WAK 01-2016 A13 Mk.III Covenanter IV

The Cruiser Tank Mk III A13 was a British tank of the Second World War. The first prototypes were built in 1936, and serial production was carried out in the period 1938-1939. In total, only about 60-70 copies of this tank were produced. The Cruiser Tank Mk III was powered by an engine Nuffield Mk III with 340 HP. It was armed with a single 40mm QFSA cannon and two 7.7mm Vickers machine guns.

The Cruiser Tank Mk III was created as a result of the intention to introduce into the armament of the British army a tank using the so-called Christie's suspension, i.e. allowing you to move on both tracks and wheels. This, in turn, led to a radical increase in the maximum speed of the vehicle on the road. The first tests of the new tank, which eventually became the Cruiser Tank Mk III, took place between 1936 and 1937. As the design showed a lot of design flaws, it had to be improved, but even in the final version, the crews were ordered not to exceed the speed of 48 km / h - due to problems with the drive train and suspension. Focusing on high mobility, very thin armor was used in the Cruiser Tank Mk III, which made it susceptible to virtually any anti-tank weapon in the Italian or German army. As a result, the Cruiser Tank Mk III was withdrawn from the line as early as 1941. However, he managed to take part in the French campaign in 1940 and in the battles in North Africa in the period of 1940-1941.