Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} An Illustrated Guide to World War II and Fighting Vehicles by Ray Bonds 20 Specialist Armored Vehicles of World War Two. The Second World War saw massive numbers of armored vehicles deployed on all sides. While most were tanks, artillery, and transports, there were also lots of more unusual vehicles. Matilda Hedgehog. Created by the Australian Army, this was a British Matilda with a difference. A rotating platform was installed above the engine, carrying seven naval spigot mortars. Though designed to attack submarines, these mortars were perfect for smashing open Japanese bunkers on Pacific islands, and the Hedgehog let the Australians carry them close enough to hit their targets. Matilda Hedgehog. By Bukvoed CC BY 2.5. Ronson Flamethrower. A Canadian built flamethrower, the Ronson was sold to the US Marine Corps. They installed it on M3 and M5 tanks as well as LVT3 amphibious vehicles. It was effective at burning out enemies in defensive positions and earned the nickname of Satan for its burning effect. Befehlspanzer Panther. German officers commanding tank formations needed a way to keep up with their troops. Traveling in unusual looking vehicles could attract enemy fire, so they often used adapted tanks. The Befehlspanzer Panther was a late war example in which ammunition space was sacrificed in favor of radio gear. A Befehlspanzer Panther standing in a field. By Bundesarchiv Bild CC-BY-SA 3.0. Borgward B IV. A German demolition vehicle, the Bogward IV was a tracked vehicle with a large explosive attached to the front. The driver drove as close to an obstacle as he safely could, then finished the job of steering and detonation by remote control. Borgward IV with releasable ordnance container in place. Bruckenleger IV. The Bruckenleger was a German bridge layer designed to help armor cross ditches. It was used in the invasion of France, where surprise proved better for crossings than specialist vehicles, leading to its abandonment. An abandoned Bruckenleger IV. Goliath. A German remote-controlled demolition vehicle, the Goliath was less than five feet long and two feet high. Cheap enough to be disposable, it was fitted with a 132lb explosive charge. Directed against enemy defenses or into a minefield, it then exploded, breaking through barriers or detonating mines. German soldiers with a Goliath and its remote control. By Bundesarchiv Bild CC-BY-SA 3.0. PzKpfw III (Flamm) Designed to help with fighting in built up Russian terrain, this was a German flamethrower tank that replaced the less successful PzKpfw II (Flamm). Increased armor at the front let it get close enough to effectively use its weapon. Two PzKpfw III (Flamm) 1825 and 1827 in training. Raumer-S. Consisting of two massive steel boxes on heavy steel wheels, this was designed to clear minefields simply by driving over the mines and surviving. Like several late war German weapons, it was not ready for action before the fighting ended. CV 33 Bridgelayer. One of the earliest bridge-laying tanks, this was an Italian CV 33 with an added bridge. The short, lightweight bridge could be winched over the tank and into position for crossing narrow obstacles. Italian CV-33 Flamethrower. By Hohum CC BY 3.0. Churchill Armoured Vehicle, Royal Engineers. The disastrous Dieppe Raid of 1942 taught the British that engineers needed the tools and protection of specialist vehicles. They converted Churchill tanks to this purpose, replacing their ammunition racks with demolition and engineering supplies, their main guns with short-range demolition mortars. This became the first Armoured Vehicle, Royal Engineers (AVRE). Churchill ARVE Mk II. Churchill Assault Bridge AVRE. Created by the Canadian Army, this was a variation on the Churchill AVRE. It carried a 34ft small box girder bridge which could be dropped to cross ditches or in pairs to get across walls. A Churchill bridge layer of 51st Royal Tank Regiment in action during a demonstration in the Mezzano area, 30 March 1945. Churchill Carpet. The British were the masters of specialist engineering tanks, which they called funnies. Among these absurd sounding but effective vehicles was the Carpet, a Churchill tank with a drum of hessian matting suspended from the front. As it advanced across barbed wire, it flattened the wire and covered it in a pathway of hessian, creating a safe route through for infantry. Churchill AVRE Carpet with Bobbin. Churchill Demolition Tanks. To destroy solid enemy obstacles, more Churchills were turned into demolition vehicles. These were fitted with a series of explosive devices, known as Carrots, Onions, and Goats, carried in front of the tank and detonated to destroy obstructions. Churchill Ark Mk II bridging vehicle. Grant Special-Purpose Tank. Another British invention, this was an American Grant tank mounted with a specialist Canal Defense Light (CDL) turret. Far from a defensive tool, the CDL was a powerfully bright light meant to dazzle enemies during night fighting. It was never effectively used in this way, and mostly just illuminated Allied river crossings. An M3 tank fitted with an armoured searchlight