

The Second World War firmly established the role of the tank as the basis of an independent branch of the military, but it also made its weaknesses obvious. Among the military leadership of world powers, voices were heard claiming that the tank as a type of weapon was outdated, but no one was in a hurry to scrap the armored monsters. The war may have ended, but it was too early to talk about peace: World War II was replaced by cold war, threatening to develop into a nuclear one, and tanks were expected to play a key role in it. In addition to being a formidable weapon, they turned into a sign of military presence, an impressive symbol military power. Having your own tank and not depending on your allies has always been a matter of prestige for the great powers. Tank building continued to develop - but in each country in its own way.

The Ministry of Defense was hostile to the idea of ​​a “universal” tank, and only in the last years of the war did it gradually gain recognition and begin to be implemented. And after the end of World War II, the British Army reduced its tank forces to one division, placing it in Germany as an unambiguous hint to the Soviet Union. By this time the shortcomings of the British military doctrine, which strictly divided tanks into “infantry” and “cruising”, which led to a cripplingly narrow specialization.

"Centurions" in the Negev Desert. Photo by Fritz Cohen (1913-1981); licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

The main tank of the British army was the Centurion, which was put into service in 1946. He showed himself brilliantly in the Korean War of 1950-1953. His fighting qualities were valued so highly that different time it was in service with 20 different countries that bought it directly or, like Denmark and the Netherlands, received it as part of the American military assistance. More than half of the 4423 tanks produced were exported. Discontinued in 1962, in some places it is still in service, if not the Centurion itself, then its derivatives, for example the South African Oliphant.

African "Oliphant" younger brother British "Centurion".Photo by Danie van der Merwe; licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

In Britain itself, since 1966, the Centurion has been replaced by the Chieftain, a tank that is innovative in many respects. Thus, for the first time in the history of tank building, the driver was positioned in a reclining position, which made it possible to significantly reduce the height of the hull in the front part and at the same time increase the slope of the frontal armor. The engine, based on the German aircraft Junkers Jumo, was adapted to operate on various types fuels, from gasoline to diesel, a feature that has become a mandatory standard for NATO military equipment.

"Chieftain". Photo by Peeteekayy; licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

In parallel with the Chieftain, another, much more unusual armored vehicle was being developed. Thus, in the 60s, as part of the Project Prodigial program, a prototype of the FV4401 Contentious tank destroyer was created. Ultralight, with a crew of two, it was designed for air delivery and parachute into a conflict zone. To make the car lighter, the designers got rid of the turret. The 84-mm gun, located directly in the hull, had an extremely limited horizontal angle and zero vertical aiming angle: the gun was supposed to be aimed vertically using a hydraulic suspension, tilting it along with the hull.

FV4401 Contentious prototype.Photo by Simon Q from United Kingdom; licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Another experimental vehicle, COMRES 75, was created as part of the Anglo-German project “Main Battle Tank of the Future” and also did not have a turret: the gun was mounted on an external carriage, which reduced the weight of the vehicle and increased the protection of the crew. Interest in turretless tanks was spurred by the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 - a vehicle with a unique layout, whose gun, rigidly mounted in the hull, was aimed, like the Contentious, by turning the tank and tilting the hull on the suspension. In the end, however, the command of the British Army spoke out against turretless tanks, preferring the classic layout of armored vehicles.

Experimental COMRES 75 with an 83.8 mm cannon on a remote carriage.Crown copyright 1968

Until the end of the 70s, the Chieftain remained the leader among NATO tanks both in terms of protection and firepower. This was facilitated by continuous modernization. Although, despite hard work, it was not possible to significantly improve the weapon itself. The tank's combat power has increased noticeably thanks to the modernization of fire control systems: the tank received a laser range finder, an electronic ballistic computer, night vision devices, and a sight alignment system. Work was also carried out to improve the armor: the tank was equipped with Chobham combined armor with ceramic inserts. The modernized model of the Chieftain, released in 1980, was called the Challenger. In parallel, Britain produced an export version of the Shir tank for Jordan, where it was put into service under the name Khalid.

