Covenanter tank
Encyclopedia
The Tank, Cruiser, Mk V, Covenanter (A13 Mk III) was a British Cruiser tank
of the Second World War
. It was named for the Covenanter
s, a Scottish
religious faction in the British Isles
at the time of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
. The Covenanter was the first cruiser tank design to be given a name.
Designed by London, Midland and Scottish Railway
as a better armoured replacement for the Cruiser Mark IV, it was ordered into production in 1939 before pilot models were built. Problems with the design only became apparent after production was underway.
Although it equipped British armoured divisions in the home defence and training roles, poor engine cooling made it unfit for use overseas in hot climates and it never saw combat. In 1943 it was declared obsolete after more than 1,700 had been built.
In 1938, the War Office had issued a requirement for a new, better armoured cruiser tank to replace the Cruiser IV. Nuffield
's A16 design was found to be too expensive, and in 1939 a cheaper and lighter cruiser tank - under General Staff specification A13 Mk III Cruiser Mark V - was chosen to be developed. It had nothing apart from Christie suspension in common with the other A13 specifications.
The initial specification required a QF 2 pounder gun, at least one machine gun, Christie suspension, epicyclic transmission and "armour standard" of 30 mm. The 30 mm referred to any vertical plate having to be 30 mm thick, angled surfaces (through the principles of sloped armour
) could be thinner so long as they were at least as effective as a 30 mm thick vertical plate.
From these a design using many sloped surfaces was chosen to keep the weight low. To keep the silhouette low the suspension used cranked arms and a low profile engine was envisaged. The engine to specifically designed for it was to deliver at least 300 hp. The Wilson transmission and steering of the A16 would be used.
Design work was by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Company (LMS). The design assumed a welded hull rather than the usual rivetting. The turret was designed by Nuffield, with Henry Meadows
designing a new low profile engine for it. On 17 April, before even a single prototype was produced, the first 100 vehicles were ordered from the LMSR. Additional orders soon followed, with English Electric
and Leyland Motors joining the production effort, for a final production total of 1,771 Covenanters. Nuffield was also approached, but preferred to design its own offspring of the A13 line, which became the Cruiser Mk.VI Crusader
.
Due to the expectations of an imminent war, the design was ordered "off the drawing board". The expectation was that two pilot models would serve for testing and results applied to the production lines.
To meet the engine requirement, a horizontally-opposed 12 cylinder design was used. Although flat it was wide and left no room for radiator
s in the engine compartment, and so the radiators were situated at the front of the vehicle. The unusual arrangement, although tested in mockup form first, when combined with the rushed design process resulted in serious problems with engine cooling. Even when the systems were redesigned there were problems and the piping from engine to the radiators heated the fighting compartment.
These problems meant that the Covenanter would not be employed in the North African Campaign
. Instead, Crusader and American tanks were sent to Africa, while the Covenanters remained in the British Isles
.
LMS advised a return to rivetted construction due to doubts about its strength and rather than risk delays due to a lack of welders and this was accepted. The welded design used two layers of armour plate, the inner being of steel that would weld readily without losing its properties. This two plate system was retained when the design reverted to rivetted construction. The use of rivetting, along with steel wheels instead of the intended aluminium, and a increase in armour specification to 40mm to the front of hull and turret increased the weight to a level where the tank suspension was already at maximum load leaving no room for later development of the design.
A further change was made to the transmission. Rather than risk the availability of the combined Wilson transmission and steering affecting production, the A13 "crash" gear box was used with epicyclic steering units. This had the knock-on effect of a reduced size of cooling fan for the transmission compartment.
The contracts were placed with the manufacturers in 1939. The pilot model (with welded hull) was tested with a favourable outcome in 1940; though the second pilot had cooling issues. The first deliveries of production vehicles were not until after the battle of Dunkirk
. Production of turrets lagged behind that of hulls. Although the Covenanter was needed at the time, production continued even when newer better tank designs were waiting for space on production lines.
By late 1943 the Covenanter was considered too weakly armed and armoured to deal with new German
tanks. It was decided that neither problem could be addressed without significant changes in the design, so the tank was declared obsolete and all vehicles except the bridgelayer variant were to be scrapped.
(six armoured regiments in two brigades) which had lost most of its tanks in the Fall of France. When the 1st was sent to Egypt
, the tanks were transferred to the 9th Armoured Division
.
