Inter-war period medium and heavy tanks

9

Heavy tanks


Besides using French lungs and developing your own lungs tanks in the USA, by the end of the First World War, attempts were made to create their own heavy tank, while using the experience of the British designers of heavy tanks. In the USA, they tried to apply non-standard technical solutions, instead of using an internal combustion engine, use a steam engine and a wheeled chassis instead of a tracked undercarriage.

Inter-war period medium and heavy tanks




Steam Tank Holt Steam Wheel Tank


The design of the Holt Steam Wheel Tank, developed in 1917, was supposed to create a three-wheeled armored vehicle, equipped with a steam power plant.


Steam Tank Holt Steam Wheel Tank


The layout of the tank in connection with the use of a steam power plant and a wheeled chassis was somewhat unusual. In the stern of the tank was an armored cabin with a fighting compartment. Under it were two steam engines, each with an 75 hp power. and manual transmission. In front of the hull two steam boilers operating on kerosene were installed. The crew of the tank consisted of six people - the commander, the driver and the arrows of the cannon and machine gun weapons. The driver could observe the road through a small hatch in the front logging hatch.


Steam Tank Holt Steam Wheel Tank


The 75-mm cannon in the stern sheet of the cabin and two 7,62-mm machine guns placed on the sides were used as armament of the tank. The gun could only shoot backwards and be led across the horizon by the tank hull. The hull was riveted from armor plates with a thickness of 5,8 - 16 mm, the tank weight reached 17 tons.

As a chassis in the stern of the hull on a rigid suspension without depreciation installed two wide wheels of large diameter. For control, a front roller-wheel was used on a pivoting base with a U-shaped frame carried forward. To increase the maneuverability and ensure the possibility of climbing the obstacles in front, an inclined plate-support was placed in front of the roller on special beams.


Steam Tank Holt Steam Wheel Tank


In 1918, a prototype tank was manufactured. Tests have shown that the tank has insufficient mobility and maneuverability due to the use of an unsuccessful powerplant and a wheeled chassis that created too much pressure on the bearing surface. The project was considered unsuccessful and closed.

Steam Flame Tank Steam Tank Tracked


In 1918, the Steam Tank Tracked tank was designed and prototyped. Instead of an internal combustion engine, two steam engines with a kerosene heating of a boiler with a total power of 500 hp were used as a power plant. In addition, the tank was additionally equipped with the same engine power 35 l. with. necessary for the effective operation of the flamethrower. With the weight of the tank 50,8 tons, he developed speed to 6 km / h.


Steam Flame Tank Steam Tank Tracked


The basis of the layout of the tank with a crew of 8 people were taken "diamond-shaped" British Mk series tanks. The undercarriage caterpillar branches completely covered the hull of the tank, sponsons with machine guns were installed along the sides, a flamethrower was installed in the upper frontal armor plate.

In front of the hull was a small superstructure, in which the driver’s seat was on the right and the flamethrower’s left, and the tank commander’s seat behind them. In the middle part of the corps there was a fighting compartment, where in two small machine gun sponsons one 7,62 mm machine gun was installed. Large metal ram spikes on the forehead of the hull were also used as weapons.


Steam Flame Tank Steam Tank Tracked


Two steam engines and transmissions were located in the aft hull. Landing into the tank was made through two side hatch and through the hatch in the front superstructure of the hull.

The tank's suspension was tough, on each side the tank had small-diameter support rollers, the rear drive wheel almost lowered to the ground and the front guide wheel mounted at the level of sponsons. There were no supporting rollers, since their role was played by guide rails on the body, along which the caterpillar with a width of 610 mm moved.

In the spring of 1918, a sample of this tank was made and tested, on tests it showed relatively satisfactory performance and was demonstrated at a number of parades. After that, the tank was sent to France to participate in the hostilities, but the war had ended by that time and was quickly forgotten about this tank.

Holt Gas-Electric Tank Heavy Tank


Another project of the heavy tank Holt Gas-Electric Tank was developed in 1917 by Holt Manufacturing Company based on the requirements and experience of that time. By design, the tank was an armored box on a tracked chassis. In the front and center of the case was a habitable compartment. In the stern at the left side housed the power plant. To her right was a corridor for access to the habitable compartment. For landing the crew in the tank in the stern sheet was the door.

