Tanks that never should have entered service

[Jim Hale]

For all its faults, the Tiger's reputation alone should take it out of the list. It became so much of a bogeyman that every German tank appearing became a Tiger to the troops facing it. The King Tiger was a step too far though.

I can't honestly think of something that shouldn't have been introduced and was. Even the interwar tanks were sound designs for their time and the doctrines they were meant to be used within. Having said that, many designs were spoiled by financial or production constraints.

On that basis I'll offer all the 2pdr armed British tanks though, on the basis that there was no HE shell available to them, a glaring limitation to what was, for its time and intended use, acceptable armament. Added to which the cruisers were mostly built without the aero-engines they had been intended to have. As their protection was intended to be speed and not armour, this was a bit of a faux-pas to say the least.

 

[fastmongrel]

Added to which the cruisers were mostly built without the aero-engines they had been intended to have. As their protection was intended to be speed and not armour, this was a bit of a faux-pas to say the least.

I thought that the majority of Cruiser tanks were fitted with aero engines. Apart from the A10 mkII which were called cruisers even though they were nothing of the sort and the Covenanter most cruisers were fitted with the Liberty V12 for the early models and the Meteor V12 for the later tanks. Both engines were modifications of aero engines.

 

[eltf177]

On that basis I'll offer all the 2pdr armed British tanks though, on the basis that there was no HE shell available to them, a glaring limitation to what was, for its time and intended use, acceptable armament.

Actually, according to Ian Hogg a HE shell _was_ designed and built. However, it's explosive charge was so weak as to make it all but useless. Thus they were never distributed and the 2pdr went through its career with only the AP round available.

 

[Alexius]

Some of the very early, bizarre WW1 tanks might count for this, such as the A7V. Even slower than the British tanks, with poor off-road capability (it tended to get stuck or overturn). Some other WW1 German tank projects reached almost interwar levels of ridiculousness- for instance, the K-Wagen, which had to be dismantled in order to be transported to the front!

 

[Jim Hale]

I thought that the majority of Cruiser tanks were fitted with aero engines. Apart from the A10 mkII which were called cruisers even though they were nothing of the sort and the Covenanter most cruisers were fitted with the Liberty V12 for the early models and the Meteor V12 for the later tanks. Both engines were modifications of aero engines.

As far as I know.. which isn't that much, the A9 & A10 both had an AEC Bus engine (c.150 hp). The A13 had the Liberty Engine (c.350 hp), as you say.

As for the 2pdr, it should have been adequate againsts any contemporary tanks, but when your tank is designed to ravage the enemy's lines of communication, where you wont find many tanks, an HE shell might have been more useful against softer targets.

OK, it's not going to be anywhere near as good as a larger calibre weapon against infantry, but at least when you shoot something up, the shell won't go straight through the target. I suspect not many German truck drivers were incapacitated through draughty cabins.