Eventually a handful of vehicles were sent to the desert for service trials and were allocated to the REME
for maintenance and evaluation. It is not clear if these tanks were ever used in combat although the unit markings indicate they may have been deployed alongside Kingforce with their new 6 pounder-equipped Churchill Mk III tanks
.
Covenanters were also used to equip the Guards Armoured Division in 1942 and elements of the 1st Polish Armoured Division when it was formed in the UK; they were replaced before these units were sent to the frontline, except for a few bridgelayers both divisions retained and used in their advance through Belgium and the Netherlands. The only Covenanter gun armed tank known to have been lost to enemy action was that destroyed by a German air raid on 31 May 1942 in Canterbury
.
The Covenanter was declared obsolete in 1943 with orders for the tanks to be scrapped, except for those modified for auxilliary roles.
The Observation Post tanks were issued to artillery units to carry Forward Observation Officers for Royal Artillery
batteries. In an armoured division, there were two OP tanks for each RHA or field battery. Medium gun batteries had just one.
Command tanks were similar to OP tanks, but had only two No. 19 sets - one on the regiment radio net and the other on the brigade net.
Covenanter Bridgelayers were used by the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade during the Siege of Dunkirk from October 1944 to May 1945. The bridgelayer version was also used by the 4th Armoured Brigade of the Australian Army
at Bougainville and Balikpapan
during the Pacific Campaign
in 1945.
Additional equipment:
in the United Kingdom. It is displayed in the markings it had during the War when it served with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, part of the 9th Armoured Division. For unknown reasons, it was buried after the war on a farm near Dorking
. In the early–1980's it was discovered, recovered, restored and put on display at the Bovington museum. The Bovington Tank Museum also has the turret from an early, Covenanter pilot model. The partially-buried, wrecked hulls of two other tanks may be seen at Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk, England. Now a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
nature reserve, the area was formerly a tank gunnery range and the Covenanters were likely used as targets.
Two Covenanter Bridgelayers are preserved in Australia – one at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum, Puckapunyal, Victoria, and one at the Royal New South Wales Lancers Lancer Barracks and Museum at Parramatta, New South Wales
.
Cruiser tank
The cruiser tank was a British tank concept of the inter-war period. This concept was the driving force behind several tank designs which saw action during the Second World War....
of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was named for the Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s, a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
religious faction in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
at the time of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
. The Covenanter was the first cruiser tank design to be given a name.
Designed by London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
as a better armoured replacement for the Cruiser Mark IV, it was ordered into production in 1939 before pilot models were built. Problems with the design only became apparent after production was underway.
Although it equipped British armoured divisions in the home defence and training roles, poor engine cooling made it unfit for use overseas in hot climates and it never saw combat. In 1943 it was declared obsolete after more than 1,700 had been built.
History
Nuffield Organisation
The Nuffield Organisation was a vehicle manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. Named after its founder, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, it was formed in 1938 as the merger of Nuffield's Morris Motor Company , another of Nuffield's companies the MG Car Company and Riley.Morris Motors...
's A16 design was found to be too expensive, and in 1939 a cheaper and lighter cruiser tank - under General Staff specification A13 Mk III Cruiser Mark V - was chosen to be developed. It had nothing apart from Christie suspension in common with the other A13 specifications.
The initial specification required a QF 2 pounder gun, at least one machine gun, Christie suspension, epicyclic transmission and "armour standard" of 30 mm. The 30 mm referred to any vertical plate having to be 30 mm thick, angled surfaces (through the principles of sloped armour
Sloped armour
Sloped armour is armour that is neither in a vertical nor a horizontal position. Such "angled" armour is often mounted on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles...
) could be thinner so long as they were at least as effective as a 30 mm thick vertical plate.
From these a design using many sloped surfaces was chosen to keep the weight low. To keep the silhouette low the suspension used cranked arms and a low profile engine was envisaged. The engine to specifically designed for it was to deliver at least 300 hp. The Wilson transmission and steering of the A16 would be used.
Design work was by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
Company (LMS). The design assumed a welded hull rather than the usual rivetting. The turret was designed by Nuffield, with Henry Meadows
Henry Meadows
Henry Meadows of Wolverhampton, England were major suppliers of engines and transmissions, to the smaller companies in the British motor industry...
designing a new low profile engine for it. On 17 April, before even a single prototype was produced, the first 100 vehicles were ordered from the LMSR. Additional orders soon followed, with English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
and Leyland Motors joining the production effort, for a final production total of 1,771 Covenanters. Nuffield was also approached, but preferred to design its own offspring of the A13 line, which became the Cruiser Mk.VI Crusader
Crusader tank
The Tank, Cruiser, Mk VI or A15 Crusader was one of the primary British cruiser tanks of the early part Second World War and perhaps the most important British tank of the North African Campaign...