The tank hull was riveted and assembled from sheets of rolled armored steel with the thickness of the forehead and sides of 15mm. 6mm roof and bottom. The frontal part of the tank had a wedge-shaped form in terms of, the sponsons for armament were placed along the sides.


Holt Gas-Electric Tank Heavy Tank


As weapons used 75-mm Vickers cannon, placed in the front armor plate, and two Browning 7,62-mm machine guns in the airborne sponsons.

With the weight of the tank 25,4 tons, its length was 5,0 m, width 2,8 m and height 2,4 m. The crew of the tank 6 people - commander, driver, gunner, loader and two machine gunners.

The power plant was based on the Holt engine power 90 hp, the transmission was electrical development company General Electric. A generator was installed on the engine, from which electricity was supplied to two electric motors along the sides of the machine. Torque from electric motors to the drive wheels was transmitted by chain transmissions. The tank developed a maximum speed of 9,5 km / h and provided a power reserve of 45 km.

The undercarriage on one side contained 10 track rollers with a stiffer suspension, a front guide wheel, a rear drive wheel and a caterpillar with a width of 394 mm. The upper part of the track moved along the rail formed in the upper part of the chassis beam. Chassis had the protection of complex-shaped parts that perform the functions of supports and armor.

A prototype tank was manufactured and tested in the 1918 year. As a result of tests, it was found that the tank has unacceptable low mobility, insufficient engine power and extremely low reliability of electric transmission. He had no real advantages over the existing armored vehicles and the work on it was stopped.

American designers have not been able to develop their heavy tank with the required characteristics, in the army during the 20-x was armed with an English tank Mk.I, developed in World War I.

Medium tanks M1921 and M1922


The medium tank М1921 was developed within the framework of the program of equipping the American army with armored vehicles adopted in 1919. In accordance with the trends of that time, demands were made for a medium tank to break through the fortified defenses of the enemy, saturated with barriers and obstacles, for which he had to have adequate maneuverability on the ground.

Tank МХNUMX had a classic layout. In the forward part of the wedge-shaped hull there was a control compartment, in the middle part there was a fighting compartment and in the stern a gearbox. The weight of the tank was 1921 t, the crew was four people.


Tank M1921


In the upper armor sheet of the department of management there was a cabin of the driver with a hinged flap and viewing slots protected by bulletproof glass.

The fighting compartment was located in a cylindrical turret with a sloped upper armor plate designed for three people. In front, on the sides of the gun were placed gunner and loader. Behind them, on a small elevation, was the seat of the tank commander. The gun was installed in the frontal part of the tower and was protected by a massive hemispherical mask. On the roof of the turret there was a tall cylindrical turret with a double-wing hatch on top, five observation slots and a machine gun in a ball mount. In the back of the tower was a double door for landing crew members in the fighting compartment. The tank’s armament was a 57-mm cannon and a Colt-Browning 7,62-mm machine gun.

The tank hull structure was mainly riveted, assembled on a metal frame of armor plates with bolts and rivets. Reservations were differentiated, the forehead of the hull and the walls of the tower are 25,4 mm thick, the sides of the 9,5 mm.

The upper and lower armor plates of the hull were set at significant angles of inclination and provided protection against small arms. weapons and small-caliber guns.

The tank was equipped with a Murray-Tregurtha engine with 220 horsepower, providing speed on the 16 highway km / h and cruising range 80 km.

The undercarriage of the tank on each side contained 8 track rollers interlocked in two spring-depreciated carts, 4 supporting rollers, front drive and rear guide wheel. Almost all elements of the chassis and suspension were closed with an armored screen 9,5 mm thick.


Tank M1921


In the process of testing prototypes, the tank showed quite satisfactory characteristics, on a paved road it developed speeds up to 16 km / h, easily overcame ditches up to 2,5 meters wide and vertical walls up to 0,75 m. However, the army lost interest in this tank, a new program development of armored forces in the army did not provide for the presence of tanks weighing more than 15 tons.

Despite this, the following modification of the M1922 tank was developed with an improved chassis, largely corresponding to the English counterpart. The military did not accept this car. In 1923-1924, work to improve the medium tank continued and led to the creation of the M1924 and M1926 tanks, but the opinion of the army leadership on the inappropriateness of having medium tanks in the army remained low, which naturally slowed down the development of American tank construction for many years.

