bovington tank museum Archives - Page 4 of 20

French Renault FT-17

The Renault FT or Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917, inexactly known as the FT-17 or FT17, was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history.

The FT was the first operational tank with an armament in a fully rotating turret, and its configuration with the turret on top, engine in the back and the driver in front became the conventional one, repeated in most tanks until today; at the time it was a revolutionary innovation.

Copies and derivative designs were manufactured in the United States (M1917 light tank), in Italy (Fiat 3000), and in the Soviet Union (T-18 tank).

France still had several thousand First World War Renault FT tanks in 1940. Over 500 of them were still in service in independent bataillons de chars de combat (BCC) tank battalions in the front lines. Although adequate for infantry support, they were totally outclassed by German tanks in a mobile battle.

It is one of my favourite tanks, I have always had a fondness for this little tank, probably as a result of making that Matchbox plastic kit of the Renault and the Char B1 when I was young.

There was a nice looking Renault FT-17 at the Bovington Tank Museum.

The tank appears to have been part of the Imperial War Museum collection after the First World War and arrived at the Tank Museum as part of an exchange of exhibits in 1965. The tail skid turned up about 20 years later, having been discovered in a store at IWM Duxford.

More photographs of the Renault FT-17 at Bovington.

As I am creating an Early War French army I got some of these little tanks for Flames of War.

Carden Loyd Carrier Mark VI MT9909 E61

This Carden Loyd Carrier Mark VI MT9909 E61 was on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

The Carden Loyd tankettes were a series of British tankettes of the period between the World Wars, the most successful of which was the Mark VI, the only version built in significant numbers.

It became a classic tankette design worldwide, was licence-built by several countries and became the basis of several designs produced in various countries.

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. Colloquially it may also simply mean a small tank. Several countries built tankettes between the 1920s and 1940s, and some saw limited combat in the early phases of World War II. The vulnerability of their light armour, however, eventually led armies to abandon the concept

Italy bought a number of Carden Loyd Mark VIs, built a few licence copies designated CV-29, and then developed this design further into the L3/35 tankette.

Lanchester Armoured Car

The Lanchester armoured car was a British armoured car built on the chassis of the Lanchester “Sporting Forty”, it saw wide service with the Royal Naval Air Service and British Army during the First World War. The Lanchester was the second most numerous World War I armoured car in British service after the Rolls-Royce armoured car.

Thirty-nine armoured Lanchesters were built, starting in 1928, and they were issued to the newly mechanised cavalry regiments. They spent most of their time in Britain although in 1935 the 12th Lancers took some cars out to the Saarland and a few were tested in the Middle East. The cars were used for training in the early years of the war and one was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London. A few were still operating in Malaya in 1941 with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders; these ultimately fell into Japanese hands.

This got me thinking about possible uses for the Lanchester armoured car in A Very British Civil War scenarios, but also in an Operation Sealion scenario where German paratroopers attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill who is being moved in a convoy including the Lanchester armoured car which was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London.

More photographs of the Lanchester Armoured Car.

Vickers Crossley Armoured Car Chevrolet

This Vickers Crossley Armoured Car Chevrolet (Indian Pattern) was on display at Bovington.

In 1915 the British Army started to use armoured cars in India, particularly on the North West Frontier, to relieve troops needed elsewhere. They proved so successful that this soon became standard policy. Shortly after the war the Indian Government purchased 16 Rolls-Royce cars to a new design but these proved so expensive that subsequent orders were placed with Crossley Motors in Manchester who made a tough but cheap 50hp IAG1 chassis. Substantial numbers of these cars were supplied between 1923 and 1925.

The body design, which was very similar to the Rolls-Royce version and built by Vickers at Crayford, had a number of interesting features. These included a dome-shaped turret, with four machine-gun mounts, which was designed to deflect rifle shots from snipers in ambush positions in the high passes. A clamshell cupola surmounted the turret for the commander, while side doors opened opposite ways on either side so that a crew member could dismount safely under fire. The crew area was lined with asbestos to keep the temperature down and the entire body could be electrified to keep large crowds at bay.

By 1939, when the Royal Tank Corps in India had handed most of its equipment over to the Indian Army, the Crossleys were worn out. The bodies were then transferred to imported Canadian Chevrolet chassis, with pneumatic tyres, and in this form served with Indian forces in the Middle East in the early years of the war.

More photographs of the Vickers Crossley Armoured Car Chevrolet (Indian Pattern).

You can imagine in an early Very British Civil War scenario in the early 1920s, the Vickers factory making these armoured cars available to one of the armies for fighting the civil war. You would have to think about some rules for allowing the entire body could be electrified and the impact that this would have in games.

The Vickers Crossley Armoured Car was also exported to Japan who made use of them in China.

Company B make a 1/56th scale metal and resin version which is available.

Whilst you can get a 3D printed version in 15mm from Shapeways.

Mark II Female F53 285 The Flying Scotsman

Mark II Female F53 285 The Flying Scotsman was on display at Bovington. It took part in the Battle of Arras in April 1917.

Originally intended for training in the UK, this Mark II wasn’t built for battle. Made from boilerplate steel, it lacked the hardened armor to resist machine gun fire. Despite this, it found itself thrust into combat at Arras in 1917. One of 25 Male Mark IIs built by William Foster, it’s the world’s oldest surviving tank to see battlefield action.

