alternatehistory.com

After World War II the British army, and indeed economy were in a poor state. Having fought since 1939 with often heavy casualties there were manpower shortages which were countered by the rapid demobilization of many units to return them to their homes and families.

Dozens of warships were quickly decommissioned, old warhorses who had sailed many more miles than their designers had forseen and seen more action than expected.

With a greatly reduced armed forces (and budget) the Army began looking at ways of 'streamlining' its forces and logistics chain. This started with the Army's latest tank the AEC Centurion. With production proceeding slowly it was replacing the older Cromwell tanks whilst the Comet was moved into secondary roles as was the Churchill who were mostly given over to the Royal Engineers or became part units assigned to support infantry brigades.

With eyes in the West now looking in alarm at the Soviet Union's power and presumed threat the Army continued working to expand its fighting capability. Saddled with a lot of older and in many cases simply worn out equipment the scrap metal industry boomed as the armed forces disposed of their obsolete equipment.

Other plans were also afoot to help the army, and the battered industrial base of the UK. It was felt that home made equipment, made in factories in the UK would lessen the supply chain and any dependence on overseas aid. The British could ill afford another lend lease and it was felt that home produced equipment would also strengthen the British industrial base and supply jobs for many thousands.

In 1947 a new light SPG was developed that was to replace the common Saxon/Priest 105mm SPG from the war. Called the FV304 it was initially armed with the popular 25lber the new vehicle was small and sleek in comparison to the older Saxton. The first prototypes were undergoing testing by August 1948 and results were positive. Although initially viewed as a 'shoe box' the light, fast and agile SPG was able to keep up with tanks and provide covering fire whilst being fairly simple to repair, a plus for any British designed military vehicle for those with experience on tanks like the Cromwell or older machines.

Alongside the 'light' SPG a new heavy SPG was also called for. This would hopefully replace the towed 5.5-inch Howitzers and allow for a mechanized force.

Based on the hull of the Centurion tank the FV3805 was rather similar to the WW2 era Crusader Gun carrier conversions, the gun fired over the rear of the tank and like the US's M53 the crew were all housed in a boxy section at the front of the tank with the gun pointing over the rear deck. The initial prototype was armed with a 5.5-inch gun but this was replaced with a larger 6-inch gun. The larger 3805 entered service in 1950 and being a fully enclosed vehicle was popular with its crews (the NBC protection was also greatly appreciated.) and despite some technical gremlins with the suspention system the vehicle soon proved reliable. What was also important was that because it's hull was based on the Centurion, both machines had fully interchangable parts with the engines, tracks and suspention systems being identical, the main difference being the 3805 having more taut suspention bogies but these were adjusted on site rather than at the factory and could be altered by a REME engineer team in the space of a hour.

Both 304 and the 3805 also spawned a series of support vehicles. Both machines had ammunition carriers (the 304 carried 30 rounds onboard the 3805 only 20) whilst the larger 3805 was also designed as a command and radio vehicle whilst recovery vehicles were also designed on the Centurion hull.

The smaller 304 was less flexible but its high speed both on and off road saw a successful conversion into a APC winning out over the FV430 competitor which was instead given over to the REME and Royal Engineers as a recovery and engineering vehicle.

The Army also halted development on any form of heavy tank, feeling that the development costs were too prohibitive and that the L7 105mm gun on the Centurion was more than capable of dealing with any possible threat. This ended the development cycle of the Conqueror which was already proving to be expensive and was out of step with the Universal concept as it shared almost no parts with the Centurion.

The British also began aggressively marketing their new weapons on the arms export market against their US 'rivals'. The Australian, New Zealand and South African armed forces all adopted the FV304 and 3805 as well as the Centurion and assorted support vehicles based on these machines. The Swiss, Swedes, Danes and Jordanian's also purchased various parts of the system as did the Israeli army.

The FV304 (or Bors) saw service in Korea alongside the Centurion where the 25lber was proven to be adequate but a heavier shell was needed. After the war an upgrade to the 304 was made where a short barreled 4.5-inch howitzer was fitted, the added weight slowed the nippy artillery piece slightly but otherwise the performance was not overtly affected.

In service due to their interchangeable parts the machines were pleasant to work on (even if the Centurion engine went through multiple marks before they got one that was as reliable as hoped.)

The Universal system saw combat in the Middle East, in the Indo-Pakistan war and was a permanent fixture in NATO exercises. The South African's put theirs to use in their war with Angola and whilst in Europe the balloon never went up the British Army of the Rhine was fully equipped with mechanised artillery and infantry support, much to the professional jealousy of other NATO powers.










Something I thought up whilst bored. Yeah I know considering the state of the UK's finances its pie in the sky, but still its a tasty pie, chicken and mushroom flavoured. Thoughts and comments are most welcome and if you folks have any additions, go right ahead :)
Top