Christie M1928 and M1931 Tanks (Т3)


A breakthrough in tank design was carried out at the turn of the 20-30-s by the American engineer Christie. The expression “Christie's tanks” then became synonymous with wheeled / tracked tanks with high speed and operational mobility.

In 1928, he designed and manufactured prototypes of the M1928 wheeled-tracked tank, taking into account the experience of his earlier work on creating such tanks. The highlight of the tank was the suspension; four pairs of twin large-diameter support rollers with rubber bands and a large vertical course were chosen as its base. Each wheel was equipped with a powerful vertically mounted spring, located between the two side sheets of the hull and connected to the rollers through the swing arms. Such a scheme subsequently received the name "Christie suspension" or "candle" type suspension.


Tank Christie M1928


The layout of the tank remained classic, the crew of the tank consisted of three people: the driver, the commander and the gunner. The hull form of the tank was partly borrowed from its earlier models. In the case, an elongated “wedge-shaped” front part stood out with an upper frontal and side plates installed at large angles and forming a kind of triangle that increases the armor resistance. The booking thickness was 12,7 mm.

There was no turret on the tank, and the armament, consisting of two Browning 7,62-mm machine guns, was located in the forward part of the hull and on the roof of the combat compartment.

The tank was equipped with the Liberty L-12 engine with the HP 338 power. On tests, he developed the maximum speed on wheels 120 km / hour and 67 km / hour on tracks.


Tank Christie M1928


According to the test results, the military noted a number of shortcomings, the main ones being the “eating out” of the suspension of the reserve, insufficient booking, weak weapons and the lack of a tower.

Two years later, Christie developed the following modification of the wheel-tracked tank M1931 (Т3), in which he tried to get rid of most of the shortcomings of the M1928. The hull design has undergone changes, its height has been reduced and the aft part has been altered. A cylindrical single-seater tower appeared with an 37-mm cannon and a small commander's turret.


Tank Christie M1931


Were made prototypes for testing. According to their results, the speed of the tank on wheels was 74 km / h and 43 km / h on tracks. But the military reacted with doubt to this machine, it was not adopted by either infantry or cavalry. A batch of 7 tanks was ordered, which were used in various tests and experiments up to the 1936 year. These tanks on test showed excellent driving performance, the army also bought two tanks for Poland and assigned them the designation TZE1.


Tank Christie M1931


The next modification of the T3X2 received a new octagonal turret, equipped with an 37-mm M1916 cannon and five machine guns, once again the shape of the hull in the bow and stern was changed. The tank was equipped with a Curtiss TD12 engine with 435 horsepower, which allowed it to reach speeds of up to 111 km / h on wheels and up to 65 km / h on tracks with a tank weight of 12,9 tons.


Tank Т3Е2


However, tanks with Christie suspension in the United States did not develop, did not go into the series, and developed by Cunningham wheeled-tracked tank T4 with fixed armored wheelhouse instead of a tower. Christie defended the idea of ​​creating high-speed tanks as best he could, but they didn’t understand him at home.

Somewhat more successfully developed a relationship of a talented designer with foreign customers. His cars are interested in England, the license for the production of tanks Christie purchased in Poland and the USSR.

Two prototypes of the tank and documentation for them were transferred to December 1930 of the year in the USSR, where they were studied and tested by the military and industry representatives. On the basis of the Christie tanks in the USSR, in 30, wheel-tracked light tanks BT-2, BT-5 and BT-7 were developed and mass-produced, and the ideas of the Christie suspension were used to create the T-34 medium tank.

Medium Tank T2


The Medium Tank T2 medium tank design was launched in the 1929 year. Its layout was the development of the T1E1 light tank. T2 turned out to be much more successful, since the small size and tight layout of the T1E1 made the crew’s work very difficult. Tests of the prototype T2 began in the 1930 year. The car turned out to be quite modern and could lay claim to mass production, but the Great Depression that began in 1929 led to a reduction in funding, and the appearance of low-cost and high-speed Christie M1928 and M1931 tanks with quite ambiguous design solutions put an end to the development of the THNUMX and in 2 the project was closed .


Tank T2


The layout of the tank was different from the classical one; in the forward part of the hull, the power plant was located on the left, the driver's seat with a box-like superstructure with a viewing slot in the hatch on the left.

