The Tank, Cruiser, Mk III, also known by its General Staff specification number A13 Mark I, was a British

cruiser tank The cruiser tank (sometimes called cavalry tank or fast tank) was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry, as distinguished from infantry tanks. Cruiser tanks were developed ...

of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was the first British cruiser tank to use the

Christie suspension The Christie suspension is a suspension system developed by American engineer J. Walter Christie for his tank designs. It allowed considerably longer movement than conventional leaf spring systems then in common use, which allowed his tanks to ...

system, which gave higher speeds and better cross-country performance; previous cruiser tank models had used triple wheeled bogie suspension.

Design and development

British cruiser tank design began with the Mk I and somewhat heavier Mk II in the mid-1930s. Just as prototypes were arriving in 1936, General Giffard LeQuesne Martel, a pioneer in tank design who had published works on armoured warfare and pioneered the lightly armoured "

tankette A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting.

" to enhance infantry mobility, became Assistant Director of Mechanization at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from t ...

.Milsom Later that year, Martel witnessed demonstrations of Soviet tank designs, including the

BT tank The BT tanks (russian: Быстроходный танк/БТ, translit=Bystrokhodnyy tank, lit. "fast moving tank" or "high-speed tank") were a series of Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly arm ...

, which had been influenced by American J. Walter Christie's work. Martel urged the adoption of the

and Christie's practice of using a lightweight aircraft engine, such as the

Liberty Engine The Liberty L-12 is an American water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine displacing and making designed for a high power-to-weight ratio and ease of mass production. It saw wide use in aero applications, and, once marinized, in marine use both i ...

. The government authorized the purchase and licensing of a Christie design via the

Nuffield Organization Nuffield Organization was the unincorporated umbrella-name or promotional name used for the charitable and commercial interests of owner and donor, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. The name was assumed following Nuffield's gift made to for ...

, rather than contact the Soviet authorities.Tucker, pp. 49–51 The vehicle obtained seems, on close examination of photographs, not to be Christie's prototype M1931 but a production "T3 Medium", the US Army having decided to replace this model c1934. Why this survivor was sent to Britain is unknown, though it is possible it was the only available example, hastily put into operable condition but minus its turret. On arrival it was given British War Department number T2086, the road registration BMX841 and the Mechanical Experimentation Establishment's experimental number 958. After trials it was sent to

Morris Commercial Cars Morris Commercial Cars Limited was a British manufacturer of commercial vehicles formed by William Morris, founder of Morris Motors Limited, to continue the business of E G Wrigley and Company which he purchased as of 1 January 1924. The ma ...

Ltd, Birmingham and disassembled for study,

Lord Nuffield William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, (10 October 1877 – 22 August 1963) was an English motor manufacturer and philanthropist. He was the founder of Morris Motors Limited and is remembered as the founder of the Nuffield Foundation, ...

(head of the Morris companies) had already agreed to buy the patent rights that would allow his company to develop the design that would become the basis of the Cruiser Mk III (A13), extensively redesigned, enlarged and with several faults that Christie had not addressed rectified. A new company Nuffield Mechanization & Aero Limited was formed for the development and production of the design.Doherty, pp. 11–12 At a meeting of the General Staff, an official specification was determined, which included armour, a 2-pounder gun and a road speed of . A subsequent review of the specification by Martel and

Percy Hobart Major General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, (14 June 1885 – 19 February 1957), also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during the Second World War. He was responsible for ...

approved all round provided cross-country speed could be kept at . Pending the delivery of the A13, an interim design was approved from the A7, A9 and A10, the A9 being selected. Orders for the resulting Mk. I's were limited pending the arrival of the A13. The first prototype (A13E1) was delivered in 1937. Following the testing of two prototypes, the A13 was ordered into production. The original order was for 50 tanks; 65 had been built by mid 1939. The Mk III weighed , had a crew of four, a engine and a top speed of and was armed with a 2 pounder gun and a machine-gun. When it was introduced into service in 1937, the army still lacked a formal tank division.Steele, p. 14

Combat history

Like most British cruisers, the A13 was fast but under-armoured and mechanically unreliable. As part of the British Expeditionary Force sent to France, the Cruiser Mark III equipped units in the 1st Armoured Division, but most were lost. A few were used in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and in the Western Desert 1940–1941 (Libya), where they equipped units of the 7th Armoured Division. The design was used as the basis for the

Cruiser Mk IV } The Cruiser Tank Mk IV ( A13 Mk II) was a British cruiser tank of the Second World War. It followed directly on from the Tank, Cruiser, Mk III (A13 Mk I). The first Mk IVs were Mk IIIs with extra armour fitted to the turret. Later Mk IVAs wer ...

Notes

References

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External links

OnWar.com

David Fletcher's Tank Chat on A13 Cruiser
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruiser Mk III Cruiser tanks of the United Kingdom Interwar tanks of the United Kingdom World War II tanks of the United Kingdom Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s

Design and development

Combat history

See also

Notes

References

External links