Infantry tank "Churchill"
The German 50 mm Pak 38 anti-tank gun posed a serious danger to all British tanks at the beginning of the war. His armor-piercing projectile pierced 78 mm homogeneous armor, that is, the frontal part of the hull of the UK's most protected tank Matilda II, from 500 m. If the protection of cruiser tanks was compensated by their high maneuverability, infantry tanks with low movement speed became easy prey for German guns. In such a situation, the British army urgently needed a new infantry vehicle, sufficiently protected withstand the German 50mm guns.
Cruiser tank
"Comet"The first production samples of the cruiser tank, named "Com t", appeared at the end of 1944. They were equipped with a modified version of the 17-pounder cannon, lighter, with a reduced barrel and breech. In addition to the main gun from its prototype, the Cromwell, the Comet tank was distinguished by reinforced frontal armor, which affected the weight and speed of the machine. So, if the Cromwell, with a combat weight of 28 tons, reached speeds of up to 64 km/ h, then the maximum speed of the 35.8-ton Comet tank was only 47 km / h.
Main battle tank
"Centurion"In September 1945, Field Marshal Bernard Low Montgomery, the most famous military commander of the Second World War, who spoke at a conference of tank officers of the British Army of the Rhine, expressed the idea of the need to put into service a fundamentally new combat vehicle for the British army, in which the best qualities of infantry and cruiser tanks would be realized. In his opinion, a model combining high firepower, security and mobility would be able to cope with most of the tasks assigned to tanks on the battlefield.
Main battle tank
Main battle tank
"Challenger"The tank, named "Challe ger“ almost completely copied the modernized export "Shir-2". Among the few differences, we note the new TN-37 automatic hydromechanical transmission. Already during mass production, which began in 1983, the order for the "Challengers" was increased to 420 cars. All tanks entered the British army, and only in 1999, after the adoption of the new main combat Challenger 2, 390 units were sold to Jordan.
Challenger 2 Main battle
tankA competition was announced for a new tank for the British army, in which, in addition to British manufacturers represented by Vickers, representatives of other countries could also take part. The following models were submitted to the competition: USA — M1A1 "Abrams", Germany — "Leopard" 2, France — "Leclerc", Brazil — ITS-T1 "Ozorio". In the UK, it was understood that adopting a tank produced in another country (although it surpassed domestic vehicles in key combat characteristics) was a blow to their own tank building and prestige in the international arena. As a result, the winner of the competition was announced by Vickers, which presented the Challenger 2 tank, on which it had been working since 1986 on its own initiative.
Conclusion
The history of British tank building represents an exciting path of innovation, technological advances and military strategies. With the rapid development in the field of British tank building, Great Britain left its mark on military history, made a significant contribution to the development of tank technology and influenced modern military conflicts. I hope that our presentation has allowed you to see the history of British tank building in a new light and inspired further research into this fascinating field of science.
