Wednesday, March 23, 2005

British tank strength in 1936

The British had mostly obsolete tanks in service in 1936. They were just starting to arm with new weapons, most of which were still just a specification, not even a prototype. Total strength was 375 tanks. Of these, 304 were obsolete types, mostly Vickers medium tanks. The only "modern" tanks were 2-Medium Mk.III, 22-Lt.Mk.V, and 47 Lt.Mk.VI. The last was just entering service. Prototype for the new tanks under development was produced by April 1936. This was the A9 Cru.Mk.I. Production deliveries only started in January 1939, despite the early appearance of the prototype. Later in 1936, the prototype heavy cruiser, the A10 Cru.Mk.II also appeared. The first production was only ready by December 1939. The A13 Cru.Mk.III prototypes were only ordered at the end of 1936. This was the first really useful tank. The A13 actually started to roll off the assembly line as early as December 1938, before the earlier models.

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