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Encyclopedia > Tortoise (tank)
The Assault Tank A39 Tortoise
Tortoise
General characteristics
Length 10.0 m
Width 3.9 m
Height 3.0 m
Weight 78 t
Suspension torsion bar
Speed 19 km/h road
 km/h off-road
Range 72 (road) km
Primary armament 32-pounder (96 mm)
Secondary armament 3 x 7.92 mm BesaMG
Maximum armour 178-228 (33 top) mm
Power plant Rolls-Royce Meteor V
600 hp (? kW)
Crew 7

The A39 Tortoise heavy assault tank was a British heavy tank design developed in World War II but never put into production. It was developed for the task of clearing heavily fortified areas. Hence the design favoured armour protection over mobility. ImageMetadata File history File links Tortoise_Tank. ... The metre, or meter, is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International dUnités). ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 2526 wine gallons, which holds approximately 21000 pounds of water. ... BESA machine gun Type medium machine gun Nationality UK (Czech) Era World War 2 History Date of design 1936 Production period 1939-1945 (?) Service duration 1939-1945 Operators UK War service World War 2 Specifications Type Caliber 7. ... A picture of a destroyed M113 armoured personnel carrier showing a section of the armour. ... The Rolls-Royce Meteor was a British tank engine developed from the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero-engine. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the...


The project started with a series of heavy tank designs. However, over the design period the vehicle grew in size and weight, and the original specification for heavily armoured tank was met when the Churchill tank was put into use. However the project continued, envisioned as a specialist weapon in the same mould as the many unusual vehicles of the 79th Armoured Division. General characteristics Length 24 ft 5 in, 7. ... The 79th (Experimental) Armoured Division, Royal Engineers was a British Army armoured unit formed as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944. ...


The gun design was adapted from the British 3.75 inch anti-aircraft gun. The ammunition was separate charge and shell, the latter a 32 pound (14.5 kg) armour piercing shot (APCBC). In tests the gun was successful against a German Panther tank at nearly 1000 yards. QF 3. ... General characteristics Length 6. ...


The 32-pdr was carried in a ball mount in the front of the hull. To the left was a Besa machine gun in a heavy armoured ball mount. The other two machine guns were mounted in a turret on the top of the hull to the right. Internally it is was split into three compartments, the transmission to the front, the crew in the centre and the Meteor engine at the rear. BESA machine gun Type medium machine gun Nationality UK (Czech) Era World War 2 History Date of design 1936 Production period 1939-1945 (?) Service duration 1939-1945 Operators UK War service World War 2 Specifications Type Caliber 7. ...


In strict terms, since it had a fixed superstructure, and not a turret, it should be compared to a self propelled gun, or assault gun.


The crew included the Commander, driver, gunner with two loaders for the 32 pounder gun and 2 machine gunners.

The A39 Tortoise being towed on a trailer during trials in BAOR, 1948
Enlarge
The A39 Tortoise being towed on a trailer during trials in BAOR, 1948

It was not used in the war but was sent to Germany where it performed adequately in trials but was ultimately too tall and heavy for easy transportation. One of the six pilot vehicles can be seen at the Bovington Tank Museum, UK. ImageMetadata File history File links Tortoise_Tank_On_Tow_BAOR_1948. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Tortoise_Tank_On_Tow_BAOR_1948. ... The Bovington Tank Museum is the foremost collection of armoured vehicles in the United Kingdom, and with almost 300 vehicles on exhibition from 26 countries it is the most wide-ranging collection of tanks and armoured vehicles in the world. ...


See also

  • T-28 Super Heavy Tank: An American tank with a roughly similar design and fate.

General characteristics Length: 11. ...

External links


British and Commonwealth armoured fighting vehicles of World War II
Light tanks
Vickers 6-Ton | Mk II | Mk III | Mk IV | Mk V | Mk VI | Mk VII Tetrarch
Cruiser tanks
Mk I | Mk II | Mk III | Mk IV | Mk V Covenanter | Mk VI Crusader | Mk VII Cavalier
Mk VIII Centaur | Mk VIII Cromwell | Challenger | Comet
Ram (Canada) | AC "Sentinel" (Australia)
Infantry tanks
Mk I Matilda | Mk II Matilda | Mk III Valentine | Mk IV Churchill
Self-propelled artillery Tank destroyers
Bishop | Sexton Archer
Experimental vehicles
Avenger | Black Prince | Centurion | Excelsior | TOG 1 | TOG 2 | Tortoise | Valiant | Harry Hopkins | Alecto
Armoured cars and smaller armoured vehicles | Unarmoured vehicles
British armoured fighting vehicle production during World War II

  Results from FactBites:
 
T-28 Super Heavy Tank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (339 words)
The T-28 Super Heavy Tank (also called T-95 Gun Motor Carriage) was a prototype self-propelled gun, designed for the US Military during the Second World War.
It was originally designed to be used to break through German defenses at the Siegfried Line, and was later considered as a possible participant in an invasion of the Japanese mainland.
Tortoise (tank) a British vehicle of similar purpose and design.
Tortoise heavy assault tank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (400 words)
The A39 Tortoise heavy assault tank was a British heavy tank design developed in World War II but never put into production.
However, over the design period the vehicle grew in size and weight, and the original specification for heavily armoured tank was met when the Churchill tank was put into use.
In tests the gun was successful against a German Panther tank at nearly 1000 yards.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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