In 1998, it entered service with the British Army. new tank— “Challenger 2”, equipped with an improved 120-mm rifled gun (this is the only modern MBT with a rifled gun) and the secret new generation Dorchester combined armor with the ability to install additional anti-cumulative shields. All this could not but affect the weight and mobility of the tank: the 62-ton Challenger 2 develops on the highway maximum speed 56 km/h.

Crown copyright 2014

“Challenger 2” performed well during the Iraq War, demonstrating excellent maneuverability and phenomenal survivability: in 2003, during an urban battle, one of these tanks withstood a dozen hits from rocket-propelled grenade launchers, keeping the crew unharmed. In the battle near Basra, a group of 14 Challengers destroyed an equal column of Iraqi T-55s without a single loss. To date, Challenger 2 remains one of the heaviest and most protected tanks in the world. However, in 2009, the corporation that produced it, BAE Systems, announced that it was curtailing Challenger production and closing factories in Britain due to a lack of orders. Perhaps, when the time comes to rearm, the British army will have to master German or American armored vehicles.

That's all for today. Similar reviews of military equipment from France and Germany will be published in the near future.

On July 28, 1914, the cannonade of a new war thundered over Europe. Back then, no one imagined that this conflict would become a global struggle of attrition. All participants planned to defeat their opponents within a few months of a decisive offensive. But more and more states got involved in the battle, armies suffered huge losses, and in the end Europe found itself crossed out by lines of trenches from northern to south seas. The offensives brought less and less results: tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dead were paid for literally a few kilometers conquered. In an attempt to somehow break the stalemate, the participants in the war invented ever new means of destruction. It was during these years that poisonous gases, flamethrowers appeared, and a fighter aircraft was used for the first time. And it was then that the tank was invented in Britain.

Tanks first took part in battle on September 15, 1916 on the Somme River. The armored monsters broke through the German defenses, but the result was achieved only at the tactical, but not at the operational level. In general, tanks did not play a decisive role in the First World War. More than two decades had to pass before the new military equipment fully revealed her potential. Over the years, it was necessary not only to improve the design of tanks, but also to learn how to use them correctly. Surprisingly, the British, the pioneers of tank building, had problems with both the first and second aspects.

As usual, main reason These problems were due to the human factor. Let's start with the fact that in the British War Office there were many outspoken opponents of the development of armored forces. Historian D. Brown wrote that the attitude of military officials towards the tank corps was marked by a spirit of displeasure and envy. The extreme level of hostility included statements that tanks were a waste of the military budget.

Not everything was smooth in the supporters’ camp either. Here they could not come to a consensus as to what role the tank should play on the battlefield in the future. Two points of view stood out clearly. According to the first, the tank was supposed to advance along with the infantry, cover it with armor and help fight enemy infantry. Artillery was supposed to fight enemy fortified points, tanks and guns. Supporters of the second point of view were inclined to believe that tanks should be used in the same way as cavalry. In their opinion, the tanks had to quickly break through to the enemy’s rear, strike communications and warehouses, and attack units on the march and not ready for an effective rebuff.

Ultimately, the British decided, figuratively speaking, to sit on two chairs at once. A division was created into infantry and cruiser tanks. The former were slow and well armored, while the latter were fast but thinly armored. Moreover, their weapons were approximately the same. Although at first it was planned to equip infantry tanks only with machine guns. Then they finally got around to equipping combat vehicles with guns. But both infantry and cruiser tanks had gun calibers for a long time limited, and the ammunition load did not include high-explosive fragmentation shells.

Let's take a closer look at both “families” of British tanks from the early period of World War II.

Infantry tanks, as already mentioned, initially did not have cannon weapons. A typical example of such a car was the Matilda I, which began production in 1937. It was a slow but well armored tank. When the British first took on the Germans in 1940, it turned out that German anti-tank weapons were often unable to penetrate the tank. Unfortunately, the advantage in defense was completely erased by the very low firepower of the vehicle.

In 1939, production of the Matilda II infantry tank began, which became the most heavily armored English tank the beginning of the war. Its 60 mm armor was guaranteed to be penetrated only by 88 mm anti-aircraft guns and 76-mm guns of German Marder II anti-tank guns. Unlike its namesake, the previous modification, Matilda II was armed with a 2-pounder cannon. In principle, this was enough for the very beginning of the war. But by mid-1942, the Matilda II had ceased to be of any significance in the role of a gun tank. But it was not possible to install a more powerful gun on it due to the small size of the turret and the diameter of the shoulder strap.