.
Due to the expectations of an imminent war, the design was ordered "off the drawing board". The expectation was that two pilot models would serve for testing and results applied to the production lines.
To meet the engine requirement, a horizontally-opposed 12 cylinder design was used. Although flat it was wide and left no room for radiator
Radiator (engine cooling)
Radiators are used for cooling internal combustion engines, mainly in automobiles but also in piston-engined aircraft, railway locomotives, motorcycles, stationary generating plant or any similar use of such an engine....
s in the engine compartment, and so the radiators were situated at the front of the vehicle. The unusual arrangement, although tested in mockup form first, when combined with the rushed design process resulted in serious problems with engine cooling. Even when the systems were redesigned there were problems and the piping from engine to the radiators heated the fighting compartment.
These problems meant that the Covenanter would not be employed in the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
. Instead, Crusader and American tanks were sent to Africa, while the Covenanters remained in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
.
LMS advised a return to rivetted construction due to doubts about its strength and rather than risk delays due to a lack of welders and this was accepted. The welded design used two layers of armour plate, the inner being of steel that would weld readily without losing its properties. This two plate system was retained when the design reverted to rivetted construction. The use of rivetting, along with steel wheels instead of the intended aluminium, and a increase in armour specification to 40mm to the front of hull and turret increased the weight to a level where the tank suspension was already at maximum load leaving no room for later development of the design.
A further change was made to the transmission. Rather than risk the availability of the combined Wilson transmission and steering affecting production, the A13 "crash" gear box was used with epicyclic steering units. This had the knock-on effect of a reduced size of cooling fan for the transmission compartment.
The contracts were placed with the manufacturers in 1939. The pilot model (with welded hull) was tested with a favourable outcome in 1940; though the second pilot had cooling issues. The first deliveries of production vehicles were not until after the battle of Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...
. Production of turrets lagged behind that of hulls. Although the Covenanter was needed at the time, production continued even when newer better tank designs were waiting for space on production lines.
By late 1943 the Covenanter was considered too weakly armed and armoured to deal with new German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
tanks. It was decided that neither problem could be addressed without significant changes in the design, so the tank was declared obsolete and all vehicles except the bridgelayer variant were to be scrapped.
Combat usage
Except for a few trial vehicles, Covenanters were never deployed outside of the British Isles. The Covenanter was used to re-equip the British 1st Armoured DivisionBritish 1st Armoured Division
The 1st Armoured Division is an armoured division of the British Army. Originally formed in November 1937 as the Mobile Division, it saw extensive service during the Second World War, was disbanded afterward, was reconstituted in 1976, and remains in service today...
(six armoured regiments in two brigades) which had lost most of its tanks in the Fall of France. When the 1st was sent to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, the tanks were transferred to the 9th Armoured Division
British 9th Armoured Division
The 9th Armoured Division was a Second World War British Army formation. The 9th Armoured was created on 1 December 1940 and dispersed and disbanded on 31 July 1944. The division never saw active service during the war...
.
Eventually a handful of vehicles were sent to the desert for service trials and were allocated to the REME
Reme
Reme may refer to:*Rəmə, Azerbaijan*Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers...
for maintenance and evaluation. It is not clear if these tanks were ever used in combat although the unit markings indicate they may have been deployed alongside Kingforce with their new 6 pounder-equipped Churchill Mk III tanks
Churchill tank
The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV was a heavy British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war...
.
Covenanters were also used to equip the Guards Armoured Division in 1942 and elements of the 1st Polish Armoured Division when it was formed in the UK; they were replaced before these units were sent to the frontline, except for a few bridgelayers both divisions retained and used in their advance through Belgium and the Netherlands. The only Covenanter gun armed tank known to have been lost to enemy action was that destroyed by a German air raid on 31 May 1942 in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
.
The Covenanter was declared obsolete in 1943 with orders for the tanks to be scrapped, except for those modified for auxilliary roles.
The Observation Post tanks were issued to artillery units to carry Forward Observation Officers for Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
batteries. In an armoured division, there were two OP tanks for each RHA or field battery. Medium gun batteries had just one.