turret, known as a Canal Defense Light. IWM Collection description is “Grant CDL (Canal Defence Light) with searchlight and dummy gun mounted in turret.” Scorpion. Invented by the South African Major A. S. du Toit, this was a tank with a revolving drum covered in chain flails attached to the front. As it advanced across a minefield, the chains detonated the mines, destroying them before they were close enough to damage the tank. The same device was later used for the more effective Sherman Crab. Matilda Baron flail tank very similar to the Scorpion tank. Instead of attaching the Ronson flamethrower to a tank, the British installed it in their Universal Carrier vehicle, creating the Wasp. The weapon could only be aimed by turning the whole vehicle, but the Canadian-designed Wasp Mark 2C remained in use well past the end of the war. A Wasp flamethrower tank on display in the Canadian War Museum. M4 Tankdozer. The Americans soon discovered that bulldozers were invaluable for clearing roadblocks and damaged roads, but that their drivers were dangerously vulnerable to enemy fire. They, therefore, developed the Tankdozer, a modification kit that fitted a bulldozer blade onto the front of a Sherman M4 tank, for safer road clearance. Dozer named Apache Equipped with Pusher Blade Co A 746th Tank Battalion France July 1944. Rhinoceros. In the summer of 1944, the Allies faced a serious challenge. The dense hedgerows of the Norman bocage provided ideal defensive terrain for the Germans and were hard to destroy with conventional tools. The American Sergeant Curtis D. Culin created the solution known as the Rhinoceros, a set of steel plates inspired by plow shares which were welded onto the front of tanks, allowing them to rip up hedgerows as they advanced. 60th Infantry soldiers alongside of a Sherman “Rhino” tank in Belgium. T10 Mine Exploder. The American solution to the minefield problem, the T1 Mine Exploder was a tank with heavy rollers in front of and behind it. These detonated mines, clearing a path. Though effective, early T10s were unwieldy to drive, leading to several variations as engineers sought to improve them. Remote controlled T10 mine exploder, July 1944. T31 Demolition Tank. An American response to the Churchill AVRE, the T31 Demolition Tank was a specially adapted Sherman, with thick belly armor, a bulldozer blade, rocket launchers, and other specialist fittings. It proved ineffective in tests in 1945 and so was abandoned in favor of more modern designs. ISBN 13: 9780668052320. Illustrated Guide to World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles. This specific ISBN edition is currently not available. Describes light, medium, and heavy tanks and recounts their battle records. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. Shipping: US$ 4.00 Within U.S.A. Customers who bought this item also bought. Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace. 1. Illustrated Guide to World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles. Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0668052325. 2. Illustrated Guide to World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles. Book Description Condition: New. A+ Customer service! Satisfaction Guaranteed! Book is in NEW condition. 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The most effective tank force proved to be the German, composed in 1939 of 3,195 vehicles, including 211 Pz. IVs. What made the German panzers so formidable was that, instead of being divided between various infantry and cavalry tank units, they were all concentrated and used in massed formations in the panzer divisions. The successes of the panzer divisions during the first two years of World War II led the major armies to reorganize most of their tanks into similar formations; this resulted in a dramatic increase in production. The campaigns of 1939–41, in which armoured forces played an important role, also intensified the technical development of tanks and other armoured vehicles. The German Pz. IV and Soviet T-34 were rearmed in 1942 with longer-barreled, higher-velocity guns; soon afterward these began to be displaced by more powerfully armed tanks. In 1943 the Germans introduced the Panther with a long 75-mm gun having a muzzle velocity of 936 metres (3,070 feet) per second, compared with 384 metres (1,260 feet) per second for the original Pz. IV and 750 metres (2,460 feet) per second for its 1942 version. The 43-ton Panther weighed almost twice as much as its predecessor and was correspondingly better armoured. Germany also introduced the still more powerful Tiger tank, armed with an 88-mm gun. Its final version (Tiger II), at 68 tons, was to be the heaviest tank used during World War II. To oppose it, the Russians brought out the JS, or Stalin, , which appeared in 1944 armed with a 122-mm gun. Its muzzle velocity was lower than that of the German 88-mm guns, however, and it weighed only 46 tons. At about the same time the T-34 was rearmed with an 85-mm gun. In contrast to the breakthrough role of the earlier heavy tanks, the Tiger and JS tanks functioned chiefly to support basic medium tanks by destroying enemy tanks at long