Behind the partition, in the aft part of the hull, there were combined combat and transmission compartments. For the landing of the crew there was a double door in the aft body armor sheet. When the crew of the tank, four people (driver, commander, gunner, loader) in the fighting compartment, three crew members were in fairly spacious conditions.

In the cylindrical turret mounted above the fighting compartment, there was an installation of 47-mm cannon and Browning M12,7HB 2-mm machine gun. On the roof of the tower was a commander's turret with a single door hatch. In addition, in the front hull, to the right of the driver, there was an installation with an 37-mm semi-automatic M5 L / 50 cannon and a paired 7,62-mm Browning M1919 machine gun.

The power plant was based on the Liberty L-12 338 hp aircraft engine, which provides speed on the 40 highway km / h and cross-country 24 km / h.


Tank T2


With a tank weight of 14 tons, the frontal armor of the hull and turret was 19-22 mm thick and the 6,4 mm flanks and provided protection against small arms fire and debris.

The chassis of the tank on each side consisted of 12 track rollers assembled in 6 carts with spring-mounted suspension, 4 support rollers, front guide and rear drive wheels. The track consisted of 80 metal tracks 381 mm wide. Open suspension elements were protected by a bulwark with hinged folding sections.

Medium Tank T4 Medium Tank M1


The T4 tank was developed by Cunningham in 1931 using the ideas of the engineer Christie. Large-diameter track rollers and suspension on spring “candle” springs were borrowed. In general, the T4 tank with a crew of three people retained many features with the Christie M1928 and M1931 tanks. The main goal of the American engineers at this stage was to ensure maximum mobility and rapidity of the combat vehicle intended primarily for cavalry.

The hull of the Т4 tank was made of sheets of rolled armored steel, mainly by welding. The layout was classic: the front control compartment, the fighting compartment in the middle part and the engine transmission at the stern. The tank was equipped with an 168 horsepower engine, which with a weight of 10 tons could reach speeds on tracks up to 48 km / hour and on wheels up to 72 km / hour.


Tank T4


The difference from Christie’s tanks was the turret box with the installation of a machine gun for the right of the driver. Armament T4 consisted of two 7,62-mm machine guns Colt-Browning.

The tank was successfully tested in the 1935, but, despite its high driving performance, it was not accepted for service because it did not suit the customer in terms of armament. The military made a choice in favor of the T5 tank.

However, a modification of the T4EX1 tank was developed, characterized by the absence of a turret, instead of it, six Colt-Browning 7,62-mm machine guns were installed in a spacious box-like superstructure, providing circular fire. Another same machine gun was installed in the front hull sheet to the right of the driver.

The superstructure was equipped with a small commander turret. A Continental engine with an 268 horsepower rating was also installed. The tank's weight increased to 9,6 tons, but this modification was not accepted for service.

Tests of the T4 series continued until the 1935 of the year, inclusive, but ultimately abandoned in favor of the T5 medium tanks that had been successfully tested and put into service.

Medium tank Т5 (М2)


Of the entire multitude of experimental models of medium tanks, developed at that time in the USA, not one of them reached mass production. In 1938, the new medium tank T5 was developed, in which they refused to use the wheeled-tracked chassis proposed by Christie. The design of the tank was maximally unified with units and aggregates of the light tank T2, which significantly reduced the cost of its production. When the crew of the tank 6 man tank weight was 18,7 tons.

The T5 tank batch was manufactured and tested in the 1939 year. According to the test results, the tank was put into service with the M2 index.


Tank M2


The car was an original design with four corner sponsons in the body, armed with machine guns, and a rotating multi-faceted conical turret with a cannon installed in it. The office of management was ahead, here transmission and onboard transfers were placed also. The fighting compartment was in the middle, the power plant was located in the stern. Torque from the power plant was transmitted to the transmission with the help of cardan shafts.

The armament of the tank consisted of the 37mm cannon mounted in the turret and eight Browning М7,62А1919 eight guns, four of which were mounted in mobile units in the sponsors and provided round fire, two in the front hull and two anti-aircraft guns mounted on the turret.

The hull structure was riveted-welded, the tower was welded. With the weight of the tank 18,7 tons of armor thickness was 9,5 - 25 mm.


Tank M2


The power plant based on the engine power 350 hp provided speed on the highway 43 km / h and power reserve 209 km.

