Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!sun!amdcad!amdcad!military From: wbt@cbema.att.com (William B Thacker) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: What's an "I" tank? Keywords: 50th Anniversary of the Rats of Tobruk Message-ID: <1991Apr17.055715.14043@amd.com> Date: 16 Apr 91 18:58:08 GMT References: <1991Apr16.041123.27184@amd.com> Sender: military@amd.com Organization: AT&T Network Systems - Columbus, Ohio Lines: 54 Approved: military@amd.com From: wbt@cbema.att.com (William B Thacker) In article <1991Apr16.041123.27184@amd.com> anthony@cs.uq.oz.au writes: >In an article by Corporal tim Feaarnside (an Australian member of the >Rats of Tobruk), there is a reference to an "I" tank. Could someone >tell me what's an "I" tank ? Infantry tank. At that time (and for most of the war, really), Britain had three types of tanks: 1) Light tanks - Mk's I through VI. Fast, light armor. For recon, etc. 2) Cruiser tanks - Various marks, including the Crusader which typifies the class. Fast, light/moderate armor. Usually a 2-pounder (later, 6-pounder) gun, but some with a 3.7" howitzer for close support work. They were the new cavalry, for fast exploitation of penetrations. 3) Infantry tanks - Most notable were the A11 "Matilda", the A12 "Matilda II" (which is the tank people mean 99% of the time they say "Matilda"), and the Valentine. The first carried only machineguns; the latter two also had a 2-pounder. (Valentines were eventually upgraded to 6-pounders). These were as a class slow, being geared to advance with infantry, and carried very heavy armor. The Churchill culminated this type. The Matildas were the first I-tanks in the desert, and made quite a reputation fr themselves. They were instrumental in Wavell's first offensive, which kicked the Italians out of their forts near Sollum, Egypt and chased them to El Agheila. The Matildas literally drove through the Italian forts, and nothing in the Italian arsenal could deal with them. They were also used in capturing Tobruk. They remained a problem until the Germans fielded the Pz IV with long 75mm (PzKw IV F2 and later) in quantity. The 50mm gun of the Pz III could just defeat the Matilda at close range (and was itself quite vulnerable to the Matilda's 2-pounder) , and while the 88's were very effective (epitomized by the action at Halfaya Pass, where they decimated a Matilda attack) they were not plentiful enough. Valentines were also built in Canada and exported to the USSR. They were apparently popular there despite being obsolescent; I have heard anecdotal claims that this was because the Valentine had an efficient heater, lacking in Soviet-built tanks. Still, not all western tanks were so well liked; the Matilda's side skirts were prone to jamming in deep snow, and the M3 Mediums (Lee) we sent over were nicknamed "Coffins for Seven Brothers." The timing is also interesting; a Valentine was recently recovered from a Ukranian bog, where it had been well preserved. It was aquired by the Canadian Pacific Railroad (its manufacturer), which restored it and donated it to a museum (in Britain, I believe). -- Bill Thacker AT&T Network Systems - Columbus wbt@cbnews.att.com