Command tanks were similar to OP tanks, but had only two No. 19 sets - one on the regiment radio net and the other on the brigade net.
Covenanter Bridgelayers were used by the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade during the Siege of Dunkirk from October 1944 to May 1945. The bridgelayer version was also used by the 4th Armoured Brigade of the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
at Bougainville and Balikpapan
Battle of Balikpapan (1945)
The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of the Borneo campaign . The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The Australian 7th Division, composed of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with support troops, made an amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two a few miles north of...
during the Pacific Campaign
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
in 1945.
Variants
- Covenanter Mk I (Cruiser Mk V) - Original production model.
- Covenanter Mk I Close Support - Armed with 3-inch howitzerOrdnance QF 3 inch howitzerOrdnance QF 3 inch howitzer was a howitzer fitted to British tanks of the Second World War so they could fire a HE shell in "close support" of infantry....
.
- Covenanter Mk I Close Support - Armed with 3-inch howitzer
- Covenanter Mk II (Cruiser Mk V*) - Mark I production modified by addition of radiator-mounted oil cooler.
- Covenanter Mk II CS - Armed with 3-inch howitzer.
- Observation Post version existed with dummy gun, two No. 19 radioWireless Set No. 19The Wireless Set No. 19 was a Second World War mobile radio transceiver designed for the British Army to give armoured troops reliable communications.- Specifications :...
s and No. 18 radio. Issued to artillery units. - Command version existed with dummy gun and two No. 19 radios.
- Covenanter Mk III (Cruiser Mk V**) - new production with twin oil coolers installed either side of the engine. Clutch linkage modified. Air cleaners added inboard at the rear. Exhaust silencers moved to the ends of the track guards.
- Covenanter Mk III CS - Armed with 3-inch howitzer.
- Covenanter Mk IV - New production as the Mk II with the clutch changes of the Mk III.
- Covenanter Mk IV CS - Armed with 3-inch howitzer.
- Observation Post version existed with dummy gun, two No. 19 radios and No. 18 radio.
- Covenanter Bridgelayer - Covenanter hull fitted with a vehicle-launched bridgeArmoured vehicle-launched bridgeAn armoured vehicle-launched bridge is a combat support vehicle, sometimes regarded as a subtype of combat engineering vehicle, designed to assist militaries in rapidly deploying tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles across rivers. The AVLB is usually a tracked vehicle converted from a tank...
("30 ft No. 1") 34 ft long and 9 ft 6 inches wide which could cover a gap 30 ft wide, capable of carrying 24 tons. In 1944 an improved bridge was developed with 30 tons capacity.
- Covenanter ARV Mk I - Armoured recovery vehicleArmoured recovery vehicleAn armoured recovery vehicle is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to repair battle- or mine-damaged as well as broken-down armoured vehicles during combat, or to tow them out of the danger zone for more extensive repairs...
based on turretless Covenanter hull. One prototype was built in 1942.
Additional equipment:
- Anti-Mine Roller Attachment (AMRA) Mk IC - a mine clearing device consisting of four heavy rollers suspended from a frame. Weight of the rollers could be increased by filling them with water, sand etc.
Surviving Vehicles
A single Covenanter gun–tank is preserved and displayed at the Bovington Tank MuseumBovington Tank Museum
The Tank Museum is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles in the United Kingdom that traces the history of the tank. With almost 300 vehicles on exhibition from 26 countries it is the second-largest collection of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles in the world.The Musée des Blindés in France...
in the United Kingdom. It is displayed in the markings it had during the War when it served with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, part of the 9th Armoured Division. For unknown reasons, it was buried after the war on a farm near Dorking
Dorking
Dorking is a historic market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately south of London, in Surrey, England.- History and development :...
. In the early–1980's it was discovered, recovered, restored and put on display at the Bovington museum. The Bovington Tank Museum also has the turret from an early, Covenanter pilot model. The partially-buried, wrecked hulls of two other tanks may be seen at Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk, England. Now a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Bird Notes and News was first published in April 1903.The title changed to 'Bird Notes' in 1947. In the 1950s, there were four copies per year . Each volume covered two years, spread over three calendar years...
nature reserve, the area was formerly a tank gunnery range and the Covenanters were likely used as targets.
Two Covenanter Bridgelayers are preserved in Australia – one at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum, Puckapunyal, Victoria, and one at the Royal New South Wales Lancers Lancer Barracks and Museum at Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
.