range. German and Soviet armies also developed other heavy vehicles for this purpose, such as the 128-mm-gun and the 122-mm-gun ISU, which in effect were turretless tanks. In addition, all armies developed lightly armoured self-propelled antitank guns. The U.S. Army developed a specialized category of tank destroyers that resembled self-propelled guns in being relatively lightly armoured but that, like tanks, had rotating turrets. The turretless-tank type of vehicle originated with the Sturmgeschutz, or , introduced by the German army for infantry support but subsequently transformed into more versatile vehicles particularly suited for destroying enemy tanks. No such vehicles were produced in Britain or the United States. Throughout the war, however, the British Army retained a specialized category of infantry tanks, such as the Churchill, and of cruiser tanks, such as the Crusader and Cromwell. The former were well-armoured and the latter were fast, but none was well-armed compared with German and Soviet tanks. As a result, during 1943 and 1944 British armoured divisions were mostly equipped with U.S.-built M4 Sherman medium tanks. The M4 was preceded by the mechanically similar M3 General Grant medium tank, which was also armed with a medium-velocity 75-mm gun but had it mounted in the hull instead of the turret, because this could be put into production more quickly when tanks were urgently required in 1940 and 1941. Production of the M4 began in 1942 and eventually 49,234 were built, making it the principal tank of U.S. and other Allied armoured forces. Successful when first introduced, it was by 1944 no longer adequately armed and should have been replaced by a new medium tank. But the U.S. Army, like the British, adhered to the fallacious doctrine that armoured divisions should confine themselves to exploitation of infantry breakthroughs and did not, therefore, need powerfully armed tanks. Only toward the end of the war did the U.S. Army introduce a few M26 Pershing heavy tanks with a 90-mm gun comparable to that of the original German Tiger. Similarly, the British Army introduced the prototypes of the Centurion tank with a 76-mm gun comparable to that of the German Panther. Otherwise, U.S. and British tanks were well behind the German and Soviet tanks in their gun power. Postwar tank development. After World War II it was generally recognized that all tanks must be well-armed to fight enemy tanks. This finally ended the division of tanks into under-gunned categories of specialized infantry and cavalry tanks, which the British Army retained longer than any other. Still not fully recognized, however, were the advantages of concentrating tanks in fully mechanized formations, and the British and U.S. armies continued to divide tanks between the armoured divisions and the less mobile infantry divisions. After World War II, tanks also suffered from one of the periodic waves of pessimism about their future. New antitank weapons, such as rocket launchers and recoilless rifles, and the mistaken belief that the value of tanks lay primarily in their armour protection caused this attitude. The Soviet army, however, maintained large armoured forces, and the threat they posed to western Europe as the Cold War became more intense, together with the havoc created by Soviet-built T-34/85 tanks during the North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950, provided a new impetus to development. The development of tactical nuclear weapons in the mid-1950s provided further stimulus to the development of tanks and other armoured vehicles. Nuclear weapons encouraged the use of armoured forces because of the latter’s mobility and high combat power in relation to their vulnerable manpower. Moreover, armoured vehicles proved capable of operating in relative proximity to nuclear explosions by virtue of their protection against blasts and radioactivity. As less emphasis was placed after a time on nuclear weapons and more on conventional forces, tanks retained their importance. This was based on their being recognized, particularly from the early 1970s, as the most effective counter to other armoured forces, which formed the principal threat posed on the ground by potential aggressors. 17 Important Tanks of World War Two. The tank was invented by the British as an attempt to break the stalemate of World War One. Although initially slow, cumbersome and unreliable, the future potential of tanks was recognised at the time and they remain a mainstay of conflict to this day. Tank development in the 1930s was variable depending upon the differing military philosophies held by the powers of the day. Having adopted the idea of Blitzkrieg, which was first conceived in Britain during the 1920s, the Nazis focused upon making the tank an instrument for line-breaking offensives through speed, armour and firepower. A similar perspective was also adopted by the Soviets. The British and French retained a more conservative approach, however, continuing to see the tank as an implement for reconnaissance and infantry support. This meant that Allied tanks were relatively inadequate until the introduction of American machines in 1942. 