The most successful infantry tank the beginning of the war is recognized as Valentine. This vehicle received its baptism of fire in 1941 in North Africa. The Valentines were produced until 1944, although already in 1942 the tank was considered hopelessly outdated. Its obvious disadvantages were its low speed and weak weapon. Unlike the Matilda II, the Valentine's armament was strengthened: in 1942, a turret for a 57-mm (6-pound) gun was developed. The turret was cramped and could only accommodate two people, which negatively affected the crew's efficiency. Speaking about the Valentine tank, it should be noted that about half of the vehicles built were sent under Lend-Lease to the USSR.

As for the British cruiser tanks, by the beginning of World War II they were still far from perfect and extremely unreliable. Moreover, this was typical for all equipment of this class. The ancestors of cruising tanks were the vehicles of the American engineer Walter Christie.

The first-born among cruising tanks was the Vickers Mk I, produced in small series since 1934. He practically did not participate in the war, although he did not a large number of These vehicles remained in the army until 1941. The rest were taken to the rear and used as training ones.

An attempt to correct this deplorable situation was the Vickers Mk IV tank. The thickness of its armor was increased to 30 mm. This was done by welding additional sheets onto the tower and other vulnerable spots. This additional armor gave the Mk IV turret its unusual hexagonal shape, which was later adopted by the Covenanter cruiser tank. In addition, minor work was carried out to improve the chassis. The Mk IV became more combat-ready than its predecessors, but still broke down prohibitively often.

In 1940-1941, the British suffered serious defeats on almost all fronts. France, North Africa, Greece - everywhere British tanks lost to their opponents. Sometimes this was due to technical imperfections, sometimes due to incompetent commanders. I had to draw conclusions and take action.

In the second part of the article we will tell you how Britain's armored weapons developed further.

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TANK VICKERS MARK E

This light tank, also known as the Vickers Six Ton, is an exceptional case in the history of tanks, as it was the development of a private company. Between 1920 and 1933, the best strategists of the most powerful nations pondered carefully the lessons of the First World War. The appearance of armored tanks on the battlefield completely changed the understanding of the usual battle tactics used before. In addition, countries that did not develop this type of weapon in the period between the wars risked very soon becoming losers. The lessons learned from World War I were clear: countries capable of producing adequate armored forces had to invest in research and development and an armored vehicle production system. But in 1920, tank production was very expensive. People survived a four-year bloody war, a period of disarmament began, the state of public finances in different countries was depressing. Military budgets were insignificant, and the need for weapons immediately fell into the zone of special attention in the event of an order for mass production. The defense industry has sought ways to develop low-cost but reliable weapons and equipment without attracting attention. The British company Vickers-Armstrong took a huge risk when, on its own initiative, it decided to design a new tank without any ministerial support and without an advance payment for development costs. The development of the “six-ton ​​tank” was undertaken by famous engineers and tank designers John Valentine Carden and Vivian Lloyd. An experimental model appeared in 1928 and was named “Mark E”. The vehicle seemed impressive: the thickness of the frontal armor was 25 mm, and on the turret, in the rear and on the sides - 19 mm; petrol engine power 98 hp. With.; excellent tracks on which the tank could travel up to 5000 km. Two versions of the Vickers Mark E tanks were produced: Model A with two turrets, each equipped with a Vickers machine gun, and Model B with one double turret equipped with a 47 mm cannon and one machine gun. But after various stages of testing, ultimately, the British army abandoned the tank due to insufficient reliability of the suspension. Although the hopes of the Vickers company did not come true, it did not abandon its project and tried its luck on the international market. This decision paid off. In the late 1920s, the Vickers tank became the main weapon of many tank armies in Europe and around the world. These tanks were in service in the armies of Bolivia, Bulgaria, China, Greece, Finland, Portugal and Thailand. In addition, the light tank was quickly copied by foreign engineers. The characteristics of the tank made such a deep impression on the Soviet military that they bought a license from Vickers to produce their own version - the T-26 tank, which was slightly different in armament and armor shape. In the period from 1931 to 1941, from the assembly lines of Soviet factories At least 12 T-26 LLCs of all modifications were produced.