Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Hobart's Funnies is the nickname given to a number of specialist armoured fighting vehicles derived from tanks operated during the Second World War by units of the 79th Armoured Division of the British Army or by specialists from the Royal Engineers.
These inter-war tanks were built to supply the British Army after the First World War. Heavier than most light tanks, they proved to be under-gunned and under-armoured. Some did see action in France and the Low Countries in 1940. They were armed with either the QF 3 pdr or the Vickers machine gun. All were withdrawn from service by 1941.
The bright spots of British tank design included the Valentine, Churchill (A22), Cromwell (A27M), and Comet I (A34), which together made up a little over half of total British tank production during WWII. The Valentine was a reliable, heavily armoured infantry-support tank used successfully in the desert and by the Red Army as a light tank.
The remainder were enough to arm three regiments of tanks, and for training and as replacements for battlefield casualties. The Crocodile's six and a half ton armoured trailer carried 400 imperial gallons (1,800 L) of fuel [ 11 ] [ page needed ] and five cylinders containing compressed gas propellant.
In 1980, 32 Armoured Engineer Regiment was again reformed and was the largest tank regiment in the British Army. The Regiment was the only unit equipped with specialist Sapper tanks and heir to the traditions of past assault and armoured engineers. The regimental crest included the bull's head device of 79th Armoured Division.
British tank design focused on pre-war requirements for light, cruiser, and infantry tanks created experimentally by J.F.C. Fuller, Percy Hobart and B.H. Liddell-Hart. Their experiments and doctrine led the way in the development of armoured warfare after the first world war, and also had a major influence on Axis development under Heinz ...
The M4 Medium became the second-most-produced tank of World War II, and was the only tank to be used by virtually all Allied forces (thanks to the American lend-lease program); approximately 40,000 M4 Mediums were produced during the war. [30] M4s formed the main tank of American, British, Canadian, French, Polish, and Chinese units.
Pages in category "World War II tanks of the United Kingdom" The following 53 pages are in this category, out of 53 total. This list may not reflect recent changes .