1. British Matilda. A Matilda II tank of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment in the Western Desert, 19 December 1940. Credit: Keating G (Capt) No 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit / © IWM (E 1416). The British Matilda was a well-armoured vehicle, but its 40 mm gun was soon shown to be inadequate in comparison to those on the German tanks. The Matilda was also disastrously slow and was often knocked out of action by German artillery before reaching firing range. Its reliability and protection did mean that British tank crews often held affection for the Matilda. 2. Vickers Light Tank. Vickers Light Tank Mark VI. Credit: Imperial War Museum / Public Domain. The Vickers Light Tanks offered the British a speedier option, with the Mk V capable of reaching 32 mph, making it an adequate reconnaissance vehicle. It carried machine guns, but lacked real offensive power and was poorly protected by its light armour. 3. British Crusader. The crew of a Crusader tank prepare a meal in the Western Desert. Credit: Martin (Sgt), No 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit / Public Domain. Early models of the British Crusader were also too lightly armoured. These tanks were disastrously unreliable, with more lost due to mechanical failure than combat damage. 4. Cromwell. A Mk VIII Cromwell tank from the 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards, at Pickering. Credit: Morio / CC BY-SA 4.0. Eventually, the Cromwell proved to be an adequate rival to the German tanks. Introduced in 1943, it soon gained a 75 mm gun and was widely employed following the D-day landings, being mobile and with a reliable Meteor engine. 5. -bis. Tank B1 bis “Hurricane” No. 260 of the 8th Combat Tank Battalion of the 2nd Battleship Division, was delivered to the 508th RCC in early 1939. Credit: PhotosNormandie / Public Domain. The French Char B1-bis was as well equipped for offence as later tanks, with a superficially impressive 75 mm gun. On the battlefield, however, this proved difficult to use effectively due to issues of reliability, tactics and personnel. 6. Panzer III. A captured German Panzerkapfwagen III Ausf. J on display at the American maintenance school, the Ordnance repair depot, at Heliopolis, Egypt, in September 1942. Credit: U.S. Army Heritage Education Center / Public Domain. Panzerkampfwagens were central to the Nazi conquests over much of Europe in the first part of the war, highlighting Germany’s superior technological and tactical developments, and instilling a great sense of confidence. Rommel’s success in North Africa owed much to the German Panzer III, which could reach 25 mph, had a 37 mm gun that grew to 50 mm and 19 mm armour, as well as the Panzer IV, which boasted a 75 mm gun. 7. T-34. T-34 tank from the Stanisław Kęszycki collection during the reconstruction of the in the Modlin Fortress. Credit: Cezary Piwowarski / Public Domain. The Soviet T-34 Medium was developed from 1937-9 and went into full production from June 1940. This tank became somewhat of a benchmark and around 40,000 had entered combat by the end of the war. Such high volume production was facilitated by simple design, which made T-34s easy to build, allowed for parts to be used in numerous vehicles and made repair and replacement relatively simple. The T-34 was vital to preventing Nazi conquest over winter 1941. Its 76 mm gun made Panzer Mk-3s particularly vulnerable to attack, whilst matching the Mk-4s for firepower. The T-34s sloping armour made it less susceptible to opposing fire and its wider tracks gave superior mobility across tough terrain. The reliability and sheer volume of T-34s ultimately proved decisive in opposition to the German tanks in the east. 8. Panzer V – Panther. Panzer V – on display at museum. Credit: AlfvanBeem / Public Domain. The Panzer V, better known as the Panther, was developed in response to the T-34, borrowing many of the principles that made the Soviet tank such an effective weapon. It was protected by sloping armour, had a more powerful engine and a 75 mm gun that could pierce armour from over 1 km. Although the Panther was the finest tank that the Germans produced during the war, they overlooked the advantages of simple design. Over- engineering meant that the Panther was more complex, slower to produce and less easily repaired. 9. Panzer VI – Tiger. tank in the north of France. Credit: Bundesarchiv / CC BY-SA 3.0 de. The Panzer VI Tiger superseded the Panther in early 1943. It carried a devastating 88 mm gun and frontal armour that was relatively impervious to attack, but at 55 tonnes was almost twice as heavy as the T-34 and too long in production due to further over-engineering. The Tiger also lacked ammunition for close-combat fighting and its complex overlapping wheels froze solid during cold nights, thus making it particularly susceptible to early morning attacks until amendment later in 1943. 