Who invented the tank destroyer?

Who invented the tank destroyer?

In 1914, a British army colonel named Ernest Swinton and William Hankey, secretary of the Committee for Imperial Defence, championed the idea of an armored vehicle with conveyor-belt-like tracks over its wheels that could break through enemy lines and traverse difficult territory.

What was the difference between a tank and a tank destroyer?

While tanks are designed for front-line combat, combining operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities and performing all primary tasks of the armoured troops, the tank destroyer is specifically designed to take on enemy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles.

What was a ww2 tank destroyer?

tank destroyer, a highly mobile lightly armoured tank-type vehicle that was used to fight tanks in World War II. Tank destroyers tended to have relatively thin side and rear armour, and the gun was mounted in an open turret or in a casemate that had only a limited traverse.

Was the Matilda a good tank?

With its heavy armour, the Matilda II was an excellent infantry support tank but with somewhat limited speed and armament. It was the only British tank to serve from the start of the war to its end, although it is particularly associated with the North Africa Campaign.

How were tank destroyer units organized in WW2?

The unit was organized in one of two different forms—a towed battalion equipped with anti-tank guns, or a mechanized battalion equipped with armored self-propelled guns. The tank destroyer units were formed in response to the German use of massed formations of armored vehicles units early in WWII.

What happened to the anti-tank battalions in WW2?

On 3 December, all existing anti-tank battalions were reassigned to General Headquarters and converted to tank destroyer battalions. The new tank destroyer doctrine was formally stated in Field Manual 18–5, Tactical Employment, Tank Destroyer Unit, in June 1942.

Are tank destroyers like the American tank destroyers actually tanks?

The American Tank Destroyers such as the M36 were turreted and, to a degree, behaved like actual tanks. They were often faster but less protected with the top of the turret open. The extreme case of this would be the M18 Hellcat, one of the fastest tracked vehicles of the Second World War.

What was the first tank with dual AA/AT guns?

The new tank equipped with this gun was designed quickly on the basis of the M10 tank destroyer. At first, the T53 sought a dual AA/AT rôle, but was eventually canceled. The T71, which would become the M36, was completed in March 1943.