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The Infantry tank was a concept developed by the British in the years leading up to World War II. They followed from the principle of separating tank functions into two areas - the Infantry tanks that would support the infantry units in making a breakthrough in the enemy lines of defence and Cruiser tanks which would exploit the gaps moving through into the enemy rear cutting lines of supply. This had its origin in the World War I division between British heavy tanks and the faster Whippet Medium Mark A and its successors the Medium Mark B and Medium Mark C. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...
The cruiser tank (also called cavalry tank or fast tank) was a British tank design concept of the interwar period. ...
Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First...
A Mark I tank on 26 September 1916 (moving left to right). ...
General characteristics Length: 20ft/6. ...
General characteristics Length 22 ft 9 in, 6. ...
General characteristics Length: (25ft 10in) 7. ...
Since the Infantry tanks were to work at the pace of the infantry units which would be attacking on foot, high speed was not a requirement and they were able to carry heavier armour. The first two British Infantry tanks, the Mark I "Matilda" and Mark II "Matilda" were armed with a machine gun and 2 pounder anti-tank gun respectively. General characteristics Length 4. ...
The A12 Infantry Tank II Matilda (sometimes referred to as Senior Matilda or Matilda II) was a British tank of World War II. In a somewhat unorthodox move, it shared the same name as the A11 Infantry Tank I. The name Matilda itself comes from a cartoon duck. ...
The QF 2-pounder gun was a British anti-tank gun. ...
They were followed in by the Valentine and Churchill designs. The most numerous British manufactured tank of World War II, the Infantry Tank III Valentine was known mainly for its inexpensive cost and high reliability. ...
The Infantry Tank IV Churchill was a heavy British infantry tank of the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. ...
In practice, although able to resist hits from tanks and anti-tank guns, and designed for good, albeit slow, cross country performance, the separation of tank functions into specialised areas such as infantry and cruiser types was not effective, and although the Churchill was successful in its area the Infantry tank idea faded as tank design progressed during the war.
The concept was also employed by the two largest tank-producing nations in the 1930s: the Soviet Union, as exemplified by the T-26 light infantry tank, and France that built the R 35 and the Char B1. This is best seen as a parallel development caused by the fact neither nation had an independent Tank Weapon. Germany had its separate Panzerwaffe (mainly for political reasons to emphasise that it had freed itself from the "Dictate of Versailles" forbidding the possession of any tanks) and the German Infantry used phased out Panzerkampfwagen I's in its Independent Tank Brigades. This is often seen as reflecting some explicit doctrine; in reality it was caused by a simple lack of budget, tank production not having any priority. When more money became available the Sturmgeschütz III was taken into use by the Artillery, in its original role of infantry close support vehicle the counterpart of the allied Infantry tanks. General characteristics Length: 4. ...
In 1934 requirements were sent out for a tank to replace the FT-17. ...
The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before the Second World War. ...
The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. ...
The Panzer I was a light tank produced by Germany in the 1930s, intended as a training tank, but also used extensively in the Spanish Civil War and early World War II. The Panzer I went by many names and designations, with the most common official designation as the Panzerkampfwagen...
The Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) assault gun was one of Germanys most produced Armored fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the Panzer III tank. ...
Despite being an instance of the general economic principle of division of labour in mechanisation, during World War II its application in mechanised warfare proved to be hugely inefficient in terms of technical development, production, maintenance, logistics and — worst of all — tactical flexibility. During the war it was abandoned by all nations. Division of labour is generally speaking the specialization of cooperative labour in specific, circumscribed tasks and roles, intended to increase efficiency of output. ...
Mechanization refers to the use of powered machinery to help a human operator in some task. ...
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