10. King Tiger. Sd Kfz 182 Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf B (King Tiger). Credit: Simon Q / CC BY 2.0. The Germans also developed the King Tiger, a new form of the Panzer VI that was introduced in Tunisia in February 1943 although primarily intended for use in the east. This tank combined elements of the Panther and the Tiger. Its 88 mm gun had a greater range than any rival, whilst it wore so much armour that it weighed 68 tonnes. Although an intimidating prospect, only 485 were ever produced. 11. M3 Medium – Grant. An officer seated on top of a General Grant M3 medium tank explaining the method of operating an American type pistol for firing smoke-screen shells from the inside of a tank. Credit: Australian War Memorial / Public Domain. The American M3 Medium, which became known as the Grant, was brought into service by the British in May 1942 as a remedy to the largely ineffective options they had hitherto relied upon. Its 75 mm gun, top speed of 26 mph and good reliability helped the British to make up ground on the Germans in tank capability. 12. M4 – Sherman. M4 Sherman Tanks in the European Theatre of Operations. Credit: U.S. Army / Public Domain. The M3 was then followed by the M4, or Sherman. This was produced in huge numbers, with about 50,000 built by the end of the war. The M3 was a highly manoeuvrable tank that could reach 29 mph despite weighing 30 tonnes and its 75 mm gun fired both armour-piercing and high- exploding shells. The Sherman had a fatal weakness, however, in that it used petrol rather than diesel and had a propensity to burst into flames. This led to them being dubbed ‘Tommy-cookers’ by the Germans. They were nonetheless vital to securing victory in North Africa and also counted for the bulk of allied tanks in Europe following the D-day landings. Similarly to the T-34s in the east, the sheer volume of their production ultimately paid dividends. 13. Vickers 6-Ton (Vickers Mark E) Polish Vickers Mark E (Type A) tank in early thirties. Credit: Military Institute of Engineering Research, Poland / Public Domain. This British light tank made by the renowned engineering company Vickers inspired many countries to produce their own versions of the tank. These included the Polish 7TP, Italian M11/39 and later models, Soviet T-26, Type 95 Ha-Go and the M2 light tank. It was conventionally built in two types: Type A had two turrets, each mounting a Vickers machine gun. Type B had a single two-man turret mounting a single machine gun and a short-barreled 47 mm cannon OQF 3-pdr Gun. 14. Christie T3E2 Medium Tank. T3E2 tank with Christie suspension crossing an obstacle during tests in 1936. Credit: Harris & Ewing, photographer / Public Domain. Designed by J Walter Christie, the American engineer and inventor known for developing the Christie suspension system, this experimental prototype originally built in 1932 led to the Soviet BT series and later to the famous T-34 (and many other prototypes or series). Though the US Army purchased several prototypes such as the T3E2 and developed its own experimental designs based on Christie designs, none of the Christie designs ever saw mass production. 15. TNH series (LT vz. 38)/Panzer 38(t) Panzer 38(t) and infantry in northern Russia. Credit: Bundesarchiv / CC-BY-SA 3.0. This Czech-made light tank was a very successful design, illustrated by the German army’s adoption of the tank upon their takeover of Czechoslovakia. It was used in the invasions of Poland, France and Russia in its better known form as the Panzer 38(t), before its production ended in 1942 when its armament was deemed inadequate. However its chassis and other components continued to be produced until the end of the war as part of the production line of the 38(t) and the Marder III. Its German name makes reference to its Czech origins; the (t) stands for tschechisch, the German word for Czech. 16. Panzer IV. Soviet Union, Kharkov.- Defective Panzer IV of the 1st SS Panzer Division “Leibstandarte” with chain damage on the roadside. Credit: Bundesarchiv / CC-BY-SA 3.0. This medium tank was the most widely manufactured and deployed German tank of the World War Two. It was designed as an infantry support tank and was not intended to engage in enemy combat. Robust and reliable, the Panzer IV saw service in all combat theatres involving Germany and was the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war, with over 8,800 produced between 1936 and 1945. 17. T-70. Soviet T-70 light tank, displayed in Finnish Tank Museum (Panssarimuseo) in Parola. The main gun is missing. Credit: Balcer / CC-BY-SA 3.0. This light soviet tank used by the Red Army replaced both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light for infantry support. The tank was operated by a driver and a commander who loaded and fired the gun. Armour thickness on the turret front was 60 mm, hull front and sides: 45 mm, rear and turret sides: 35 mm, roof and bottom: 10 mm. It was armed with a 45-mm L/46 gun Model 38 with forty-five rounds carried, and a coaxial 7.62-mm DT machine gun. It remained in service until 1948 and was used as a basis for both the T-80, which was more advanced and had a two man turret, and the T-90 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, which drew on the T-70’s chassis. Featured Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-299-1805-16 / Scheck / CC-BY-SA 3.0.