The A10 Cruiser Tank Mark II, was developed alongside the A9, and was intended to be a heavier, infantry-support version of that type. Use of the A10 was confined to Britain.

History and specifications

The A10 was developed by Sir John Carden in 1934. The two sub-turrets present on the A9 were removed, and bolt-on armor was applied to the front and sides of the hull, along with all faces of the turret, providing approximately twice the armor in most areas. 205 vehicles of this type were produced.

There was no separation between the driver's compartment and the fighting compartments. As well as the turret armament, which consisted of a 2-pounder (40mm) gun and a coaxial Vickers machine-gun, there was a BESA machine gun mounted in a barbette to the right of the driver. The tank had a total crew of 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver and hull machine-gunner).

The A10 entered service in December 1939, but was something of an oddity - it was designed to be as slow as an Infantry tank, but was still relatively poorly armoured, and was, as a result, not effective. Used the same suspension and engine as the A9.

The A10 weighed 13.8 tons, was 5.5 metres long, 2.5 metres high, 2.6 metres wide, and had a top speed of 16mph on road and 8mph off. Its maximum road range was 100 miles. 100 2-pounder rounds were carried, and 4050 rounds total were carried for the two machine-guns.

Variants

Mark II
Classified as a 'heavy cruiser' and 31 were sent to France with the 1rst Armored Dvision, but performed poorly in the following campaign. Also served in the North African Campaign until late in 1941.

Mark IIA
Vickers machine guns were replaced with BESA machine guns. Armoured radio housing added.

Mark IIA CS
Had a 3.7" (94mm) howitzer installed in the turret. This gun only fired smoke rounds, 40 of which were carried.

Vehicles based on chasis

• Valentine

External links

• A10 information [1][2]
• A10 specifications [3]