Christened “Dahlia” (D5), it belonged to 3 section, 10 Company, D Battalion. A shortage of Mark I tanks forced the use of 45 training Mark IIs, including Dahlia, during the Battle of Arras in April 1917.

D5’s story continues. With the arrival of the more advanced Mark IV tanks, many Mark IIs faced decommission. D5, however, dodged the scrap heap and received a new lease on life. Its guns were removed, replaced by a larger roof hatch, transforming it into a vital supply carrier christened “The Flying Scotsman” with the designation F53. Some believe it even saw action at the Battle of Cambrai later in 1917.

Through an extraordinary twist of fate, D5 escaped the fate of most wartime vehicles. It returned to England and eventually found a permanent home at The Tank Museum in Bovington in 1949. Initially mistaken for a Mark I due to its modifications, D5’s true identity was revealed when a real Mark I joined the museum’s collection in 1970. After years displayed outdoors, the museum’s expansion finally offered D5 a well-deserved place in the new tank hall, safe from the harsh British weather.

Today, D5 stands as a testament to wartime improvisation and the sheer resilience of these early armored vehicles. It’s a reminder that even training tanks can play a crucial role, and that sometimes, history takes unexpected turns, preserving a piece of the past for future generations.

Little Willie

Little Willie is the oldest surviving individual tank, and is preserved as one of the most famous pieces in the collection of The Tank Museum, Bovington, England.

Little Willie was a prototype in the development of the British Mark I tank. Constructed in the autumn of 1915 at the behest of the Landship Committee, it was the first completed tank prototype in history.

Centurion Mark 3

This Centurion Mark 3 was on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington. It is missing its side-skirts.

It has been painted as a tank that fought in the Korean War. The Centurion depicted, participated in a fiercely contested action defending a location called ‘The Hook’ against Chinese forces in Korea in May 1953.

The Centurion tank was one of the most successful post-war tank designs. It was introduced in 1945, just too late to see combat in the Second World War. However, it went on to serve in a number of conflicts, including the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Arab-Israeli wars.

The Centurion was a well-balanced tank with a good mix of armament, armour, and mobility. It was armed with a 105mm rifled gun, which was capable of firing both high-explosive and armour-piercing rounds. The Centurion’s armour was also very effective, and it was able to withstand the fire of most enemy tanks. The tank was also highly mobile, and it was able to keep up with the latest advances in tank warfare.

This Centurion Mark 3 was in fact the prototype Centurion Crocodile flame throwing tank; a type that never entered production.

Sherman Firefly

This Sherman Firefly was on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.

The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British variant of the American Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17 pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon.

Originally conceived as a stopgap until future British tank designs came into service, the Sherman Firefly became the most common vehicle with the 17 pounder in World War II.

Though the British expected to have their own new tank models developed soon (and were loath to consider using American tanks), British Major George Brighty championed the already-rejected idea of mounting the 17 pounder in the existing Sherman.

With the help of Lieutenant Colonel Witheridge and despite official disapproval, he managed to get the concept accepted. This proved fortuitous, as both the Challenger and Cromwell tank designs experienced difficulties and delays.

After the problem of getting the gun to fit in the Sherman’s turret was solved, the Firefly was put into production in early 1944, in time to equip Field Marshal Montgomery’s forces for the Normandy landings.

It soon became highly valued as the only British tank capable of defeating the Panther and Tiger tanks it faced in Normandy at standard combat ranges. In recognition of this, German tank and anti-tank gun crews were instructed to attack Fireflies first.

See the workbench feature on my Flames of War Sherman Firefly VC.

Challenger 1 Main Battle Tank

The FV4030/4 Challenger 1 is a British main battle tank used by the British Army from 1983 to 2001, when it was superseded by the Challenger 2.

The Challenger design by the former Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment near Chobham in Surrey originated in an Iranian order for an improved version of the Chieftain line of tanks in service around the world. These were the Chieftain Mk5, Shir 1 and Shir 2. With the fall of the Shah of Iran and the collapse of the UK MBT-80 project, the British Army became the customer and the tank was further developed by MVEE to meet Western European requirements.

Chobham armour is the informal name of a composite armour developed in the 1960s at the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment, a British tank research centre

The Challenger 1 tank saw service in the First Gulf War in 1991.

Heavy Gun Tank Conqueror Mark I

This Heavy Gun Tank Conqueror Mark I was on display at The Tank Museum.

The FV 214 Conqueror, also known as Tank, Heavy No. 1, 120 mm Gun, Conqueror was a British heavy tank of the post-World War II era. It was developed as a response to the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank.

The Conqueror’s main armament, an 120 mm gun, which was larger than the 20-pounder gun carried by its peer, the Centurion.

The Conqueror’s role was to provide long range anti-tank support for the Centurion. Nine Conquerors were issued for each regiment in Germany, usually grouped in three tank troops.

Overall 185 Heavy Gun Tank Conquerors were built. The first was produced in 1955.

They were in service until 1966, both the Conqueror and the Centurion were replaced by the Chieftain.

There was a Heavy Gun Tank Conqueror Mark I at the Land Warfare Exhibit at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. I managed to photograph it back when I visited in 2019.

It was in a wider shot of the Land Warfare Exhibit that included an FV433 Abbot SPG, which I have cropped for this post.