In 1940, a modification of the M2А1 tank was created, to which a new turret was installed, increased the thickness of the armor from 25-mm to 32 mm and applied a wider track, as well as installed an 400l forced engine. The weight of the tank increased to 21,4 tons.

The tank was produced in 1939-1940 in small series, it was released 52 tank М2 and 94 tank М2А1. The tank did not participate in the fighting. Tank М2 is still morally obsolete even before the start of serial production due to the imperfections of the hull design and weak weapons. Attempts to install the 75mm gun on it were not successful and the production of these tanks was stopped. At the same time, the M2 tank became the direct predecessor of the “General Lee” medium tank M3, in which this task was solved and it was successfully used in World War II.

The state of US medium tanks before the war


The US military leadership in the 20-ies has relied on equipping the army with light tanks and seriously slowed down the development of medium tanks, which were developed during this period. Only by the middle of the 30-x began to pay attention to medium tanks, but no decent samples to the beginning of the war did not appear, the ideas of engineer Christie were not used. Medium tanks М1 and М2, released in small batches, did not take part in hostilities, but tank М2 became a prototype for a generation of American medium tanks, developed and produced already in the process of war.

To be continued ...
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9 comments
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  1. +3
    22 June 2019 06: 21
    Thank you, Yuri hi good series. Read with interest.
  2. +1
    22 June 2019 08: 45
    Christie M1928 and M1931 Tanks (Т3)

    Since when did Christie's tanks become
    Inter-war period medium and heavy tanks
    . They were always and everywhere light. And so - a great review!
  3. +2
    22 June 2019 15: 37
    hi ... Two years later, Christy developed the following modification of the wheel-tracked tank M1931 (T3)
    In 1938, a new T5 medium tank was developed, in which they refused to use the wheeled-tracked chassis proposed by Christie
    The M2 tank is still morally obsolete even before the start of serial production due to the imperfection of the hull design and weak weapons.
  4. 0
    22 June 2019 15: 40
    Steam flamethrower tank!
    Damn it, how have I not read about this before ?! It’s a pity, it’s a pity that this device did not manage to appear on the fields of the Great War. Interestingly, the engine power is direct serious, and the children's speed - what's the matter?
  5. +1
    22 June 2019 16: 53
    Medium tanks M1921 and M1922
    Christie M1928 and M1931 Tanks (Т3)

    I note to the author that the M1921 and M1922 tanks are also CHRISTIAN TANKS. These were his first tank projects after work on self-propelled guns (which, however, the US Army also did not accept). Why not a word was said about this is incomprehensible.
    I myself once wrote a series of articles on tanks Christie, so this moment unpleasantly cut my eyes.
  6. +2
    22 June 2019 17: 17
    Christie bought a license for the production of tanks in Poland and the USSR.

    Poland wanted to buy a license, yes. But NOT bought. I could not. The Poles were just kicked off (Christie himself) almost at the last moment (by the way, largely because of the deal with the USSR), so they made their 10TP according to the documentation received earlier, "pirate", in the style of China, spitting on all the legality. But the USSR, even more so just couldn't buy a license (the State Department - and then, only with Hoover's personal approval - gave the go-ahead to "Amtorg" only for the acquisition and production of T1 Cunningham), so the deal with Christie was wild illegal, and there was generally a whole comedy detective story. Not to mention the fact that the agreements between Amtorg and Christie were verbal (because one hell, crime and smuggling - according to the official documents, two tanks were shipped to us under the guise of industrial tractors - and they barely had time to be taken out, just the Department of Armaments I snapped a little with a beak for a couple of days).
    PS With the naglitsyami, I note, there was a similar parsley, but Christy just took the tanks apart, packed them in boxes and sold them under the guise of a batch of bananas.
    1. 0
      12 September 2019 22: 06
      The story is worth the movie.
  7. +1
    22 June 2019 20: 41
    There are questions to the article on many cases of not joining and roughness, but in general a review has been obtained. A bunch of unusual technique. :)
  8. -2
    24 June 2019 22: 16
    A small and superficial experience in the construction of tanks by the Americans during this period, as a result, nevertheless expressed itself in the normal construction of WWII tanks. The M2 tank already has a running gear close to the Sherman’s chassis. Of course, the Shermans are not the top of perfection, but already an efficient machine. Thank you for diving into history!

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