The
Dark Side
- WW2 Tanks and other Vehicles
Part 2 - Ships Boats & Weapons
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Vickers Mk VIb Light Tank, 1st Lothians & Borders Yeomanry, BEF, France 1940 |
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JB 1/76. The Vickers Tank was widely deployed with the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940. Designed as a fast cavalry support vehicle for the mechanised infantry, it was no match for Rommel's Panzers, but still put up a good fight. For more information on the BEF's use of Vickers Tanks and Scout Carriers, try this link
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Vickers/Carden Loyd Scout Carrier, 1st Lothians & Borders Yeomanry, BEF, France 1940 |
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Airfix 1/76. Modified form their Bren Gun/Universal Carrier. The Scout Carrier was an early variant of the Bren Gun or Universal Carrier that was used by British and Commonwealth forces throughout WW2. It provided infantry with fast and reliable all-terrain transport. As well as Bren Guns, carriers were often armed with the Boyes Anti Tank Gun.
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Matilda II Infantry Tank, 7th Royal Tank Regiment, Operation Compass, Western Desert, December 1940 |
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Airfix, 1/76(?), with own decals The Infantry Tank Mk.II Matilda was one of the most significant tanks used during the early part of WW2. British tank doctrine split the tank force into two distinct groups: "Infantry Tanks" that were heavily armoured and moved slowly in support of the advancing Infantry, and "Cruiser Tanks" that were fast and mobile. The Matilda fell into the former category - heavily armoured, but slow and unmaneoverable. It saw some success during the battle of France, where its armour proved more than a match for the German anti-tank weapons, but there were too few Matildas available to the BEF and too little support. North Africa was a different matter; against the Italian Army and Rommel's Afrika Korps, the Matilda saw greater success, although its twin bus engine propulsion, complex suspension and unreliable steering were ill-matched to the developing form of fast tank maneouvre warfare at which Rommel was the acknowledged expert. Its main armament was also hampered by an inexplicable lack of suitable HE shells. Nevertheless, the heavily armoured Matilda was popular and highly regarded, and played a key role in the successes of the early North African campaign. |
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Valentine III Infantry Tank, 2nd Lothians & Borders Horse, 1941 |
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Italeri (ex-ESCI) 1/72, with own decals The Infantry Tank MkIII Valentine entered service in June 1940, just in time for the British Army's desperate re-equipment after the evacuations from France. It became the most widely produced British tank of WW2 with nearly 8,000 built in the UK and Canada. As a replacement for the Matilda it was less heavily armoured, but its diesel engine was more reliable and the Valentine remained in production until 1944. Like most British tanks, it was slower and more lightly armed than its German adversaries, but Valentines fought well in the North African Campaigns and saw extensive service with the Red Army during the battle for Moscow. Valentines were also converted into a variety of specialist tanks, including flame throwers, bridge layers, flail tanks, anti-aircraft tanks and specialist tank destroyers. |
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Humber Mk II Armoured Car, 1942 |
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Hasegawa 1/76 - Simpler than the Matchbox kit of the later variant. Humber's Mk II armoured car entered UK service in the desert in 1941, and remained until about 1945. Later variants with 37mm guns remained in service with other countries into the 1950s. Canadian built variants were known as the Fox Armoured Car.
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Centaur Mk. IV Tank, Royal Marines Armoured Support Group, Normandy D-Day June 1944 |
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Armourfast 1/72 with Bison Decals and scratch 95mm barrel. The A27 Cromwell/Centaur tank was one of the most successful British designs of WW2. Developed from the Crusader and building on the experience of the Desert Campaign, it possessed heavier armour and armament, along with high speed and mobility. Its low profile and high speed made it particularly popular as a reconnaissance tank, although its vertical sided armour proved less effective than the thinner sloped armour of the Sheman tank. The name Centaur was given to the earliest A27 designs, powered by WW1 era Nuffield Liberty aero-engines. These proved badly underpowered and the only Centaurs to see action as gun tanks were 95 mm howitzer armed variants operated by the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group. The later Cromwell variant used the much more powerful Rolls Royce Meteor engine, itself a version of the famous Merlin aero-engine, and saw service as late as the 1950s, including action in the Korean War. |
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